Groton Monument

Lightning destroyed the capstone in 1918 and damaged the adjacent Monument House Museum which features exhibits about the Revolutionary War.

[2] It was originally 127 feet (39 m) high, but this was changed in 1881 to commemorate the centennial of the Battle of Groton Heights when the cupola was removed and replaced by an iron-capped pyramid in emulation of the Bunker Hill Monument.

[4] Lightning struck the monument in 1918, shattering the capstone and sending the pieces to the ground, then traveling through the brass railings and scattering the cards in one of the wire-racks.

[8] In 2007, Carol Kimball of the New London Day wrote that the State of Connecticut was not funding repairs to the historic site, but it would be required if the monument were to survive.

She also referred to a New York Times article on the neglected monument and pointed out that the bond commission had yet to issue the approved $350,000 for its preservation.

The monument was erected in 1830 to commemorate the American troops massacred by the British following the surrender of Fort Griswold in the Battle of Groton Heights during the American Revolution .
Dedication plaque on Groton Monument
Groton Monument and Fort Griswold , a sketch by John Warner Barber for his Historical Collections of Connecticut (1836)