Guns for General Washington by Seymour Reit

Portraits of General Henry Knox

Knox Cannon Trail 1775-1776Fort Ticonderoga, New York Colony to Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony

300 Miles Over Mountains, Snow, and Ice

"The Noble Train of Artillery" by Tom Lovell

General Knox and his men averaged approximately 5 ⅜ miles per day, completing the 300 mile trip in 56 days.

Ox Team Hauling Ticonderoga's Guns

January 24, 1776

In 1776, Colonel Henry Knox reached the headquarters of the Continental Army in Cambridge. The young Boston bookseller had pulled off a daring plan. He had led a small group of men on a 300-mile journey from Boston to Fort Ticonderoga in New York State. Once there, the party disassembled cannon taken when the British surrendered the fort and retreated to Canada in May of 1775. In less than two months time, Knox and his men moved 60 tons of artillery across lakes and rivers, through ice and snow to Boston. On the 7th of March, 2,000 Continental soldiers maneuvered the guns to a hill overlooking the city. The British had no choice but to evacuate Boston. Knox’s daring plan was a success that lead to the British evacuation of Boston.

Knox and WashingtonGeneral Knox continued as artillery officer and fought in many battles of the Revolutionary War. After the War, he became the

first Secretary of War under President Washington. After 10 years in that position, he retired.

Mansion in Thomaston, Maine After Knox retired in 1794, he lived here with his wife, Lucy, until he died in 1806. The building was razed in 1871 to make way for the Knox and Lincoln Railroad. The Montpelier Museum today is housed in a replica of the original mansion.

Knox Canon Trail Marker1927

The Henry Knox Cannon Trail follows the route that Colonel Henry Knox used to transport 59 cannons from Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga to Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the winter of 1775-76.Fifty-six monuments were installed along the route in 1927 to commemorate the arduous 56-day journey. Thirty of the granite monuments and bronze plaques mark the route in New York from Fort Ticonderoga to the Massachusetts border near Hillsdale. Starting near Great Barrington, 26 monuments mark the trail in Massachusetts. The installation of these monuments represents one of the earliest heritage trails created in the United States.