. Historic fields and mansions of Middlesex. ,when completed,the best speci-men of militaryengineering theAmericans couldyet boast of, —receiving thename of Put-nams impregna-ble fortress. ToWashingtonsgreat surprise, hewas allowed tofinish the work without the least interruption from the Hill was within point-blank range of the enemyslines on Bunker Hill, and the post was designed to commandthe ferry between Boston and Charlestown, as well as to pre-vent the enemys vessels of war from moving up the river atpleasure, — a fully accomplished by arming the fort with18 and 24
. Historic fields and mansions of Middlesex. ,when completed,the best speci-men of militaryengineering theAmericans couldyet boast of, —receiving thename of Put-nams impregna-ble fortress. ToWashingtonsgreat surprise, hewas allowed tofinish the work without the least interruption from the Hill was within point-blank range of the enemyslines on Bunker Hill, and the post was designed to commandthe ferry between Boston and Charlestown, as well as to pre-vent the enemys vessels of war from moving up the river atpleasure, — a fully accomplished by arming the fort with18 and 24 pounders. As Colonel Knox had a principal share in laying out the forton Cobble Hill, the only one of the works around Boston he iscertainly known to have designed, the eminence should retainsome association with the name of this distinguished soldier ofthe Revolution. At the time he quitted Boston to repair to the Americancamp, Knox rented of Benjamin Harrod a store in old Cornhill(now the site of the Globe newspaper), who readily con-. OLD CHAELESTOWN EOAD. 173 sented that Knoxs goods might remain there, in the behef thathis tory connections — he had lately married the daughter ofSecretary Flucker — would be a safeguard for both. The store,however, was rifled by the British, and the landlord put in aclaim against Knox for the time it was shut up, which Knoxindignantly refused to allow. After the evacuation, WilliamKnox, brother of the general, continued the business of a book-seller at the same stand. When the Eevolution began, Knox was a lieutenant of theBoston Grenadiers, commanded by Thomas Dawes, with therank of major. Dawes was an officer of activity and address,and had exerted himself to bring the militia to a high standardof excellence. The presence of some of the best regiments inthe British service offered both a model and incentive for theseefforts. The company was composed of mechanics and profes-sional men, selected with regard to their height and martialb
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidhistoricfiel, bookyear1874
