Henry Knox: "Brought With Me The Cannon"

In November 1775, General George Washington ordered Colonel Henry Knox to inventory available artillery for the Continental Army and then oversee the transportation of captured cannons from Fort Ticonderoga in New York to Boston, Massachusetts. Knox used the frozen lakes and snowy roads to help move the heavy cannons, and it was a challenging journey, as seen in these two letters.

By January 18, 1776, the cannons were near the American siege lines around Boston, and they would be put to use on Dorchester Heights in the coming weeks.

Spelling and grammar is original. Some clarifications for abbreviations or spelling are included in [brackets].

Colonel Henry Knox to General George Washington, December 17, 1775

Fort George [N.Y.]
Decr 17. 1775.

May it please your Excellency

I returnd from Ticonderoga to this place on the 15th instant & brought with me the Cannon &c. It having taken nearly the time I conjecturd it would to transport them here1—It is not easy to conceive the difficulties we have had in getting them over the lake owing to the advanced Season of the Year & contrary winds—three days ago it was very uncertain whether we could have gotten them over untill next Spring, but now please God they shall go—I have made forty two exceeding strong sleds & have provided eighty yoke of Oxen to drag them as far as Springfield where I shall get fresh Cattle to carry them to Camp. The rout will be from here to Kinderhook, from thence into Great Barrington, Massachusetts Bay & down to Springfield—There will Scarcely be any possibility of conveying them from here to Albany or Kinderhook but on Sleds the roads being very much gullied—At present the sledding is tolerable to Saratoga about 26 Miles; beyond that there is none—I have sent for the Sleds & teams to come up & expect to begin to move them to Saratoga on Wednesday or Thursday next trusting that between this & that period we shall have a fine fall of Snow which will enable us to proceed further & make the Carriage easy—if that should be the case I hope in 16 or 17 days to be able to present to your Excellency a Noble train of Artillery, the Inventory of which I’ve inclos’d I have been particular with respect to their dimensi [dimensions] that no mistake may be in making their carriages as there are none here or Implements of any kind I also send a List of those Stores which I desir’d Colo. McD [McDougall] to send from N. York; I did not then know of any 13 Inc [inch] Mortars which was the reason of my ordering but few Shells of that Size; but I now write to him for 500 I [inch] 200 5 7/10 Inches & 400 of 4½ Inches—If these sizes could be ha [had] there as I beleive they can I should imagine it would [save] time & expence rather than to have them cast—if You should think otherwise or have made provision for elswhere you will please to countermand this ord [order].

There is no other News here of Colo. Arno [Arnold] than that from Colo. McCleans having burnt the House round Quebec Colo. Arnold was oblig’d to go to poin [point] au tremble about 6 miles from the City, that Ge [General] Montgomery had gone to join him with a Consid [considerable] body of men & a Good train of Artillery Mortars &. [ect.]

There are some timid & some malevolent Spirits who make this matter much worse—from the different accounts which I have been Able to collect I have very little doubt tha [that] General Montgomery has Quebec now in his possession. I am with the utm [utmost] Respect Your Excellency['s] Most Obdt [obedient] Humble Servt

Henry Knox

Colonel Henry Knox to General George Washington, January 5, 1776

Albany Jany 5 1776

Sir

I did myself the honor to address your Excellncy from Fort George on the 17 Ult.—I then was in hopes that we should have been able to have had the Cannon at Cambridge by this time the want of Snow detain’d us some days & now a cruel thaw, hinders from Crossing Hudsons River which we are oblig’d to do four times from Lake George to this Town—the first severe night will make the Ice on the river sufficiently strong ’till that happens the Cannon & mortars must remain where they are most of them at the different crossing places & some few here—these inevitable delays pain Me exceedingly as my mind is fully sensible of the importance of the greatest expedition in this Case—In eight or nine days after the first severe frost they will be at Springfield from which place we can get them easily transported Altho there should be no snow—but to that the roads are So excessively bad Snow will be necessary—We got over 4 more dble fortified 12 pounders after my last to your excellency—I send a duplicate of the List for fear of miscarriage of the other List, General Schuyler has been exceedingly assidious In this matter, as to myself my utmost endevers have been & still shall be use[d] to forward them with the utmost dispatch. I have the honor to be with the greatest Respect Your Excellencys Most Obdt Hble Servt [obedient humble servant]

H. Knox

Sources:

“Colonel Henry Knox to George Washington, 17 December 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-02-02-0521-0001.&…;

“Colonel Henry Knox to George Washington, 5 January 1776,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-03-02-0019.

Artillery