Henry Knox (31 page)

Knox went to Philadelphia with Washington as most of the Continental Army filled in the trenches around Yorktown before heading back to the fortifications along the Hudson River in November. With no major campaign to plan, Henry could turn his mind to private life and spend more time with Lucy. She gave birth to another son, whom they named Marcus Camillus, after a Roman soldier and statesman whom Knox admired, on December 10. The couple spent several anxious days after the birth, plagued by the memory of Julia's death just eleven months earlier. The boy appeared to be healthy as Lucy nursed him to strength. George Washington was named the child's godfather. His brother William was unable to restore the bookstore in Boston to profitability. William chose to embark on a second business trip to Europe. He set sail in 1781 with plans to visit the Netherlands and France in an attempt to further establish business connections.

The end of the war seemed to be in sight, and Knox could bask in the glory of Yorktown. From South Carolina, Nathanael Greene wrote Knox on the same day as the birth of Henry's son: "Your success in Virginia is brilliant, glorious, great and important. The Commander-in-chief's head is all covered with laurels, and yours so shaded with them that one can hardly get sight of it."

Greene and Knox were both enjoying the kind of military fame that they had so coveted as youths. Now, however, they wished only for an end to military life. Greene wrote to Knox that "I hope at some future day, when the cannon shall cease to roar, and the olive-branch appears, we shall experience a happy meeting. Your great success in Virginia gives me the most flattering hopes that this winter will terminate the war.“
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Knox's duties took a diplomatic turn. An agreement needed to be reached with the English to exchange thousands of prisoners of war, which included not only soldiers but civilians who had been rounded up by both sides. Washington
appointed Knox and Gouverneur Morris to negotiate the prisoner exchange. Morris was a cock-eyed former New York congressman who now lived in Philadelphia and served as assistant to the secretary of finance. Morris, whose artful pen would later help write most of the U.S. Constitution, continued to be a prominent figure in Philadelphia despite the handicap of having had a leg amputated after falling from his carriage in 1780.

The task of exchanging American and British prisoners was complicated, not only because the costs of housing them had to be negotiated equitably but because the British commissioners still refused to concede American independence. They had every reason to stall the talks while the British government decided whether to renew the war.

Knox and Morris set out on Tuesday, March 12, 1782, for Elizabethtown, New Jersey, to meet with the British commissioners, William Dalrymple and Andrew Elliot. Knox was familiar with Dalrymple, who had commanded the two British regiments that occupied Boston from 1768 to 1770.

While Knox was in Elizabethtown, Congress finally acted on Washing-ton's recommendation that Henry be promoted to the rank of major general. A year earlier, Congress had resolved that promotions to major general should be based on age rather than battlefield performance. This mandate left Knox, who was not yet thirty-two, ineligible for promotion for several years. Washington sent several letters to congressional leaders lauding Knox's performance and supporting his promotion. A month after the victory at Yorktown, Rhode Island delegate James Varnum rose in Congress to declare the seniority system "stupid," particularly in Knox's case. After deferring the question for several months, delegates granted Knox the appointment of major general on Friday, March 22, "on account of his special merit and particularly for his good conduct at the siege of Yorktown.“
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Knox became the youngest major general in the America army.

Negotiations with the British over prisoner exchanges began on Sunday, March 31, and were immediately bogged down with postponements and heated debates. Knox soon realized that no agreement could be reached and that the British commissioners had no authority to grant the American demands. He and Morris rejected several of the British proposals, including an offer to exchange American citizens taken prisoner directly for British soldiers. Knox thought this policy would quickly augment the number of British troops in America without adding any more soldiers to the American army. The British meanwhile refused to agree to several of Knox and Morris's demands, including a requirement that all Americans held anywhere in the
world by English authorities be set free. At the time, Henry Laurens, the former president of Congress and father of Washington's aide John Laurens, was being held in the Tower of London.

Negotiations grew much tenser when Knox and Morris learned that an American officer had been murdered while being transported from New York to Elizabethtown to be exchanged. The victim, Captain Joshua Huddy, was hanged on Friday, April 12, by the British captain Richard Lippincott in retaliation for the earlier murder of a loyalist named Phillip White. A sign pinned to Huddy's hanging body served as a warning to anyone who did harm to loyalists: "Up goes Huddy for Phillip White."

Knox and Morris sent Washington a report of the murder on Tuesday, April 16. Washington immediately polled twenty-five of his officers as to what action to take, and twenty-two said that a demand should be made for Lord Clinton to turn over Huddy's murderer to the Americans.

Washington demanded that Lord Clinton hand over Lippincott or else a British captain would be randomly chosen by lots from the ranks of prisoners and be put to death in retaliation and to discourage further mistreatment of U.S. prisoners. The British responded that Lippincott had been tried by the British and exonerated after claiming that he was merely following orders, although Clinton denied sanctioning Huddy's murder.

Unable to resolve the issue, Knox and Morris decided to wrap up the prisoner-exchange negotiations without reaching accord on any of the key issues. Feeling slighted and disrespected by the English commissioners, Knox wrote to Washington on Sunday, April 21, explaining why he believed the negotiations had been fruitless: "Every circumstance we observed convinced us, that we never shall obtain justice or equal treatment from the enemy, but what were in a position to demand.“
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In the same letter, Knox thanked Washington for his hand in Congress's decision to promote him. "I cannot express how deeply I am impressed with a sense of your kindness, and the favorable point of view in which you have regarded my feeble attempts to promote the service of my country. I shall ever retain, my dear General, a lively sense of your goodness and friendship, and shall be happy indeed if my future conduct shall meet with your approbation.“
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Knox and Morris reported the circumstances surrounding the failed negotiations to Congress, where delegates approved their decisions "for refusing to admit the other propositions insisted on by [the British].“
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Knox and Lucy then packed their bags and, with their three children, left Philadelphia in mid-May and headed to Newburgh, New York, along the Hudson, where Washington had set up his headquarters and the American army was encamped to keep watch over the British in New York City.

Washington's hard-line policy seeking retaliation for Joshua Huddy's murder, meanwhile, became highly controversial and stirred emotions across the country. Many believed that the tactic of threatening to execute an innocent British soldier as a way to discourage acts of violence against American prisoners was misguided and unjust. Charles Asgill, a nineteen-year-old captain from a well-connected British family, was chosen as the potential victim of the policy, and sympathy for him welled. Among those who questioned the practice was Alexander Hamilton, who suspected that Knox might feel equally uncomfortable with it. Writing from Albany on Friday, June 7, Hamilton reminded Knox of his role on the board that decided to execute Major John Andre: "If we wreak our resentment on an innocent person, it will be suspected that we are too fond of executions." Hamilton recognized that Washington placed a great deal of faith in Knox's judgment. He conveyed his opinion through Knox, in part because his relationship with Washington had become strained in the previous year. To Knox, Hamilton appealed: "I address myself to you upon this occasion, because I know your liberality and your influence with the General.“
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Knox, however, responded that as draconian as the measure appeared, he knew of no other way to prevent the murder of American prisoners by loyalists. He told Hamilton that Washington was not fond of executions and did not take the drastic policy of hanging innocent soldiers lightly. Asgill's life was spared, and he was set free by Washington later that year after mounting pressure from the French.

Knox set up his headquarters at West Point, where he placed the artillery park and stored much of the army's ordnance. Ever fond of entertaining, he orchestrated a celebration of the birth of the French Dauphin, the son of Louis XVI. A huge shelter was erected, and thousands of soldiers attended the daylong festivities. The highlight of the event was the evening ball. Lucy was in high spirits and enjoyed herself dancing. A newspaper reported that "His Excellency General Washington was unusually cheerful. He attended the ball in the evening and with a dignified and graceful air, having Mrs. Knox for his partner, carried down a dance of twenty couple in the arbor on the green grass.“
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After Knox had a chance to thoroughly inspect West Point and its tributary posts, he was alarmed at their vulnerability. Due to the army's depleted finances, he had been unable to transport shells and ordnance to the fort. Knox did not think it could withstand more than ten days under siege and estimated that as much as 1,000 tons of ammunition were needed to secure its safety. In July, he urged Washington to place more emphasis on such a vital link in the country's defenses, whatever the costs.

Washington decided to appoint Knox as the commander of West Point. In notifying Knox of the assignment on Thursday, August 29, Washington wrote: "I have so thorough a confidence in you and so well am I acquainted with your ability and activity that I think it needless to point out to you the great outlines of your duty.“
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With Knox in charge at West Point, the location attracted prominent visitors, especially French officers and Henry's colleagues in the army. He had a reputation for hospitality and was popular in the army, and had forged many sincere relationships. Washington later commented on Knox's character and the attraction he represented to visitors in a letter to Benjamin Lincoln, saying that Henry possessed "great politeness, hospitality and liberality.“
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As Knox went about strengthening the defenses at West Point, his family was again struck with personal tragedy. Their nine-month-old son, Marcus Camillus, died on Sunday, September 8. The usually buoyant Knox was thrown into a deep despondency. The loss of the child, coupled with his concern for Lucy and the emotional toll of the war, all left him grasping to cope with his pain. In a letter written to Washington just two days after his son's death, he tried to make sense of the loss: "I have the unhappiness my dear General to inform you of the departure of my precious infant, your Godson. In the deep mystery in which all human events is involved the Supreme Being has been pleased to prevent his expanding innocence, ripening to such perfection as to be a blessing to his parents and connections, when by their advanced years they may find every comfort necessary to sweeten life rendered bitter by a thousand stings."

In the same letter, Henry expressed his concern over whether Lucy could endure the anguish of losing another child. "Mrs. Knox by leaning upon the great principles of reason and religion will be enabled I hope to support this repeated shock to her tender affections.“
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Washington expressed his sympathies in a letter written on Thursday, September 12: "In determining to submit patiently to the decrees of the all-wise disposer of human events, you will find the only true, and substantial
comfort under the greatest of calamities. In addition to this, the lenient hand of time will no doubt be necessary to soothe the keener feelings of a fond and tender mother.“
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Henry found it difficult to shake off his depression. He became more solitary than at any time in his life. Letters from even close friends languished without reply. Benjamin Lincoln, who had been named secretary at war under the Confederation government, became concerned.

Lincoln persisted with the correspondence, however, and in one letter raised the issue of pay for the soldiers, suggesting that the men might accept a lump sum for their pension because many state leaders opposed the plan to grant half pay for life. Knox responded apologetically for staying out of touch but expressed his willingness to help lobby Congress and state leaders on behalf of the Continental soldiers.

Knox felt unsettled by fears that another revolt would erupt if the soldiers continued to be denied the emoluments promised prior to enlistment. If the troops decided to march to Philadelphia to coerce Congress at musket point to pay them, the unrest would lead to the ruin and disgrace of the army, Knox believed, and the suffering and sacrifices endured by the troops throughout the Revolution would have been in vain. To Knox, the unblemished honor of the Continental force after eight years of hardship needed to be preserved, even at a high cost.

But there was even a larger issue at stake. If a battle over pay erupted between the army and civil authorities, America's attempt at republican government might be sacrificed in the struggle and the goal of the revolution might be lost to intemperate passions.

Yet Knox also had to consider his own financial situation. Since the beginning of the war, he had longed to provide Lucy with a stable home and give her the style of life she had been accustomed to during her youth. She had been the daughter of privilege and the wife of misfortune. His wife and children had been deprived of countless comforts during the conflict, and Knox felt an acute anxiety over whether he would receive his considerable back pay. How could he tell Lucy that their trials and tribulations would not be rewarded by peacetime prosperity?