General Henry Knox – Revolutionary War Hero

As a member of the Sons of the American Revolution (Pomeroy Chapter – Western Massachusetts), I use my reasonable and maybe even above average knowledge of history to help with my work as the Chapter’s Registrar assisting the folks applying for membership. Having grown up in Springfield, Massachusetts, I’m familiar with General Knox as we lived just a few blocks away from the Springfield Armory. There’s is a marker on the east side of the intersection of Federal and State Streets in Springfield very near the Armory indicating that this was a part of Knox Trail, the roads used by Knox to deliver 59 cannon and other supplies to General Washington during the seige of Boston. Yes, we routed the British in January of 1776.

Knox was a 25 year old book binder who literally taught himself history and military science. He participated in the Seige of Boston and was selected by General George Washington to head up to the recently captured Fort Ticonderoga. The American victory there allowed Knox to simply take possession of the artillery. That was the easy part. It was November of 1775 and Knox expected to get back to Boston in a few weeks. It took 3 months of slogging through the frigid wilderness of upstate New York, sailing down Lake George with the equipment on barges, crossing the Hudson into the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts and finally along the Boston Post Road. But he made it and in January of 1776, Washington had his artillery. No ammunition per se, but the Americans were able to surround the British with an array of cannon which was enough to chase the British out of Boston. Needless to say, this amazing feat in the dead of winter sparked the beginning of Henry Knox’s brilliant career.

But let’s talk about the armory for a minute. It was Knox who persuaded Washington to site the first arsenal on the hills of Springfield overlooking the Connecticut River. That location proved to be a very strategic spot to locate what became the Springfield Armory. There’s a great deal of history to recount here including the events of Shays’ Rebellion, the supply of arms to the armed forces from the late 18th century up until its closure by Seretary of Defense Robert McNamara in 1968. During those years, a great deal of history was made: standardized manufacturing, invention of numerous armaments, and employment for thousands of residents including women. Today, what is now known as the Springfield Armory National Historic Site allows an in depth view of the history of the Springfield Armory’s many contributions to the defenses of the United States of America.

Click here to take a tour with the Armory’s Curator, Alex McKenzie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIfyzai6Uzk.

Here’s the point I’m trying to make about General Henry Knox. Karen and I took a vacation up to Edgecomb, Maine. During the week, Karen found a mumber of places for us to go, mostly visiting a variety of lighthouses, historic sites, some ancient cemeteries (Karen knows that’s a MUST on my itinerary!), and of course, restaurants and other tours. The best of those tours was a 1 and a half hour ferry ride from Boothbay Harbor to Monhegan Island. Other than one thunder storm, the weather couldn’t have been better! We even had time to stand in line for about an hour to get the famous “Red’s Eats” lobster roll. A little over a pound of lobster in a hot dog roll. Only $23.75! Last season, Red’s went through 14.5 TONS of lobster meat! That’s 14.5 TONS!! Click here to read about them: https://www.redseatsmaine.com/.

One of our side trips was to the Maine State Penitentiary Gift Shop. Prisoners are encouraged to develop their talents in carving, furniture creation, model ship building, and dozens of other unique items. Karen found a handmade birdhouse that we’ll be putting up in the back yard. What I found was a 2-page handout about the General Henry Knox Museum. The General Henry Knox Museum??? Well, it was just up the road from the gift shop, so off we went.

After General Henry Knox’s brilliant career, he retired to Thomaston, Maine. Although he grew up in virtual poverty, he married let’s just say, he married well. Lucy Flucker was from a wealthy New England family. With his marriage to Lucy, Knox became the owner of an enormous amount of land in Thomaston which was in Massachusetts at the time. Maine was not created until the Missouri Compromise in 1820 but that’s another story! The Knox’s built what was contemporaneously described as the most beautiful home in New England. They called it “Montpelier.” Sadly, the building deteriorated to the point where demolition was the only solution in the late 19th century. Now comes the DAR to the rescue. During the height of the Great Depression, they were able to raise the funds to rebuild an exact duplicate of the original down to every last detail. This was made possible due to the prolific writing of General Knox describing what he wanted built and how to go about building it! Sizes, colors, wallpaper, the layour of the grounds, every detail was meticulously recorded allowing for the details that were built into the new building. The project obviously provided much needed work and the new home was opened to the public in 1931. Click here for their website: http://knoxmuseum.org/ .

The docent who brought us through all 3 floors of the building offered a great deal of information about Henry and Lucy Knox. Of 13 children, for example, only 3 survived to adulthood. The museum is chock full of Knox memorabilia with furniture, writings, portraits, books, and household goods. The Knox’s are buried in the Village Cemtery about a mile from the museum.

The lesson here, as I’ve said before, is you don’t know what you don’t know. I was delighted that Karen found the Maine State Prison Gift Shop. I was delighted that I just happened to find the little handout about the Hentry Knox Museum!