Henry Knox

Henry Knox

Henry Knox (born July 25, 1750 in Boston , Province of Massachusetts Bay , colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain , † October 25, 1806 in Thomaston , Massachusetts , USA ) was an American bookseller from Boston, the chief artillery officer of the Continental Army and later the first US - Minister of War .

Life

Youth and Time in Boston

His parents were Irish immigrants William and Mary Campbell Knox. His father was a ship's captain and worked in the West Indian trading company until he died in 1762. As a result, Knox had to leave school at the age of twelve and started working in a bookstore to support his mother. He later opened his own bookstore, the London Book Store, in Boston . Knox was a self-taught bookworm, soon specializing in military subjects, particularly artillery . On June 16, 1774 he married against the will of the father of his bride, the highest official of the British Crown in Massachusetts , Lucy Flucker (1756-1824). Lucy Flucker was the granddaughter of Samuel Waldo . Apart from separating because of his military service, they remained a happy couple for the rest of their lives and engaged in extensive correspondence. Over the years they had 13 children. After fleeing Boston in 1775, Lucy Knox remained homeless throughout the American Revolutionary War .

Military career

Knox supported the American rebels, the Sons of Liberty, and was an eyewitness to the Boston massacre . He offered himself to the Boston Grenadier Corps in 1772 and served under General Artemas Ward in the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 . As a member of the observation army, he met and impressed General George Washington when he took command. The two became lifelong friends.

When the siege of Boston continued, he indicated that the cannons from Fort Ticonderoga could play a crucial role. Washington appointed him artillery colonel and placed him in command of the expedition to retrieve the cannons. His armed forces took them through the Green Mountains and across the frozen Connecticut River in ox-drawn sleighs . When they returned and placed the cannons in a position overlooking the harbor, the British were forced to retreat to Halifax on March 17, 1776. After the siege was lifted, Knox took over the construction and expansion of the defenses in Connecticut and Rhode Island in preparation for the return of the British. He later rejoined the main army during their retreat from New York and through New Jersey .

On December 25, 1776, Colonel Knox had orders to cross the Delaware River . Despite being obstructed by ice and cold, he managed to bring the attacking army with men, horses and artillery across the river with Keith Glover's Marbleheaders as the crew of the boats. After the Battle of Trenton on December 26th, he had to bring the same force back across the river along with hundreds of prisoners and captured supplies. This achievement earned him promotion to brigadier general .

Knox remained with the main army for most of the war and was involved in skirmishes at the Battle of Princeton , the Battle of Brandywine , the Battle of Germantown , the Battle of Monmouth, and the Battle of Yorktown . In 1777, when the army camped in the winter quarters at Morristown , he returned to Massachusetts to improve the efficiency of the artillery. He raised another battalion and established the Springfield Arsenal before returning in the spring. The arsenal remained a valuable source of weapons and ammunition for the remainder of the war. In early 1780 he was a member of the court martial over Major John André . As George Washington's representative, Knox made several trips to the northern states to increase the influx of men and supplies to the army.

After Yorktown Knox was promoted to major general. In 1782 he was given command at West Point . In 1783 he was one of the founders of the Cincinnati Society and led the American forces into New York City when the British had withdrawn. He was standing next to Washington when he said goodbye on December 4th in Fraunces tavern . After Washington withdrew, Knox was the senior officer in the Continental Army from December 1783 until he left in June 1784.

Later government service

The Continental Congress named him on March 8, 1785 Minister of War under the articles of confederation . He held this position continuously until September 12, 1789, when he assumed the same duties as Secretary of War in George Washington's first cabinet.

As a minister, Knox pushed ahead with the establishment of a regular US Navy , was responsible for Indian policy and a plan for a national militia and the construction of a number of coastal fortifications. He oversaw the inclusion of the Springfield Arsenal as one of two national manufacturing facilities. In 1791, according to a detailed plan by Knox, Congress established the short-lived United States Legion .

On December 31, 1794, Knox left the government to attend to his growing family. Timothy Pickering succeeded him in office.

After government service

Knox and his family settled in Montpelier , a country estate near Thomaston in what is now Maine . He spent the rest of his life raising cattle , building ships, and making bricks . Although he had left national service, he represented his new ward in the Massachusetts General Assembly. In 1805 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . In 1806 he swallowed a chicken bone that pierced his intestines. He died three days later of peritonitis and was buried in Thomaston.

personality

Knox's character can be read from many incidents from his career. For example, when he and Lucy were forced to leave Boston in 1775, his home was used to house British officers who ransacked his bookstore. Despite personal financial hardship, he arranged for the final installment of £ 1,000 to be paid to the printers in London to pay for a shipment of books that he never received.

Henry Knox was an active member of the Freemasonry Association , he also helped found the Washington Lodge in West Point in 1779 .

Honors

Two American forts, Fort Knox ( Kentucky ) and Fort Knox (Maine) were named after him. Counties were named after him in Illinois , Indiana , Kentucky , Maine , Missouri , Nebraska , Ohio , Tennessee, and Texas . Knoxville (Tennessee) is also named after him. Its former headquarters, Knox’s Headquarters State Historic Site , now serves as a museum.

literature

• North Callahan: Henry Knox. General Washington's General . Barnes, New York 1958.
• Thomas J. Lonergan: Henry Knox. George Washington's confident general of artillery and American first secretary of war . Picton Press, Rockport ME 2003, ISBN 0-89725-515-1 .
• Mark Puls: Henry Knox: Visionary General of the American Revolution. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke 2010, ISBN 978-0-230-62388-0 .
• Seymour Reit: Guns for General Washington . Gulliver Books, New York 2001, ISBN 0-15-216435-9 .
• Knox, Henry . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 15 : Italy - Kyshtym . London 1911, p. 878 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).

Web links

Commons : Henry Knox  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• General Knox Museum in Montpelier, Maine
• Henry Knox in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)
• Contribution to the broadcast WDR2-Stichtag

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kennedy Hickman: American Revolution: General Henry Knox militaryhistory.about.com
2. ^ William R. Denslow: 10,000 Famous Freemasons . Missouri Lodge of Research, Columbia MO 1957 (digital document by phoenixmasonry: vol. 1, 2, 3, 4)