Henry Knox (1750 - 1806)

Born 25 Jul 1750 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 25 Oct 1806 at age 56 in Thomaston, Lincoln, Massachusetts, United States

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Preceded by Position established 1789

Henry Knox 1st United States Secretary of War 1789—1794

Succeeded by 2nd Secretary Timothy Pickering

Biography

Major General Henry Knox served with Massachusetts during the American Revolution.

Henry Knox is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: 261960
Rank: Major General

Henry Knox is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A067057.

Born Henry Knox in Boston, Massachusetts. The seventh of ten children. Coming from a poor family he worked at many horrible labor positions until eventually he persevered, going on to open a bookstore of his own in Boston.

It was while running this bookstore that he attracted the attention of his bride to be, Lucy Flucker. She was the daughter of the Royal Secretary of Massachusetts. The two were married and when Knox fled Boston to join the Revolution forces, Lucy had his sword sewn into her cape.

While working with the local militia, Knox developed a rampart in Roxbury that attracted the attention of General Washington himself. The general was very impressed with the young Knox and would ask for his assessments on the plans to capture Fort Ticonderoga. Theirs would be a lifelong friendship and would eventually lead to Knox's appointment to Major General. As Secretary of War, Major General Henry Knox was instrumental in the successful siege at Yorktown.

"Revolutionary Summer" by Joseph J Ellis NY 2013 page 33 " Henry Knox whose only experience of war had been acquired through books which he devoured feverishly in his own Boston bookstore. Impressed with Knox's resourcefulness in transporting the British cannons captured at Ticonderoga of forty sleds over ice and snow, the near-impossible logistical feat that had provided the firepower on Dorchester Heights so crucial in forcing the British withdrawal from Boston, Washington appointed Knox head of the artillery regiment in the Continental Army. This book in turn referencing "Henry Knox, Visionary General of the American Revolution" by Mark Puls, NY 2008.

In 1794 after a successful career serving the country, he resigned and turned his interest to that of a gentleman farmer. His wife Lucy had inherited a huge parcel of land in Maine and he threw himself headlong into the task of developing this into a thriving area known as the District of Maine.

During his days of “retirement” in Maine he was engaged in many aspects of the growth of the state. He built a lock and canal system, became involved in land speculation, brick manufacturing and shipbuilding. He commissioned a very large home, as distinguished as that of Monticello or Mount Vernon, to be built on his land in Thomaston, Maine. General Knox and his wife lived and entertained on the estate he named Montpelier.

At the time of his death in 1806, he and his wife had buried ten of their thirteen children, who did not live to adulthood. He is buried in Elm Grove Cemetery in Thomaston, Knox County, Maine, USA. ^[1]

A replica of the home he had built, Montpelier, stands overlooking the town he helped to prosper.

He is remembered for his immensely successful military career, the contributions he made to the developments of the state of Maine, its economy and the large number of people he employed.

Here is a link to the Montpelier Mansion Museum. If you're ever in Thomaston, Maine this is a must see stop for adults and children alike.

Legacy

• Nine U.S. states have named counties in Gen. Knox's honor. They are: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas.
• Knox, Maine is a town named in his honor.

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20979/henry-knox : accessed 12 November 2021), memorial page for Henry Knox (25 Jul 1750–21 Oct 1806), Find A Grave: Memorial #20979, citing Thomaston Village Cemetery, Thomaston, Knox County, Maine, USA ; Maintained by Find a Grave .

• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 2021-11-12), "Record of Henry Knox", Ancestor # A067057.

• "Maine, J. Gary Nichols Cemetery Collection, ca. 1780-1999," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKXM-7CBY : 16 March 2018), Henry Knox, ; citing Thomaston, Knox, Maine, United States, Cemetery Village, Maine State Library, Augusta; FHL microfilm 2,171,134.

• "Maine, Knox County Cemetery Records, ca. 1800-2007", database with images, FamilySearch
  • (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZ9-HG4R : 14 August 2019), H Knox, 1806.
  • (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZ9-HGHY : 14 August 2019), H Knox in entry for Lucy Knox, 1824.

• "Maine, Veterans Cemetery Records, 1676-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXQ8-Q99 : 13 March 2018), Henry H Knox, 25 Oct 1806; citing Death, , State Archives, Augusta; FHL microfilm 1,001,838.

• "Massachusetts, Revolutionary War, Index Cards to Muster Rolls, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch; citing Military Service, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 2,030,580.
  • Colonel
    • Knox, 01 Jan 1776 Col. Knox's (Artillery) Regt stationed near Boston
    • Henry Nox Or Knox, 16 Feb 1776
    • Henry Knox, 23 Mar 1776
    • Henry Knox, 9 Aug 1776
  • Brigadier General
    • Henry Knox, 9 Nov 1776
    • Henry Knox, 1777-1780
    • 1777: Henry Knox, 1777, Henry Knox, 1 Jan 1777, Henry Knox, Aug 1777, Henry Knox, 5 Oct 1777, H Knox, Oct 1777, Henry Knox, Dec 1777
    • 1778: Henry Knox, 08 Jan 1778, Knox, 10 Mar 1778, Henry Knox, 25 Nov 1778
    • 1779: Henry Knox, 20 May 1779, H Knox, 30 Jun 1779, Henry Knox, 16 Oct 1779
    • 1780: Henry Knox, 1780, Henry Knox, 1780, Henry Knox, 1780, Henry Knox, 30 Jan 1780, Henry Knox, 23 Feb 1780, Knox, 6 Apr 1780
    • Knox, 22 Jan 1781
  • Major General
    • Henry Knox, 27 Oct 1783
    • Henry Knox, 16 Nov 1783
    • H Knox, 23 Dec 1783
    • H Knox, 24 Dec 1783
    • H Knox, 30 Dec 1783
    • H Knox, 31 Dec 1783
    • H Knox, 31 Dec 1783

• Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War (Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, 1896); Vol. 9, p. 392

• Heitman, Francis Bernard. Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution (W.H. Lowdermilk & Co., Washington, DC, 1893);
  • p. 9 Major General "15th November 1781 to 20th June 1784"
  • p. 10 Brigadier General "27th December 1776 to 15th November 1781"
  • p. 14 Regiment of Artillery "17th November 1775 to 27th December 1776 "
  • p. 253

• "United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch, citing NARA microfilm publication M246. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Services, 1980. FHL microfilms 830,280 830,321 830,395 830,396 830,397 830,398 830,399 830,400 830,409 830,413 830,414 830,415 830,416.
  • Colonel
    • Knox, Apr 1776 "Detachment of Col. Knox's Regiment of Artillery"
    • Henry Knox, 1775-1783 "Gridley's & Knox's Regt. Arty." ... "Knox, Col. Henry"
    • Knox, 1776 muster roll, Col. Knox, Regt. Art.
    • Knox, 01 Jan 1776 muster roll, Col. Knox
    • Henry Knox, 12 May 1776 Regiment of Artillery commanded by Henry Knox, Esq.
    • Henry Knox, 19 May 1776 muster roll
    • Henry Knox, 27 Jul 1776 muster roll
    • Henry Knox, 02 Nov 1776 muster roll
    • Henry Knox, 09 Nov 1776 Regiment of Artillery commanded by Henry Knox, Esq., camp at North Castle
  • Brigadier General
    • Henry Knox, 27 Dec 1776 Colonel in Chief, Brigadier General and Commander of American Artillery
    • Knox, 29 Dec 1776 Col., muster roll
    • 1777: Knox, Feb 1777, Henry Knox, 18 Aug 1777, Henry Knox, 01 Sep 1777, Henry Knox, 01 Sep 1777, H Knox, 22 Oct 1777, Henry Knox, Dec 1777
    • 1778: H Knox, Jan 1778, H Knox, Jan 1778, Henry Knox, 01 Jan 1778, Henry Knox, 09 Jan 1778, Knox, Mar 1778, Henry Knox, Mar 1778, Henry Knox, Apr 1778, Knox, 01 Apr 1778, Henry Knox, May 1778, Knox, Aug 1778, Knox, 01 Sep 1778, Knox, 02 Oct 1778, Knox, Nov 1778, Knox, 03 Nov 1778, Knox, Dec 1778, Knox, Dec 1778
    • 1779: Knox, Jan 1779, Knox, Feb 1779, H Knox, 03 Mar 1779, Knox, Mar 1779, Knox, Jun 1779, Knox, 11 Jul 1779, Knox, 24 Jul 1779, H Knox, 01 Sep 1779
    • 17880: Knox, 1780, Knox, 1780
    • 1781: Knox, 1781, Knox, 02 May 1781
  • Major General
    • Henry Knox, 15 Nov 1781 Major General
    • Knox, Jul 1782
    • Knox, 22 Apr 1782
    • Knox, Mar 1783
    • Knox, 21 Mar 1783
    • Knox, 25 Mar 1783
    • Knox, 12 Sep 1783
    • Knox, 13 Sep 1783

• "United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch; citing Military Service, United States, Citing various published state rosters, United States; FHL microfilms 102229241 102229247 102229254 103140758 103140774.
  • Henry Knox, Jun 1775, Henry Knox, 22 Mar 1782; volunteer at Bunker Hill June, 1775; Colonel Continental Regiment of Artillery, 17 Nov. 1775; Brigadier-General and Chief of Artillery Continental Army, 27 Dec. 1776; Major General, 15 Nov. 1781 to 22 March 1782; Commander-in-Chief of Army 23 Dec. 1783 to 20 June 1784
  • Henry Knox, 27 Dec 1776, Henry Knox, 27 Dec 1776; Brigadier General, 27 Dec. 1776 to 15 Nov. 1781
  • Henry Knox, 1 Jan 1777, Henry Knox, 1 Jan 1777; (dup) Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailers
  • Knox, 1 Apr 1778 "by order of Gen. Knox"
  • H Knox, Oct 1778 "H. Knox B.G. Artillery"
  • Henry Knox, 02 Apr 1779, Henry Knox, 02 Apr 1779; "Honorable Brigadier General of Ordinace, Henry Knox"
  • Henry Knox, Nov 1780 "company of artillery under the command of Brig. Gen. of Ordinance, Henry Knox"
  • Henry Knox, 15 Nov 1781, Henry Knox, 20 Jun 1784; Major General, 15 Nov. 1781 to 20 June 1784

• The Vineland Historical Magazine (The Vinland Historical and Antiquarian Society, Vineland, New Jersey, 1916) Vol. 1, Page 16