In the history of great events, there are usually hundreds of smaller moments that make them possible. While those moments are critical at the time, they are often lost to history. Such is the case with the American Revolution, which we are commemorating this year. One of those overlooked events occurred 250 years ago this week, and it can be argued that it did more to liberate Boston from British control than almost anything else.
David McCullough describes this episode in his epic masterpiece “1776,” a book I highly recommend to anyone interested in this pivotal year.
When my students and I discussed the book after class, they concluded that the thesis was “George Washington was a stud.” While I made them expand that idea into something more academic, they were not entirely wrong. None of the revolution would have been possible without Washington. Yet, as great as he was, he needed help.
Fortunately, Washington was an excellent judge of character and was usually correct in his assessments. One man he brought into his inner circle, who became a lifelong friend and trusted advisor, was Henry Knox. It was Knox who was assigned this truly herculean task.
Since the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, little had changed for the ragtag force of makeshift soldiers surrounding Boston. On that fateful day, colonial militias had followed the redcoats back to Boston (then a peninsula) and laid siege to the town. Since then, Washington’s army had been unable to dislodge the British. Knox was not the first to suggest using the captured cannons from Fort Ticonderoga. The problem was never desire; it was logistics. How could more than 60 tons of artillery be transported over 300 miles of rough terrain from the fort to Boston? Unlike others, Knox had a plan.
Knox was an unlikely hero and military innovator, having virtually no formal military experience. He had been raised in the book trade and, in 1771 at the age of 21, opened his own bookstore in Boston. Though not formally educated, he possessed an intense curiosity and taught himself engineering and military science through reading. When Boston fell under siege in 1775, Knox and his wife slipped out of the city where he joined the militia. His engineering knowledge proved invaluable in constructing defenses as well as commanding artillery during the fighting at Bunker Hill. Before long, his talents caught Washington’s attention, and Knox was brought into the general’s inner circle.
Armed with a plan, Knox, now just 25 years old, was tasked with retrieving the guns, a mission far more daunting than he anticipated. The first stage involved sailing the artillery south down Lake George, then hauling it overland to Albany, crossing the Hudson River multiple times along the way. From Albany, the route ran east toward Boston. On Dec. 5, 1775, Knox departed Fort Ticonderoga with 58 pieces of artillery, mostly 12- and 18-pound cannons. He also transported a massive 24-pound cannon weighing roughly 5,000 pounds, along with several mortar guns weighing more than a ton each.
Winter was essential to the plan. Once on land, the guns could be hauled by sled over snow, which was far easier than dragging wagons over poor roads. However, this also meant dealing with a partially frozen lake. Early on, a barge carrying artillery got severally struck a rock. Later, it started taking in water and nearly sank. For a time, Knox feared the entire expedition was lost, but the crew managed to bail out enough water to reach shore safely.
After transferring the guns to sleds, Knox wrote to Washington describing the ordeal: “It is not easy to conceive the difficulties we have had in getting them over the lake owing to the advanced season of the year and contrary winds… three days ago it was very uncertain whether we could have gotten them over until next spring, but now, please God, they shall go… I have made forty-two exceeding strong sleds and have provided eighty yoke of oxen to drag them as far as Springfield… I hope in sixteen or seventeen days to be able to present to your Excellency a noble train of artillery.”
The journey south to Albany proved far more difficult and far longer than Knox expected. The greatest challenge was crossing the Hudson River on four separate occasions. The ice was often not thick enough to support the enormous weight of the cannons, a fear that proved justified. Each sled team carried an axe so the animals could be cut free if the sled broke through the ice. Near Albany, one sleigh did crack through, but local townspeople rushed to help with ropes and horses, successfully recovering the gun.
Snow, which began falling on Christmas Day, was both a blessing and a curse. While it aided the sleds, nearly two feet of snow made travel slow and exhausting. As days turned into weeks, Knox was forced to find fresh men and draft animals, further delaying progress. What he had optimistically estimated as a 17-day journey stretched into nearly two months.
Finally, on Jan. 25, 1776, Knox arrived in Boston without losing a single gun. This little-known achievement may have been one of the most difficult and least appreciated feats of the entire war.
On the night of March 4, Washington ordered Dorchester Heights cleared, and the artillery hauled to the top. When the British awoke the next morning to see heavy cannon aimed down at them, they realized their position was untenable. Within days, they evacuated the city. Thanks to Knox, Washington captured Boston without firing a shot.
Although the Continental Army would fight for seven more years, the victory at Boston was a turning point. Just as important, Washington had found a man he could depend on. Knox would go on to command the Continental Army’s artillery and later serve as Washington’s Secretary of War.
James Finck is a professor of American history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He can be reached at james.finck@swoknews.com. Thanks to Southwest Ledger for sharing his column
