Military History of Knox County

Excerpt from the History of Knox County by Albert Perry, published in 1912, pgs 239-241

"Knox County was named from a soldier, General Henry Knox, of Revolutionary War fame, chief of artillery under Washington and afterward secretary of war...

We have no record of any operations in the revolutionary war in Northwestern Illinois.   In the War of 1812 and the Indian wars preceding, the settlers took an important part, and the muster rolls have been preserved of several companies of rangers from the southern part of the state who were in that war.  These rosters are published in Volume 9 of the Adjutant General's Report of Illinois.  During this war the British incited the Northern Indian tribes to harrass the frontier settlements, and the settlers of Illinois Territory organized to protect themselves.  One of the expeditions, under General Howard from Fort Russell, marched up the Mississippi river to about the present site of Quincy, from there crossing over to the Illinois river to Havana, and from there to Peoria.  In this expedition Major Boone was sent with a force to scour the Spoon river country towards Rock river, and penetrated into what is now Knox county, crossing Spoon river, or the Amaquonia, as it was then called by its Indian name, probably about where the village of Maquon now stands, and from there returned to Peoria, or Fort Clarke as it was then known.  This is the earliest record that has been found of any military expeditions into what is now Knox county."

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Updated January 21, 2006