Henry Knox

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Henry Knox : biography

July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806

Philadelphia campaign

Knox returned to the main army for the 1777 campaign. In June he learned that Congress had appointed Philippe Charles Tronson du Coudray, a French soldier of fortune, to command the artillery. Du Coudray’s appointment upset not only Knox, who immediately threatened his resignation to Congress, but also John Sullivan and Nathanael Greene, who also protested the politically motivated appointment. Du Coudray was subsequently reassigned to the post of inspector general, and died in a fall from his horse while crossing the Schuylkill River in September 1777.N. Brooks, pp. 91–93

Knox was present at Brandywine, the first major battle of the Philadelphia campaign, and at Germantown.Puls (2008), pp. 103–108 At Germantown he made the critical suggestion, approved by Washington, to capture rather than bypass the Chew House, a stone mansion that the British had occupied as a strong defensive position.Puls (2008), p. 109 This turned out to significantly delay the army’s advance and gave the British an opportunity to reform their lines. Knox afterward wrote to Lucy, "To [morning fog and] the enemy’s taking possession of some stone buildings in Germantown, is to be ascribed the loss of the victory."Puls (2008), p. 110 Knox was also present at the Battle of Monmouth in July 1778, where Washington commended him for the artillery’s performance.N. Brooks, pp. 121–124 The army saw no further action that year, but privateers that Knox and fellow Massachusetts native Henry Jackson invested in were not as successful as they hoped; many of them were captured by the British.N. Brooks, pp. 125–127

Artillery training school and Yorktown

Knox and the artillery established a winter cantonment at Pluckemin (a hamlet of Bedminster, New Jersey). There Knox established the Continental Army’s first school for artillery and officer training. This facility is considered the precursor to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.N. Brooks, p. 130 While there, through the summer of 1779, General Knox spent most of his time training more than 1,000 soldiers in conditions of low morale and scarce supplies. Conditions were exceptionally harsh in the winter of 1779–80, and Washington’s army was again largely inactive in 1780 while the main action in the war moved south.N. Brooks, p. 134

In late September 1780 Knox was a member of the court martial that convicted Major John André, the British officer whose arrest exposed the treachery of Benedict Arnold.N. Brooks, pp. 136–137 (Knox had, in an interesting twist, briefly shared accommodations with André while en route to Ticonderoga in 1775, when the latter was traveling south on parole after being captured near Montreal.)Callahan (1958), pp. 39, 164 During these years of relative inaction Knox made several trips to the northern states as Washington’s representative to increase the flow of men and supplies to the army. In 1781 Knox accompanied Washington’s army south and participated in the decisive Siege of Yorktown. He was personally active in the field, directing the placement and aiming of the artillery. The Marquis de Chastellux, with whom Knox established a good friendship, wrote of Knox, "We cannot sufficiently admire the intelligence and activity with which he collected from different places and transported to the batteries more than thirty pieces …",Puls (2008), pp. 151–152, 164–165 and "one-half has been said in commending his military genius.Puls (2008), p. 167 Washington specifically called out both Knox and the French artillery chief for their roles in the siege, and recommended to Congress that Knox be promoted.Puls (2008), p. 168

Demobilization

Steel engraving of Henry Knox by Alonzo ChappelKnox was promoted to major general on March 22, 1782; he became the army’s youngest major general.Puls (2008), p. 169 He and Congressman Gouverneur Morris were assigned to negotiate prisoner exchanges with the British. These negotiations failed because the sides could not agree on processes and terms for matching various classes of captives.Callahan (1958), pp. 191–192 He joined the main army at Newburgh, New York, and inspected the facilities at West Point, considered a crucial defensive position. After enumerating its defects and needs, Washington appointed him its commander in August 1782. The next month he was devastated by the death of his nine-month-old son, and fell into a depression.Puls (2008), p. 172 He soldiered on, however, becoming involved in negotiations with the Confederation Congress and Secretary at War Benjamin Lincoln over the issue of pensions and overdue compensation for the military. Knox wrote a memorial, signed by a number of high-profile officers, suggesting that Congress pay all back pay immediately and offer a lump-sum pension rather than providing half-pay for life.Puls (2008), pp. 173–175 The unwillingness of Congress to deal with the issue prompted Knox to write a warning letter, in which he wrote "I consider the reputation of the American army as one of the most immaculate things on earth, and that we should even suffer wrongs and injuries to the utmost verge of toleration rather than sully it in the least degree. But there is a point beyond which there is no sufferance. I pray we will sincerely not pass it."Puls (2008), p. 176 When rumors of mutiny in the higher rank circulated in March 1783, Washington held a meeting in which he made an impassioned plea for restraint. In the meeting, Knox introduced motions reaffirming the officers’ attachment to Washington and Congress, helping to defuse the crisis.Puls (2008), p. 180 Because of the unresolved issues, however, Knox and others became vigorous proponents of a stronger national government, something which leading political leaders (including Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams) opposed at the time.Puls (2008), p. 177