Colonel Henry Knox’s “Noble Train of Artillery” – also known as the Knox Expedition – was an audacious feat of transportation, logistics, engineering, and sheer will and determination.
In May 1775, Fort Ticonderoga and nearby Fort Crown Point were captured from the British without combat. In November of that year, George Washington ordered Brother Knox (St. John’s Regimental Lodge, Morristown, NJ) to retrieve the heavy weaponry from the forts and transport them to Boston. Beginning in early December, Knox and his forces moved nearly 60 tons of cannon and other armaments approximately 300 miles by boat, horse, ox-driven sleds, and manpower. They crossed Lake George, the Berkshires, two semi-frozen rivers, forests and swamps, and poor-quality roads during the winter to reach their objective.
Due to the success of the mission, Washington began bombing Boston from Cambridge and Roxbury in early March 1776 and fortified Dorchester Heights. And on March 17, British General William Howe and his troops evacuated Boston, thereby ending the Siege of Boston.
To commemorate the significance of Knox’s accomplishment, New York and Massachusetts designated the route as the Henry Knox Trail and installed markers along the way.
Our 250th Commemoration Committee has envisioned the Colonel Henry Knox Noble Train of Artillery as one of our most significant and ambitious projects highlighting the unique relationship between Freemasons in Massachusetts and the events leading to the Revolutionary War. Big Statues, of Provo, UT, has been commissioned to cast a functioning replica cannon and to create a life-sized statue of Brother Knox.
A series of events are being planned along the Knox Trail to provide our brethren, family, friends, and communities the opportunity to celebrate the achievement, showcase our history, and further our relationships with towns and organizations in the area.
- August 2025: Great Barrington
- September 2025: Springfield
- October 2025: Old Sturbridge Village
- November 2025: Worcester
- December 2025: Lexington
- February 2026: Boston
- March 2026: Dorchester Heights
To ensure the success of the Noble Train Project, we need your help! Click here to learn more about how you can support this great program.
