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Springfield in Hampden County, Massachusetts — The American Northeast (New England)
 

Gen. Henry Knox Trail

 
 
Gen. Henry Knox Trail Marker MA-9 Springfield, Mass. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Howard C. Ohlhous, November 18, 2008
1. Gen. Henry Knox Trail Marker MA-9 Springfield, Mass.
The Henry Knox Cannon Trail follows the route that Gen. Henry Knox used to transport 59 cannons from Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point, New York to Cambridge, Massachusetts in the winter of 1775-1776.
Inscription.
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

Erected by the Commonealth
of Massachusetts 1927

 
Erected 1927 by Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (Marker Number MA-9.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and CastlesRoads & VehiclesWar, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #01 George Washington, and the General Henry Knox Trail series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1775.
 
Location. 42° 6.425′ N, 72° 34.743′ W. Marker is in Springfield, Massachusetts, in Hampden County. Marker is on State Street, on the right when traveling south. The marker is beside State Street, opposite the (1910 - 1915) High School of Commerce, and near the Springfield Technical Community College. On the right heading southwest on State Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Springfield MA 01105, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Military Presence (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Historic Legacy, Shared Future
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(about 500 feet away); Innovation Continues at STCC (about 500 feet away); Forging Arms for Our Nation (about 500 feet away); Armory Fence (about 500 feet away); a different marker also named Forging Arms for Our Nation (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named Innovation Continues at STCC (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named Historic Legacy, Shared Future (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Springfield.
 
More about this marker. The marker consists of a bronze plaque mounted on a large stone base. The inscription is in the stone. The bas relief bronze plaque depictics Gen. Knox overseeing a train of ox-drawn sleds.
 
Regarding Gen. Henry Knox Trail. The Henry Knox Cannon Trail denotes the path followed by Colonel Knox and his men from December 1775 to January 1776 to transport 59 captured weapon pieces from Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point on Lake Champlain, New York to General George Washington at Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston, Massachusetts.

This pivotal event of
Gen. Henry Knox Trail Marker MA-9 Springfield, Mass. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Howard C. Ohlhous, November 18, 2008
2. Gen. Henry Knox Trail Marker MA-9 Springfield, Mass.
the American Revolution resulted in the evacuation of British soldiers from Boston.

The Advisory Board on Battlefields and Historic Sites recommended that the state of New York purchase 30 granite markers in identical pattern, each with a bronze tablet featuring a map of the trail, an image in relief of cannon being dragged by ox sled through the snow, and the words:

"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. Erected by the State of New York 1927."

In all, 30 of the bronze plaques are in New York State and 26 in Massachusetts. They represent the 56-day journey of American troops from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston.

The monuments were erected beginning in 1926, during the commemoration of the 150-year anniversary of the American Revolution, and completed in 1927. The trail is one of the earliest heritage paths created in the United States.

According to the Hudson River Valley Institute website, General Washington believed he could dislodge the British from the city, and dispatched Henry Knox, a 25-year-old Boston bookseller, to organize transportation of the captured artillery pieces from Lake Champlain forts to the heights overlooking Boston in the winter of
Springfield Knox Trail Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 2, 2009
3. Springfield Knox Trail Marker
The marker was recently relocated as a result of the stairway reconfiguration, as seen in the photo.
1775. The British had occupied Boston since their victory in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Henry Knox arrived at Fort Ticonderoga on the evening of December 5, 1775 accompanied by his 19-year-old brother William and a servant, Miller. Early the next day, assisted by the garrison of Fort Ticonderoga, he began to move the guns, including 43 heavy brass and iron cannons, 6 coehorns, 8 mortars and 2 howitzers.

In the second week of March, 1776, four months before the Declaration of Independence was signed, General Washington was ready to bombard the British in Boston from Dorchester Heights, using the array of heavy guns General Knox had laboriously dragged from Lake Champlain.

Lord William Howe recognized that only the evacuation of his army could save it, and on March 18 the victorious American army marched into the deserted city.
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. These markers follow the route used by Knox to transfer cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Cambridge, Mass.
 
Also see . . .  "Major General Henry Knox" biography from The American Revolution Homepage website. (Submitted on October 28, 2009, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York.)
 
Gen. Henry Knox Trail Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Howard C. Ohlhous, November 18, 2008
4. Gen. Henry Knox Trail Marker
The marker is shown across State Street. The Springfield Technical Community College is in the background beyond the fence.
Gen. Henry Knox Trail Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Howard C. Ohlhous, May 15, 2008
5. Gen. Henry Knox Trail Marker
The cross walk across State Street near the marker leads to the High School of Commerce on the opposite side.
<i>The Noble Train of Artillery</i> image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, July 11, 2008
6. The Noble Train of Artillery
This Tom Lovell painting of General Knox and his soldiers transporting the cannons is on display at Fort Ticonderoga.
Gen. Henry Knox image. Click for full size.
Photographed By U.S. Army Center Of Military History
7. Gen. Henry Knox
Born in Boston, July 25, 1750,
and died October 25, 1806
Detail of Plaque image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 2, 2009
8. Detail of Plaque
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 16, 2020. It was originally submitted on October 28, 2009, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York. This page has been viewed 1,925 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on October 28, 2009, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York.   3. submitted on November 2, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.   4, 5. submitted on October 28, 2009, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York.   6. submitted on July 24, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.   7. submitted on October 28, 2009, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York.   8. submitted on November 2, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024