Timeline: The Noble Train of Artillery → Evacuation of Boston (Nov 1775–Mar 1776)

🔹 16 November 1775 — Washington Gives the Order

George Washington orders Colonel Henry Knox, age 25, to travel to Fort Ticonderoga and retrieve the captured heavy artillery needed to break the siege of Boston.

People:

• George Washington

• Henry Knox

🔹 5 December 1775 — Knox Arrives at Fort Ticonderoga

Knox reaches Ticonderoga and begins selecting and preparing 59 pieces of artillery (cannon, mortars, howitzers) for transport.

People:

• Henry Knox

• Philip Schuyler (Northern Department commander assisting selection)

🔹 12–17 December 1775 — Sleds Built; Lake George Crossing

Knox orders construction of 42 heavy sleds and hires 80 yoke of oxen to haul the guns. He writes to Washington on 17 December describing the brutal conditions and near‑impossibility of the mission.

People:

• Henry Knox

• Local New York/Massachusetts teamsters and ox‑drivers

🔹 December 1775 – January 1776 — The Noble Train of Artillery

Knox’s convoy drags 60 tons of artillery roughly 300 miles across frozen rivers, mountains, and snow‑choked roads through New York and western Massachusetts.

The route includes: Fort George → Fort Edward → Saratoga → Albany → Kinderhook → Claverack → the Berkshires → Framingham.

Henry Knox nearly lost a cannon in the Hudson River near Albany, New York, in late December 1775, when one of the guns broke through the ice and fell into the river during the Noble Train of Artillery. Knox wrote that the cannon was recovered, though later discoveries suggest at least one may have been lost. 

People:

• Henry Knox

• His brother William Knox

• A small team of laborers and ox‑drivers

🔹 24–25 January 1776 — Artillery Reaches Boston Area

Knox arrives in Framingham on 24 January, and the guns reach the Continental Army headquarters at Cambridge on 25 January 1776.

John Adams inspects the artillery.

People:

• Henry Knox

• John Adams

• George Washington

🔹 2–4 March 1776 — Americans Fortify Dorchester Heights

With powder finally available, the Continental Army begins firing on Boston on 2 March.

On the night of 4 March, Washington’s forces move the largest guns onto Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston and its harbor.

British artillery cannot reach the position.

People:

• George Washington

• Henry Knox

• Continental Army engineers and laborers

🔹 5–16 March 1776 — British Prepare to Withdraw

General William Howe, recognizing the impossibility of holding Boston under the new American artillery threat, prepares his troops and Loyalist civilians for evacuation.

People:

• General William Howe

• British Army

• Boston Loyalists

🔹 17 March 1776 — British Evacuate Boston (Evacuation Day)

The British fleet departs Boston for Halifax, Nova Scotia, ending the 11‑month siege.

Washington watches from Dorchester Heights as the British withdraw.

People:

• George Washington

• William Howe

• Continental Army

• British Army & Royal Navy

Evacuation Day is a Holiday in Boston is March 17. It marks the day in 1776 when the British Army departed Boston after Washington’s forces fortified Dorchester Heights with Henry Knox’s artillery.

According to King’s Chapel’s own historical accounts, Rev. Henry Caner packed up the church’s silver on March 10, 1776, and departed for Halifax, Nova Scotia, along with many other Loyalists.   

This was one week before the British Army officially evacuated Boston on March 17, 1776.

The silver was removed because King’s Chapel was an Anglican royal chapel, deeply tied to the Crown. As the Continental Army tightened control over Boston, Loyalist clergy and parishioners feared confiscation or destruction of royal property—including liturgical objects.