Henry Knox - Secretary of War

Secretary of War

Congress finally appointed Knox the nation's second Secretary at War on March 8, 1785, after considering a number of other candidates. The army was by then a fraction of its former size, and the new nation's westward expansion was exacerbating frontier conflicts with Indian tribes. The War Department Knox took over had two civilian employees and a single small regiment. Congress in 1785 authorized the establishment of a 700 man army. Knox was only able to recruit six of the authorized ten companies, which were stationed on the western frontier.

Some members of the Confederation Congress opposed the establishment of a peacetime army, and also opposed the establishment of a military academy (one of Knox's key proposals) on the basis that it would establish an egalitarian military class capable of dominating society. Knox first proposed an army mainly composed of state militia, specifically seeking to change attitudes in Congress about a democratically managed military. Although the plan was initially rejected, many of its details were eventually adopted in the formation and administration of the United States Army. The need for an enhanced military role took on some urgency in 1786 when Shays' Rebellion broke out in Massachusetts, threatening the Springfield Armory. Knox personally went to Springfield to see to its defense. Although Benjamin Lincoln raised a militia force and put down the rebellion, it highlighted the weakness of both the military and defects in the Articles of Confederation that hampered Congressional ability to act on the matter. In the rebellion's aftermath Congress called what became known as the Constitutional Convention, in which the current United States Constitution was drafted. Knox in early 1787 sent George Washington a draft proposal for a government that bears significant resemblance to what was eventually adopted. When Washington asked Knox if he should attend the convention, Knox urged him to do so: "It would be circumstance highly honorable to your fame, in the judgment of the present and future ages, and double entitle you to the glorious epithet — Father of Your Country." This is possibly the earliest documented application of the phrase "Father of His Country" to Washington. Knox actively promoted the adoption of the new constitution, engaging correspondents in many colonies on the subject, but especially concentrating on achieving its adoption by Massachusetts, where its support was seen as weak. After its adoption he was considered by some to be a viable candidate for vice president, but he preferred to remain the war office, and the office went to John Adams. With the adoption of the new constitution and the establishment of the War Department, Knox's title changed to Secretary of War.

As part of his duties as Secretary of War, Knox was responsible for implementation of the Militia Act of 1792. This included his evaluation of the arms and readiness of the militia finding that only 20% of the 450,000 members of the militia were capable of arming themselves at their own expense for militia service as required by the act. To resolve this arms shortage, Knox recommended to Congress that the federal government increase the purchase of imported weapons, ban the export of domestically produced weapons and establish facilities for the domestic production and stockpiling of weapons. These facilities included the existing Springfield Armory and another at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. In 1792 Congress, acting on a detailed proposal from Knox, created the short-lived Legion of the United States.

When the French Revolutionary Wars broke out in 1793, American merchant shipping began to be affected after Washington formally declared neutrality in the conflict. Both France and Britain began interfering with American shipping. Most of the Continental Navy's few ships were sold off at the end of the revolutionary war, leaving the nation's merchant fleet without any defenses against piracy or seizure on the high seas. Knox urged and presided over the creation of a regular United States Navy and the establishment of a series of coastal fortifications.