Henry Knox

Henry Knox was a Revolutionary War general and member of George Washington's presidential cabinet. His efforts to build a robust American militia assisted in the colonies’ victory against Britain, as well as the development of the early country's armed forces. Knox's keen understanding of martial strategy promoted him to the roles of Chief Artillery Officer, General, and ultimately secretary of war. Throughout his life, Knox’s “buoyant” disposition and loyal character made him a friend to many, including George Washington.¹ As Washington entrusted Knox with some of the most critical responsibilities of the war and in his subsequent presidency. The two men built a lifelong friendship marked my mutual respect and admiration, “With respect to General Knox,” Washington once wrote, “there is no man in the United States with whom I have been in habits of greater intimacy; no one whom I have loved more sincerely, nor any for whom I have had a greater friendship.”²

Born on July 25, 1750, Knox was one of ten children of Mary Campbell and William Knox, a Bostonian shipmaster. When William abandoned his family for the West Indies in 1759, nine-year-old Knox left school to support his mother and younger brother by working at a local bookbindery. There, the young scholar took to educating himself, capitalizing on his access to a host of books about topics such as military strategy and weaponry. As he pored over Sharpe’s Military Guide and Julius Caesar’s Commentaries, Knox learned how to design fortifications, situate entrenchments, and discern topographical advantage, becoming a competent engineer and military tactician.

Given his training, Knox opened his own shop, the London Book Store. It was described as one of the most fashionable places in Boston. The bookstore acquainted Knox with such notable patrons as John Adams. As his expertise in military studies was well known, Adams recommended Knox for a position in Washington’s  Continental army in 1775.³ Knox 

was a prime candidate and passionate about American independence. To Knox, separation from Britain was the “one choice consistent with the character of a people possessing the least degree of reason.”⁴ Knox was joined by his wife, Lucy Knox, who was the daughter of the royal governor of Massachusetts. She also believed in the American cause and followed him to Valley Forge in 1778.⁵

After his first encounter with Washington in July 1775, Knox admired his his ability to “fill his place with vast ease and dignity, and dispense happiness around him.”⁶ Evidently, the respect was mutual, as Washington soon entrusted Knox with the important mission of stealing the artillery at Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. Facing barely navigable roads and dangerously inclement weather, Knox made the three-hundred-mile journey north, arriving on December 5, 1775. After recovering the 120,000-pound lot of guns, mortars, and cannons from Ticonderoga, Knox transported the prized convoy by boat down Lake George, and then led a caravan of sleds and oxen to continue the journey overland from the lake’s southern end to Boston. After months of hazardous travel, Knox and his “noble train” arrived to Boston intact, and Washington immediately named him chief of the Continental army artillery.⁷  Under such leadership and equipped with such weaponry, the army was able to secure one of its earliest victories at Dorchester Heights on March 17, 1776.

In his new role, Knox remained committed to building “a well-regulated and numerous body of Artillery.”⁸ He worked to construct a strong, reliable militia as a newly promoted brigadier general. Knox augmented the army’s artillery arsenal to unrivaled heights, helping to secure pivotal victories at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton in winter 1776. Far surpassing that of the British, the Continental army’s artillery secured America’s last and arguably most decisive victory at Yorktown in 1781. Celebrating Knox’s role in America’s triumph, Washington reported to Congress that the young general’s “genius supplied the deficit of means,” after which he promoted Knox to the rank of major general and finally commander.⁹

Later, Knox became the secretary of war under the Articles of Confederation, remaining in the position after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution as a member of  President Washington's cabinet. In this capacity, he developed a plan for a national militia and established military academies, setting a precedent that guided the new nation’s military training for more than a century and a half. As Secretary, Knox was also instrumental in mitigating instances of domestic conflict, such as Shays’s Rebellion of 1787. Under the Articles of Confederation, Knox advocated for the creation of a stronger federal government as a way to deter such upheaval, more effectively raise troops, and ensure funding for military defenses. Driven by this conviction, Knox emerged as a Federalist, joining the ranks of such figures as John Adams and Alexander Hamilton in their prioritization of federal over state authority. During Washington's presidency, Knox advised him through negotiations with various Native American nations. He also advocated for a federal presence in extinguishing the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. At the end of 1794, Knox retired a secretary of war after having to take several weeks of absence to manage personal financial concerns. Upon entering public life, he shifted his interests towards land speculation and business development in Maine. He moved himself and his family there, and remained there until his death in 1806.

Henry Knox’s legacy is best recognized through his military service and political influence. In his Travels in North America, the Marquis de Chastellux praised Knox “as a man of talent, well instructed…ingenuous and true,” writing that “it is impossible to know him without esteeming and loving him.”¹⁰  Washington possessed a high opinion of Knox and their friendship, “From the friendship I have always borne you—and from the interest I have ever taken in whatever relates to your prosperity & happiness.”¹¹ Spanning nearly 25 years, Henry Knox maintained a relationship with Washington through the Revolutionary War and the formation of a new country, and his point of view influenced Washington’s decisions in times of war and peace. 

Originally researched by Cornelia Lluberes; updated on 6 March 2025 by Zoie Horecny 

Notes:

1. Marquis de Chastellux, Travels in North America, Years 1780-81-82, quoted in Francis S. Drake, Life and Correspondence of Henry Knox: Major-General in the American Revolutionary Army, (Boston: Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, 1873), 73.

2. "George Washington to John Adams, September 25, 1798," Founders Online, National Archives. 

3. "John Adams to Henry Knox, November 11, 1775,"  Founders Online, National Archives. 

4. "Henry Knox to John Adams, May 16, 1776," Founders Online, National Archives.

5. “Invitation to Colonel Henry and Lucy Flucker Knox, 1 February 1776,” Founders Online, National Archives.

6. "Henry Knox to Lucy Knox, December 17, 1775," quoted in David McCullough, 1776, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005).

7. "Henry Knox to George Washington, December 17, 1775," Founders Online, National Archives.

8. "Henry Knox to George Washington, July 9, 1776," Founders Online. National Archives.

9. Washington to President of Congress, October 13, 1781, quoted in North Callhan, “Henry Knox: American Artillerist,” in George Washington’s Generals and Opponents: Their Exploits and Leadership, ed. George Athan Billias, (New York: De Capo Press, 1994).

10. Marquis de Chastellux, Travels in North America.

11. “From George Washington to Henry Knox, 2 March 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives.

Bibliography:

Callahan, North. “Henry Knox: American Artillerist,” in George Washington’s Generals and Opponents: Their Exploits and Leadership, ed. George Athan Billias. New York: De Capo Press, 1994.

Chervinsky, Lindsay M. The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2020.

McCullough, David. 1776. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.

Puls, Mark. Henry Knox: Visionary General of the American Revolution. St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 2010.

Stuart, Nancy Rubin. Defiant Brides: the Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women and the Radical Men They Married. Boston: Beacon Press, 2014.