Fort Trumbull, Part 3
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 explored the views around the fort and informational signage about the wars in which the fort served. In the third part, I will describe features outside the fort, including external buildings, a pier, and cannons.
Access to the park grounds and trails are free to all and open daily from 8:00 a.m. to sunset. For those interested in a different view of the fort, the 500-foot fishing pier is an excellent place to walk, fish, and watch the Thames River. The Riverfront Walk is 1.3 miles long and paved. Several buildings stand outside the protective stone walls. The granite blockhouse or citadel is the oldest extant building on the property, as it was constructed in 1794, about twenty years after the construction of the original Fort Trumbull. The design was created by Stephen Rochefontaine of France, who was a major player during the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 and had anglicized his name from Etienne, as was the trend at the time. He believed the building was bomb proof, at least by late 18th century standards. The blockhouse even includes a magazine or cellar for storing ammunition. Sleeping quarters would have been extremely crowded, with 22 soldier living there during peacetime, and up to 50 during a war. While Rochefontaine’s design was popular and replicated across the young United States, this is the only one known to still be standing.
This is a very different fate than Maury Hall, also known as Building 28, which was constructed around the time of the Great Depression or World War II and stood until 1999. Initially a classroom space for officers’ training, it became a laboratory under the Navy during the Cold War. Another building from this era and used for a similar purpose was the Periscope Testing Facility or Building 94, constructed in the 1970s and razed in 1999. A more unique structure was The Arches, also known as Submarine Antenna Over-Water Arch Facility or Building 101. The massive structure was used to test submarine antennas in an ocean-like environment. A massive pool held seawater, and the overhead arches decreased the amount of reflection for the radio-frequency signals. The structure was dismantled in 1997, although part of the arches as now at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI.
The fort also contains a North Battery and a South Battery. The North Battery was constructed between 1875 and 1876 with the purpose of aiming five very large cannons directly at the water. The cannons were called 15-inch Rodmans, named for the designer, Brigadier General Thomas Jackson Rodman, who had designed them during the 1850s, along with the very wide opening of the gun barrel. The stats of these guns are very impressive, especially for the time. The cannons are 15'10" long and weigh about 50,000 pounds. There were two options for ammunition: a 450-pound solid cannonball, or a 350-pound explosive shell. The gun was fired at a 25-degree angle, which gave it a range of three miles. The South Battery, which had been constructed earlier in 1840, also had six Rodmans along with two Parrott rifles, a gun invented by West Point graduate Captain Robert Parker Parrott. This was apparently not enough guns, and four comparatively smaller siege guns were added in 1879. This was still not enough guns, so in 1892, the siege guns were replaced with seven mortars or portable cannons meant to fire in an arc so the cannonballs would hit a ship from above. Those who study historical weapons would enjoy the pair of restored Rodman guns on display at the South Battery.
