although the General Assembly of Connecticut, which convened in August,
promptly made him out a commission as captain of a company, it did not
reach him until after the fight.

He had outstripped his commission, had enlisted, had met the enemy,
acting, as he always acted, on his own initiative; and it seemed very
fit that he should be appointed to command a company of "partizans," as
the picked troops were called who made forays, performed scouting
duties, and led the advance of the main body.

He became associated with the redoubtable leader of the hardy company of
back-woodsmen known as "Rogers' Rangers," and he held his own with the
best of them. The duties of these rangers were particularly hazardous,
for they were ever in the advance, as scouts or skirmishers, employing
the Indians' tactics in bush-fighting, engaged as escorts for the wagon
trains, as well as for the artillery, etc. They were thoroughly
independent, in the fullest sense of the word, following their
commander's general rule only, which was: "Every man's reason and
judgment must be his guide, according to the particular situation and
nature of things, and that he may do this to advantage, he should keep
in mind the maxim, never to be departed from by a commander, viz., to
preserve a firmness and presence of mind on every occasion."

Had the foregoing rule been made expressly for our farmer-soldier, it
could not more exactly have exemplified the qualities he pre-eminently
possessed. He was a born "partizan," and entered at once into his
dangerous duties with ardor and zest.

There exists a "Report of Captain Putnam, who was sent by Captain Rogers
as a Spy to Ticonderoga," dated October 9, 1755, which illustrates both