Connecticut Forts

American Forts: East

CONNECTICUT

Last Update: 25/FEBRUARY/2023

Compiled by Pete Payette - й2023 American Forts Network

Capt. John Denison's Fort
(1675), Stonington
A settlers' palisaded fort used by the colonial militia during King Philip's War.

Long Point Fort
(1775, 1811 - 1814, 1898 - 1899), Stonington
A Patriot water battery with barracks was originally located at Stonington Point. Attacked by the British in August 1775. Rebuilt in 1811 as a four-gun earthwork with a brick arsenal or Gun House (1808) located nearby or in the town proper. The new work was nicknamed Grasshopper Battery. It was attacked by the British in August 1814. A marker is on Water Street. A monument at Cannon Square has two of the original guns.

A temporary one-gun battery (10-inch smoothbore Rodman) was emplaced on the Stonington Harbor (West) Breakwater in 1898, about one-half mile offshore from the town, during the Spanish-American War. Exact site undetermined, probably near the 1889 Breakwater Lighthouse which was once on the eastern end of the west breakwater (off Wamphassuc Point). The lighthouse was dismantled in 1926 and replaced with the present skeleton tower. Underwater mines were proposed by the Army for the defense of Stonington Harbor in 1898, but the system was never fully emplaced, and no mines were actually planted.

Fort Rachel
(1813 - 1815), West Mystic
A town militia fort with only one gun. Site located near the present-day Amtrak railroad bridge across the Mystic River (Fort Rachel Place and Water Street).

дд Colonial and Federal Forts of New London Harbor

дд Fort Griswold (2) (Battlefield State Park)
(Friends of Fort Griswold)
(1775 - 1900 ?), Groton
This was originally a blockhouse with earthworks, known as Groton Fort. Stone walls and bastions were added in 1776, and it was renamed. This was the site of an apparent massacre of Patriots by British troops under the command of Benedict Arnold, after the British captured the fort in September 1781. Repaired in 1794, but left unfinished. In 1818 this was a 12-gun fort. The granite battlefield monument was built in 1830. In 1842 the fort was sold to the Federal government. Upgraded during the Civil War. The Water Battery was rebuilt and rearmed (through 1900), which became the primary defense as the old stone fort was deemed too obsolete after 1861. Eleven 10-inch smoothbore Rodmans were removed from Fort Griswold in 1898 for use in the six temporary shore batteries then built at Stonington, New Haven, and Bridgeport. See also Another website from Bill Memorial Library || See also Ebenezer Avery House Museum from the Avery Memorial Association

дд Fort Decatur
(1813 - 1815), Gales Ferry
Commodore Decatur ordered earthworks built on Dragon Hill (or Allyn's Mountain) in June 1813, a few miles north of Groton in order to protect his fleet from the British blockade. They remained bottled up here for the duration of the war.

дд Parade Fort
(1691 - 1781), New London
A town fort built at the river by State Street, with powder magazines and guardhouse on higher ground. It had six guns. By 1774 it had nine guns. It was not rebuilt after the 1781 British attack on the town.

дд Fort Trumbull (2) (State Park)
(Friends of Fort Trumbull)
(1775 - 1911, 1950 - 1993), New London
Not yet completed by 1781 when Fort Griswold (2) was attacked by the British. The land face was completely open, allowing the British to easily overrun the garrison. A blockhouse was built in 1785. Repaired in 1795, 1799, and again in 1808. The fort was rebuilt in 1813, and the 18-gun fort was rebuilt again in 1839 with granite casemates. Additional outer batteries were built after the Civil War: the eight-gun South Battery (1860's) and the five-gun North Battery (1875). The South Battery had six 8-inch Rodmans and two 100-pounder Parrott guns reported in 1884. The North Battery was never armed, and was later demolished by the Navy in the 1950's. Three gun platforms for 15-inch smoothbore Rodmans were built in 1898 during the Spanish-American War panic, but were never armed before the end of the war (site undetermined, but outside the fort proper). The fort was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard in 1911 and used as the Coast Guard Academy (1915 - 1932). The Merchant Marine Officers' Training School was located here from 1939 - 1946. The U.S. Navy's Naval Undersea Warfare Center was here from 1950 - 1993. The State Park rebuilt one magazine and gun platform of the North Battery in the late 1990's. The granite Blockhouse (1795) behind the North Battery is one of the few remaining "First System" fortification structures left intact in New England. The visitor center is in the restored Officers' quarters.

Nearby was Patriot Fort Nonsense (1779) (aka Fort Folly) (one gun) on Town Hill, which played a minor role in the 1781 British attack.

Underwater mines were planted by the Army in New London Harbor during the Spanish-American War panic of 1898 (June to August).

д HARBOR DEFENSES of NEW LONDON

д Pine Island Military Reservation
(1943 - 1946), Groton
Anti Motor Torpedo Boat Battery 915 was here. Remains overgrown. The island is currently owned by the University of Connecticut.

д Goshen Point Military Reservation
(Harkness Memorial State Park)
(1943 - 1946), Seaside
Anti Motor Torpedo Boat Battery 914 was here. It is now covered over.

Norwich Powder House
(1775 - unknown), Norwich
A militia powder house was once located on a hill behind the present-day Congregational Church. It was destroyed sometime during the American Revolution.

Camp Niantic (State Military Reservation)
(1881 - present), Niantic
An 80-acre state National Guard training facility. Site was periodically used for summer training since 1873, the land was bought by the state in 1881. Became the state muster camp during the Spanish-American War, known as Camp Haven, which was also manned by a state guard artillery company as a defense post for the harbor. During WWII it was used as an infantry defense post to protect the Connecticut shore against enemy landings. There were no gun batteries here at that time. The post has also been recently known as Camp Weicker and Camp Rowland, after sitting governors of the time. In 2001 the state proposed to permanently name the post Camp Ribicoff. It was known as Camp Rell until 2010 when the governor-naming protocol was abolished by the state legislature. In March 2019 the camp was permanently named Camp Nett.
(NOTE: there is a private campground nearby which is also presently known as "Camp Niantic".)

Stone's Ranch State Military Reservation (1931 - present) in East Lyme is a 2000-acre state National Guard training area, initially used for summer training to replace Camp Niantic. Used as a C.C.C. camp in the 1933. Currently in use as a modern multi-use tactical training area.

Kievet's Hook Trade Post
(1632 - 1635 ?), Old Saybrook
A Dutch trading post founded by Captain Hans Eechuys, located at the mouth of the Connecticut River at Saybrook Point, it was under constant threat by the Pequot Indians, and was abandoned soon after the founding of Fort Good Hope in present-day Hartford.

Dutch settlers were previously here in 1623, but abandoned the area due to local Indian hostility.

Fort Saybrook (Monument Park)
(CT Coastal Access Guide)
(1636 - 1647, 1648 - 1815 ?, intermittent), Old Saybrook
The original palisaded wooden fort was built to counter Dutch claims to the region. Twenty armed men, with two cannon, arrived at Saybrook Point in November 1635 to take control of the area from the Dutch, and built a crude palisade for the winter. The fort was rebuilt and enlarged in March 1636. It was destroyed by fire in 1647. It was rebuilt in 1648 on a new site closer to the river (restaurant now on second site). Colonial militia successfully defended the fort against the Dutch in 1675. Partially rebuilt in 1776, but never used by Patriot forces. It was partially restored again by the state militia for the War of 1812 and renamed Fort Fenwick. The earthworks remained until 1871 when the site was razed for a railroad turnhouse. Excavations in 1980 revealed all traces of the original fort were destroyed in 1936 W.P.A. projects. The park has a few monuments and markers relating the history of the site.

Henry Whitfield Garrison
(Henry Whitfield State Museum)
(1639 - unknown), Guilford Station
This is the oldest extant stone house in New England. It was originally built as the parsonage for the Reverend Henry Whitfield, but was also used as the town's stronghold during times of crisis. It was restored and opened as a museum in 1899. Admission fee.

Branford Blockhouse
(1644 ?), Branford
The original town meetinghouse was a stockaded log blockhouse. The town was established in 1644, and was then enclosed within a five-mile long palisade.

Bryan's Fort
(1640's ?), Branford
A settlers' fort built around the same time as Branford Blockhouse.

New Haven Powder House
(1775 - unknown), New Haven
A militia powder house was once located on the site of the present-day Yale University Hospital. No remains.

Black Rock Fort (2)
(Fort Nathan Hale Park)
(CT Coastal Access Guide)
(1657, 1776 - 1815 ?, 1863 - 1890, 1898 - 1899), New Haven
Originally the site of an unnamed early colonial fort in 1657. In 1776 a three-gun log fort and blockhouse was built. Also known as Little Fort (probably after the Civil War). It was attacked by the British in July 1779. It was rebuilt in 1809 as an elliptical brick and stone six-gun fort, and renamed Fort Nathan Hale (1). A new Fort Nathan Hale (2) was built nearby in 1863 as an 18-gun earthwork. A temporary two-gun battery (10-inch smoothbore Rodmans) was located here in 1898. Became a city park in 1921, but became neglected and overgrown after WWII. Both forts were reconstructed in 1976. The original Civil War era bomb-proof magazines still remain.

Fort Wooster (park)
(1779, 1813 - 1840's), New Haven
An unnamed Patriot earthwork fort was located here on Beacon Hill, captured by the British. Rebuilt in 1813 as an earthwork fort with a powder magazine to provide crossfire with Fort Nathan Hale (1). Some ruins remain. Previously the site of a Quinnipiac Indian palisaded village before white settlement began (see Indian Forts listed below).

New Haven Civil War Camps
(1860's), New Haven, West Haven
Temporary Civil War training camps located in the city in 1861 were Camp Hamilton and Camp English. Both locations undetermined. Located at Grapevine Point (Criscoulo Park) in 1862 was Camp at Grape Vine Point. Located in West Haven at Oyster River Point in 1862 was Camp Oyster Point and the five-gun Oyster Point Battery (1) (1863).

Lighthouse Point Battery
(1898 - 1899), New Haven
A temporary two-gun battery (10-inch smoothbore Rodmans) was located at Lighthouse Point (aka Five Mile Point), on private property adjacent to the former U.S. Lighthouse Reservation. The land was soon (or had just recently been) purchased by the East Shore Amusement Company for a recreation park, which was later purchased by the city in 1924 (Lighthouse Point Park). The 1847-77 Lighthouse still exists, also now owned by the city since 1924.

Underwater mines were planted by the Army in New Haven Harbor during the Spanish-American War panic of 1898 (June to August).

Oyster River Point Battery (2)
(1898), West Haven
A temporary two-gun battery (10-inch smoothbore Rodmans) was located at Oyster River Point on private land belonging to Gen. Edward E. Bradley. It was removed before the end of the year.

Milford Forts
(1645, 1700), Milford
The town, settled in 1639, was palisaded in 1645. A small fort was also built at West Point in 1645. The Rev. Peter Prudden's House , and also Deacon George Clark's (Sr.) House (along West End Brook), were fortified in 1700 for defense against Indian attack. See also Early History of Milford from History at Ray's Place

Fort Trumbull (1)
(1776 - 1780's), Milford
A Patriot battery at West Point.

Red Dunes Fort
(1632 ?), Milford Township
A Dutch fort or a fortified trading post was located east of the mouth of the Housatonic River, according to a circa 1632 English map. Site was excavated, revealing a fort trace and several artifacts.

Cupheag Plantation
(1636 - unknown), Stratford
The town was palisaded for many years. Site located just north of West Broad Street. Excavations were done in 1977.

Black Rock Fort (1)
(1776 - 1780's, 1813 - 1815), Bridgeport
A Patriot fort built on Grover Hill on the west side of Black Rock Harbor. In 1813 the state militia Fort Union was built here. It is unknown whether this site was later used during the Civil War.

Bridgeport Batteries
(1898 - 1899), Bridgeport
Two temporary two-gun batteries (each 10-inch smoothbore Rodmans) were located here in 1898. One of the two-gun batteries was located on the stone rip-rap (breakwater) at the 1871 screw-pile Bridgeport Harbor Lighthouse (dismantled in 1953 and replaced by current skeleton tower light), located about one mile offshore at the time from the old Tongue Point. The other two-gun battery was located on a sand bar that formed one bank of a canal from the harbor channel to the Bridgeport Traction Company's power plant. Exact location of the second site undetermined, as the present harbor shoreline has been greatly in-filled and extended since the 1920's. The Army declined the use of underwater mines for the defense of Bridgeport Harbor in 1898, instead relying only on the use of simple channel obstructions.

Fort Defense
(1812), Fairfield
A town militia earthwork fort built at the mouth of Southport Harbor, at or near the "Lower Wharf".

Fairfield Powder House
(1814 - unknown), Fairfield
A local militia stone powder magazine still exists on a hill on Unquowa Road, behind the present Tomlinson Middle School. Originally restored in 1924 with a slate roof and exterior surrounding stone wall, it was again restored in 2009 by the Connecticut D.A.R.. It is thought to be the last remaining militia powder house in the state.

Norwalk Blockhouse
(1640's), Norwalk
A town blockhouse built east of the Silvermine River at Old Fort Point.

Fort Molly Rocks
(1860's ?), Norwalk
Rock ruins of a supposedly Civil War era fort, as listed in a 1936 W.P.A. guide.

Fort Stamford
(1781 - 1783), Stamford
A Patriot fort built as a result of Tory raids from New York. It was 135 feet by 165 feet, with 30-by-30-foot redoubts. After the war, it was promptly sold off by the state to private interests, but was never completely demolished. The five-acre site with extant earthworks was preserved in 1976.

Camp Putnam
(Putnam Memorial State Park)
(1778 - 1779), Redding Township
Winter quarters for the Continental Army of New England. Known as Connecticut's "Valley Forge". Museum and reconstructed log huts are on site.

Camp Danbury
(1912), Danbury
A National Guard summer encampment during war game exercises.

Roxbury Forts
(unknown dates), Roxbury Township
Several settlers' stockaded forts were in the area, including Peace Farms' Fort and Good Hill Fort.

Salisbury Forts
(1746), Salisbury Township
A colonial militia fort was built in the northwestern section of the township. A blockhouse was constructed on the west side of the Housatonic River, and another blockhouse was built on the north side of Wononscopomuc Lake near Lakeville.

Litchfield Forts
(1720 - 1740's), Litchfield Township
The first fort built (unnamed) in 1720 was located at the site of the present-day courthouse. Four additional forts were built in 1723, known as North Fort or Fort Kilbourn, on Fern Ave.; East Fort or Fort Culver on Chestnut Hill; South Fort or Fort Bird in Morris; and West Fort or Fort Griswold (1) at "Harris Plains" (location ?).

Camp Dutton
(1862), Litchfield
A Civil War muster and training camp for the 19th CT Infantry and the 2nd CT Heavy Artillery Regiments. A stone marker (1912) marks site.

Lyman's Fort
(1744), Torrington
A settlers' stockade on the western side of town.

Town Hill Fort
(unknown dates), Town Hill
A town defense in New Hartford Township that protected the settlers from Indian attacks.

Fort Woodruff
(1700), Southington
A settlers' stone fort.

Southington Forts
(unknown dates), Southington Township
A settlers' palisaded house was located in town (Newell's Corner ?), and another fort was built at the rear of a tavern on Queen Street.

Fort Waterbury
(1770's - 1780's), Watertown Township
A series of Patriot earthworks at the "Horseneck" bend of the Naugatuck River.

Wallingford Fort
(1689), Wallingford
The town's meetinghouse was stockaded.

Wallingford Powder House
(1776 - unknown), Wallingford
A large militia powder house was once located in town (exact location undetermined). No remains.

Capt. Andrew Belcher's Fort
(1675), Meriden
A settlers' stone house built just before King Philip's War broke out. It had no windows, only loopholes, and one heavy door.

Meriden Stockade
(1687), Meriden
A town stockade enclosing several homes, located near Belcher's Fort.

Mattabeseck Trading Post
(1632 ?), Middletown
A Dutch trading post was located here on the Connecticut River. Undetermined location. Probably abandoned soon after the establishment of Fort Good Hope. The English first settled here in 1650.

Berlin Stockade
(1687), Berlin
A town stockade protecting several homes.

Wethersfield Fort
(1635), Wethersfield
A town fort located near the present-day state prison on North Main Street. The town itself was palisaded in 1675.

Fort Good Hope
(1633 - 1654), Hartford
A Dutch trading post also known as Fort Huys de Hoop (House of Hope) or Fort Hope. Located at Dutch Point, near present-day Colt Park. The Dutch never settled permanently in the state. The English built the competing Fort Hartford nearby in 1635. Even though Hartford was permanently settled by the English at that time, the Dutch continued to remain here until 1654.

Matianuck Fort
(1633 - unknown), Windsor
A blockhouse and trading post of the Plymouth Pilgrims, also known as Plymouth Trading House or Windsor Blockhouse, the site of which is at Town Green (Palisado Green) on Palisado Avenue. It was built to counter the Dutch at Hartford. Palisades were built around the post and around the town in 1637 during the Pequot War. Of interest is the Windsor Historical Society Museum at 96 Palisado Ave..

Simsbury Stockade
(1675 - 1700), Simsbury
The stockaded house of the town's minister, used by the colonial militia. The well may still exist, marked by a tablet in a garden on Hopemeadow Street.

Granby Blockhouse
(unknown dates), Granby
A town blockhouse located at Salmon Brook Street and Simsbury.

Shaw's Fort
(1708), Granby
A settlers' fort located near Southwick Road, north of Granby Street.

Enfield Stockade
(unknown dates), Enfield
A town stockade located on Enfield Street.

Mansfield Forts
(1704), Mansfield Center
A stockaded blockhouse was in the center of town. The foundations are still visible on the grounds of the General Cummings estate. On the north side of town was Joseph Hall's Fort, and on the south side of town was Peter Cross' Fort.

Sabin's Stockade
(unknown dates), Pomfret
A settlers' stockade.

Woodstock Fort
(1630's, 1675), Woodstock
A settlers' fort was built on Fort Hill, used as a defense during Indian raids.

NATIVE AMERICAN FORTS

Fort Hill
(early 17th-century), Thompson
A Nipmuck Indian stronghold used as a defense against attacks by the Narraganset.

Mashantucket Indian Fort
(Mashantucket Pequot Indian Reservation)
(1675- 1678), near Ledyard
A Mashantucket (Monhantic) Indian palisaded village. Site was excavated in 1992. The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center is located here, with a recreated palisaded village.

Pequot Hill
(1630's), West Mystic
A Pequot Indian fortified village, a palisaded enclosure of about 70 wigwams. It was raided by colonials in 1636 and destroyed in May 1637 during the Pequot War.

Fort Hill
(1637), Poquonock Bridge
A Pequot Indian temporary encampment near West Mystic, used by the warriors after their stronghold at Pequot Hill (see above) was raided and burned in May 1637.

Pequot Indian Fort
(1630's), New London
A Pequot Indian fortified village located at the Thames River entrance. It was raided by colonials in 1636 and 1637.

Fort Hill
(1660's ?), Mohegan
The Mohegan Chief Uncas built a defensive stronghold here (now known as Mohegan Hill).

Fort Shantok (State Park / Mohegan Indian Reservation)
(1636 - 1682), Mohegan
A Mohegan Indian palisaded stronghold located on the Thames River. The village was later reoccupied from 1710 - 1750, but was no longer fortified. Site excavated in the 1960's.

Fort Hill
(unknown dates), Chester
An Indian stronghold located on the west bank of the Connecticut River, across from present-day Gillette Castle.

Fort Hill
(unknown dates), Middletown
An Indian stronghold located on the west (south) bank of the Connecticut River near the "Straits", east of present-day downtown. Used as a defense against other more-northerly tribes on the Farmington River.

Fort Hill
(1631 - unknown), East Hartford
A Podunk Indian stronghold, still in use in 1656.

Swamp Fort
(Fort Hill Park)
(unknown dates), Waterbury
An Indian fortified island within a swamp.

Quinnipiac Indian Fort
(Fort Wooster Park)
(unknown dates), New Haven
A Quinnipiac Indian palisaded village located on Beacon Hill.

Fort Hill
(17th-century), New Milford
A Weantinogue Indian stronghold located on Fort Hill on the west bank of the Housatonic River. A burial ground was first discovered nearby at Indian Field in the 1880's, surveyed in 1920 by Yale University, but seemingly forgotten until rediscovered in the fall of 2009. A monument was built on site in 2010. The town was first settled by whites in 1707. The nearby landmarks of Guarding Mountain and Fort Mountain were also supposedly named for Indian defensive positions.

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