NY, USA
Knox's Noble Train of Artillery
December 5, 1775
Henry Knox began the extraordinary task of transporting approximately 60 tons of artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to the Continental Army besieging Boston. The "Noble Train of Artillery" traveled over 300 miles through the mountains of western Massachusetts in the dead of winter, using ox-drawn sledges to move cannons across frozen lakes and over mountain passes.
The journey took roughly two months. Knox arrived in Cambridge in late January 1776 with the artillery that Washington needed to break the stalemate at Boston. The guns were placed on Dorchester Heights in early March, overlooking the British position. Within days, the British decided to evacuate. Knox's feat was one of the war's most remarkable logistical achievements.
People Involved
Boston bookseller turned artillery officer who hauled 60 tons of cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston during the winter of 1775-1776, an extraordinary feat of logistics that gave Washington the firepower to force the British evacuation.