In of the most remarkable feats of the war, patriot General Henry Knox ( a bear of a man–over six feet tall and weighing 280 pounds) and his men took 14 mortars (from 4 1/2 to 13 inches), two 8-inch howitzers, and 43 cannon (from 3 to 24 pounders) from Fort Ticonderoga. It was December of 1775 . Their destination was Washington’s army camped outside of Boston.
These 59 pieces had a combined weight of 60 tons– a vast weight in those days of practically no roads, of oxen and manpower. They moved down Lake George on various barges and bateaux. The south end of the lake was reached on December 17th, following which 2 1/2 months of struggles by men and oxen teams successfully transported the heavy ordinance to Washington’s troops.
On March 4, 1776, American forces besiege occupied Boston with Knox’s artillery. On March 17th, British General Sir William Howe abandons Boston and sails with 7,000 Royal Troops and Troy sympathizers to Halifax.
Every six miles from Ticondergoa to Boston one will see a marker like the one above markin the trail of General Knox’s Train of Artillery.
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