Henry Knox subject of Dec. 1 Fort Ticonderoga program
TICONDEROGA — A Fort Ticonderoga living history event will tell the story of Col. Henry Knox’s heroism that drove the British from Boston during the American Revolution.
The program, called “The Noble Train Begins,” is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1, and will recreate the start of his daring feat.
In the dead of winter, 1776, he moved more than 14 mortars, 43 cannon and other artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston across the Northeast’s frozen landscape. By doing so, he forced the British evacuation of Boston on March 17, 1776, a pivotal development during early stages of the Revolution.
The program will feature interpretive staff working with horses as they move the artillery in place for the journey, cannon tours and cannon demonstrations.
Also, Rich Strum, author of “Henry Knox: Washington’s Artilleryman,” will present an overview about Knox at noon in the Mars Education Center, followed by a book signing.
The siege of Boston from April 19, 1775, to March 17, 1776, was the opening phase of the Revolutionary War in which New England militiamen, who later became part of the Continental Army, surrounded Boston to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned there.
In November 1775, Washington sent Knox, a 25 year-old bookseller-turned-soldier, to bring heavy artillery that had been captured at Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. In a technically complex and demanding operation, Knox brought the cannon to the Boston area in January 1776.
In March 1776, these artillery pieces were used to fortify Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston and its harbor and threatening the British naval supply lifeline. The British commander William Howe, realizing he could no longer hold Boston, chose to evacuate it.
He withdrew the British forces, departing on March 17, for Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Fort Ticonderoga is the site of the first Knox Trail marker in the Knox cannon trail that traces the route of the “Noble Train.” Continued...
The Fort Ticonderoga Museum owns two original artillery pieces that made the epic journey in the winter of 1776.
Admission to the program is $10 per person and is payable at the door. Friends of Fort Ticonderoga and children aged 4 and younger are free.
For more details go to: www.fortticonderoga.org or call 518-585-2821.
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