December 4, 1775: Henry Knox, a young, self-taught military strategist and engineer from Boston, spends the night in Lake George (where he bunks with a British prisoner of war and would-be spy named John Andre) on his way to Fort Ticonderoga, where he will direct a newly-formed Continental Army in the back-bending work of collecting, consolidating and loading 59 cannon, mortars, and howitzers, along with gunflints and lead, for shipment to Boston.
Events commemorating the 250th anniversary of Henry Knox’s “Noble Train of Artillery,” when sixty tons of artillery were conveyed from Canada, Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga to Massachusetts, will be held throughout the Lake George region, starting December 5 at Fort Ticonderoga, which owns at least one of the heavy guns that Knox towed to Boston and which Washington’s army used to fire upon the occupying force of the British.
Over the course of several months in 1775 and 1776, Knox “would oversee the Continental Army’s most important logistical victory and, in the process, jump-start a career that would lead to the highest levels of power and embody the can-do spirit and ingenuity that are still hallmarks of the American military experience,” says Dr. Matthew Keagle, Fort Ticonderoga’s curator. “But Knox did not meet this challenge alone. Along the way, he was assisted by American soldiers and civilians often working across the colonial borders, which hitherto had defined their lives. The individuals that aided Knox demonstrated the growing unity of the American cause, and it began here.”
The “noble train’s” arrival at Dorchester Heights in March, 1776, months after departing Fort Ticonderoga, is generally credited with forcing the British army to lift its siege and evacuate Boston.
At Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Knox’s expedition will begin on December 5, when those who have purchased premium tickets will have the opportunity to explore rare documents, books, prints, and artifacts from Fort Ticonderoga’s collections that will help illuminate Knox’s expedition.
The Fort will host one of its “Real Time Revolution” signature events, with re-enactments, cannon firings and historical programs on Saturday, December 6. “The arrival of Henry Knox, and the proofing, selection and hefting of cannon, will all be recreated in this day-long event. Special for the 250th Anniversary, this event will reach further in Ticonderoga’s role, recreating the whole first leg of the Noble Train, bringing cannon to Lake George, where they embarked for Boston,” states Fort Ticonderoga.
On December 7, starting at 11 am, Fort Ticonderoga will re-enact the very first leg of Knox’s journey, from the fort to the foot of Lake George. The public is invited to witness a re-enactment featuring ox and horse drawn cannon from the streets of downtown Ticonderoga.
At Four Monuments Along Knox’s Route
Knox’s achievement is more permanently commemorated in the Lake George region by monuments along the Noble Train’s route, at Fort Ticonderoga, Sabbath Day Point, Bolton Landing, Lake George and Queensbury.
On December 9, local officials, public historians and representatives of civic and historical societies will assemble at four of the monuments to reaffirm the significance of Knox’s expedition to American history. The public is invited to attend the events, which will take place at: 10 am at Lake George Battlefield Park; 11 am in Queensbury, near Crandall Park; noon, in Bolton Landing’s Rogers Park; and at 1 pm on private property at Sabbath Day Point.
Erected in 1927, the monuments contain identical bronze plaques that read: “Through this place passed General Henry Knox in the winter of 1775 – 1776 to deliver to General George Washington at Cambridge the Train of Artillery from Fort Ticonderoga used to force the British army to evacuate Boston.” The plaques also feature a map of the 260-mile trail and an image of cannon being dragged by ox sled through the snow.
In Lake George
Lake George’s December 12 commemoration of Knox’s “Noble Train of Artillery” will begin at 3 pm with a reenactment of Knox’s arrival by boat at the head of the lake, cannon in tow.
“Visitors will witness a stirring recreation of Knox’s arrival, complete with a fife and drum tandem, 18th-century soldier re-enactors and demonstrations of camp life and soldiering skills. The replica artillery and the living historian portraying Colonel Knox will be transported by horse and cart to Fort George, where Knox will speak to the crowd about his perilous journey to the south end of Lake George from Fort Ticonderoga,” a press release from the Lake George Battlefield Alliance states.
Rick Atkinson, the Pulitzer Prize winning historian of American Revolution, whose “Fate of the Day,” the second volume of a trilogy was published to great acclaim earlier this year and who is featured prominently in Ken Burns’ new documentary about the war, will take part in Lake George’s commemorations of the 250th Anniversary of Knox’s ‘Noble Train of Artillery.’ An afternoon reception Atkinson, to be held Friday, December 12 at the Holiday Inn in Lake George, is sold out.
Atkinson will spend part of December 12 with Lake George Junior-Senior High School students, whose summer reading assignments included the historian’s accounts of American Revolution and World War II.
“Meeting with Rick Atkinson will afford our students an opportunity to engage with a renowned storyteller who can breathe life into historic events that literally happened in our backyard,” said Fran Cocozza, the Lake George Jr-Sr High School principal.
At 7 pm on December 12, Atkinson will be joined by Matt Rogowic, a senior producer with the Capital District-based public television station WMHT, for a free public conversation at the Lake George Jr-Sr High School auditorium about Lake George’s role in Knox’s expedition.
Drawing upon Atkinson’s “The Fate of the Day” and Ken Burns’ documentary, the conversation will also explore the broader sweep of the war and offer historical insights and reflections on contemporary America. Questions from the audience will be welcomed.
As the doors to the auditorium open at 6:30 pm, a quartet from the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra will perform period music.
“Lake George was not just a stop along Henry Knox’s route; it was a critical staging ground where plans were made and the journey to Boston truly began,” said John DiNuzzo, president of the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance, which is sponsoring the December 12 events with the Warren County Commission for the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution. “Knox’s time at Fort George, which today is Lake George Battlefield Park, underscores how central this region was to the success of the ‘Noble Train of Artillery’ and, ultimately, to the American Revolution itself.”
DiNuzzo added, “It is a tremendous honor to welcome Rick Atkinson to Lake George for this commemoration,” said John DiNuzzo. “His remarkable ability to bring Revolutionary history to life enriches our understanding of Knox’s achievement and elevates this celebration for our entire community.” Following the British evacuation of Boston, Fort Ticonderoga’s curators and educators tell us, much of the artillery made a reverse journey to Lake Champlain, where it was transported by boat to Canada to support the Americans’ 1775 invasion of that British colony. By the time it arrived in the Spring of 1776, however, the invasion had all but collapsed and the Continental Army was in retreat.
