Gone But Not Forgotten

 “George Washington’s Headquarters and Home” by J.L. Bell is an informative guide to many sites important to the American Revolution in Cambridge. What I found most interesting were sites that had all but disappeared from the landscape, and the ways in which people had left a remnant of the history behind to be remembered. Two examples of this phenomenon are the Washington Elm and Fort Putnam.

There was a legend that on July 3rd, 1775, “George Washington took command of the Continental Army” under the shade of an elm tree (Cambridge and the American Revolution). According to Bell, this myth was developed in stages. It wasn’t until the mid 1800s that a specific tree was identified as “Washington’s Elm” and from there a large granite monument was placed to secure that tree’s role in history. Legends like the Washington Elm played an important role in forging an American identity, and so many writers and historians had to include the Washington Elm in some capacity for legitimacy.

Though the tree no longer stands, the stone monument still remains alongside a grandchild plant of the original tree.

Fort Putnam was much shorter lived. It was named after Israel Putnam, who led his Connecticut based militia to help Washington soon after the Battle of Lexington and Concord. In section 15.2, as Bell discusses “Washington’s Fortifications and Their Fate,” he notes that it was one of the first forts built, shortly after Cobble Hill and closer to Boston and Lechmere Point. Though it was known as the strongest fort built by the Continental Army (Cambridge and the American Revolution), 3 years after its construction it was gone.

 

Similar to Washington’s Elm, all that now remains is a plaque featured on a nearby school.