Washington Gets His Guns: Henry Knox and the "Noble Train"
by Gilder Lehrman Institute Staff
During the stormy winter of 1775–1776, Col. Henry Knox, Washington’s 25-year-old chief of artillery, and his teamsters moved a mammoth sixty tons of artillery from Fort Ticonderoga, across the Hudson River, and through the Berkshires to Boston to help drive the British out of the city. Crossing snow and ice, the men relied on ox- and horse-drawn wagons and sledges to traverse the perilous terrain and help achieve this early Revolutionary War victory.
On December 4, 2025, our curators discussed Henry Knox’s epic expedition with Dr. Phil Hamilton, professor of history at Christopher Newport University.
Download the slides from the presentation here.
FEATURED DOCUMENTS
- Letter from Henry Knox to George Washington, 1775
- Letter from William Knox to Henry Knox, December 14, 1775
- Letter from Henry Knox to Lucy Knox, January 5, 1776
USE THE TIMESTAMPS BELOW TO JUMP TO THE TOPIC YOU WANT TO VIEW
0:00–1:20: Introduction and Today’s Document
1:21–9:04: Henry and Lucy Knox
9:05–10:57: Timeline of 1775 Expedition
10:58–12:24: Revolutionary War Artillery
12:25–20:12: John Becker’s Account of the 1775 Expedition
20:13–42:06: Henry Knox’s Letters
42:07–43:56: Revolutionary Military Strategy
43:57: Q&A
RELATED RESOURCES
Spotlight on a Primary Source: Dragging cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, 1775
Spotlight on a Primary Source: A plan for a new government, 1775
Spotlight on a Primary Source: The British evacuation of Boston, 1776
Spotlight on a Primary Source: Henry Knox’s Order of March to Trenton, 1776
Spotlight on a Primary Source: Henry Knox on the British invasion of New York, 1776
Spotlight on a Primary Source: A family torn apart by war, 1777
Video: Inside the Vault: Lucy Knox
Video: Inside the Vault: Black Patriots of the American Revolution
Video: Inside the Vault: Treason in the American Revolution: Benedict Arnold and John André
Video: “Women and the Revolution” with Carol Berkin, CUNY
Video: “Myths of the American Revolution” with Carol Berkin, CUNY
Essay: “The War for Independence” by Ray Raphael
Essay: “The American Revolution, 1763–1783” by Pauline Maier, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Exhibition: Timeline: The American Revolution
Exhibition: Revolutionary War Veterans
Lesson Plan: The American Revolution: The Boston Massacre, “Yankee Doodle,” and the Declaration of Independence, 1770–1783
Lesson Plan: Black Women and the American Revolution