Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park

Add a touch of reality to your Revolutionary War history lesson with a visit to Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park. The historical park is the site of the largest Revolutionary War battle in Connecticut, the 1781 British massacre of colonial militia. On September 6, 1781, British Forces, commanded by infamous traitor, Benedict Arnold, captured the Fort and massacred 88 of the 165 American patriots stationed there, including commander Colonel Ledyard.

Today, the park includes the original fort ramparts, the restored Ebenezer Avery House, where wounded colonists sheltered after the battle, the Groton Monument, a 135-foot granite obelisk, a Revolutionary War museum, and spellbinding views of the harbor and Fort Trumbull, across the Thames River. Fort Griswold was designated as Connecticut’s 60th state park in 1953.