John Adams and Today's "Holiday" - Updated and Edited for Context

(Reposted from March 17th, 2008).

There was a brief and notable scene in 2008'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 General 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 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 General 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.

Update #1:

The State St. marker has benefited from the State Street Corridor Improvement Project. As I recall, in 2008 my visit to the marker was memorable because of an overflowing trash container nearby. The trash receptacles are greatly improved and seem to have increased in number as well. Here's the marker as it stands today:


Viewing the marker is a little awkward, and it was a little dicey backing out onto State St. during a traffic break to snap this photo. However, no librarians were harmed in the construction of this 'blog post.


Update #2 (h/t Mark Rakowski):

A new marker on the Trail was dedicated on March 17, 2009 in Roxbury.

While a 115-foot tower was erected in South Boston in 1902 to commemorate the fort where the cannons ended their journey, Roxbury’s role in the decisive Revolutionary War chapter has gone without official recognition.

“It’s always been an afterthought,” said Michael Bare, a member of the South Boston Citizens Association who is chairman of the Evacuation Day Heritage Committee. Bare worked with the Roxbury Highlands Historical Society and the National Park Service and Roxbury activists to have the marker erected.

On this day in 1972:

Bob Douglas became the first black man elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. Douglas not only coached the New York Renaissance, an all-black team which won 88 consecutive games in 1933, he also owned the team.