NEW WINDSOR — Over the winter of 1780-81 at this headquarters, General Henry Knox organized the artillery for the projected attack on New York City. Soldiers, at the nearby encampment, repaired and trained on the guns, howitzers, and mortars. Tours of the house are being held on Sunday, February 16 at 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, and 3:00 PM, with a small cannon fired at 11:45 AM, 1:45 PM, and 3:45 PM. Knox’s Headquarters is located at 289 Forge Hill Road, Vails Gate, New York, 12584, just three miles south of the intersection of I-87 and I-84 and is 1 mile south, of the co-located National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and the New Windsor Cantonment. For more information please call (845) 561-1765 ext. 22.
“Mount Ellison”, the genteel combination English and Dutch-style stone house was built for prominent local merchant Thomas Ellison by an unknown number of skilled artisans and laborers between April and September 1754 under the direction of stonemason William Bull. During the American Revolution, Continental Army generals Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox and Horatio Gates used this house as a military headquarters. Inside these walls, General Knox planned and directed the gathering of the artillery that was used to win the Battle of Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. In 1783, Major John Armstrong, at the urging of Nationalists in the Continental Congress, wrote the letters sparking the Newburgh Conspiracy, calling for the army to menace the government with military force.
Nearby New Windsor Cantonment has a full schedule of activities from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Saturday, February 15 and Monday, February 17. For more information please call (845) 561-1765 X 22. Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site, at 84 Liberty Street, in Newburgh, has a full schedule of activities for the Presidents’ weekend. For more information please call (845) 562-1195.
Knox’s Headquarters is part of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The Palisades Interstate Park Commission administers 29 parks, parkways and historic sites for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in New York as well as the Palisades Interstate Park and parkway in New Jersey. For more information about New York State Parks and Historic Sites, please visit our website at www.nysparks.com.
