John Adams and Today's "Holiday"

There was a brief and notable scene in last night's HBO miniseries on John Adams that has some bearing on today's historical anniversary. Adams is away in Philadelphia on political business, leaving Abigail with their three young children. It is pouring rain. One of the children hears a commotion outside. He goes to check, and reports seeing soldiers on the road. Fearing the worst (remember, this is a time of hostility between the colonists and the British) Abigail loads a rifle and peers through the rain at the passing contingent. The soldiers barely acknowledge her. They are clearly on their way somewhere. Eventually, she recognizes Colonel Henry Knox at the rear of the line. Knox reports that he's come across Lake George hauling guns taken from Fort Ticonderoga in December. Relieved, Abigail heads back inside to the children.

While this encounter between Abigail Adams and Colonel Henry Knox is probably fictional, Knox's journey from Fort Ticonderoga is not. In fact, as word of Knox's travels spread, crowds gathered on the streets to watch him pass. The story itself was an inspiration to the rebellious colonists and was told and retold for years to come. In 1927, as part of the 150th anniversary celebration of the Revolutionary War, markers were placed at six-mile intervals along the path Colonel Knox followed from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. The so-called "Knox Trail" can still be followed today. In fact, there is a marker just outside the Armory fence on State Street, across from High School of Commerce. It was in Springfield that Knox changed from oxen to horses, quickening the journey. Though the bronze plaque is clearly in need of some TLC, the inscription is plainly visible.

And what happened to those guns Colonel Knox hauled from New York to Boston? They were mounted in the city, at Dorchester Heights. The British, fearing bombardment, left Boston on March 17th, 1776. And that is why, on March 17th of each year, we celebrate "Evacuation Day." As the inscription on the plaque reads:

Through this place passed General Henry Knox in the winter of 1775 - 1776 to deliver to General George Washington at Cambridge the Train of Artillery from Fort Ticonderoga used to force the British army to evacuate Boston.

There is an effort currently underway to restore the markers along the Knox Trail. There are thirty in New York and twenty six in Massachusetts.