KNOX, nOlcs, Henry, American general and statesman: b. Boston, Mass., 25 July 1750; d. Thomaston, Me., 25 Oct. 1806. He was the seventh son of William Knox, of Scotch ex traction, who settled in Boston and became a shipmaster. After the father's death in 1762, the son was employed by a Boston bookseller, and in 1771 he opened a bookstore of his own. When a young man he threw in his lot with the patriot cause and spent his leisure studying books on the military art, supplementing his reading by observing and questioning the Brit ish officer§ stationed in Boston. He also joined a military company and, upon its or ganization, became second in command of the Boston grenadier corps. He was interested in athletics and sports and, in 1773, while hunt ing lost two fingers of his left hand. His marriage (16 June 1774) to Lucy Flucker, the daughter of an aristocratic Loyalist of Boston, did not prevent him from joining the Colonial army at the outbreak of hostilities in the spring of 1775. He fought in the battle of Bunker Hill, acting as aide of General Ward, and then aided in constructing the defenses of the camps around Boston. The army being in pressing need of artillery, Knox proposed to Washing ton the plan of bringing heavy cannon and stores from Fort Ticonderoga near the Cana dian frontier. He set out (15 Nov. 1775) on this perilous enterprise with a squad of mounted men. In the face of great difficul ties he succeeded in getting 55 (by some ac counts 59) guns, loaded them on sleds, with 23 boxes of lead and a barrel of flints, and reached Cambridge in safety (24 Jan. 1776). For this brilliant exploit he was warmly complimented by Washington. After his return he received his commission as colonel of the one artillery regiment, the appointment having been made by the Continental Congress (17 Nov. 1775). The cannonade of Knox's batteries (on the nights of 1-4 March 1776) enabled General Thomas, to take possession of Dorchester Heights, which resulted in the evacuation of Boston by the British forces. In the summer
of 1776 he was stationed at New York City with Washington, who found him a true friend and an able officer. In December he was pro moted to brigadier-general of the artillery. He distinguished himself in the battles of Trenton and Princeton and took part in the engage ments at Brandywine, Germantown and Mon mouth. He helped (May 1777) General Greene in planning the defenses of the Hudson River. In the trying winter of 1777-78 he was in camp at Valley Forge, with his young wife. Many of Washington's letters refer to Knox in terms of high appreciation. He rendered valu able service in the operations against Cornwal lis in October 1781, his skill as an artillerist being praised by the Frenchman, De Chastellax. He was made major-general (22 March 1782) and appointed to the command at West Point (29 Aug. 1782). Upon him devolved the deli cate task of disbanding the army late in 1783. He had already formed the Society of the Cin cinnati (q.v.) to keep alive the friendships of officers formed during the war.
Congress appointed Knox Secretary of War (8 March 1785), a position he worthily filled for 10 years. In 1794 he was also at the head of the Navy Department, just organized. Owing to insufficient sala, he resigned from ry Washington's Cabinet (2 Jan. 1795). His maining years were passed on his estate, Mont pelier, near Thomaston, Me. Consult Brooks, N., 'Henry Knox, a Soldier of the Revolu tion' (New York 1900); Drake, F. S., 'Life 'and Correspondence of Henry Knox' (Bos ton 1873)Lindley, E. M. 'Montpelier r Home of Major-General Henry Knox' (in Magazine of American History, Vol. XVI, p. 121, New York 1886); Sampson, M. S., 'Thomaston— The Home of Knox' (in New England Maga zine, N. S. Vol. XXIX, p. 730, Boston 1904).