New London

Fort Trumbull State Park

Battlefield · 90 Walbach St, New London, CT 06320

Fort Trumbull guarded the entrance to the Thames River and New London Harbor. On September 6, 1781, Benedict Arnold's British force bypassed it with minimal resistance while the main garrison crossed to defend Fort Griswold in Groton. The current masonry fort dates to 1839, but the earthwork foundations of the 1778 Revolutionary-era fort lie beneath. The site preserves the strategic geography that made New London a significant privateering port.

Hempsted Houses

Historic House · 11 Hempstead St, New London, CT 06320

Two of the oldest surviving structures in Connecticut — the Joshua Hempsted House (1678) and the Nathaniel Hempsted House (1759). Both predate the Revolution and survived the 1781 burning. Joshua Hempsted's diary, kept from 1711 to 1758, is one of the most valuable records of colonial New England life. The houses communicate the scale and domestic character of New London before Arnold's raid reduced much of the town to ash.

Shaw-Perkins Mansion (Connecticut Naval Office)

Historic House · 11 Blinman St, New London, CT 06320

Built in 1756 by Capt. Nathaniel Shaw Sr., this stone mansion served as the Connecticut Naval Office during the Revolution — the administrative hub for Connecticut's fleet of privateers and the official port for prize vessels. Nathaniel Shaw Jr. managed the colony's naval affairs from this building. It survived the 1781 burning because British officers used it as a command post. Now a museum operated by the New London County Historical Society.

New London Custom House

Government · 150 Bank St, New London, CT 06320

The Custom House site on Bank Street anchored New London's maritime commerce before and during the Revolution. The current Greek Revival building dates to 1833 (designed by Robert Mills), but the location served as the center of trade regulation and port administration during the Revolutionary era. New London's privateering economy funneled goods and intelligence through this corridor.

Thames River Waterfront

Landmark · Bank St Waterfront, New London, CT 06320

The Thames River waterfront was the strategic and economic spine of New London throughout the Revolution. Privateers departed from these wharves, prize ships were brought in for adjudication, and supplies were loaded for Continental Army use. On September 6, 1781, British troops landed near here and methodically burned the town's warehouses and merchant buildings. Walking the waterfront communicates why the port's destruction was so economically devastating.

Whale Oil Row

Landmark · Huntington St, New London, CT 06320

A block of four Federal-style houses built ca. 1830–1835, representing the maritime prosperity New London rebuilt after the Revolutionary War. The street name reflects the whale oil trade that made New London wealthy in the 18th century. The whaling and privateering economy of the Revolutionary era is the foundation of this later prosperity — ships outfitted as privateers in the 1770s were the ancestors of whale ships in the 1820s.