Background on Henry Knox
- Early in life Henry Knox immersed himself in literature after being able to browse the book shop that his mother owned
- Impressed by a military demonstration, at 18 he joined a local artillery company called The Train
- In 1771 he opened his own bookshop, the London Book Store, in Boston
- In 1772 he cofounded the Boston Grenadier Corps as an offshoot of The Train, and served as its second in command
- Knox was a big supporter of the Sons of Liberty, and although it is unknown if he participated in the Boston Tea Party, he did refuse to buy tea from a British official
- When the American Revolutionary War broke out, Knox fled Boston and joined the militia
- George Washington and Henry Knox became friends early in the Revolutionary War
Portrait of Henry Knox
Noble Train of Artillery Background
- After the American Revolutionary War broke out (Battles of Lexington and Concord) in April 1775, Benedict Arnold, a militia leader from Connecticut who arrived with his unit in support of the Siege of Boston, proposed the Massachusetts Committee of Safety that Fort Ticonderoga be captured from its small British garrison because of the presence at Ticonderoga of heavy weaponry. Arnold captured Ticonderoga and started to stock it with usable military equipment, but eventually abandoned the idea transporting the armaments to Boston.
- In May of 1775, Benedict Arnold, Ethan Allen, and the Green Mountain Boys captured Fort Ticonderoga after defeating a small group of British garrison
- George Washington took command of the forces outside of Boston and identified that there was a lack of heavy weaponry outside Boston. Washington eventually chose Henry Knox for the job.
- Washington issued orders to Knox to retrieve the cannons and wrote to General Philip Shuyler asking him to assist Knox in the endeavor. Washington ordered, "You are immediately to examine into the state of the Artillery of this army & take an account of the Cannon, Mortars, Shels, Lead & ammunition that are wanting; When you have done that, you are to proceed in the most expeditious manner to New York" (Instructions to Colonel Henry Knox, November 16, 1775).
- The Siege of Boston was an important task for the Continental Army that began after the Battles of Lexington and Concord in the Revolutionary War
- Dorchester Heights and the Heights of Charlestown overlooked Boston and the British
Picture of Siege of Boston and the British taking control over the city.