General Henry Knox with Cannon Sculpture - Otis, MA - U.S. Revolutionary War Memorials on Waymarking.com

During the Revolutionary War, in the winter of 1775-1776, General George Washington held the high ground around Boston while the British were firmly in control of the city. If Washington had artillery he could dislodge the British and retake Boston. The nearest available artillery was at Fort Ticonderoga, in up-state New York, which was under Continental Army control.

General Henry Knox then was commissioned, in December 1775, by General Washington to secure these artillery pieces and transport them from New York, through Massachusetts, to Dorchester Heights outside Boston. To do this General Knox successfully crossed the Berkshire Mountains and several large rivers, in winter, with fifty-nine pieces of artillery. When the artillery arrived in Boston, in early March 1776, General Howe realized the hopelessness of his position and evacuated the city.

The route through New York and Massachusetts is known as the Knox Trail and passes through the town of Otis, in the hills of western Massachusetts. To commemorate this historic trek and in honor the bicentennial anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Otis, a statue of General Knox, composed of welded metal parts and created by Gordon Chandler, was donated to the town by Charles Rosenblum. General Knox is standing upright next to and touching a cannon. A nearby granite tablet is inscribed: