Charles Flint Putnam was an officer in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

.

Biography

Born in Freeport, Illinois

Freeport, Illinois

Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...

, Putnam entered the Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 at the age of 14. Upon his request at graduation in 1873, he was ordered to the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

 in , serving in that vessel with the Asiatic Squadron

Asiatic Squadron

The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century, it was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded...

 until 1875. Master Putnam was stationed at San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 in 1876 and was attached to schoolship in 1877–78.

In 1879 he joined the Coast Survey steamer Hassler

Hassler

Hassler is a toponymic surname derived from a number of places called Hasel or Hassel in German-speaking parts of Europe.People of this name include:*Des Hasler Australian rugby league footballer and coach...

in the North Pacific. Putnam volunteered in 1881 for service in , fitted out to search for the , which had been lost in the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

 on an expedition to reach the North Pole

North Pole

The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

. When Rodgers burned at St. Lawrence Bay

St. Lawrence Bay

St Lawrence Bay is a village in Essex, UK. It is in an area known as the Dengie Hundred, next to the River Blackwater.The village is now known as St Lawrence, Essex which comprises the two settlements of St Lawrence Bay and Ramsey Island....

, Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

, 30 November 1881, Putnam took supplies to the survivors on dog sledges. On his return to his depot at Cape Serdze

Cape Serdtse-Kamen

Cape Serdtse-Kamen is a headland on the northeastern coast of Chukotka, Russian Federation. It is about 140 Km west of Cape Dezhnev, 120 Km east of Kolyuchinskaya Bay and about 30 km to the east of the Neskynpil'gyn Lagoon...

, he missed his way in a blinding snow storm 10 January 1882, drifted out to sea on an ice-floe and was never heard from again.

Reference