''Putnam, the Iron Son of '76'' is an 1844 American play by
Nathaniel Bannister
Nathaniel Harrington Bannister (January 13, 1813 – November 2, 1847) was an American actor and playwright.
Bannister wrote over 40 plays, including ''Putnam, the Iron Son of '76'' (1844) about the American Revolutionary War hero Israel Pu ...
, and his most popular play.
The play is about
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
hero
Israel Putnam
Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...
. Starting on August 5, 1844, it played for 78 consecutive nights (not counting Sundays) in New York at the
Bowery Theatre
The Bowery Theatre was a playhouse on the Bowery in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Although it was founded by rich families to compete with the upscale Park Theatre, the Bowery saw its most successful period under the populis ...
, produced by
Thomas S. Hamblin, an astounding success for its time,
and likely the longest New York run of its time. It featured the live horse "Black Vulture", which was a big audience draw.
[Paterson, Alexander D. (August 24, 1844)]
"The Drama"
''The Anglo American'', Vol. 3., No. 18. p. 429. (via Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...
).[(October 19, 1844)]
The Drama
p. 618 (noting that ''Putnam'' is still playing). It enjoyed revivals for years, and was also performed in other cities.
[Quinn, Arthur Hobson]
The Literature of the American People: An Historical and Critical Survey
p. 500 (1951)[Ireland, Joseph Norton]
Records of the New York stage, from 1750 to 1860, Vol. II
p. 417 (1867)
Original New York cast
*Oneactah by John R. Scott
*
Major Putnam by George Milner
*
General Washington by William Alexander Vache
*General Cadwallader by Mr. Reeve
*General Greene by Mr. Jackson
*Major Sapling by
E.L. Davenport
*Starkham by Thomas Hadaway
*William by Mr. Sutherland
*Lord Cornwallis by Mr. Fleming
*Lord Rawdon by Mr. Lewis
*Talbot, the Renegade by
Junius Brutus Booth, Jr.
Junius Brutus Booth Jr. (December 22, 1821 – September 17, 1883) was an American actor and theatre manager.
As a member of the illustrious Booth family of actors, Junius Brutus Booth Jr. was overshadowed by his father Junius Sr. and brothers E ...
*Indian Boy by Mr. Yeoman
*Kate Putnam by Mrs. Sutherland
*Therese by Mrs. McCluskey
*Mrs. Starkham by Mrs. Stickney
*Violetah by Mrs. Phillips
External links
''Putnam, the Iron Son of '76''(Samuel French, New York)(full text, via Google Books)
References
1844 plays
{{1840s-play-stub