Fort Griswold is one of very few remaining US forts that was involved in the Revolutionary War. And though it's still in very good shape for its age, I must admit that it's a little underwhelming when one first lays eyes on it!

But first impressions can be deceiving. This little mound of an enhanced earthwork managed to keep the British Army at bay for 40 whole minutes in 1781, inflicting heavy casualties, including the commanding officers of both British regiments involved in the attack. Granted, the fort was a great deal more formidable then, but it's still difficult to imagine this pastoral lump in the ground as a site of a desperate battle. But things were smaller back then.

Groton, CT is a cool, little, pinched town. I probably didn't see much of what it had to offer, but it mostly seemed...well, pinched, but not in an unpleasant way.

I parked in the wrong place to visit Fort Griswold, on a residential street about halfway up the hill atop which the fort resides. I was a little nervous about leaving my car on the street in front of somebody's house, but I needn't have worried: As I was leaving, a VERY friendly gentleman opened the third floor window and engaged me in jaunty conversation.

Mostly about the fort, where I was from and so on. He said I should really come back when the Groton Monument was open, due to the spectacular view from the top. Once again, I had not timed my visit with any attention to the fort's actual operating season, and I was a couple of weeks too early for the full experience. But, unlike at my next visit, to Fort Trumbull across the Thames River, Fort Griswold was not locked up tight.

Because there would be no way to lock up Fort Griswold! It's a strategic mound of dirt and rocks!

But an impressive strategic mound of dirt and rocks, with some nice historical markers and signage that tell the story of the fort and the battle nicely. When you visit, make sure you go when the Monument is open (Memorial Day through Labor Day), and park at the top of the hill, unless you crave the slogging-up-the-hill fun that the British were fortunate enough to experience.

There is a museum at the Monument (also not open when I visited), which assumedly also embraces the fort. And there are restrooms available! Score!