Groton Monument: Fort Griswold's Darkest Day

This obelisk on the bank of the Thames River marks the site of Fort Griswold, where one of the bloodiest episodes of the Revolutionary War in New England unfolded on September sixth, seventeen eighty-one. Benedict Arnold, now fighting for the British, led a raid on New London and Groton. When the fort's defenders, outnumbered more than five to one, refused to surrender, British forces overwhelmed them, then massacred the garrison after it fell.

Eighty-five American soldiers were killed, many after laying down their arms. Colonel William Ledyard, who handed his sword to the British commander as a gesture of surrender, was immediately run through with it. The monument, erected in eighteen thirty, stands one hundred thirty-five feet tall.