Two sets of patriots prepared for battle Sunday.
As the New England Patriots were getting ready to fight on the football field, New England patriots readied themself to help fight on the battlefield, albeit for a war that happened centuries ago.
History buffs stopped in Framingham as they commemorate the 250th anniversary of Henry Knox’s “Noble Train of Artillery” — the Revolutionary War operation that moved tons of weaponry from Fort Ticonderoga to outside Boston.
The Revolutionaries had seized Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, hoping to use its artillery to help the Continental Army outside Boston. Knox was only 25 years old and a book seller by trade when he was assigned the monumental task by General George Washington. His efforts through the 300-mile journey helped liberate Boston from the British siege.
Fort Knox in Kentucky is named after the revolutionary war hero.
The reenactment of his mission started back in January and has moved through New England and the places Knox and his men traveled through back in 1776.
In Framingham, reenactors marched in a procession along with animals dragging cannons and other weapons in the snow. Then revolutionaries and their audience filed into Village Hall to hear more about the events that took place 250 years ago.
The mission’s next stop will be on Monday in Cambridge.
A fife and drum group march during Sunday’s procession to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Henry Knox’s “Noble Train of Artillery.” (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Clydesdales pull a canon during a procession commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Henry Knox’s “Noble Train of Artillery”. (Nancy Lane/ Boston Herald)
Captain Al Van Wert fires his musket during Sunday’s procession. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Minutemen march during a commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Henry Knox’s “Noble Train of Artillery”. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Mallory Hayes, with HKS Clydesdales, holds the reins of her horses as they pull a cannon during Sunday’s procession. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)