Fort Trumbull, Part 2
For the 250th anniversary of the United States, I took a three-day patriotic trip to the Thames River National Heritage Park in Groton and New London, CT. On Day 1, I spent the morning touring Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, which included its monument, museum, and the interior of the fort, followed by an early afternoon boat tour, and a visit to Avery-Copp House (first part, second part). After making several quick history stops around Groton, I finished the day at UCONN Avery Point. The second day began at Fort Trumbull in New London. In the first part of this four-part mini series, I learned the architectural history of the fort and explore its interior. In the second part, I explore the views around the fort and informational signage about the wars in which the fort served.
Spectacular views about from the top of the fort after climbing the very cool, comparatively not too long winding stairs. To the far left is Gold Star Memorial Bridge, twin bridges that allow I-95 / US-1 cross Thames River between Groton and New London. As largest structure in the state, it has a combined eleven lanes of highway. The older twin was completed in 1943, while the younger twin originally opened in 1973, closed for reconstruction about two weeks later, and finally opened for good in 1975. Straight across the river is General Dynamics Electric Boat company, which was established in 1899 and still has a shipyard in Groton on the Thames River. The first prototype made by the company was constructed that year, while the “practical submarine”, perhaps meaning that it worked consistently in a somewhat safe capacity, was completed the next year in 1900 under the instruction of John Holland. The boat was fittingly called USS Holland and purchased by the U.S. Navy. Other neat boat projects include the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine launched in 1954 (the same year The Fellowship of the Ring was published) and the current Virginia-class submarine, named “Coolest Thing Made in Connecticut” by Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) in 2024.
Back down on the ground floor, detailed signage accompanied by life-sized cutouts described the many wars where Fort Trumbull was a participant. The fort was named after colonial governor, Jonathan Trumbull. The first version was made of earth-and-sod walls up to sixteen feet thick but had no protection on the side facing inland. During the attack led by Benedict Arnold on September 6, 1781, which the sign erroneously states as “six weeks before the end of the war”, the fort was destroyed, and New London was mostly burned down. Congress approved funding to rebuild the fort around 1808. This fort was mad of stone and brick along with sod, had five sizes, and held eighteen guns. Troops moved in during the War of 1812, but the British never attacked, although they did blockade the harbor. By the time of the American Civil War, the structure was upgraded to a Third System fort but never faced any attacks, although the soldiers fought each other while on leave in New London.
After the Civil War until 1910, the fort received upgraded guns every few years. The fort became the place where New England troops left for Cuba or the Philippines during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The fort turned into the Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction in 1910, which trained officers in what would become the United Stated Coast Guard just five years later in 1915. When the United States entered World War I two years later in 1917, the newly formed Coast Guard sent its officers to the fort. The Coast Guard Academy is now located just up the river. The fort was also used for research on antisubmarine devices. By the time of Prohibition in 1920, the Coast Guard used the fort as a base to stop rum smuggling.
The fort was used by several other branches of the military in its length career. During World War II, the Merchant Marines used Fort Trumbull, having established the U.S. Maritime Service officer training school there in 1939, although the program ended in 1946. The area was used by scientists from Colombia for testing radio sonobuoys, a device dropped into the water by planes and transmitting radio signals to indicate where a German U-boat might be located. This quickly decreased the number of American shipping vessels sunk by U-boats. At the end of the war, the organization became the U.S. Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory. Similar work continued throughout the Cold War as the United States competed with the Soviet Union to create better submarines and develop extremely low frequency (ELF) communication, which allowed submarines to “talk” to each other. After the Soviet Union solved during the 1990s, around the same time I arrived, operations moved to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI.