Henry Knox
Henry Knox, chief of artillery in the Continental Army, was buried on his estate in Thomaston, Maine.
Early Life
Henry Knox was born to William and Mary Knox in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 25, 1750. His parents were Irish immigrants. William, a shipmaster, left the family to find work in the West Indies in 1759. Henry dropped out of school to support the family when his father failed to return. He worked as a bookbinder’s apprentice until 1771, when he opened his own store, the London Book Shop. An avid reader, Knox was particularly interested in history and military strategy. He studied how to design fortifications, position trenches, and use the natural environment against the enemy. Henry married Lucy Flucker, a member of a wealthy and prominent Tory family, in 1774. The couple had thirteen children, but only three survived to adulthood.
Joining the Military
Before the Revolutionary War, Knox joined the Boston Grenadier Corps, a local militia group. After the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, Henry and Lucy fled Boston. Knox served under General Artemas Ward during the Siege of Boston and managed the artillery during the Battle of Bunker Hill. His engineering skills and knowledge of military tactics impressed General George Washington, who promoted Knox to colonel.
Military Service
In November 1775, George Washington tasked Colonel Henry Knox with moving fifty-nine British cannons captured at Fort Ticonderoga, New York, to Boston. Knox developed a plan to use sleds to pull the cannon across the snow and ice-covered lakes. The “noble train of artillery” arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in mid-January 1776, and was crucial to forcing the British to evacuate Boston. General Washington promoted Knox to chief of artillery.
“The Arrival of Knox with Artillery,” a mid-nineteenth-century engraving by R. Whitechurch and J. Halpin. New York Public Library. This work suggests that Knox’s ingenuity was long appreciated by his countrymen.
Knox participated in almost every major engagement of the American Revolution and was a close confidant of George Washington’s. By the end of the war, he was a major general.
Legacy
In 1785, Congress appointed Knox to the position of Secretary of War under the Articles of Confederation. He was responsible for developing a national militia to deal with domestic conflicts. He then served as the first Secretary of War under the new US Constitution from 1789 to 1795.
Drawing by W. E. Rivers of Henry and Lucy Knox’s home, Montpelier, ca. 1860. The Gilder Lehrman Institute.
Henry and Lucy Knox retired to their home, Montpelier, in Thomaston, Maine, on land they had inherited from Lucy’s parents.
Although Knox experimented with a number of industries, including timber, lime, brickmaking, and agriculture, the family fortunes dwindled. He lost money in land speculation, bad investments, and Lucy’s gambling debts.
Henry Knox died on October 25, 1806, and was buried on his family estate in Thomaston with full military honors.
