Lucy Flucker Knox
Before the American Revolution, British officers were stationed in Boston, and young bookseller Henry Knox catered to their needs. He provided the impression of being loyal to the King by allowing the British to mingle in his shop, which also offered him the opportunity to learn about British rumors and the army's tactical procedures, notably those relating to artillery. It also gave him the chance to pursue Boston's pretty Lucy Flucker, a young woman. Her parents, affluent landowners in Maine and Massachusetts, were against the union. The Knoxes were married in 1774 against the desires of her parents. When it was discovered that Henry was a patriot in 1775, Lucy's family abandoned her.
Henry Knox served as the Chief of Artillery for the Continental Army during the conflict. As part of her service, Lucy coordinated supply trains and other forms of assistance for the soldiers in the field. During the war, Lucy wrote Henry a letter in which she forewarned him that she had changed as a result of having to manage her husband's business dealings, and that upon his return, "...I trust you will not view yourself as commander in chief of your own house." Throughout the war, she joined her husband in camp at Valley Forge and other winter encampments.
Lucy supported her husband during the Revolutionary War and then in New York and Philadelphia when Henry worked as the country's first Secretary of War. Throughout their lengthy and seemingly content marriage, Lucy gave birth to 13 children, 10 of whom died as infants. She lived the rest of her days apart from her Loyalist family after 1775. Her letters to her husband, the most of which have survived, provide insightful accounts of the struggles and sacrifices made on the home front throughout the American Revolution. Throughout the founding of the United States, Lucy gave up her family, her fortune, and a life of luxury to assist the Patriot cause.
- Born: Lucy Flucker, August 2, 1756Boston, Massachusetts, British America
- Died: June 20, 1824 (aged 67)Thomaston, Maine, U.S.
