Martha Bratton was born in 1750 and married William Bratton in 1765. In 1766 William & Martha purchased 200 acres of land in York County South Carolina. The house the newlyweds lived in was constructed in 1766 and stills stands to this day at Historic Brattonsville under the stewardship of the Culture and Heritage Commission of York County. On July 11, 1780 the British arrived at the Bratton house in search of William, a colonel in Thomas Sumter’s Militia. Martha sent an enslaved African American named Watt with a message to her husband, who was away with the militia, informing him of the British presence. A British officer demanded that Martha tell the location of her husband. When she refused he threatened to decapitate her. When asked again she replied “I told the simple truth and could not tell if I would; but I now add, that I would not if I could". Martha Bratton risked her life to defend her family, her state, and her nation.