Ghost of Trimble's Ford: Dr. Master's Ghost Stories

By Thomas Trimble

September 11, 1777, Lieutenant Thomas Blakley and his eight-man squad are defending the critical north end of a line of Continental Army troops under General George Washington. These men are defending the multiple river crossings or Fords on the Brandywine River. However, Generals Howe and Cornwallis take a surprise route across Trimble's Ford to come in behind Washington's troops. Six of his men were killed immediately by this massive British force. He and two of his men were wounded but went back across the ford and died later in a nearby Tavern. Now their spirits are trapped there. He has become the Ghost of Trimble's Ford.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Trimble
• Release date: May 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201061180

Book preview

Prologue

This book is in some senses a continuation of my book COVEN House (Mar. 2021). That book is the story of a coven of six witches who are now ghosts; they were killed during the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials. The head of the coven is Nancy Pearson who died a horrible death at the hands of her husband.

One of the other main characters in that book is Dr. Paul Masters, Ph.D. a Paranormal Phycologist. The doctor and the coven are both involved in this story.

Also, this book is based on research my son and I did to trace our family tree. We traced that path to the Trimble family who owned what is now Trimbleville. That location has a major impact on this story as you can tell by the title, Ghost of Trimble’s Ford. Enjoy the story.

Peaceful Valley

In an area of Pennsylvania near the city of Kennett Square, there is a beautiful valley. A small village remains along the Brandywine River in the peaceful farm country. There are several crossing points along the river called Fords.

However, back in 1777, this area was far from peaceful. This area was the site of the troop movement leading to one of the major battles of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Brandywine. Troops were moving into this area not knowing they would be involved in a major clash. Regiments of British, Hessian, and Continental Army troops, all interested in taking or defending Philadelphia, some thirty miles away. Their goal depended on the color of their uniform.

Let’s look back there. [1]

We meet up with a young Lieutenant in the Pennsylvania Regiment of George Washington’s army. He and his eight-man squad have been assigned to be the northernmost point of a line of forces running north and south along the Brandywine River from an area known as Chadds Ford. The line stretched over three miles north. This was the main defensive line of Washington’s troops. Scouts had told them that their line defended the primary points where the British would cross the river. Lieutenant Tom Blakley held this key position at the end of the line.

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There is a local Tavern called the Ox Tail Tavern. It is being overrun by a huge mob of British soldiers. They are taking everything they can and drinking everything the place had. Tomorrow they would cross the river to where their scouts said George Washington had the Continental Army waiting for them.

Directly ahead of them, to the east was a crossing known as Chadds Ford. Another British force under the command of General Knyphausen would move directly against the forces at Chadds Ford. This is where the British Generals Howe and Cornwallis arranged a surprise attack on Washington’s forces. The attacking force at Chadds Ford was a force of about 8000 troops. It was basically to draw Washington’s attention. General Howe had been given information by Quaker Loyalists about another crossing to the northwest some eight miles, known as Trimble’s Ford.

The force under General Howe and the force under General Cornwallis came together to attack Washington’s troops in this surprise move from the northwest. This force consisted of more than 18,000 troops. That force marched for most of a day to cross the river at Trimble’s Ford then east to Jefferies Ford across the East Branch of the river. That gave them a position of advantage over Washington’s defenses. They would attack from behind the Continental Army lines.

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The Lieutenant and his men were holding their station at the end of the defense line. The first sign of what was going to happen was two men running from their North, yelling that the British were coming down on them. Several small Continental groups who were north of them had already been quickly overrun and killed. Then they hit the Lieutenant’s men. They were only able to get off a couple shots as thousands of British troops charged at them. Six of his men were killed quickly before he could even give orders to get them repositioned. Two other men were wounded and he was hit in the right side of his chest. The three of them were able to slip off to the west as this huge army of Redcoats came charging past.

This attack from behind their lines was a major factor in driving the eventual retreat of the Continental Army and the British takeover of Philadelphia.