Battle of Groton Heights and Burning of New London

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Overview

On September 6, 1781 British forces landed on both the Groton and New London sides of the Thames River. Benedict Arnold led the British forces, having defected to the British side. Fort Griswold, in Groton, was under command of Colonel William Ledyard. The British gained access to Fort Griswold and Col. Ledyard was killed. Some accounts say he was killed with his own sword as he surrendered it to the British. Jordan Freeman, African American patriot, also died that day. Across the river, Benedict Arnold told the troops to burn the city of New London.

The Battle of Groton Heights
Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park Foundation, Inc. web page

Books, Documents, etc.

These are only some examples.

Story of the Battle of Fort Griswold With a Description of the Monument on Groton Heights
Call Number: Online and Stacks E241.G8 V54 1894 Item does not circulate

Publication Date: 1894

Online access through our catalog - scroll down for link
Battle of Groton Heights : A Story of the Storming of Fort Griswold and the Burning of New London on the Sixth of September, 1781
Call Number: Online and Stacks E241.G8 B87 1926 Item does not circulate

Publication Date: c1926

Online version through Hathi Trust.
also at Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/item/20001119/
The Battle of Groton Heights : A Collection of Narratives, Official Reports, Records, &C., of the Storming of Fort Griswold, and the Burning of New London By British Troops, Under the Command of Brig.-Gen. Benedict Arnold, on the Sixth of September, 1781
Call Number: Online and Special Collections E241.G8 B38 1870

Publication Date: 1870

Online at Internet Archive. Also at Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/item/02004555/
Revised and enlarged edition at Stacks E241.G8 B38 1999
A Sketch of New London & Groton with the Attacks Made on Forts Trumbull & Griswold by the British Troops : Under the Command of Brigr. Genl. Arnold, Sept. 6th. 1781 by Daniel Lyman
Call Number: Online and History Reference Small Maps G3784.N5S3 1781 .L9 1900z Item does not circulate

Online through the Library of Congress.
CSL copy's catalog notes: Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image.
Original version: [S.l. : s.n., 1781]. col., 41 x 28 cm. Library of Congress Map Division.
Relief shown by shading and land form drawings.
Positive photostat copy of the manuscript map in the Library of Congress, Map Division.
In upper right margin: 98. Stamped in lower right margin: Map Division, Library of Congress.
The Battle of Groton Heights : The Massacre of Fort Griswold, and the Burning of New London by Copp, John J., Leonard Woolsey Bacon, and Groton Heights Centennial Committee
Call Number: Online and Special Collections E241.G8 G76 Item Does Not Circulate

Publication Date: 1879

Online at the Library of Congress
Fort-Griswold
Call Number: History Reference Small Maps G3784.N5:2F6S3 1781 .F6 1900z

Publication Date: [1781?]

Map. Photocopy. Scale [ca. 1:720]
Narrative of Jonathan Rathbun : With Accurate Accounts of the Capture of Groton Fort, the Massacre That Followed, and the Sacking and Burning of New London, September 6, 1781, by the British Forces Under the Command of the Traitor Benedict Arnold
Call Number: Online and Special Collections E241.G8 G76 AND Charles T. Wells Collection E241.G8 R2 1840

Publication Date: 1840

by Rufus Avery and Stephen Hempstead, eye witnesses of the same. Together with an interesting appendix
Online access through the Library of Congress
An Address in Commemoration of the Lives and Services, of Ledyard and His Brave Associates, Who Fell at Groton Heights, Sept. 6, 1781, in Defence of Their Country. Delivered at Groton, (Conn.) September 6th, 1826, on the Laying of the Corner Stone of a Mo
Call Number: Online and Special Collections E241.G8 G75 1826

Publication Date: 1826

Online access through our catalog.
Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Groton Heights
Call Number: Online and Conn Doc G889 se

Publication Date: 1931

Online in HathiTrust
Homegrown Terror : Benedict Arnold and the burning of New London by Eric D. Lehman
Call Number: Stacks E278.A7 L417 2014

ISBN: 9780819573292

Publication Date: 2015

Articles

Privateering and the Battle of Groton Heights
From The Mariners’ Museum and Park, By Liz Williams, Posted on August 14, 2020

Other Institutions

Friends of Fort Griswold
Site: "The purpose of the Friends of Fort Griswold is to work to preserve, restore, maintain, and promote the historic value, earthworks, buildings, and grounds, known as Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park in cooperation with the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection."
Avery Morgan Burial Ground Virtual Walk Through
Created by Jacqueline Bagwell for Friends of Fort Griswold Battleground. Avery Morgan Burial Ground in Pequonoc, Groton CT.

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Additional information from a booklet created by Frederick E. Burdick in 2005. The information about the headstone includes birth/death dates condition and material of the stone, carving and legibility and dimensions of the stone.
The narrative of Jonathan Rathbun, of the capture of Fort Griswold, the massacre that followed, and the burning of New London, Conn., September 6, 1781. With the narratives of Rufus Avery and Stephen Hempstead, eye witnesses.
Online at Internet Archive