The New International Encyclopædia/Knox, Henry
KNOX,  (1750-1806). An American
soldier, prominent in the Revolutionary War.
He was born in Boston, where he was engaged
in business as a bookseller from 1770 to 1775.
He entered the Continental Army immediately
after the Battle of Lexington, served as aide to
General Ward at the battle of Bunker Hill and
during the siege of Boston, and distinguished
himself by procuring from Lake George and the
Canadian frontier a large number of cannon,

which were used by Washington in fortifying
Dorchester Heights. For this he was made a
brigadier-general of artillery by Congress. At
Trenton and Princeton he served with great
distinction, and was prominent in the battles of
Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth and at
Yorktown. He became major-general in 1781,
was one of the commissioners appointed in 1782
to negotiate the exchange of prisoners, and in
1783 was delegated by Washington to receive the
surrender of New York. From 1785 to 1795 he
was Secretary of War, having charge for a time
of the Navy Department as well, and then
removed first to Saint Georges, and later to
Thomaston, Maine, where he died. Knox was
one of the most intimate of Washington's friends,
and one of the most trusted of his advisers. As
an officer he was conspicuous for his bravery,
his skill in handling artillery, and his tireless
energy. Consult: Drake, Life and Correspondence
of Henry Knox (Boston, 1873); and Brooks,
Henry Knox, a Soldier of the Revolution (New
York, 1900).