The monument, designed by sculptor Karl Gerhardt, was dedicated in 1888 in honor of Israel Putnam, a Connecticut native who served as a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Soon after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Putnam became involved on the side of the American revolutionaries, organizing a regiment in Windham County, Connecticut, and becoming a major general in the Continental Army.

[3] Following his death, several memorials and monuments began to be erected in his honor, with the first being his tomb, a brick structure covered by a large stone slab that bore an inscription composed by Timothy Dwight IV, future president of Yale University.

[4] In 1874, a statue of Israel Putnam designed by sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward was dedicated in Bushnell Park in Hartford, Connecticut, the state capital.

Additionally, it was decided that, if the association was unable to attain this money through local fundraising, they would petition either the U.S. Congress or the Connecticut General Assembly for assistance.

[18] With the location selected and an additional $500 allocated by the town of Brooklyn for advertising and other expenses, the committee stated in a January 1887 report to the General Assembly that they expected the monument to be completed by June 17 of that year.

[22] Afterwards, monument committee member Morris Seymour gave a speech introducing the statue,[23] at the end of which it was unveiled by John D. Putnam, a descendant of Israel's.

[22] At the end of the ceremony, Rhode Island Governor Royal C. Taft gave a speech in honor of those who fought in the American Revolution, while William H. Putnam (Israel's last living grandson), Gerhardt, and Marlor were invited onto the stage and applauded by the crowd.

[18] The statue is made of bronze and depicts Putnam in his Revolutionary War attire, including a tricorne and a sword hanging from his left side.

[18] The bronze base of the statue bears inscriptions of the sculptor (KARL GERHARDT / 1887) and manufacturer (The Henry-Bonnard Bronze Co. / N.Y.), while two large polished plaques are found on either side of the pedestal and bear the following inscriptions:[18][28] If a Patriot, / remember the distinguished / and / gallant services / rendered thy country / by the Patriot who sleeps / beneath this marble; / if thou art honest, generous and worthy, / render a cheerful tribute of respect / to a man / whose generosity was singular, / whose honesty was proverbial; / who raised himself / to universal esteem and offices of / eminent distinction / by personal worth and a useful life.Sacred be this Monument / to the memory of / ISRAEL PUTNAM, Esq.

/ Senior Major General in the Armies / of the United States of America, / who was born at Salem, / in the Province of Massachusetts, / on the 7th day of January, / A.D. 1718 / and died on the 29th of May / A.D. 1790.

A review of the statue in a September 1886 article of The Sun describes it as such: "There is a sinister suggestion of spavin aft, while forward the shoulders and legs are gathered into a spasmodic upward pounce that was never seen on land or any sea horse.