County Named, 1779

Henry Knox, for whom the county was named in 1779, was born in Boston in 1750, joined the Continental Army in 1775, served in the battles of Bunker Hill, Brandywine, Yorktown, and others, took command of artillery in 1775, was commissioned Major-General in 1781, proposed a military academy in 1779, became the first commandant at West Point in 1782, organized the Society of Cincinnati in 1783, served as U.S. Sec. of War from 1785 to 1796, and died in Maine in 1806.

Barbourville, Kentucky · United States