Henry Knox

Person: Henry Knox

Born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 25, 1750. He was the Major General in the Continentinal Army and he later became the Secretary of War.

He first became involoved in government and war in 1772. He joined the Boston Grenadier Corps, he supported the Sons of Liberty and he was present at the Boston Massacre. The Sons of Liberty included Paul Revere, Joseph Warren, John Adams, Sam Adams and John Hancock. He joined the war when he was 18 and was eventually promoted to Major General in the Continental Army. He also was the chief artillary officer. He served under General Artemas Ward in the Battle of Bunker Hill. In 1775 George Washington took over and Henry Knox caught his eye. Washington and Knox began to form a relationship with each other. They started to become good friends. Washington would go to Knox for advice and later he became the chief artillary officer. Knox was left in charge of the placement of cannons and he helped secure the defenses. Knox laid seige on Boston in May of 1775. He also helped in the Battle Of Brooklyn Heights where they were battling General Cornwallis who was under the charge of Lieutentant General Sir William Howe. Knox was then promoted to Commander-In-Chief.

During the winter of 1777 he was in charge of raising a batallion and creating an arsenal. He was then almost outed from his position of chief or artillary by a man named Ducondray who was supported by Silas Deane. He tried to take over Knoxs' job but General Washington repsected Knox enough to let Knox keep his job. Washington, Knox and Nathaniel Greene were the only generals to serve in all 8 years of the war. Knox also served in the Battles of Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and Yorktown. In June 1784 he retired from being an officer in the continental army. In 1789 he then became the Secretary of in War in Washington's first cabinet. Thomas Jefferson was the Sercretary of State, Alexander Hamilton was the Secretary of Treasury and Edmund Randolph was the Attorney General. In 1795 Henry Knox resigned from the cabinet and retired to his home in Thomaston, Maine and died in October 25, 1806 from an intestinal infection.

Henry Knox joined the army because of his love for the country. He also dropped out of school and became the only one supporting his mother. He then opened a bookstore but later decided that he wanted to join the war.

Henry Knox does deserve a lot more recognition. He was the right hand man of George Washington. He helped him make decisions that influenced the way that our country is today. Henry Knox has 2 American Forts decicated to him. Fort Knox in Kentucky and Fort Knox in Maine. This is good but he deserves to have more credit. He fought and made influenctial decisions that were key to Washington winning the ground that he did. He was the chief artillary officer and helped trained people to run the cannons and the guns. He was a Commander-in-Chief in the Continental Army. He was a great leader and his word was very powerful in the time that he lived. If you ask most people who Henry Knox is, they will not even know who he is. This is sad because he was one of the only Generals to serve all 8 years in the war. This alone deserves recoginiton because it shows his dedication and love for his country. So in the end Henry Knox deserves much more recognition than he has right now.







http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Henry_Knox
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He weighed more than 300 pounds, as did his somewhat intimidating wife; in New York they were commonly known as the "largest couple in the city."

Quarter 4 Notes

Revolution and War
1763-1789
Revolution Notes

1763—Proclamation Act-

King set aside land for the Indians around the Appalachian Mt's. No colonists were allowed

1764—Grenville Acts
Direct tax of things such as sugar, molasses and wine
Sugar (molasses, wine)
Stamp
Quartering
Currency
Direct Representation




1765—Stamp Act Congress

A group of people from 9 colonies that tried to end tax for the colonies
Sons of Liberty
A group of people who got together to intimidate people into doing or not doing things. Such as forcing Stamp Distributors in the colonies to resign.
Samuel Adams
Paul Revere
John Hancock
Propaganda
Boycotts
Lobsters (Lobster-backs, Thomas Lobster)

1766—Declaratory Act-
Took back Grenville Acts but really still had them but they weren't declared.

1767—Townsend Acts (indirect tax)
New taxes were issued on paper, paint, glass and tea. They then said that there was to be no British goods sold in America. 2nd attempt to tax the colonies.
Charles Townsend
Writs of Assistance (search warrants)
Revenue used to pay Royal officials in the colonies
Tea Act (glass, paper, paint) support British East India Company

1770—Boston Massacre
The first bloodshed between British and America. A mob was taunting a solidier and then a soldier fired into the crowd. 10 hit and 5 dead. Propaganda!!-Paul Revere
March 5, 1770
Local reaction (primarily)
5 dead colonists
John Adams defends British soldiers/5 exonerated-2 convicted
Convicted men discharged and thumbs branded


1773—Boston Tea Party
Tried to tax tea.East India Company was selling it cheap. Trade would be affected. Tea was then thrown overboard.
November 30, 1773--Dartmouth sails into Boston Harbor
December 16, 1773--Tea dumped into harbor
340 chests of tea dumped (value of 10,000 British pounds)

1774—Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts in Britain)
Colonial Authorites should supply a barracks and supplies. Port of Boston closed until damaged from Boston Tea Party was paid for. British officials could not be tried in any courts other than in britain. Governor also ran meetings.
Close the port of Boston
Shut down Provincial and Town Governments
All offices appointed
Named General Thomas Gage as Governor
Gave all western lands north of the Ohio R. to Quebec, allowed Catholic Church to practice.



1774—1st Continental Congress
Representatives from all colonies except from Georgia gathered to discuss the Intolerable acts and Britain.
September to October (7 weeks)
Carpenter’s Hall, Philadelphia
New England—John Adams, Paul Revere, Silas Deane
Virginia—Washington, Patrick Henry, Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee
Pennsylvania—John Dickenson, Joseph Galloway (Plan for American council under Parliament, to avoid war)
New York—John Jay, James Duane
Maryland—Samuel Chase (future Supreme Court Justice), Charles Carroll (richest man in Maryland, Catholic)
Declaration of Rights—rejects Parliamentary authority over internal colonial affairs, colonies manage own defense, united aid to Boston if Intolerable Acts continue, absolute boycott of British goods to be enforced rigidly

1775— January
William Pitt tries to suggest to pull troops from America
William Pitt urges Parliament to withdraw troops from America because the idea of managing the colonies through force was “too ridiculous to take up a moment of your lordships’ time”

1775—April 19 Lexington and Concord
First shots that were fired to start the revolution. Paul Revere was captured during this battle as a messenger.
Gen. Gage sends 700 men to Concord to seize the powder supplies
Paul Revere and William Dawes raise alarm the night before
Town of Lexington is on the way to Concord
Minutemen are assembled on the town common
“Shot heard round the world”
18 colonials killed and the rest run away
British march on to Concord and find the munitions were moved overnight
Minutemen ambush the British the whole way back to Boston
430 Redcoats make it back to Boston
30,000 Colonists surround Boston

1775—May
Fort Ticonderoga was captured.
Gen. Howe, Gen. Clinton, Gen. Burgoyne
5,000 British troops
Ethan Allen, “Green Mountain Boys” seize Fort Ticonderoga
Henry Knox uses canon to lay siege on Boston
Benedict Arnold (Connecticut) takes Fort Crown Point to impede an invasion from Canada

1775—May 10, 2nd Continental Congress
Members of the 2nd continental congress met in Philadelphia.
Sam Adams pushes for Independence
John Dickenson (Penn.) urges restraint
Agree to form Colonial Army
Delegates unanimously agree to Washington as Commander of Continental Army (John Adams suggestion)

1775—June 17, “Battle of Bunker Hill”
Gen. Howe led this battle. The soldiers came in waves. They were sent up the hill and were not heavily stocked on ammunition. The British had more losses but is considered to have won because they got the ground.
Actually fought on Breed’s Hill
Gen. Howe leads assault without canon support (his canon had been matched with wrong-sized cannonballs [Amherst at Ticonderoga])
Militia waited to within 30 yards (some say 15 yards)
Militia target British officers
Militia ran extremely low on ammunition
On the third assault, led by Gen. Howe, British troops overtake the colonial position
Britain losses almost 1000 men (about half the attacking force)
Colonials lose about 500 men

1776—January, Common Sense-
Wrote to inform the common people. Was often putting down the Hierarchy.
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
2,000 copies sold in three months



1776—March
Gen. William Howe evacuates Boston
July 2, lands in Staten Island, New York (Loyalist base)

1776—Declaration of Independence
Declared the 13 colonies independent from England
June 7, Richard Henry Lee (Virginia) introduces legislation to declare independence from Britain
Before voting on Lee’s proposal Congress appoints five-man committee to draft a formal Declaration of Independence (Thomas Jefferson, 33, does most of the writing)
June 28, Declaration presented to Congress
July 2, Congress approves Lee’s legislation to declare the United States of America independent of Great Britain
July 4, Congress officially adopts the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration intended to:
Undermine loyalty to King George III
Outline basic principles of representative government
Establish the “right” of rebellion


War

1776—August, Brooklyn Heights, New York
Washington thought that he was going to win because he was on the peninsula. Was wrong and this is when the running began.
Largest Naval group Britain will launch until the 20th century
British victory, city falls to England
As winter came “sunshine patriots” left the American Army
Initial colonial enlistments due to expire

1776—December, Battle of Trenton
Washington plan sneak attack on the Hessian camp. Crosses the Delaware amd captured 918 hessians. First Big Victory for Washington
Howe believes war almost won
1,400 Hessians stationed at Trenton
Colonel Rall (Hessian) builds no fortifications
Washington “Crosses the Delaware” Christmas night
2,500 men; 18 artillery guns
Surprise attack at dawn
106 Hessians killed, 918 captured
No colonial casualties
Washington retreats in secret to avoid Gen. Cornwallis counter-attack

1777—January, Princeton
Washington ambushes British troops
Colonial victory establishes this will not be a quick war for Britain

1777—September-October, Saratoga
Turning point of the war. Battle that the French would allie with the Americans.
Gen. Burgoyne plans a three-prong attack on colonials at Albany
Plan does not consider the terrain, forcing British troops to march through swamps, lakes, hills and forests full of rebels
Two of the three “prongs” never arrive (Howe goes to Philadelphia instead, St. Leger retreats to New York afraid of Benedict Arnold)
Sept. Burgoyne crosses Hudson River
Oct. 17, Burgoyne surrenders
Establishes American Army as real threat
Helps secure open French Alliance
Turning Point of the War

1777-1778—Winter at Valley Forge
Troops were stationed at Valley Forge during the winter between the wars. They had little food and no shelter in the begining.
Under-funded troops
Low morale
10,000+ troops
4,000 troops listed as “unfit for duty” due to poor supplies (boots, blankets, coats, etc.)
2,500 troops die of disease (typhus, typhoid fever, dysentery, pneumonia)
George Washington mentioned a lack of shoes so severe that the men's "marches might be tracked by the blood from their feet”
Local farmers would sell produce to Brits who could pay cash

1779—February, Vincennes

1780—August, Camden

—October, Kings Mountain

1781—October, Yorktown
Last Significant Battle of the War
British Gen. Cornwallis
American Gen. Washington (also “Mad” Anthony Wayne, Baron von Steuben)
French Gen. Rochambeau (also Marquis de Lafayette)
Essentially a French Naval victory
Last significant battle of the war

1783—Sept. 3, Treaty of Paris
Britain recognizes American independence
America gets all land from Atlantic coast to Miss. River, Great Lakes to Florida
Fishing rights to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and off the coast of Newfoundland
America must pay debts to Britain
American congress would “earnestly recommend” all Loyalist property returned (States ignore this request)