Avery Memorial Park Groton Connecticut

Christopher Setterlund, In My Footsteps: In My Footsteps: Trip 103 ...

&Nbsp;           My first journey into Connecticut also coincided with the one-year anniversary of my very first travel trip.  I decided to hit the mid-coast area of Connecticut and ended up being blown away by what I saw in Groton.  Located on the Thames River this city had a lot of things that I look for when choosing places to visit; specifically an amazing lighthouse and an historic earthen fort.  That alone would make Groton a must see, but there was so much more.             The first spot I visited was Fort Griswold.  Now a state park the fort was in use during the American Revolution and was attacked during the Battle of Groton Heights by troops led by turncoat Benedict Arnold.  As soon as you get close to the grounds your eyes immediately are drawn about 135 feet up into the sky; this is due to the impressive sight that is the Groton Monument.  Built in 1830 the monument, an obelisk which brought to mind the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston, was dedicated to all of the soldiers who died during the Battle of Groton Heights in 1781.             When I passed through the iron gates and onto the grounds of the fort I felt like I was passing into a different time.  Right away there is a stone marker depicting where Col. William Ledyard was killed by his own sword by a British soldier after surrendering the fort.  This was the beginning of the massacre at Fort Griswold.             I was all alone during my time here and that only added to the aura of this historic spot.  There is a short tunnel through a hill called the ‘Covered Way’ that shielded soldiers as they passed from the fort to the lower battery closer to the Thames River.  I walked through it and could imagine the sounds of gunfire from nearly 250 years ago.  The view down a cascading hill to the edge of the fort’s walls was incredible.  I did not realize how long of a walk it was until I got face to face with a pair of buildings at the bottom that were much larger than I had originally thought.

The Connecticut magazine

Directory of historic house museums in the United States

A History of Cleveland and Its Environs: Biography

1866-1916, Peddie institute, Hightstown, New Jersey

Guide to the history and the historic sites of Connecticut