In 1775, British ships had crowded the Boston harbor, and had made fighting for the revolutionaries an extremely difficult undertaking. At this point in the war for Independence, it looked like the royal navy would retain its grip on the colonies.
That is, however, until Henry Knox (a soldier in the Boston Grenadier core at the time) met with George Washington and came up with an answer that would save the American side. Knox proposed to retrieve massive artillery cannons from the recently captured Fort Ticonderoga in New York, but there were two problems: first, the total tonnage of the cannons came out to sixty, and with only manpower and oxen, the task to move them anywhere would be daunting. Secondly, the artillery would have to be moved in the dead of winter over frozen terrain, including Lake George. No matter how thick the ice was, sixty tons of heavy metal would surely test it.
Knox, however, saw this as the only option to win the war. In a span of two months, He and his men dragged the cannons around 300 miles with great difficulty, but were able to make it to Boston on January 25th, 1776. Once the cannons were set up and began their volleys, they stayed out of range of the British fleet, and the ships were forced to retreat to Nova Scotia approximately two weeks after the bombardment started. The expedition was officially labeled the Noble Train of Artillery.
As a resident of Lincoln, MA, I am constantly reminded of the various battles and events that occurred during the Revolutionary war in my town and the towns surrounding me, but I think the most prominent is the plaque that stands by itself in the middle of Weston center. On it reads the date of when the cannons were dragged through Weston, and by whom they were dragged. It is a monument of incredible importance because if it had not been for this act, the British might very well have won the war.
That is, however, until Henry Knox (a soldier in the Boston Grenadier core at the time) met with George Washington and came up with an answer that would save the American side. Knox proposed to retrieve massive artillery cannons from the recently captured Fort Ticonderoga in New York, but there were two problems: first, the total tonnage of the cannons came out to sixty, and with only manpower and oxen, the task to move them anywhere would be daunting. Secondly, the artillery would have to be moved in the dead of winter over frozen terrain, including Lake George. No matter how thick the ice was, sixty tons of heavy metal would surely test it.
Knox, however, saw this as the only option to win the war. In a span of two months, He and his men dragged the cannons around 300 miles with great difficulty, but were able to make it to Boston on January 25th, 1776. Once the cannons were set up and began their volleys, they stayed out of range of the British fleet, and the ships were forced to retreat to Nova Scotia approximately two weeks after the bombardment started. The expedition was officially labeled the Noble Train of Artillery.
As a resident of Lincoln, MA, I am constantly reminded of the various battles and events that occurred during the Revolutionary war in my town and the towns surrounding me, but I think the most prominent is the plaque that stands by itself in the middle of Weston center. On it reads the date of when the cannons were dragged through Weston, and by whom they were dragged. It is a monument of incredible importance because if it had not been for this act, the British might very well have won the war.
further reading
http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/knox.html
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/war-for-independence/resources/dragging-cannon-from-fort-ticonderoga-boston-1775
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/war-for-independence/resources/dragging-cannon-from-fort-ticonderoga-boston-1775