Politics and Military

He figures prominently in perhaps the most iconic image of the American Revolution: “The Death of Warren” by John Trumbull. He stands tall, a figure in a white shirt and brown vest, holding a musket, above the prone body of General Warren. Virtually every book about the American Revolution, and even a U.S. postage stamp, feature the likeness. Yet almost no one can identify Thomas Knowlton as that heroic figure.

Portrait believed to be of Thomas Knowlton. It has never been published before. Courtesy the author.

Born on Nov. 20, 1740 in West Boxford, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Thomas Knowlton was the son of William Knowlton (1706-1754) and Martha Pinder (1708-1775). He had three brothers and four sisters. He had deep roots in the New World. His four-times great-grandfather John Knowlton (1610-1653) and his wife Margery Wilson (1614-1654) had emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony from Kent County, England, in 1639.

His parents, William and Martha Knowlton, acquired a 400-acre tract of land in Ashford, Connecticut Colony, and moved there with their children in 1648. William had been a housewright — a builder and repairer of houses — and now became a farmer. He most probably still supplemented his income with his housewright skills. As with all farm families, his sons, including Thomas, would have done much of the daily farm work.

Down on the Farm

On the edge of the then wilderness, life on the farm in Ashford would have been hard, and more than a little repetitive and dull for a young boy.  William Knowlton died in 1753 when Thomas was only 13. That meant the brothers had to work even harder to keep up the farm. Except for nearby small towns, the area was still wilderness, though now largely devoid of Indian menace. The the younger Knowlton brothers would probably have spent what little free time they had hunting and exploring.

Center of the town of Ashford in 1836

The last of the colonial wars between England and France began in 1755. This war, unlike the others before it, would involve pitched battles between regular forces. Some have described it as the first world war. For young men, the lure of adventure after the monotony of farm life would have been a siren song. Probably through no little influence of his older brother Daniel, in 1755, 15-year-old Thomas enlisted as a private, along with Daniel, in Capt. John Durkee’s Windham County Connecticut Colony militia company. And in 1755 everyone in British America was thoroughly British, revolution wasn’t in the air, and many young men answered the call to arms against their ancient enemy, France.

The stand-up, open warfare that came 20 years later to America didn’t exist for the most part in this war. Much of it was fought in the wilderness and also against wilderness forts. For the British, scouting would become an important factor, and Thomas and Daniel would excel in that field.

Thomas Knowlton, Soldier

According to an 1845 history by Charles Coffin that included an 11-page biography of Thomas Knowlton, “…he was engaged in several close actions, in one of which he came in contact, hand to hand, in the woods with a French officer, when he flung down his musket and closed in with him, they both fell, the Frenchman uppermost, but Knowlton extricated himself and succeeded in taking the life of his adversary.” Coffin also places Knowlton with Maj. Robert Rogers in the August 1758 fight that pitted 500 rangers against an equal number of French and Indians.

Portrait of Robert Rogers

It was a hot affair that saw much close fighting. The problem, of course, with most 19^th century histories, including Coffin’s, is that they rarely cited sources. So it is impossible to know how much is truth and how much grew with the telling over the years. Knowlton himself left no known written record of his French and Indian War service. Whatever the exact truth, he was certainly seen as a valuable soldier.  By 1760, Thomas Knowlton had steadily risen in the ranks from private to sergeant major and finally ensign in Major John Slapp’s 3^rd Company, First Connecticut Regiment. In 1761, he served as an ensign in Capt. Robert Durkee’s 10^th Company, First Connecticut Regiment.  Then in 1762 he served as a lieutenant in Capt. Hugh Ledlies’ 10^th Company, First Connecticut Regiment, from March 15 to Dec. 10, 1762.

Marriage and Siege

On April 5, 1759, 18-year-old Thomas Knowlton married 17-year-old Anna Keys (1742-1808), though he was still engaged in fighting the French and Indian War. She was the daughter of Sampson Keyes (1719-1806) and Abigail Brooks (1721-1801), born in Ashford, Connecticut Colony. In 1760, they would have the first of their three sons and six daughters. All but one of would survive into the 1800s. The new bride would have had a difficult life as her husband was still serving with militia forces.

Israel Putnam

Here the record becomes confusing because some histories claim he was also in Israel Putnam’s Company at the Siege of Havana. The siege, which took place from June 16 to Aug. 6, 1762, happened during the same period he served as a lieutenant in Capt. Hugh Ledlue’s 10^th Company. To add to the confusion, the payroll record of Putnam’s company at Havana does not list anyone by the name of Knowlton. He almost certainly belonged to the over 3,000 colonial forces that took part in the Siege. But exactly who he fought with is unclear. Coffin’s 1845 history puts Knowlton with General Lyman’s troops. In any event, he was lucky to survive. The British, though victorious, suffered many more deaths from disease than combat.

Selectman Thomas Knowlton

Returning home near the end of the conflict, Thomas Knowlton resumed the life of a farmer working the 400-acre family farm, and by all accounts a successful one. Well-respected in his community, in 1773 he won election as Ashford town selectman — at 33, very young for that position. By this time, eight of his nine children had been born. He most likely would have spent the rest of his life as a successful farmer, lost mostly to history, if not for the events of April 1775.

Gen. Thomas Gage

It is unknown when Thomas began to change his views from British patriot to a growing dissatisfaction. Connecticut, not a hotbed of the coming turmoil, had generally been at odds with Massachusetts politics. However, when Gen. Thomas Gage seized the powder stores at Cambridge in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the word quickly spread among the colonies. False rumors accompanied the news, as in many instances before and during the Revolution. One rumor had it that British soldiers fired upon the colonists. Several thousand Connecticut men answered a call to arms before cooler heads prevailed. General Israel Putman went to Boston and learned the alarm was false. A slow match was lit however, and it would not be long before the rumors of violence became fact.

Siege of Boston

The news of the confrontation and fighting of April 19, 1775, reached the small town of Ashford the next morning. Ashford’s location on the Middle Boston Post Road, running from Hartford to Boston, meant news of Lexington and Concord travelled as fast as a good horseman could ride. As with all New England towns, Ashford had a militia company that belonged to the Fifth Connecticut Militia Regiment. It quickly formed, ready to march to Boston. While it’s unclear whether Knowlton was an active member of the militia at the time, he hastened to join up. The company had no captain, and quickly elected Knowlton to fill that post.

Moving swiftly, the unit reached Massachusetts before any other outside the colony did. Joining the forces then beginning to lay siege on Boston, Knowlton’s company became part of Gen. Israel Putnam’s Connecticut Regiment as the 5^th Company, stationed at Cambridge.

As with most sieges, the men saw little action and endless days of drudgery. The new colonial army, in fact, was really a group of undisciplined rabble. Most had joined up with no idea of what real military service was like. While some, like Knowlton’s troops, had leaders with combat experience, most did not. A good number of these men had seen service in the French and Indian War, but they did not make up the majority of the rank and file. Even those with combat experience had seen their service mostly in the wilderness. Supplies of food, medicine and ammunition were scarce. In reality, only the poor British leadership allowed the siege to continue during the first month.

The Battle of Breed’s Hill

In the midst of this turmoil and false quiet, the British decided to act. On the night of June 16, 1775, the colonial forces proceeded to occupy Breed’s Hill (universally misidentified as Bunker Hill) on the Charlestown peninsula. Capt. Thomas Knowlton commanded 200 Connecticut men from mixed companies. They took up a position on the colonial left flank at the edge of the Mystic River. They quickly threw up a makeshift redoubt, but with open flanks. Meanwhile, British ships in the harbor fired on the area.

“Battle of Bunker Hill” by Howard Pyle

In the early morning of June 17, 1775, Captain Knowlton received orders to occupy the redoubt. However, he saw the isolated redoubt had an exposed flank at the Mystic River that would have allowed the enemy to outflank it. An 1895 book, “Statue of Colonel Thomas Knowlton Ceremonies at the Unveiling,” offers a description of Knowlton’s actions:

Dropping back about 190 yards to the low ground on the left, he found a stone fence, surmounted by two rails, stretching across the fields toward the river. Parallel with this a second rail fence was hastily thrown up and the interval packed with freshly mown hay. Here the detachment was soon joined by a body of two hundred fresh troops from New Hampshire.

 

(The book, author uncredited, was published to celebrate the unveiling of the Knowlton statue on the grounds of the Connecticut State House.)

Rustics Behind the Fence

The colonial forces on Breed’s Hill now awaited the inevitable assault of the British troops. They had several hours to wait, however, which allowed them to continue to build up defenses.  The British landed near Moulton’s Point and then stayed there for two hours unmoving, as more troops arrived.  During the interval, more colonial troops came to reinforce Knowlton’s position. The “Statue of Colonel Thomas Knowlton” then continues the narrative:

While General Pigot with a single column made a demonstration against the redoubt General Howe led two columns along the beach and across the fields that skirted the Mystic with the view of flanking the garrison and cutting off its retreat. He anticipated little resistance from the rustics behind the fence…

 

Waiting for the approach of the enemy within easy range, and taking deliberate aim, they poured a broad stream of lead into the advancing column. In a few minutes the field was strewn with the slain, and the broken ranks fell back beyond reach of our guns. A second time they were brought to the charge and a second time were driven back…Knowlton, while cheering his men, repeatedly fired his musket till it was knocked into a semicircle by a cannon-ball [sic]. He was stunned by the blow and reported killed, but quickly recovered.

Pyrrhic Victory

Assuming the truth of the story, the blow he suffered must have come from a spent round near the end of its trajectory. Otherwise, he would have been cut in half. The story goes on to claim that he kept the rifle, which the family prized as a trophy until it disappeared. However, the incident seems more fantasy than reality. Why would anyone, let alone a combat leader then hotly engaged with the British, carry around a useless rifle? That would make him unarmed. Wouldn’t he discard it, pick up a good rifle and continue to fight – a task for which he needed two free hands? A battle souvenir would have been the last thing on his mind at that point when survival was not at all assured.

Knowlton’s men had 48 rounds at the start of the battle however. They could still could offer a stout resistance. But elsewhere on the field, the colonial troops were running out of ammunition. It was just a matter of time before they would lose Breed’s Hill. More Connecticut troops joined Knowlton. He now had about 400 men at his disposal, as the redoubt on his right was abandoned. As the rest of the colonial line began to collapse, the Connecticut troops formed the rear guard. That allowed a somewhat orderly retreat. The British had gained a pyrrhic victory, suffering two-and-a-half times the casualties as the colonials. But they gained the field of battle.

“The Battle of Bunker Hill,” by Winthrop Chandler

Maj. Thomas Knowlton

At some point after the battle, Knowlton won promotion to major. As “Statue of Colonel Thomas Knowlton” stated:

As the season advanced, Knowlton’s company, now brought to a high standard of military discipline, served by common consent as a sort of body guard to Washington, ‘with whom he was an especial favorite’.

In truth, Knowlton probably did expect a high degree of military discipline from his troops. Washington would have known of his exploits and leadership abilities (as would be demonstrated later). But the story that his unit belonged to  Washington’s bodyguard may or may not be true. Up to March 11, 1776, Washington had no formal guard. After that date, he created what would become known as Washington’s Life Guard, in which Knowlton took no known part. It is entirely possible that, at some point in the siege, Knowlton’s men formed part of a guard for Washington before the creation of a formal guard.

On Jan. 1, 1776, the 20^th Regiment of the Line was created mostly from Connecticut troops, with Benedict Arnold appointed colonel. (Arnold, then absent, was fighting in Quebec.) John Durkee served as lieutenant colonel and Thomas Knowlton as major.

The British now occupying Breed’s Hill, the Siege of Boston went back to its daily routine of stalemate. The horrific casualties suffered by the British at Breed’s Hill had damped their leaders’ appetite for pitched battles. George Washington, now in command of the colonial forces surrounding Boston, had to cope with an untrained and unruly force. But he also could not just stand completely idle. In January 1776, he decided to make a raid on Charlestown to burn the houses that had survived the Breed’s Hill battle and now sheltered the British.

Very Hot Fire

On Jan. 8, 1776, Maj. Thomas Knowlton, with Washington’s knowledge, led 200 men from various units on a night attack on Charlestown. Stealth was the order of the day, since a British force sat on Breed’s Hill overlooking the town. British ships still sat in the harbor, making a withdrawal after the raid difficult if caught too soon. If Knowlton left a record of the affair, it has never surfaced, but Coffin’s 1845 book states:

Lieutenant Trafton, of the party, observed many years after, ‘that it was considered at the  time an operation of great hazard, especially in securing a retreat; but we had entire confidence in the officer commanding, that he could effect it if any officer in the army could do it…

John Adams witnessed the action from a distance.

A very hot Fire both of Artillery and small Arms has continued for half an Hour, and has been succeded [sic] by a luminous Phoenomenon [sic], over Braintree North Common occasioned by Burning Buildings I suppose.

The raid ended successfully.  The colonial forces destroyed the homes where the British officers stayed and they captured several prisoners.  They also suffered no casualties. If Knowlton was not yet in Washington’s  sights, he surely was after this exploit. The next day, he thanked Knowlton in his general orders.

Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton

The Siege of Boston ended on March 17, 1776, when the British abandoned Boston. Shortly thereafter, Washington marched his army toward New York. Passing through Connecticut, Knowlton had the opportunity to visit his family. Unbeknownst to all, it would be the last time.

The British evacuate Boston, March 17, 1776.

By the start of the summer, Washington had positioned his forces in the countryside around New York City. He stationed Knowlton’s forces at Bergen, New Jersey Colony. On Aug. 12, 1776, Knowlton was promoted to lieutenant colonel and placed in command of the newly formed ranger unit that would bear his name.

Knowlton’s Rangers resulted from George Washington’s need for a trained, reliable unit of scouts. Knowlton’s scouting efforts in the French and Indian War, and his leadership during the Siege of Boston, made him the perfect pick for a ranger unit commander. The unit consisted of 130 hand-picked men and 20 officers from Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Working as scouts and light infantry, they immediately went to work feeding Washington with valuable intelligence.

On Aug. 22, 1776, the British landed a force of about 24,000 men on Long Island. They quickly marched toward New York City and defeated Washington’s forces at the Battle of Brooklyn. With yet another chance to crush the rebellion, British commanders hesitated again. That allowed Washington to secretly evacuate his army across the river onto Manhattan Island. The British soon followed however, and occupied New York City proper on Sept. 15, 1776. The colonial forces took a blocking position in Harlem Heights, then open country and not part of the city proper.

Ill-fated Espionage

Washington sought a man to penetrate the British lines in New York City and bring back much-needed intelligence. Consulting with Knowlton and asking for a volunteer among his captains, 21-year-old Nathan Hale stepped forward. He was, in fact, not the first choice. When Lt. James Sprague was asked, he stated: “he was ready to fight at any time or place however dangerous but never could consent to expose himself to be hung like a dog.”  I doubt anyone at the time knew how prescient that statement was.

While there is no doubt that Hale was brave in the extreme, he was totally unsuited for the role of a spy. Hale was described as “peculiarly free from the shadow of guiles,” possible the greatest trait necessary for a spy. He would be quickly caught, tried and hanged the day after capture on Sept. 21, 1776. Nathan Hale would go into history based largely on his statement, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” The only source for the statement is a British office not present at the time.

Nathan Hale, illustration, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

The last saga in the life of Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton would take place on Harlem Heights during the Sept. 16, 1776 battle. The morning of the battle, Knowlton and a force of rangers were sent out to locate the British positions. Moving through the then-hilly woodland, they encountered a larger enemy patrol bent on the same mission. In what today is described as a ”meeting engagement,” both sides opened fire. Outnumbered, the rangers retreated in good order, pursued by the British force. Once the rangers reached their lines, they made a stand, temporarily halting the British.

Harlem Heights

Washington rode to the front to assess the situation just as the British Light Infantry came into view. They sounded the bugles in an echo of a fox chase, a calculated insult taken as such. Washington saw an opportunity to defeat the British force. While the colonial forces in front of them pinned down the British, Knowlton’s Rangers, supported by three Virginia companies, were ordered to outflank them and cut off their rear.

The Battle of Harlem Heights. New York Public Library.

As the British fell back about 800 feet, Knowlton’s Rangers moved around the flank along Bloomingdale Ridge. The British were again driven back, but that movement interfered with Knowlton’s plans for attacking from the British rear. As his rangers came out of the woods, they found themselves on the British flank instead of the rear. It was too late now. Knowlton led a charge along with the other colonial forces that forced the British back to their own lines. While leading the charge, Knowlton was shot in the body. His second in command, Capt. Stephen Brown, was by his side:

My poor Colonel, in the second attack, was shot just by my side. The ball entered the small of is back. I took hold of him, asked him if he was badly wounded. He told me he was, but, says he, ‘I do not value my life if we do but get the day’. I then ordered two men to carry him off. He desired me by all means to keep up this flank. He seemed unconcerned and calm as though nothing had happened to him.

Death of Knowlton

Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton lingered an hour before dying of the wound. His son Frederick (1760-1841), who was in his command, was present at his death. Washington’s General Orders of Sept. 17, 1776, stated:

The gallant and brave Colonel Knowlton, who was an honor to any country, having fallen yesterday, while gloriously fighting, Captain Brown is to take command of the party lately led by Colonel Knowlton.

Although all-in-all a small affair, as much a skirmish as a battle, Harlem Heights was the first victory of the fledgling colonial army. While the British suffered twice the casualties, nothing changed except the loss of one of Washington’s best officers. With full military honors, Lt. Colonel Knowlton was buried somewhere along what is now Saint Nicholas Avenue between 135^th and 145^th Streets in Harlem. As there is no record of the body being found or moved as Harlem was developed, it can be assumed that it was lost and destroyed during subsequent building.

More details
A plaque honoring the death of Colonel Knowlton, on the Mathematics Building at the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University, near the spot where he fell.

After the burial, Washington sent Knowlton’s son Frederick home to care for is mother and younger siblings.

Having no body, the Town of Ashford erected a cenotaph over the burial site of his wife. It stated,

This monument is erected in memory of Colonel Thomas Knowlton and his wife. That brave colonel, in defense of his country, fell in battle September 16, 1776, at Harlem Heights, Island of New York, age 36 years. Mrs. Anna, the amiable consort of Colonel Knowlton, died May 22, 1808, age 64, and buried beneath this monument.

Statehouse Statue

In 1895, Connecticut dedicated a statue of Colonel Knowlton on the Statehouse grounds near the corner of Trinity Street and Capitol Avenue. Depicting Knowlton striding with a drawn sword, the base reads:

In memory of Colonel Thomas Knowlton of Ashford Conn. who as a boy served in several campaigns in the French and Indian Wars, shared in the siege and capture of Havana in 1762, was in immediate command of Connecticut troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill, was with his commands closely attached to the person of Washington, and was killed at the Battle of Harlem Heights, September 16, 1776, at the age of thirty.

Thomas Knowlton statue at the Connecticut State Capitol

Colonel Knowlton is also remembered by the modern United States Army. The seal of the U. S. Army Intelligence Service bears the date “1776”, since the creation of Knowlton’s Rangers is considered both the birth of the Army Intelligence Service and the birth of the Army Rangers. In June 1995, the Military Intelligence Corps Association established the Knowlton Award. The award

recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the promotion of Military Intelligence in ways that stand out in the eyes of the recipients, their superiors, subordinates, and peers. These individuals must also demonstrate the highest standards of integrity and moral character, display an outstanding degree of professional competence, and serve the MI Corps with distinction.

Images of Thomas Knowlton

No life images of Thomas Knowlton are known to exist. A 1773 description of him does:

He is described at this time as about six feet tall, slender but sinewy, of dark hair, blue eyes and fair complexion, erect and handsome, affable and courteous, with winsomeness that drew friends and a constancy that held them.

Thomas Knowlton (detail from “The Death of General Warren”)

Exactly where Trumbull got the image for Knowlton from his “Death of Warren” painting is unclear. But Trumbull did know Knowlton in life, both having been present at the Siege of Boston. So, there is every likelihood that the image is a fair representation of Knowlton. The statue image of Knowlton was probably taken from the painting. The author is in possession of a portrait of Knowlton that is a family heirloom. Its origin is also a mystery, although it appears to have been executed in the 19^th century. It is assumed that that portrait image also came from the Trumbull painting.

***

Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton is the author’s 4 times Great Grandfather.

Images: The Death of Warren from By John Trumbull – From the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, accession #1977.853: http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/the-death-of-general-warren-at-the-battle-of-bunker-s-hill-17-june-1775-34260, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51935. Plaque commemorating Thomas Knowlton By Beyond My Ken – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46979037

Washington’s General Order about Knowlton’s death is available on line is his handwriting.