Travel in Time with Dan: Fictional Interview with Lt. Colonel Thomas Knowlton, America’s First Intelligence Officer (1740–1776)
Dan: Hello everyone! This is Dan Blanchard with the Travel in Time with Dan Show, where we mix travel, history, and leadership. Today, I’m standing here in Ashford, Connecticut, right near Knowlton Memorial Hall, a beautiful historic building that also serves as the town library. Behind me, you can see some really cool old buildings, including a little red house across the street that says “Warrenville.” But the real reason I’m here is to honor a true American hero… one who’s been called Connecticut’s forgotten hero, even though he should be remembered alongside the most famous names of the Revolution. Welcome, Lt. Colonel Thomas Knowlton.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: Thank you, Dan. It’s good to be remembered here in Ashford. This is home. These fields, these farms… this is what we fought for. Not glory, not fame, but the freedom to live peacefully on our own land.
Dan: Let’s start at the beginning. You were born in West Boxford, Massachusetts, in 1740, but your family moved here to Ashford when you were just eight years old. Tell me about growing up in this farming community.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: Ashford shaped everything I became. My father moved us to a 400-acre farm here, which included a lot of hard work, and honest work. We cleared land, planted crops, raised livestock. Life was simple but good. I received what education I could from the common schools, but my real education came from the land and from the people around me. This community taught me the value of service and sacrifice.
Dan: And then at just 15 years old, you enlisted in the French and Indian War. That’s incredibly young.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: Fifteen, yes. I was just a boy, really. But when duty calls, age doesn’t matter. I enlisted with my older brother Daniel in Captain John Durkee’s company. We fought at Fort Ticonderoga in 1758, which was a rough campaign. Later, I served in Cuba during the siege of Havana in 1762. That was particularly brutal. Of the 107 men in Israel Putnam’s company, only 20 returned home. Most lost to tropical disease rather than battle. I was fortunate to survive and return to Ashford.
Dan: By the time the Revolution broke out, you’d already seen significant military action. You’d also settled into civilian life. You got married Anna Keyes, had nine children, and became a selectman at age 33. You were a farmer again, just like Washington and Putnam. But when you heard about Lexington and Concord, what went through your mind?
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: I remember that day vividly, Dan. When the news reached Ashford on April 19, 1775, I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed my musket and powder horn and joined the Ashford Company militia immediately. We followed that pattern you mentioned… “Drop the plow, pick up the gun.” My fellow citizens unanimously elected me captain, and I led 200 men into Massachusetts. We were just farmers, Dan. No fancy uniforms, mostly just armed with shotguns, but we were ready to defend our liberties.
Dan: And then came Bunker Hill. Or more accurately, Breed’s Hill on June 17, 1775. That’s where you really made your mark.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: That battle was chaos, but also where I learned the importance of tactical thinking under fire. When we arrived at the redoubt on Breed’s Hill, I immediately saw a problem. The position had an exposed flank at the Mystic River, where the British could easily outflank us there. So I dropped back about 190 yards to some lower ground and found a stone fence with two rails running toward the river. My 200 Connecticut men quickly reinforced it with hay and grass to create better cover.
Dan: And that’s where you held your ground against the British advance.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: We did. The British came at us in their red coats, wave after wave. My men held firm. We poured volley after volley into them until our ammunition ran low. When the retreat was finally called, my regiment provided cover for the entire rebel force to escape. We only lost three men in that engagement, but we inflicted heavy casualties on the British. One British soldier wrote afterward that they’d lost a thousand of their best men and officers. We’d shown them what mischief we could do.
Dan: I’ve heard that you weren’t just brave. You led differently than most officers. Can you tell me about that?
Lt. Colonel Knowlton (smiles): You’re referring to my command style. Many officers would stand back and shout “Go on, boys!”… Ordering men forward while they remained safe. That never sat right with me. I always said, “Come on, boys!”… And I meant it. I led from the front. If I was asking my men to risk their lives, I would risk mine alongside them. That’s leadership, Dan. You can’t ask others to do what you’re unwilling to do yourself.
Dan: That courage got you noticed by General Washington himself, didn’t it?
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: It did. After Bunker Hill, Congress promoted me to major. A wealthy Boston gentleman even presented me with a gold-laced hat, a sash, and a golden breastplate — quite an honor. Later, during the Siege of Boston in January 1776, General Washington gave me a particularly challenging mission. I was to burn the remaining buildings at the base of Bunker Hill and capture any British guards there.
Dan: And you accomplished it without firing a single shot or losing a man.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: Stealth and intelligence, Dan. Sometimes the best victory is the one achieved without bloodshed. That mission demonstrated something crucial to General Washington. It showed I understood warfare wasn’t just about courage in open battle. Sometimes it required cunning, reconnaissance, and careful planning.
Dan: Which brings us to August 1776 and one of your most important contributions to the war, the creation of Knowlton’s Rangers.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: On August 12, 1776, General Washington promoted me to lieutenant colonel and gave me perhaps the most important assignment of my life. He asked me to hand-pick an elite group of men from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts… men who could move quietly, gather intelligence, and operate behind enemy lines. We became America’s first official intelligence unit. The date “1776” on the modern U.S. Army’s intelligence service seal refers to the formation of my Rangers.
Dan: This was revolutionary in itself. We created an organized intelligence operation.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: General Washington understood something critical: you cannot fight an enemy you don’t understand. We needed to know British strengths, positions, movements, and plans. My Rangers were light infantry. We could move fast, observe carefully, and report back with vital information. Among my men was a young captain from Coventry, Connecticut, named Nathan Hale. A brilliant, dedicated patriot.
Dan: Nathan Hale, who would become one of America’s most famous patriots. He served under your command?
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: He did. Nathan was exactly the kind of man I needed. He was educated, brave, and committed to the cause. When he volunteered to go behind enemy lines disguised as a Dutch schoolmaster to gather intelligence on Long Island, I knew the risks. We all did. But this was the hard work that needed to be done.
Dan: And just a week after your death, he was captured and hanged by the British.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: pauses, visibly moved Nathan’s death was a tremendous loss… Not just to me personally, but to General Washington’s intelligence efforts. Losing both of us within a week dealt a severe blow to our operations. But Nathan’s final words of “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country” captured the spirit of what we were all fighting for.
Dan: Let’s talk about September 16, 1776 — the Battle of Harlem Heights. What happened that day?
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: The British had invaded New York and driven us from the city the day before at Kip’s Bay. Washington pulled our forces up to Harlem Heights. That morning, he ordered my Rangers to probe the enemy lines to determine their strength and positions. We moved forward and encountered two battalions of Light Infantry supported by the Black Watch, the elite 42nd Regiment of Scottish Highlanders. Fierce fighters, those Scots.
Dan: You were outnumbered three to one.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: We were. But my Rangers held their ground. We poured seven volleys into those attacking Highlanders before pulling back. When the British pursued us, General Washington saw an opportunity to trap them. He ordered me and three companies of Virginia riflemen under Major Andrew Leitch to circle around and attack the British from behind while other troops attacked from the front as a decoy.
Dan: But the plan didn’t work exactly as intended.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: No. We moved too quickly and came out of the woods on the British flank instead of their rear. We’d lost the element of surprise. But it was too late to stop now. We had to press the attack. I rallied my troops, and we charged alongside the other colonial forces. For once, we were driving the British back to their own lines. It felt like victory.
Dan: And that’s when you were hit.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: touches his back A shot to the small of my back. My second in command, Captain Stephen Brown, was right beside me. He asked if I was badly wounded. I told him I was, but that I didn’t value my life if we could but win the day. I asked him to keep up the flank at all costs. I tried to remain calm, acting unconcerned, as though nothing had happened, because the men needed to see their commander unshaken.
Dan: Your last words were to your son Frederick, who was serving under you. He was only 16 years old.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: voice softens Yes. Frederick had accompanied me to war, fighting alongside his father. As they carried me off the field to prevent capture, I told him: “You see, my son, I am mortally wounded. You can do me no good. Go fight for your country.” I wanted him to keep fighting… not for me, but for the cause we both believed in.
Dan: You died an hour later. General Washington called you “the gallant and brave Colonel Knowlton, who would have been an honor to any country.”
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: Washington’s words were generous. But Dan, I was just one man among thousands who gave everything for independence. The important thing isn’t that I’m remembered. It’s that the cause succeeded. We won that battle at Harlem Heights. It was the first significant victory after a string of defeats. It showed that Americans could stand and fight, that we could drive the British back. That mattered more than my life.
Dan: You were buried with full military honors somewhere along what’s now Saint Nicholas Avenue in Harlem, between 135th and 145th Streets. Your body was never recovered.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: Lost to time and the growth of the city. But that’s fitting, in a way. The land I fought for has grown and thrived. Harlem Heights, once a battlefield, became homes and schools and life. That’s what we fought for. We didn’t fight for monuments to ourselves, but a future for others.
Dan: Though there are monuments… a statue at the Connecticut State Capitol by Enoch Smith Woods, where you’re depicted in that iconic moment at Bunker Hill. You even appear in John Trumbull’s famous painting “The Death of Warren” that tall figure in the white shirt and brown vest, holding a musket above General Warren’s body. And of course, here in Ashford, too.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: I’m honored by those tributes. But the real monument to what we built is the nation itself. And the fact that intelligence gathering and special operations have become essential parts of America’s defense. The Knowlton Award, established in 1995 by the Military Intelligence Corps Association, recognizes those who make significant contributions to military intelligence. If my work inspired that tradition of excellence and service, then my brief life had meaning.
Dan: Brief but incredibly impactful. Mr. Knowlton, you mentioned two leadership lessons in your life… leading from the front and doing the hard jobs nobody else wants to do. Can you expand on those?
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: Of course. First, leading from the front isn’t just about physical position. It’s about being willing to endure what you ask others to endure. At Bunker Hill, my men saw me standing with them, facing the same danger. That builds trust and courage. A leader who hides while ordering others into danger loses the respect of their people.
Second, doing the hard jobs, the jobs nobody wants, that’s where real service happens. Nobody wanted to gather intelligence behind enemy lines. It was dangerous, unglamorous work. You could be caught and hanged as a spy, as Nathan Hale was. But it was absolutely necessary. Leaders don’t just do what’s easy or what brings glory… they do what must be done.
Dan: Those lessons apply far beyond the battlefield, don’t they?
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: They apply to every aspect of life. In your workplace, in your community, in your family; there are always hard jobs that need doing. There are always times when you need to lead from the front rather than pushing others ahead of you. True leadership is about service and sacrifice, not comfort and acclaim.
Dan: Here in Ashford, your memory lives on. The Knowlton Memorial Hall stands as a tribute to you, and just up Route 44 East toward Rhode Island, about a mile from here, visitors can find the site of your old home, the Knowlton Hermitage, which is now a scout camp.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: I’m glad my home became a place where young people learn outdoor skills and leadership. That feels appropriate. This land shaped me, and now it shapes new generations. That’s the circle of life and legacy.
Dan: Colonel Burr… yes, that Aaron Burr, knew you personally and said of you: “I had a full account of the Battle from Knowlton’s own lips, and I believe if the chief command had been entrusted to him, the issue would have proved more fortunate. It was impossible to promote such a man too rapidly.”
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: Aaron was generous in his praise. But I served where I was needed. Not every leader needs the chief command. Sometimes the most important work happens in smaller roles; such as, training elite units, gathering intelligence, and holding a critical position in battle. I was content to serve where General Washington needed me most.
Dan: Let me ask you this: you lived only 35 years, but in that short time, you fought in two major wars, raised nine children, served your community as a selectman, and created America’s first intelligence service. What drove you?
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: Love, Dan. Love of this land, love of my family, love of freedom. I was born a subject of the British Crown, but I chose to become a citizen of a free nation, even though that nation didn’t yet exist. We were building something new, something that had never been tried before… a republic where ordinary farmers like me could have a voice in our own governance. That was worth fighting for. That was worth dying for.
Dan: And that brings us to the leadership lesson this memorial poses. When people stand here at Knowlton Memorial Hall, or visit the statue in Hartford, or learn about you in history books, what do you want them to take away?
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: I want them to ask themselves three questions. First: “What am I building that will outlast me?” I built an intelligence service that evolved into the Culper Spy Ring, Army Rangers, Army Intelligence, and Special Forces. My life was short, but that contribution continues. Second: “Am I willing to lead from the front in my own life?” Don’t ask others to make sacrifices you won’t make yourself. And third: “Am I doing the hard, necessary work, even when no one is watching or applauding?” The most important work is often the least glamorous.
Dan: Powerful questions for any leader in any era.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: Leadership isn’t about titles or monuments, Dan. It’s about service. It’s about being willing to stand in the gap, to do what’s necessary, to build something that serves others. Whether you’re farming in Ashford, commanding troops in battle, or serving in whatever capacity life calls you to… that principle remains the same.
Dan: Colonel, before we conclude, I have to ask about your description. Historical records describe you as “six feet high, erect and elegant in figure, and formed more for activity than strength.” You were known for your speed and agility as much as your courage.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: laughs Yes, I was built more like a deer than a bear. That served me well in reconnaissance work and in quick maneuvers on the battlefield. But remember, Dan, physical strength isn’t the only kind of strength that matters. Mental strength, moral strength, the strength to keep going when everything seems lost, those matter just as much, if not more.
Dan: Lieutenant Colonel Knowlton, thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your legacy. You may be Connecticut’s “forgotten hero,” but standing here in Ashford, learning your story, I don’t think anyone who truly knows your life could ever forget you.
Lt. Colonel Knowlton: Thank you, Dan. And remember that I was just one of thousands who gave everything for the cause of freedom. Honor them all. Remember them all. And most importantly, live lives worthy of their sacrifice.
Dan: Here in Ashford, Connecticut, at Knowlton Memorial Hall, we remember Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton, the farmer, father, warrior, and America’s first intelligence officer. His life reminds us that true leadership isn’t measured by how long we live, but by how fully we serve. It’s not about seeking glory, but about doing the necessary work, leading from the front, and building something that outlasts us. From the fields of Ashford to the heights of Harlem, Thomas Knowlton showed us what it means to answer the call of duty with courage, intelligence, and unwavering commitment to a cause greater than ourselves.
This is Dan Blanchard, reminding you that travel, history, and leadership are forever intertwined — and that the lessons of the past light the way for our future.
Uncovering History. Inspiring Leadership. The Travel in Time Show is where travel, history, and leadership intermingle with history teacher, author, and speaker Dan Blanchard.
