Most everyone can say they have certain talents where they shine and others not so much. It is not so common to find someone who excels at everything. Little is known of Washington's top General Henry Knox among current generations. It is time that stops. Henry Knox was responsible for beefing up the artillery. He approached George Washington with a plan and came back with wagons of artillery successfully. He picked out 6 cutting edge ships when the country could not afford a Navy and convinced Congress to buy them. These were cheaper and better. It was Knox's visionary smarts that recognized cheaper but faster was what was necessary. Always a problem solver, he worked on a commission with Governeur Morris on prisoner exchange. He kept this friendship cultivated and when the Revolution was over, he came up with the three headed government of checks and balances we use today- the legislative, executive, and judiciary. He jotted this plan of government down, sent it to Governeur Morris who was serving in the Constitutional Convention, and Morris made it happen. It is a fact that Morris wrote more of the Constitution than any other delegate. Knox was wise in character and leadership. When some of his colleagues were supporting General Gates to take over Washington's position, he was loyal and instrumental in Washington's continued command. He knew when to take action. When the heirarchy of the military was threatened due to the commissioning of too many foreign officers through Congress' political patronage, Knox drew a line in the sand and threatened to resign before his position was given away. He was successful. The members of Congress trusted and respected him. His political finesse and ability to get along with others was instrumental not only in the military, but for national strategy. A Henry Knox comes around once in a blue moon, when you see it- you must respect and utitilize it to its full potential. These leaders do it for the good of the people, not their egos. Study their character. Knox worked full time at a bookstore starting at age 12 to support his mother and brother. He read voraciously. He was an entrepreneur, he later opened his own bookstore. He was a risk taker. Once he figured out that weapons were to be had at Fort Ticonderoga, he developed a plan and successfully convinced Washington to give him the reigns to make it happen. So many are the jack of many trades, and masters of none. Not Henry Knox, virtually everything he touched turned into success for our young country. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Maybe one day, Congress will see fit to erect a memorial for him in our Capitol. Henry Knox is a great lesson in that to be a master of all trades one must be: smart, kind, hard working, a voracious reader, a do-er, diplomatic and loyal. To be successful, one must be focused on the good of others, like Knox, not on one's self
