News:
General Knox's Death
Attributed to Chicken Bone

General Knox and the Chicken Bone

General Knox survived the countless battles against the British. He survived the winters of Valley Forge, Morristown, Monmouth, Princeton, and the battle of Yorktown. But is it true that General Henry Knox met his demise because of a chicken bone?

"In 1785, Knox retired to his home in Thomaston, Maine. A survivor of incredible hardships and torrents of shot and shell, in the end Henry Knox didn't fall on the battle field but was mortally wounded at the dinner table."

In 1806, while visiting a friend in Union, Maine Knox swallowed a chicken bone which supposedly punctured his intestine. He died of peritonitis three days later, on October 25, 1806 at the age of 56. He was buried on his estate in Thomaston (Knox County), Maine.

Yes it's true. A true story.

Read the story that was posted in the Black River Journal's Winter 2008/2009 edition. Click Here

Born on Jul. 25, 1750, America's first Secretary of War and the founder of the first American Military Academy, died on Oct. 21, 1806 - He is buried in Elm Grove Cemetery in Thomaston, Knox County, Maine alongside his wife Lucy Flucker Knox who was born on August 2, 1759 and died 18 years after Henry on January 20, 1824. The Thomaston Cavalry, a militia group he formed about 1800, marched at his funeral.

Left: General Knox's burial tombstone on his former estate in Thomaston, Maine.

For additional information on General Knox - Click Here

 

Submitted: April 16, 2009
Written by: Brooks Betz
Photos/Images by: Brooks Betz/ / General Knox Museum

 

Henry Knox's Profile

 

 

Rate and Comment on this post