Martha Bratton (née Robertson, c. 1750 – 1816) was an American patriot during the Revolutionary War. When British soldiers came looking for a cache of gun powder, she blew it up rather than have it fall into the hands of the enemy. The soldiers came to her house again, where a battle ensued after she warned her husband of the British troops' movements. Their house, a girl's 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.

Martha Robertson was born in Rowan County, North Carolina^[1][2] in 1750.^[2][3] She married William Bratton there in 1765, becoming Martha Bratton.^[3] William was born in Pennsylvania,^[2] or County Antrim, Ireland in 1743.^[3]

Alive when Bratton wrote her will were daughters Mary, Jean, Martha Foster, Ealie (Elsie) Sadler, Agnes McCaw, and Elizabeth Gavine, and sons John S. and William Bratton.^[4] Their daughter Alise (Elsie) was born on 1766^[2] and son William was born in 1774 in York, South Carolina.^[3] Their house, a property of the Brattonsville Historic District, is a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.^[5][6]

Bratton was married to Colonel William Bratton of the Continental Army,^[1] who served under Thomas Sumter and fought at Huck's Defeat.^[2]

Before the Siege of Charleston (March 29 and May 12, 1780), gunpowder was stored at the Bratton's house in South Carolina as ordered by Governor John Rutledge.^[1] The British were informed about the presence of this cache and moved to seize the supplies. As there was insufficient time to evacuate the material, Bratton instead blew it up, timing the explosion to coincide with the arrival of the British troops.^[7][8] Confronted with threats of harsh punishment, she told the British: "Let the consequence be what it will, I glory in having prevented the mischief contemplated by the cruel enemies of my country".^[8]

In June 1780, the British questioned Bratton as to her husband's location.^[1] She refused to reveal his position, even as a British soldier held a reaping-hook at her throat. That night, Watt, an enslaved family servant, she sent a message to her husband about where the British were staying, prompting a surprise attack by the patriots. The battlefield included her home; she put her son in the chimney to prevent him from being injured by stray gunfire. The victorious patriots housed a number of captured British soldiers in the Bratton home.^[8] Martha nursed the wounded American and British soldiers.^[1]

William died in 1815 and Bratton a year later. They both died in York, South Carolina,^[3] in what is now Brattonsville, South Carolina.^[2] After Bratton's death, her son inherited her home and later converted it into a school for girls.^[8] In her will, Bratton named 48 enslaved people.^[4]

Brattonsville, South Carolina was named after the couple.