Fort Griswold

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Classical drawing of Fort Griswold by Benedict Arnold

Fort Griswold is an American military base, now decommissioned, in Groton, Connecticut. Named after then Deputy Governor Matthew Griswold, the fort played a key role in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War. In tandem with Fort Trumbull on the opposite side of the harbor, Griswold served to defend the port of New London, a supply center for the new Continental Army and a friendly port for Connecticut-sanctioned privateers who preyed on British ships.

Griswold was a key strategic position in the Battle of Groton Heights, but the British knew Griswold's inner workings thanks to the turncoat Benedict Arnold who gave numerous secrets of American defenses to the British forces he commanded. Arnold, knowing Griswold's layout and precise position, approached the harbor from such an angle that Griswold's gun positions could never draw an effective shot on the British fleet. Arnold's troops eventually made landfall, and the fort's garrison fought back. Artillery barrages and musket fire brought (relatively) heavy casualties to each side, the fighting continuing even past commands to fight. The British eventually captured the fort and tried to destroy it, though the plan was foiled as a patriot put out the British fire before it could reach Griswold's gunpowder stores. Arnold only commanded a raiding party, not a conquering force, so the fort was abandoned as Arnold left New London in flames.

The base would be rebuilt and manned in several other conflicts, but the Battle of Groton Heights was its most promenint use.