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On the morning of October 19, 1781, General Charles Cornwallis was ashamed of himself. Equestrian Washington The prior week had begun with General Cornwallis finding himself – along with his 8000 British, Loyalist American, and Hessian troops – hemmed in at Yorktown. He had consciously settled in there that spring, erecting fortifications, seemingly declaring the site permanently “British-held ground.” But gradually, things went against him. The American Commander in Chief, General George Washington, and French General Rochambeau moved in with their American and French troops… The great British Navy under Admiral Thomas Graves was unable to offer support, as French...

On January 13, 1776, General Washington sat down to write a letter to the Massachusetts state legislature, reporting how dire their situation was. Such letters were unfortunately to become the norm throughout America’s long War of Independence; the General felt that the civilian legislature needed to be kept apprised of the state of the fight, and in particular, they needed to know how much more material support the troops required from their government. In January of 1776, the Continental Army had been conducting the Siege of Boston for eight months. That’s eight months of sitting, encamped outside the most important...

"If three years ago any person had told me that at this day, I should see such a formidable rebellion against the laws & constitutions of our own making as now appears I should have thought him a bedlamite—a fit subject for a mad house." —George Washington to Henry Knox, on the subject of Shays Rebellion, February 3, 1787 You have to give Captain Daniel Shays this: When he launched his armed sedition against lawful authority, he at least was invited in. Overnight on Saturday, in an obscure corner of the Oregon wilderness, and contrary to the law, and in...

On this day in 1776, the Siege of Boston ended following the withdrawal of British troops by sea. The Continental Army had surrounded Boston to prevent the British from advancing for almost a year. Finally, Henry Knox's "Noble Train of Artillery" arrived with cannon captured from Fort Ticonderoga in early 1776. After Washington's army fortified Dorchester Heights with the cannon, the British realized their ships were threatened, finally withdrawing after failed attempts to destroy or capture the Continental position.

On this date in 1776, Henry Knox reported to General George Washington that cannon he had transported from forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point in upstate New York had finally arrived at besieged Boston. The move had taken six weeks to accomplish, involving men and oxen moving 60 tons of cannons and other supplies approxomately 300 miles in the middle of winter. Once the cannons were deployed at Dorchester Heights, the British withdrew their fleet from Boston Harbor, ending the siege. Knox would continue to serve under Washington through the Revolutionary War, eventually becoming the United States' first Secretary of...

Al-Jazeera’s Washington, D.C., Bureau Chief Abderrahim Foukara will speak tonight as part of a fundraiser for the General Henry Knox Museum. The Arabic news network’s journalist will appear at the Strand Theatre in Rockland as the annual gala’s keynote speaker... Foukara’s pending visit has sparked a public debate about the Thomaston museum’s choice of keynote speaker. Some have criticized the museum for legitimizing what they believe to be a “terrorist news network,” while others fully support the choice and view protesters as “narrow-minded extremists,” according to previous reports. Police plan to monitor any protests outside the theater. Foukara is expected...

The General Henry Knox Museum is honoring a representative of Al-Jazeera, the channel associated with various terrorist organizations, on July 28 on the stage of The Strand Theatre in Rockland, Maine. The museum says that an intimate Gala dinner and reception will follow at 7:30 p.m. at Camden National Bank’s historic Spear Block location in Rockland. Knox played a significant role in the American war for independence from Britain and was close to General George Washington. The idea of an American museum devoted to patriotism honoring a representative of a foreign-funded channel, described by Middle East experts such as Walid...

THOMASTON (March 17): Montpelier, the General Henry Knox Museum, is about to take a significant first step in implementing a Long-Range Capital Improvements Plan at its prominent site at the intersection of Routes 1 and 131 south. A $230,000 anonymous grant will make possible a relocated entrance to the property, installation of period cannons and two flagpoles; a paved parking area for 30 vehicles; walking paths, new landscaping, lighting and educational markers; and restoration of the original east elevation porch of Montpelier, providing for a visitors' entrance on the main level of the building. Work will begin soon and is...

Henry Knox was born in Boston to William Knox and Mary Campbell Knox in 1750. His parents were pioneers from North Ireland. Henry was the seventh of ten children. William Knox was a shipmaster, carrying on trade with the West Indies. Suffering from financial difficulties and all the mental stress and burdens that go with money woes, William died at the age of fifty. Henry gave up school and became the sole support for his mother. He became a clerk in a Boston bookstore, and eventually opened one himself. He was an avid reader, fond of history, but his main...