Fort Trumbull

Fort Trumbull (1777-1910) - First built as a First System coastal fort established in 1777 at New London, New London County, Connecticut. Named after then Govenor Jonathan Trumbull. Turned over to the Treasury Department in 1910. Fort Trumbull by Seth Eastman Fort Trumbull Exterior Walls Fort Trumbull Exterior Revolutionary War The First System fort was built between 1775 and 1777 as an earth and stone fortification completely exposed from the land side. Benedict Arnold and a British fleet easily captured Fort Trumbull in September 1781 during the Revolutionary War. War of 1812 In 1812 the old First System fort was leveled and replaced with a much stronger Second System fortification with land side protection. This new fort was able to keep the British Fleet offshore for the remainder of the War of 1812. This fort deteriorated after the war and was torn down in 1839 to make way for a new Third System fort. The new Third System fortification was built between 1839 and 1852 as a five-sided, four-bastion coastal defense fort. The fort was built under the supervision of Army engineer George W. Cullum who later served as superintendent of the United States Military Academy. U.S. Civil War During the U.S. Civil War Fort Trumbull served as a recruiting and training depot and as headquarters for the 14th U.S. Infantry. Endicott Period Fort Trumbull was designated as a subpost of Fort H.G. Wright on 31 Mar 1906 and later served as the headquarters of the Long Island Sound Endicott Period coastal defenses until it was turned over to the Treasury Department on 15 Oct 1910. The Treasury Department used the post first as an academy for their Revenue Cutter Service and then as the Coast Guard Academy (1915-1932). World War II Fort Trumbull 1 Jun 1924 Fort Trumbull became the Merchant Marine Officers Training School (1939–1946). After the war Fort Trumbull became the site of the Naval Underwater Sound Laboratory (1950 to 1990). The post has been operated as a state park since 2000. Current Status Part of Fort Trumbull State Park, New London, New London County, Connecticut. Fort Trumbull Partial Commanders List (edit list) Assumed Relieved Rank Name Cullum Notes 1776-12-20 1778-02-01 Capt Saltonstall, Nathaniel N/A 1781-09-06 Capt Shapley, Adam N/A Militia 1799 Capt Wadsworth, Decius N/A 1802 Capt Stille, James N/A 1812-07-17 1815-06-15 Col Kingsbury, Jacob N/A 1815 1816 Capt Bennett, Thomas 21 1817-12-01 1822-12-01 Capt McDowell, Andrew N/A 1822-12-02 1823-11-19 unk Unknown, N/A 1824-10-10 2nd Lt Green, George Sears 327 CW Maj Gen 1825-11-09 1826-11 Maj Walbach, John de Barth N/A bvt Ltc 1828-01-12 1828-11 Ltc Lindsay, William N/A bvt Col 1829-11+ 1833 Capt Thurston, Charles M. 105 1835-11 1836-05-23 Maj Fanning, Alexander C.W. 86 bvt Ltc 1842 1846 Capt Merchant, Charles S. 92 1848 1849 Capt Sherman, Thomas W. 859 bvt Maj 1848 1850 1853 1849 1852 1853 Capt Taylor, George 913 Drowned on Steamer San Francisco 24 Dec 1853 1861-05 1861-08 Ltc Reynolds, John F. 1084 1863 1864 Col Gates, William 11 Retired 1865-01-13 1865-10-23 Maj Gibson, Augustus A. 1008 1865-10-01 1866-10 Capt Duryea, Richard C. 1598 bvt Ltc 1866-11-01 1870-02-15 Maj Brannon, John M. 1081 bvt Maj Gen 1870-02-18 1875-12-01 Capt Guenther, Francis L. 1833 bvt Ltc 1870-09-05 1873-04-15 Capt Kensel, Georg A. 1769 bvt Ltc 1873-01-09 1873-06-13 Maj Andrews, George P. 1245 1873-05-18 1875-11-26 Ltc Dent, Frederick T. 1199 1874-04-24 1875-12 Capt Kensel, Georg A. 1769 bvt Ltc 1872-12-19 1876-10-23 Maj Brannon, John M. 1081 bvt Maj Gen 1875-12-29 1876-10 Capt Langdon, Loomis L. 1650 bvt Ltc 1876-12-19 1880-12-08 Ltc Brannon, John M. 1081 bvt Maj Gen 1882-02-27 1882-11-29 Maj Piper, Alexander 1498 bvt Ltc 1882-12-01 1885-07-01 Capt Pennington, Alexander C.M. 1864 bvt Col 1885-07-07 1889-01-09 Ltc Mendenhall, John 1513 bvt Col 1889-06-04 1891-09-01 Maj Guenther, Francis L. 1833 bvt Ltc 1892-04-28 1896-10-05 Capt Maj Calef, John H. 1988 1896-10-02 1898-11-24 Capt Crawford, Medorem 2202 1902-06 1905-08 Ltc Col Davis, John M.K. 2172 1909-08-31 1910-07 Capt Miller, Lawrence Sprague 3757 Dates are formatted in yyyy-mm-dd to sort correctly. The Cullum Number is the graduation order from the United States Military Academy by year and class rank and links to a page for the officer on the website version of the Cullum Register. Listings without a Cullum Number indicate that the person was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy. {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: Fort Trumbull State Park, New London, New London County, Connecticut. Maps & Images Lat: 41.3437094 Long: -72.0931317 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: ' See Also: First System Fortifications Second System Fortifications Third System Fortifications Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 124-125 Links: Fort Trumbull State Park U.S. Senate - Fort Turnbull North American Forts - Fort Turnbull Wikipedia - Fort Trumbull Visited: No