| Notes |
- During the Battle of Trenton, Colonel Knox was in charge of Washington's crossing of the Delaware River. Though hampered by ice and cold, with John Glover's Marbleheaders (14th Continental Regiment) manning the boats, he got the attack force of men, horses and artillery across the river without loss. Following the battle he returned the same force, along with hundreds of prisoners, captured supplies and all the boats back across the river by the afternoon of December 26. Knox was promoted to brigadier general for this accomplishment, and Chief of Artillery.
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Henry Knox was born in Boston to William Knox and Mary Campbell Knox inabout 1751. Henry was the seventh of ten children and the youngest son. His father, William Knox, was a shipmaster, carrying on trade with the West Indies.
Despite being only 9 years old when his father died, Henry gave up school and became the sole support of his mother and younger sisters. He found work as a clerk in a Boston bookstore and was an avid reader, absorbed by the reading of history, especially military history.
Henry was never fully accepted in the Tory society of pre-Revolutionary Boston. He was an inner city child, a first generation Irishman, without formal education or social standing. But his natural intelligence would not be denied. By the age of 21 he was owner of a bookstore in the heart of Boston and self-educated, devouring the best military manuals of the times. His bookstore on Cornhill became a fashionable social club for the young socially elite of Boston, the gentlemen officers and their ladies. Here he met Lucy Fluker, his true love, as hundreds of letters between them attest.
For a detailed military and political history of Henry Knox, please refer to that chapter in this book.
After decades of military and government service, at the end of 1794 Knox resigned from his duties as Secretary of War and moved from Philadelphia, the new nation's capitol, to "Thomas Town in the District of Maine."
The home they built, Montpelier, was the only home they ever owned. Fromthe time Henry Knox and Lucy Fluker were married in 1774 until Henryresigned as Secretary of War on December 28, 1794, the family had led anomadic life, moving from house to house and town to town, following hismilitary and public service careers.
On April 17, 1794, Knox signed a building contract with J. Hearsey and H.Simpson stating "They will perform for him, he furnishing the materials,the requisite mason work of a dwelling house to be built at Fort point onthe St. Georges River in Thomas Town, according to the plan furnishedMessers Dunton and Cushing, master carpenters." That home, their firstand last home, is now the Knox Museum.
The doors of Montpelier were curved to fit the shapes of the rooms; allthe doors and frames were milled in Boston and brought to Thomas Town byboat. There is a double flying staircase commanding the entry way with ahuge skylight above it, flooding the upper and lower halls with naturallighting. The long case clock now standing in the curve of the stairwaywas built by Daniel Monroe in America. Another clock on the oppositelanding of the stairway was imported from Dublin, Ireland. BenjaminFrothingham of Boston built the two matching gaming tables on each sideof the door of the bow room. Benjamin Frothingham was a Captain ofArtillery under the command of General Knox during the war and after thewar, made his living as a cabinet maker.
Lucy's bedroom was papered with a French paper with Chinoise motif. Lucyasked especially for such paper, having seen similar patterns in thefashionable homes of Boston. The bed canopy was brought to Maine by aBoston schooner, as was the matching coverlet.
The southern kitchen had running water on the lower floor. General Knoxhad the water piped in from the stream nearby, through a wooden pipe.Their cook's name was Mrs. MacKenzie.
His Maine estate stands today in Thomaston, Maine as a museum to theremarkable life of Henry Knox. The portrait of Henry Knox included in theFamily Album, was painted by Gilbert Stuart of Boston and now hangs overthe fireplace in the Oval Room.
Henry Knox was engaged in various types of businesses during the latterpart of his life: brick-making, cattle-raising and ship-building. Heentertained numerous guests and gave some time in service to his state inMaine's General Court and Governor's Council. Washington desired toappoint Knox as a Commissioner to St. Croix, but Knox declined.
Knox died unexpectedly in 1806 at the age of 56. He is buried in what isnow Elm Grove Cemetery, Thomaston, Knox County, Maine.«s76»
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Old Dead Relatives
Abt 1751 - 1806 (~ 55 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
