Hometown: Ashford, CT
Branch: Continental Army 
Unit: Knowlton’s Rangers
Date of Sacrifice: September 16, 1776 - KIA in Harlem Heights, Manhattan Island, New York 
Age: 35
Conflict: Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

Two months after the American colonies’ declaration of independence from the British crown, Thomas Knowlton was tasked by General George Washington with a reconnaissance mission that brought him into direct contact with the British army. Knowlton is considered to be America’s first military intelligence officer.

Thomas Knowlton was born on November 22, 1740, to William and Martha (Pinder Dean) Knowlton in the small village of West Boxford, Massachusetts—a few miles north of Boston. The Knowlton family was among the earliest English settlers in Massachusetts colony.

When Thomas was 8 years old, the family moved to a 400-acre farm near Ashford, Connecticut.

Early Military Experience

Knowlton’s military career began when he enlisted at age 15, taking up arms for England and the American colonies during the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Knowlton joined his older brother Daniel on scouting missions, fought in the Battle of Fort Bull/Wood Creek, took part in the expedition to capture the French Fort Carillon (renamed Fort Ticonderoga by the British), and participated in the siege of Havana, Cuba.

By age 20, Knowlton had been battle-tested and rose to the rank of lieutenant. He married Anna Keyes in 1759, and the two would raise nine children on the family farm in Ashford.

Knowlton served the community of Ashford as a selectman and a militia captain. With the news of hostilities breaking out between colonists and the British army at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, Knowlton and his militia hurried to Boston. There, his company of 78 men joined the colonists’ effort to surround the British.

Fighting for Independence

Knowlton’s collection of Connecticut farmers were the first volunteers to support Massachusetts from another colony, and it was reorganized into the 5th Company of the Connecticut Regiment under the command of General Israel Putnam.

With 200 men under his command, now Captain Knowlton played an important role in the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. His forces took a strategic position behind a rail fence on the eastern slope of Breed’s Hill, facing Boston’s Mystic River. From there, they rained fire on General William Howe’s British troops, preventing an advance.

Repeated attempts by the British to take the hill were repelled. Knowlton’s men held their position until a general retreat was sounded. The Connecticut regiment provided cover for the entire rebel force to escape after running low on ammunition.

According to the Journal of the American Revolution, one of the British soldiers at Bunker Hill wrote, “from an absurd and destructive confidence, carelessness or ignorance, we have lost a thousand of our best men and officers and have given the rebels great matter of triumph by showing them what mischief they can do us.”

After stubbornly holding his ground and inflicting heavy damage on British forces—and having lost only three men in the battle—Knowlton’s reputation as a fighter and leader drew the attention of General George Washington.

Reputation for Courage

Knowlton was promoted to the rank of major, and on January 1, 1776, led a raid on British-held Charlestown, Massachusetts. His mission was to burn the remaining homes and buildings still standing after the Breed’s Hill battle—to prevent the British troops from using the structures for housing or firewood.

The mission was successful, and Gen. Washington commended Knowlton for managing to also capture five British soldiers without firing a shot or losing a single man. Knowlton was promoted to lieutenant colonel over the Continental Army’s 20th Regiment on August 12, 1776.

Knowlton’s Regiment marched to New York to join Gen. Washington in defending the city.

America’ First Intelligence Officer

Gen. Washington selected Knowlton to form what we now call an elite “special forces” unit. Washington desperately needed information on the enemy’s strengths, weaknesses, and movements.

While sending scouts to gather information on the enemy was a common practice, the special unit formed immediately after the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence makes Knowlton America’s first official military intelligence officer.

The light infantry scouting unit came to be known as “Knowlton’s Rangers.” One of the Rangers, Captain Nathan Hale, slipped into Long Island disguised as a Dutch schoolmaster in search of work.

While Knowlton’s Rangers performed their mission on New York’s Manhattan Island, General Howe’s British army took control and forced General Washington’s troops to retreat. Despite being lightly armed, the Rangers successfully held back British troops for a time at the Battle of Harlem Heights.

Near the end of the skirmish, Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton was struck and killed by a British musket ball. He was 35 years old. In hearing of Knowlton’s death, Gen. Washington referred to him as “The gallant and brave Colonel Knowlton, who would have been an honor to any country…”

Remembering Lt. Col. Knowlton

In John Trumbull’s famous oil painting, The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker’s Hill, June 17, 1775, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton is depicted prominently, standing guard over the fallen General Warren.

In 1895, a bronze statue of Lt. Colonel Knowlton by sculptor Enoch Smith Woods was dedicated on the grounds of the Connecticut state capitol in Hartford.

LTC Thomas Knowlton was inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame in 1996.

In recognition of the Continental Army’s first military unit created for intelligence-gathering, the Military Intelligence Corps has established the Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton Award, which recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the promotion of Army Intelligence.

Sources
Today in Connecticut History—September 16: Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton Dies a Hero’s Death at the Battle of Harlem Heights
Revolutionary War Journal: Colonel Thomas Knowlton: Fearless Ranger of the American Revolution
Connecticut History: Thomas Knowlton: A Small Town’s National Hero
Journal of the American Revolution: Thomas Knowlton’s Revolution
U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame: Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton US Army (Deceased)
Burial Site: Find a Grave