Lucy Flucker Knox (August 2, 1756 – June 20, 1824) was an American revolutionary. She was the daughter of colonial official Thomas Flucker and Hannah Waldo, daughter of
Samuel Waldo
Samuel Waldo (August 7, 1696 – May 23, 1759) was an American merchant, land speculator, army officer and politician in the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
Biography
He was born in Boston, the son of Jonathan Waldo and Hannah Mason. In 1722, ...
. She married
Henry Knox
Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...
, who became a leading officer in the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. Lucy accompanied Henry and lived in the military camp during the war. She accompanied Henry Knox until he retired from the army in 1794.
Early life and education
She was born into a wealthy family of privilege. Lucy's father, Thomas Flucker, held office under the British colonial government and wanted Lucy to marry someone of a higher social status. However, in June 1774, Lucy married
Henry Knox
Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...
(1750–1806). Her parents disowned her because Henry was a merchant-class suitor at the time. Her family then fled for London once Boston had fallen to the revolutionaries. She would never see her family again.
Her affluent Loyalist-ranked family gave her access to homeschooled education and an extensive amount of resources at the house library. Even for a woman of elite social class, she was always regarded as someone with "extensive reading". She was a frequent visitor to Henry Knox's bookstore and that was where the couple first met in 1773 when Lucy was 17.
Life during the American Revolutionary War
During most of the Revolutionary War, Lucy and her husband were apart. Unfortunately, unlike other officers' wives, she wasn't able to get as many visits to the war camp. The reasoning behind Lucy Knox not receiving as many visits as other officers' wives was that she had already given up all she had (her family) for this patriotic cause and therefore her husband was resistant to her visiting and witnessing all the suffering. Even though they were separated for such a long time, Lucy and Henry didn't let their love die out and were connected through letters they sent each other. Their letters are preserved at the
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History was founded in New York City by businessmen-philanthropists Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman, Lewis E. Lehrman in 1994 to promote the study and interest in American history.
The Institute serves te ...
. They provide a first-hand view of one of the closest people to General Washington as well as an insight into the life of a war-hero spouse.
Personal life

Lucy (18) married Henry Knox (24) in Boston on June 16, 1774, in defiance of her Tory parents, Thomas Flucker, the crown-appointed secretary for the province of Massachusetts, and her mother Hannah (Waldo) Flucker, heir to the Waldo Patent in Maine. Her relationship with her parents frayed and then ended after the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.
Henry, an artillery expert, joined the Continental Army during the Revolution, and eventually became a general as Lucy followed him through the army camps of the war. There she birthed several children, some of whom died. Lucy’s elite background enabled her to plan and preside over military celebrations in the army camps and subsequent post-Revolutionary ceremonies, including Washington’s inauguration. Ultimately, Lucy birthed thirteen children but only three lived to adulthood.
In 1795, the Knoxes moved to what is now Rockland, Maine on land which was part of Lucy’s inheritance of the vast tracts of lands of the Waldo Patent. There she and Henry built a nineteen-room mansion, which they named Montpelier, and where they entertained hundreds of guests. Henry died in October 1806 at 56 years of age, leaving Lucy, 49, a widow. She died in 1824 at the age of 67.
Her namesake daughter, Lucy Flucker Knox, later Thatcher, was the mother of
Henry Thatcher, who would serve as an admiral in the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Lucy Flucker
1756 births
1824 deaths
People from Boston
Women in the American Revolution
People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution
18th-century American women