Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park: The Groton Monument
Before I release my feature article about the Battle of Groton Heights and Fort Griswold, I wanted to touch on one more monument that can be found at Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park.
Behind me in the photo above is the massive Groton Monument, standing at 135 feet tall. It was built between 1826 and 1830. According to fortgriswold.org, the Groton Monument, "is the oldest monument of its type in the country." There are 166 total steps that lead to the top floor inside the monument. It is also inherently unique to the area of Groton, Connecticut, since it was originally built with granite quarried locally.
One of the other defining features of the Groton Monument is it's marble plaque with the names of the defenders who fell during the Battle of Groton Heights on September 6, 1781.
The marble plaque with the names of those who defended Fort Griswold on September 6, 1781.
Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park is a wonderfully preserved place that every American should visit at some point. It's the small stories of courage and sacrifice that can be found here that tell the unique story of the American spirit.