John Bratton
John Bratton
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's4th district
In office December 8, 1884 – March 3, 1885
Preceded by	John H. Evins
Succeeded by	William H. Perry
21stComptroller General of South Carolina
In office November 30, 1880 – December 1, 1882
Governor	Johnson Hagood
Preceded by	John C. Coit
Succeeded by	William E. Stoney
Member of theSouth Carolina Senate fromFairfield County
In office November 27, 1865 – September 21, 1866
Succeeded by	James Mars Rutland
Personal details
Born	(1831-03-07)March 7, 1831 Winnsboro, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	January 12, 1898(1898-01-12) (aged 66) Winnsboro, South Carolina, U.S.
Resting place	St. John's Episcopal Church Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	South Carolina College South Carolina Medical College
Profession	soldier,planter,doctor
Nickname	[Old] Reliable[1]
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Branch/service	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–65
Rank	Brigadier General
Commands	6th South Carolina Infantry Bratton's Brigade
Battles/wars	American Civil War Peninsula Campaign Battle of Seven Pines Battle of Fredericksburg Siege of Suffolk Chattanooga Campaign Knoxville Campaign Overland Campaign Siege of Petersburg Appomattox Campaign

John Bratton (March 7, 1831 – January 12, 1898) was aU.S. Representative fromSouth Carolina, as well as ageneral in theConfederate States Army during theAmerican Civil War. He rose from private to brigadier general and led aregiment andbrigade in theArmy of Northern Virginia in several important battles in both theEastern Theater andWestern Theater during the war.

Bratton was born inWinnsboro, South Carolina. He attended the Academy ofMount Zion Institute in Winnsboro and graduated fromSouth Carolina College atColumbia in 1850 and from South Carolina Medical College at Charleston in 1853. While at South Carolina College, he was a member of theEuphradian Society. He practiced medicine in Winnsboro from 1853 to 1861. Bratton was also a successful planter, acquiring high valued real-estate and as many as seventy-fiveslaves by 1860.^[2][3]

John Bratton was one of only a few men who enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private, rose to the rank of brigadier general, and fought in both Eastern and Western theaters during the Civil War.^[4]

He enlisted in theConfederate States Army on April 1, 1861, as aprivate in Company C of the6th South Carolina Infantry and was promoted a month later tocaptain. On March 1, 1862, he became acolonel in charge of theregiment. He participated in thePeninsula Campaign and was wounded and captured in theBattle of Seven Pines.^[2]

On June 1, 1862, under the command ofMaj. Gen. James Longstreet andBrig. Gen. Richard H. Anderson, Bratton led the 6th South Carolina Regiment in an assault on several isolated Union entrenchments west ofSeven Pines, Virginia. Bratton's 6th Regiment was the lead Confederate regiment in the Confederate advance through and behind enemy lines. During the assault Bratton sustained a severe injury to his left arm and shoulder. Unable to make it back to Confederate lines on his own, he was being assisted by another wounded soldier from his regiment but was subsequently captured by Union forces when he accidentally stumbled into their lines.^[5] Upon hearing word of the 6th Regiment's gallantry, Union Brig. Gen.Philip Kearny saw to it that Bratton received the utmost care. Bratton was released two months later on August 31, 1862.

Bratton rejoined his regiment in October 1862 and participated in theBattle of Fredericksburg in December. In the spring of 1863, his regiment missed theBattle of Chancellorsville because it accompanied Longstreet's Corps in theSiege of Suffolk, where Bratton served as temporary brigade commander. The regiment garrisonedRichmond, Virginia, whileRobert E. Lee's army fought theGettysburg Campaign during June and July.^[6] In the fall of 1863, Col. Bratton's 6th South Carolina accompanied Gen. Longstreet's corps to the Western Theater. He was present in several battles in the Tennessee area, including theChattanooga Campaign and theKnoxville Campaign.^[4]

Bratton's regiment did not reach theArmy of Tennessee until after theBattle of Chickamauga. Brig. Gen. Micah Jenkins replaced Maj. Gen.John Bell Hood after he was wounded at Chickamauga and Bratton once again served as brigade commander.^[6] Bratton led a night attack on Federal forces atWauhatchie on October 28–29, 1863, during which Bratton had the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th South Carolina Regiments and Hampton's legion at his disposal. Opposing him were the 109th and 111th Pennsylvania Regiments along with the 137th and 149th New York Regiments. Although the brigade attack was well-executed, the battle was a significant Confederate defeat at the beginning of the Chattanooga Campaign.^[4]

Bratton was promoted tobrigadier general dating from May 6, 1864. He led an infantry brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia for most of the rest of the war, seeing action in such battles asthe Wilderness,Spotsylvania Court House, andCold Harbor. He then participated in thedefense of Petersburg and was wounded in the shoulder at theBattle of Darbytown Road.^[2]

He surrendered his brigade, the largest in the Army of Northern Virginia at the end of the war,^[6] atAppomattox Court House in April 1865 and was paroled on April 9.^[2]

In the years following the war, Bratton concentrated on farming cotton and raising imported livestock. He entered politics duringReconstruction as a supporter of the conservative Democratic regime dominated by Gen.Wade Hampton.

Bratton served as member of the State constitutional convention in 1865. He represented Fairfield in theSouth Carolina Senate in 1866. He served as chairman of the South Carolina delegation in the1876 Democratic National Convention. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1880. Bratton was electedcomptroller general of South Carolina by the legislature, to fill a vacancy, in 1881. Bratton was elected to the Forty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death ofJohn H. Evins and served from December 8, 1884, to March 3, 1885. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1884.^[7]

He retired from active politics and again engaged in planting at "Farmington" near Winnsboro. He died in Winnsboro, South Carolina. He was interred in St. John's Episcopal Church Cemetery.^[8]

The General John Bratton Camp #1816 of theSons of Confederate Veterans was named in his honor.

• List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)

• Austin, J. Luke,General John Bratton: Sumter to Appomattox, in Letters to His Wife, New York: Proctor's Hall Press, 2003,ISBN 978-0-9706214-3-6.
• Coker, James L. "History of Company G, Ninth S.C. Regiment Infantry, S. C. Army and of Company E. Sixth S.C. Regiment Infantry, S.C. Army, Charleston SC: Walker, Evans & Cogswell, 1899.
• Eicher, John H., andEicher, David J.,Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001,ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Hewitt, Lawrence L., "John Bratton",The Confederate General, Vol. 1,Davis, William C., and Julie Hoffman (eds.), National Historical Society, 1991,ISBN 0-918678-63-3.
• Meyers, Christopher C., "John Bratton",Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, Heidler, David S., and Heidler, Jeanne T., eds., W. W. Norton & Company, 2000,ISBN 0-393-04758-X.
• U.S. War Department,The War of the RebellionArchived 2009-09-13 at theWayback Machine:a Compilation of theOfficial Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.
• Warner, Ezra J.,Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders, Louisiana State University Press, 1959,ISBN 0-8071-0823-5.
• Welsh, Jack D.,Medical Histories of Confederate Generals, Kent State University Press, 1999,ISBN 978-0-87338-853-5.

• United States Congress."John Bratton (id: B000772)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-13

• 204 North Zion Street - Wynn Dee Plantation in Winnsboro, S.C.
• John Bratton Letters at Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library

• 1831 births
• 1898 deaths
• American Civil War prisoners of war held by the United States
• 19th-century American planters
• Confederate States Army brigadier generals
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina
• People of South Carolina in the American Civil War
• People from Winnsboro, South Carolina
• Democratic Party South Carolina state senators
• South Carolina comptrollers general
• Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves
• 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• 19th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly
• Planters from South Carolina

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Webarchive template wayback links