Knox Trail Marker - Alford, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 14.101 W 073° 27.224
18T E 627587 N 4677028
Massachusetts Knox Trail marker #1 in Alford, MA was erected 1927 to commemorate the transport of cannons from Fort Ticonderoga, NY to Cambridge, MA General Knox during the winter of 1775 -1776.
Waymark Code: WMHX84
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 08/22/2013
Views: 3
During he winter of 1775-1776 General George Washington held the high ground around Boston while the British were firmly in control of the city. If Washington had artillery he could dislodge the British and retake Boston. The nearest available artillery was at Fort Ticonderoga, which was under Continental Army control, in up-state New York.
General Henry Knox then was commissioned, in December 1775, by General Washington to secure these artillery pieces and transport them from New York, through Massachusetts, to Dorchester Heights outside Boston. To do this General Knox successfully crossed the Berkshire Mountains and several large rivers, in winter, with fifty-nine pieces of artillery. When the artillery arrived in Boston, in early March 1776, General Howe realized the hopelessness of his position and evacuated the city.
To commemorate this heroic trek a series of 56 historical markers denote the route that General Knox and his men travelled that winter. Twenty-six markers were erected in Massachusetts and thirty in New York for a total of fifty-six. The marker in Alford is number one in Massachusetts. The marker has a bas relief sculpture of General Knox and his men using oxen to transport artillery and the inscription.
AT THIS POINT
GENERAL HENRY KNOX
IN THE
WINTER OF 1775 - 1776
ENTERED THE
STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS
WITH HIS EXPEDITION
TO DELIVER TO
GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON
AT CAMBRIDGE
THE TRAIN OF ARTILLERY
FROM FORT TICONDEROGA USED
USED TO FORCE THE BRITISH ARMY
TO EVACUATE BOSTON
THE COMMONWEALTH
OF MASSACHUSETTS