History Magazine Staffers to Walk the Knox Trail

In early winter of 1775, a young Boston bookseller and colonel in the Continental Army named Henry Knox made a risky proposition to General George Washington in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He offered to march with a small group of men to retrieve over 50 tons of cannon and other arms from Fort Ticonderoga in New York and bring them back through the cold, perilous countryside to Boston’s Dorchester Heights.

The plan was crazy; it’s success unlikely. Naysayers within the fledging American army said it couldn’t be done, but Washington was ready to take a risk. Boston was occupied by the military arm of locally-perceived tyrants, and nothing short of a miracle could pry them away.

In January, 1776, Knox delivered that miracle. Cannon brought over almost 200 icy miles were placed on Dorchester Heights. The threat of bombardment drove the British out of America’s Cradle of Liberty quickly and bloodlessly, marking an early and unlikely victory for the American upstarts.

The story of General Knox’s cannon is little known outside the American Northeast, and that of his heritage trail, the Knox Cannon Trail is less so. Established starting in 1926, this collection of 56 monuments in New York and Massachusetts quietly commemorates the American heroism of the “noble train of artillery.”

Unlike Boston’s Freedom Trail, the Knox Cannon Trail is infrequently walked. The reason is easy to see: It’s really long. Spanning two states, it was designed to be visited in pieces. That isn’t stopping Patriotsof the American Revolution’s editorial staff though.

PAR Managing Editor Benjamin Smith and Copyeditor Alex Culpepper are taking a rather untraditional vacation together, walking the entire Knox Cannon Trail from Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights, just as Knox and his men did. While they won’t be dragging cannon over frozen river any time soon, the intend to maintain a clip that would make Knox proud, with their shoe leather slated to walk up the Dorchester Heights Monument on Saturday, April 21. In their journey, they intend to raise money for Knox-associated sites Fort Ticonderoga, The New York State Military Museum, The General Henry Knox Museum, and the Boston National Historical Park.

Read more after the jump.

The idea came to Smith in October, 2011, while editing a piece on Knox for he magazine. He decided then and there that he wanted to see these sites for himself. “I started to think about how I could use the hike for good—to honor Knox,” he said. “I wanted to raise awareness about the Trail, and raise money for historical organizations and institutions with connections to Knox so to help promote and preserve our nation’s Revolutionary history.”

He threw the idea at PAR’s CFO, Vicki McClellan, who loved the idea. Smith committed to a blow-by-blow of the trip on the organization’s social networking sites, leaving the magazine in the able hands of editors David Reuwer and Mary Pacinda, designer Jaime Ferguson, and editorial assistant Erin McCarthy (see, kids! Entry-level can open doors!). McClellan had one stipulation, echoed by Smith’s fiancé: He couldn’t go alone.

Copyeditor Alex Culpepper jumped at the opportunity. The two men decided on April due to prior commitments as much as weather. They intend to cover all of Knox’s ground in about three weeks, documenting the trek for the magazine. “We hope to raise as much money as possible,” Smith declared. “We have already raised over $1000, and donations continue to come in every week.”

The duo recognizes their trip doesn’t require the same hardships Knox and his men faced, but this form of living history does put them face-to-face with history in a way that traditional reenacting doesn’t. “I know Alex and I will have an even bigger appreciation of – and respect for – Knox and other early Patriots, and their achievements, than we do now,” Smith said. “I suspect something like the Knox Trail Honor Walk can help illustrate how challenging certain events in American history were.”

While Knox’s trip may have been difficult, the PAR duo’s efforts are admirable. While many will spend their vacation days in the Caribbean or summer homes, these men will undertake a sometimes grueling and always educational exploration of American history for their own benefit, and for the benefit of the sites we honor, and hope to preserve.

You can learn more about the Knox Trail Honor Walk at PatriotsAR.com, or follow Benjamin and Alex on their trip on facebook.

Consider donating to the cause here. Even $5 will help.