Groton Monument

Groton Monument and Fort Griswold, a sketch by John Warner Barber for his Historical Collections of Connecticut (1836)

Monument, erected in 1830, commemorates the American troops massacred by the British following the surrender of Fort Griswold in the Battle of Groton Heights during the American Revolution

The Groton Monument, sometimes called the Fort Griswold Monument is a granite monument in Groton, Connecticut.

It is dedicated to the defenders who fell during the Battle of Groton Heights on September 6, 1781. Built between 1826 and 1830, the Monument stands 135 feet tall with 166 steps. The adjacent Monument House Museum features exhibits about the Revolutionary War and is operated by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Visitors can climb the monument and visit the museum from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

The monument was designed by the partnership of Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis. It was begun in 1826 and completed in 1830. The monument was originally topped by a cupola. In 1881, to commemorate the centennial of the Battle of Groton Heights, the cupola was removed and replaced by an iron-capped pyramid in emulation of the Bunker Hill Monument.^[1]

A plaque affixed to the monument above the entrance reads

"THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT, A.D. 1830, AND IN THE 55TH YEAR OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE U.S.A. IN MEMORY OF THE BRAVE PATRIOTS, WHO FELL IN THE MASSACRE AT FORT GRISWOLD, NEAR THIS SPOT, ON THE 6TH OF SEPT. A.D. 1781, WHEN THE BRITISH, UNDER THE COMMAND OF THE TRAITOR, BENEDICT ARNOLD, BURNT THE TOWNS OF NEW LONDON AND GROTON, AND SPREAD DESOLATION AND WOE THROUGHOUT THIS REGION.

References

External links

Media related to Groton Monument at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 41°21′18″N 72°04′46″W / 41.3550°N 72.0794°W / 41.3550; -72.0794