"The Brandywine Creek has two branches which are very good for crossing" : The search for Trimble’s Ford
Author(s): Elisabeth A. LaVigne; William Chadwick
Year: 2016
Summary
On the morning of 11 September 1777, Hessian Captain Johan Ewald was leading an advance force ahead of the Crown Forces column that outflanked the American position along Brandywine Creek. The precise location of Trimble’s Ford, where the Crown Forces ultimately crossed the west branch of the Brandywine, and the road system that was traveled by the Crown Forces to reach the ford was the subject of a multi-faceted study. Geophysical investigation utilizing ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and geomorphic investigation through soil coring, combined with the examination of topographic data, historical cartography, and historical land records has resulted in the determination of the ford's location and the route of the Crown Forces advance. The results of the combined lines of inquiry provide a remarkable view of the landscape of the eighteenth-century Brandywine Valley and how terrain plays such a significant role in battlefield decisions the and resulting outcomes of those choices.
Cite this Record
"The Brandywine Creek has two branches which are very good for crossing" : The search for Trimble’s Ford. Elisabeth A. LaVigne, William Chadwick. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434270)
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Keywords
General
geomorphology
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Geophysics
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Landscape
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
Revolutionary Period
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 450