—Douglas Knox to his brother Thomas¹

The crises of the era touched one of Fredericksburg’s oldest and most prominent families—the Knoxes. Thomas and Douglas Knox dreamed of college, careers, and families in 1914, before Douglas enlisted in the Marines—the threat of the draft weighed heavily on his mind.² The letters between these brothers, their sister, and their mother tell the story of a close-knit family supporting each other through tragedy, as well as the high local cost of the Great War.

The hardships of the war ended Douglas Knox’s college aspirations, and with the threat of being drafted, he enlisted with the Marines in January 1914.³ After training in South Carolina, Douglas was sent to France, where he frequently wrote to his mother and siblings about everyday occurrences: missing home, military training, and hopes for the future.⁴ Just months after arriving in France, Douglas was fatally wounded in the Battle of Belleau Woods, a significant Allied victory that came at a devastating cost.⁵

Mrs. Knox learned of her eldest son’s sacrifice two weeks later through a letter from the Red Cross.⁶ In a terrible coincidence, the local paper ran an article on false German death notices the same day, which the Knox family read and applied to the news about Douglas. For the next few weeks, the family undertook the heart-wrenching task of seeking the truth about their son, and Douglas’ death was finally confirmed. He was the first from Fredericksburg to give his life in the Great War.⁷

Thomas, meanwhile, had married and taken a job in Washington, D.C., after the death of his uncle, with whom he had previously been employed. Though Thomas did not enlist, he did not escape the reach of the war. Just months after losing his brother, Thomas collapsed while riding his bicycle home from work and died the next day of the Spanish Influenza, a deadly disease that returning soldiers brought from Europe. He left behind a grieving mother, sister, wife, and three small children.⁸

Knox Family Timeline

 

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 Notes

1.  Douglas Knox to Thomas Knox, May 29, 1918, Knox Family Collection, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Fredericksburg, Virginia.

2.  Douglas Knox to Thomas Knox, December 22, 1917, Knox Family Collection, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Fredericksburg, Virginia.

3.  Ibid.

4.  Douglas Knox to Thomas Knox, May 29, 1918, Knox Family Collection, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Fredericksburg, Virginia.

5.  Red Cross to Mrs. Loula Knox, July 5, 1918, Knox Family Collection, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Fredericksburg, Virginia.

6.  Ibid.

7.  Douglas Knox obituary, The Free Lance, August 10, 1918.

8.  Written family history account of the Knox family, Knox Family Collection, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Image Citations

1.  “Loula B. Knox & Family,” Photograph, 1916, Knox Family Collection, 2011-014-P-017-2, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Fredericksburg, Virginia.

2.  “Douglas H. Knox, Jr.,” Photograph, 1918, Knox Family Collection, 2011-014-P-014, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Timeline Image Citations

1.  “Thomas F. Knox, III, & Douglas H. Knox, Jr.,” Photograph, 1917, Knox Family Collection, 2011-014-P-016, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Note: This image appears for the December 22, 1917, event.

2.  Emmet to Mrs. E.M. Heflin, Postcard, April 22, 1918, 2003-002-002, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Note: This image appears for the March 24, 1918, event.

3.  Douglas Knox to Thomas Knox, April 21, 1918, 2011-014-004-010, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Note: This image appears for the April 21, 1918, event.

4.  Red Cross to Mrs. Loula B. Knox, July 5, 1918, 2011-014-004-012, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Note: This image appears for the July 5, 1918, event.

Voices of the Great War Citation

1.  E. Wilcox to Mrs. John T. Goolrick, April 23, 1914, Goolrick Family Papers, Section 6, Folder 1, Record No. 175536, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond.