Martha Bratton

Martha Bratton (née Robertson, c. 1750 – 1816) was an American woman who supported the Patriot cause during the American Revolutionary War. In 1780, she blew up a cache of gunpowder to prevent it from falling into British hands. Troops of the British Legion questioned her as to her husband William's whereabouts in June of that year, and a battle ensued after she used a slave to inform him of their movements. Their house, a girls' school after Bratton's death, is one of the properties of the Brattonsville Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Early life The Revolutionary House, built in 1776 by Colonel William Bratton (who fought in the Revolutionary War), was originally a one-room log house with a small porch. Later additions were added to the original structure, and clapboard siding was placed over the original logs. The house was heavily remodeled in 1838. Image Courtesy of Culture & Heritage Museums, York County, SC. In 1750 Martha Robertson was born in Rowan County, North Carolina to Hugh Robertson and Luisa Steele Their house, a property of the Brattonsville Historic District, is a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

American Revolutionary War

During the American Revolutionary War, William was commissioned into the South Carolina Militia, serving under Thomas Sumter at the rank of colonel and seeing action at Huck's Defeat.

In June 1780, troops of the British Legion, a Loyalist military unit, questioned Bratton as to her husband's location. Brattonsville was named after the couple.