[Sailor Steve]

All this talk of Fort Knox is forcing old Steve to do what he does best - bring up boring history stuff. Henry Knox was born in Boston in 1750. As a boy he attended the Boston Latin School, but quit and became a bookstore clerk at age 12 to help support his mother. In his spare time Knox ran with Boston's street gangs, gaining a reputation as a good fighter.

Knox was a witness to the 'Boston Massacre' in 1770, and was a sworn witness at the trial, helping the defense conducted by John Adams.

In 1771 Knox opened his own bookstore, specializing in military studies and history.

In 1772 he was cofounder of the local militia, called the Boston Grenadier Corps. That same year he had an accident with a shotgun, losing two fingers of his left hand.

In 1773 he was a member of the Sons Of Liberty, and may have been involved in the Boston Tea Party.

When the shooting started in 1775. He and his wife fled the city and Knox joined the militia under general Artemus Ward, directing the American artillery fire at the battle of Bunker Hill.

Knox became a legend during the siege of Boston when he went to the recently captured Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York and transported all the cannon there back to Boston, 300 miles over mountains and rivers in mid-winter in a little less than two months, from December 5, 1775 to January 27, 1776. The new batteries were so imposing that the British abandoned Boston and moved the fleet there to Halifax. Today the route is called The Henry Knox Trail and is marked with plaques all along the trail.

Henry Knox was made a member of George Washington's personal staff, at which time he and Alexander Hamilton became lifelong friends. In 1779 he established America's first artillery school, at Pluckimen, New Jersey.

In 1782 Knox became the Continental Army's General Of Artillery, the youngest Major General at age 32.

In 1785 Henry Knox was appointed the nation's second Secretary of War. When the new Constitution was established and George Washington became the first president in 1789, Knox retained that position, being one of only four members of Washington's cabinet. The others were Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and Attorney General Edmund Randolph.

Knox died in 1806 after choking on a chicken bone. He survived the choking, but not the resulting infection. He was 56.