Groton, Connecticut

Groton (/ˈɡrɒtən/ GRAH-tən) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London is located in Groton, and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer is also a major employer. Avery Point in Groton is home to a regional campus of the University of Connecticut. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 38,411 at the 2020 census.

Groton was established in 1705 when it separated from New London. The town was named after Groton, Suffolk in England. A hundred years before it was established, the Niantic people settled in the area between the Thames River and Pawcatuck River, but they eventually settled in Westerly, Rhode Island. The newcomers to the land were the Pequots, a branch of the Mohawk people who moved eastward into the Connecticut River Valley.

The summer of 1614 was the first time that the Pequots encountered white settlers. They started trading furs for the settlers' goods, such as steel knives, needles, and boots. In 1633, the Dutch bought land from them and opened a fur trading post. Meanwhile, the English bought land for settlement from the local tribes.

The land was poor for farming, but access to the region's waterways left room for commerce and trade, and Groton became a town of ocean-going settlers. Most of the community began to build ships, and soon traders made their way to Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony to trade for food, tools, weapons, and clothing. John Leeds was the earliest shipbuilder, coming as a sea captain from Kent, England.^{[citation needed]} He built a 20-ton brigantine, a two-masted sailing ship with square-rigged sails on the foremast and fore-and-aft sails on the mainmast. Thomas Starr built a 67-ton square-sterned vessel, and Thomas Latham launched a 100-ton brig on the Groton bank with mast standing and fully rigged. The sturdy ships built in Groton engaged in highly profitable trade with the islands of the Caribbean.^{[citation needed]}

The Battle of Groton Heights was fought on September 6, 1781, between American troops led by Colonel William Ledyard and British forces led by Benedict Arnold. At sunrise, a force of 1,700 British regulars landed at the mouth of the Thames River in New London and Groton.

Arnold led an 800-man detachment through New London, destroying stockpiles of goods and naval stores. His men set fire to a ship containing gunpowder which created an uncontrollable fire that destroyed most of New London. Meanwhile, a British force of 800 men moved toward Fort Griswold in Groton, which was garrisoned by 164 American troops. The British attacked and eventually entered the fort, overpowering the small American garrison inside. The British suffered 52 killed and 145 wounded, while American casualties amounted to 85 killed and 60 wounded. Colonel Ledyard surrendered his sword to Loyalist officer Major Stephen Bromfield, who immediately killed him it. Jonathan Rathbun described the surrender this way:

The wretch who murdered him exclaimed, as he came near, "Who commands this fort?" Ledyard handsomely replied, "I did, but you do now," at the same moment handing him his sword, which the unfeeling villain buried in his breast! Oh, the hellish spite and madness of a man that will murder a reasonable and noble-hearted officer, in the act of submitting and surrendering!

— Jonathan A. Rathbun, "Rufus Avery's Narrative", The Battle of Groton Heights, A collection of narratives, official reports, records, etc. (1882), Charles Allyn