Editing New London, Connecticut (section)

==History==
[[File:2013-07-28 Fort Trumbull - Thames Baseball Club.jpg|thumb|left|[[Fort Trumbull]], originally built on this site in 1777. The present structure was built between 1839 and 1852.]]
[[File:New London.jpg|thumb|left|New London in 1813]]
[[File:New London old station and Parade 1883.JPG|thumb|right|The Parade in 1883, with a railroad station built in 1864 at right (replaced by [[New London Union Station]] in 1887) and ferryboats in the river]]

===Colonial era===
The area was called Nameaug by the [[Pequot]] [[Native Americans of the United States|Indians]]. [[John Winthrop, Jr.]] founded the first English settlement here in 1646, making it about the 13th town settled in Connecticut. Inhabitants referred to it informally as Nameaug or as Pequot after the tribe. In the 1650s, the colonists wanted to give the town the official name of London after [[London, England]], but the [[Connecticut General Assembly]] wanted to name it Faire Harbour. The citizens protested, declaring that they would prefer it to be called Nameaug if it could not be officially named London.<ref name="Marrin2007">{{cite book|first=Richard B.|last=Marrin|title=Abstracts from the New London Gazette Covering Southeastern Connecticut, 1763-1769|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2LanJi-x6MC&pg=PA242 |date=January 1, 2007|publisher=Heritage Books|isbn=978-0-7884-4171-4 |pages=242}}</ref><ref name="Caulkins">{{Cite book |last1=Caulkins |first1=Frances Manwaring |author-link=Frances Manwaring Caulkins |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/rc01003277/ |title=History of New London, Connecticut, from the first survey of the coast in 1612 to 1860 |last2=Griswold |first2=Cecelia |publisher=H. D. Utley |year=1895 |location=New London, CT |language=en |lccn=rc01003277 |via=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref> The legislature relented, and the town was officially named New London on March 24, 1658.<ref name=":0" />{{Pg|page=119}}

===American Revolution===

The harbor was considered to be the best deep water harbor on [[Long Island Sound]],<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=New London |volume=19 |pages=515–516}}</ref> and consequently New London became a base of [[U.S. Navy|American naval operations]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]] and privateers where it has been said no port took more prizes than New London with between 400–800 being credited to New London privateers including the 1781 taking of supply ship Hannah, the largest prize taken during the war. Famous New Londoners during the American Revolution include [[Nathan Hale]], William Coit, Richard Douglass, Thomas and [[Nathaniel Shaw]], [[Samuel Holden Parsons|Gen. Samuel Parsons]], printer Timothy Green, and Bishop [[Samuel Seabury (bishop)|Samuel Seabury]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

New London was raided and much of it burned to the ground on September 6, 1781, in the [[Battle of Groton Heights]] by [[Norwich, Connecticut|Norwich]] native [[Benedict Arnold]] in an attempt to destroy the Patriot [[privateer]] fleet and supplies of goods and naval stores within the city. It is often noted that this raid on New London and Groton was intended to divert General [[George Washington]] and the French Army under [[Rochambeau, Jean-Baptiste-Donatien|Rochambeau]] from their march on [[Yorktown, Virginia]]. The main defensive fort for New London was [[Fort Griswold]], located across the Thames River in [[Groton, Connecticut|Groton]]. It was well known to Arnold, who had already informed the British of this so that they could avoid its [[artillery]] fire. British and Hessian troops subsequently attacked and captured New London's [[Fort Trumbull]], while other forces moved in to attack Fort Griswold across the river, then held by Lieutenant-Colonel [[William Ledyard]]. The British suffered great casualties at Fort Griswold before the Americans were finally forced to surrender—whereupon Arnold's men stormed into the fort and slaughtered most of the American troops who defended it, including Ledyard. All told, more than 52 British and 83 American soldiers were killed, and more than 142 British and 39 Americans were wounded, many mortally. New London suffered over 6 defenders killed and 24 wounded, while Arnold's men suffered an equal amount.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.battleofgrotonheights.com |title=The Battle of Groton Heights & Burning of New London |publisher=Battleofgrotonheights.com |date=August 31, 2006 |access-date=October 28, 2011}}</ref>

Connecticut's independent legislature made New London one of five cities simultaneously brought from ''de facto'' to formalized incorporations in its January session of 1784.<ref name="Caulkins" />{{Pg|page=619}}

===19th century===

After the [[War of 1812]] began, the [[Royal Navy]] established a blockade of the [[East Coast of the United States]], including New London. During the war, American forces unsuccessfully attempted to destroy the British ship of the line [[HMS Ramillies (1785)|HMS ''Ramillies'']] while it was lying at anchor in New London's harbor with [[torpedo]]es launched from small boats. This prompted the captain of ''Ramillies'', [[Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet]], to warn the Americans to cease using this "cruel and unheard-of warfare" or he would "order every house near the shore to be destroyed". The fact that Hardy had been previously so lenient and considerate to the Americans caused them to abandon such attempts with immediate effect.<ref name="Lossing">{{Cite book |last=Lossing |first=Benson |url=https://archive.org/details/fieldbookswar181200lossrich |title=The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812 |publisher=Harper & Brothers, Publishers |year=1868 |page=692 |oclc=1045378323}}</ref>

For several decades beginning in the early 19th century, New London was one of the three busiest [[whaling]] ports in the world, along with [[Nantucket]] and [[New Bedford, Massachusetts]].{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} The wealth that whaling brought into the city furnished the capital to fund much of the city's present architecture. The [[New Haven and New London Railroad]] connected New London by rail to New Haven and points beyond by the 1850s. The [[Springfield and New London Railroad]] connected New London to [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], by the 1870s.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

Many distinctive structures built in the 19th century remain, but the [[First Church of Christ (New London, Connecticut)|First Church]] built in 1853 collapsed in January 2024.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Jacobs |first=Kenneth Franklin |date=2005 |title=Leopold Eidlitz: Becoming an American architect |url=http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1178 |access-date=June 2, 2024 |website=University of Pennsylvania Scholarly Commons |pages=153–155}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Gendreau |first1=LeAnne |last2=Fortuna |first2=Angela |date=2024-01-26 |title=Historic New London church to be completely demolished after steeple collapse |url=https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/historic-new-london-church-will-need-to-be-demolished-after-steeple-collapse/3203459/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920172330/https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/historic-new-london-church-will-need-to-be-demolished-after-steeple-collapse/3203459/ |archive-date=2024-09-20 |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=[[WVIT|NBC Connecticut]] |publisher=[[NBC Owned Television Stations|NBC]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Military presence===
[[File:Connecticut - New London - NARA - 23936539 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|View of New London, 1930s]]
Several military installations have been part of New London's history, including the [[United States Coast Guard Academy]] and [[Coast Guard Station New London]].<ref>[http://www.uscg.mil/d1/sectlis/units/staNewLondon/ Coast Guard Station New London official web page]</ref> Most of these military installations have been located at [[Fort Trumbull]]. The first Fort Trumbull was an earthwork built 1775–1777 that took part in the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. The second Fort Trumbull was built 1839–1852 and still stands. During the [[Red Summer]] of 1919, there were [[New London riots of 1919|a series of racial riots]] between white and black Navy men stationed in New London and Groton.{{sfn|Rucker|Upton|2007|p=554}}{{sfn|The Greeneville Daily Sun|1919|p=1}}{{sfn|Voogd|2008|p=95}}

By 1910, the fort's defensive function had been superseded by the new forts of the [[Endicott Board|Endicott Program]], primarily located on [[Fishers Island]]. The fort was given to the [[Revenue Cutter Service]] and became the Revenue Cutter Academy. The Revenue Cutter Service was merged into the [[United States Coast Guard]] in 1915, and the Academy relocated to its current site in 1932.

During [[World War II]], the [[United States Merchant Marine|Merchant Marine]] Officers Training School was located at Fort Trumbull. From 1950 to 1990, Fort Trumbull was the location for the [[Naval Underwater Sound Laboratory]], which developed [[sonar]] and related systems for [[US Navy]] [[submarine]]s. In 1990, the Sound Laboratory was merged with the [[Naval Underwater Systems Center]] in [[Newport, Rhode Island]], and the New London facility was closed in 1996.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091026194651/http://www.geocities.com/~jmgould/trumhist.html The History of Fort Trumbull by John Duchesneau]</ref><ref name="r679">{{cite web | title=FORT TRUMBULL HISTORY | website=FRIENDS OF FORT TRUMBULL | date=2001-09-11 | url=http://www.fortfriends.org/history.htm | access-date=2024-12-02}}</ref>

The [[Naval Submarine Base New London]] is physically located in Groton, but submarines were stationed in New London during World War II and from 1951 to 1991. The [[submarine tender]] [[USS Fulton (AS-11)|''Fulton'']] and [[Submarine Squadron 10]] were based at State Pier in New London during this time. Squadron Ten was usually composed of eight to ten submarines and was the first all-nuclear submarine squadron. In the summer of 1960, peace activists from around the country gathered in New London to protest the all-nuclear submarines being based there. Participants held daily vigils and marches, handed out leaflets and talked with workers. Unable to achieve their goals by the end of the summer, some activists stayed in Connecticut and established the New England [[Committee for Non-Violent Action]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the Property |url=https://www.voluntownpeacetrust.org/history-of-the-property.html |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=THE VOLUNTOWN PEACE TRUST |language=en}}</ref>

USS ''Fulton'' was decommissioned, after 50 years of service, in 1991 and Submarine Squadron 10 was disbanded at the same time.  In the 1990s, State Pier was rebuilt as a [[freight container|container]] terminal.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

===Fort Trumbull===

{{main|Kelo v. City of New London}}
[[Image:Fort Trumbull three.jpg|right|thumb|One of the few remaining houses in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood, June 10, 2007]]

The neighborhood of Fort Trumbull once consisted of nearly two-dozen homes, but they were seized by the City of New London using [[eminent domain]]. This measure was supported in a 5–4 ruling in the 2005 Supreme Court case ''[[Kelo v. City of New London]]'', and the homes were ultimately demolished by the city as part of an economic development plan. The site was slated to be redeveloped under this plan, but the chosen developer was not able to get financing and the project failed. The empty landscape of the Fort Trumbull area has been widely characterized as an example of government overreach and inefficiency.<ref name=jacoby>{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/03/12/the-devastation-caused-eminent-domain-abuse/yWsy0MNEZ91TM94PYQIh0L/story.html |last=Jacoby|first= Jeff |title= Eminent disaster: Homeowners in Connecticut town were dispossessed for nothing|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=March 12, 2014}}</ref><ref name=WeekStand>{{cite news|last1=Allen|first1=Charlotte |title='Kelo' Revisited|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/kelo-revisited_776021.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131083434/http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/kelo-revisited_776021.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 31, 2014 |access-date=October 23, 2014|work=Weekly Standard|date=February 10, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Somin|first=Ilya|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/05/29/the-story-behind-the-kelo-case-how-an-obscure-takings-case-came-to-shock-the-conscience-of-the-nation/ |title= The story behind Kelo v. City of New London – how an obscure takings case got to the Supreme Court and shocked the nation|newspaper= [[The Washington Post]]|date=May 29, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Downey |first=Kirstin |url= http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002283981_scotus22.html |title=Nation & World &#124; Supreme Court ruling due on use of eminent domain |work=Seattle Times |access-date=October 28, 2011 |date=May 22, 2005}}</ref>