John Bratton
Encyclopedia
John Bratton was a U.S. Representative
from South Carolina
, as well as a general in the Confederate States Army
during the American Civil War
. He rose from private to brigadier general and led a regiment
and brigade
in the Army of Northern Virginia
in several important battles in both the Eastern Theater
and Western Theater
during the war.
. He attended the Academy of Mount Zion Institute in Winnsboro and graduated from South Carolina College
at Columbia
in 1850 and from South Carolina Medical College at Charleston in 1853. 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-five slaves by 1860.
He enlisted in the Confederate States Army
on April 1, 1861, as a private
in Company C of the 6th South Carolina Infantry and was promoted a month later to captain. On March 1, 1862, he became a colonel
in charge of the regiment
. He participated in the Peninsula Campaign
and was wounded and captured in the Battle of Seven Pines
.
On June 1, 1862, under the command of Maj. Gen. James Longstreet and Brig. Gen. Richard H. Anderson, Bratton led the 6th South Carolina Regiment in an assault on several isolated Union entrenchments west of Seven 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, he was subsequently captured by remaining Union forces. 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 the Battle of Fredericksburg
in December. In the spring of 1863, his regiment missed the Battle of Chancellorsville
because it accompanied Longstreet's Corps in the Siege of Suffolk
, where Bratton served as temporary brigade commander. The regiment garrisoned Richmond, Virginia
, while Robert E. Lee
's army fought the Gettysburg Campaign
during June and July. 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 the Chattanooga Campaign
and the Knoxville Campaign
.
Bratton's regiment did not reach the Army of Tennessee
until after the Battle 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. Bratton led a night attack on Federal forces at Wauhatchie
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.
Bratton was promoted to brigadier 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 as the Wilderness
, Spotsylvania Court House
, and Cold Harbor
. He then participated in the defense of Petersburg
and was wounded in the shoulder at the Battle of Darbytown Road
.
He surrendered his brigade, the largest in the Army of Northern Virginia at the end of the war, at Appomattox Court House
in April 1865 and was paroled on April 9.
.
Bratton served as member of the State constitutional convention in 1865. He represented Fairfield in the South Carolina Senate
in 1866. He served as chairman of the South Carolina delegation in the 1876 Democratic National Convention
. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1880. Bratton was elected comptroller
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 of John H. Evins
and served from December 8, 1884, to March 3, 1885. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1884.
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.
was named in his honor.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, as well as a general in the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He rose from private to brigadier general and led a regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
and brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
in the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
in several important battles in both the Eastern Theater
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
The Eastern Theater of the American Civil War included the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina...
and Western Theater
Western Theater of the American Civil War
This article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Theater of operations:...
during the war.
Early life and career
Bratton was born in Winnsboro, South CarolinaWinnsboro, South Carolina
Winnsboro is a town in Fairfield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,599 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Fairfield County. Winnsboro is part of the Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. He attended the Academy of Mount Zion Institute in Winnsboro and graduated from South Carolina College
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
at Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
in 1850 and from South Carolina Medical College at Charleston in 1853. 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-five slaves by 1860.
Civil War service
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.He enlisted in the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
on April 1, 1861, as a private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
in Company C of the 6th South Carolina Infantry and was promoted a month later to captain. On March 1, 1862, he became a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in charge of the regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
. He participated in the Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
and was wounded and captured in the Battle of Seven Pines
Battle of Seven Pines
The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive up the Virginia Peninsula by Union Maj. Gen....
.
On June 1, 1862, under the command of Maj. Gen. James Longstreet and Brig. Gen. Richard H. Anderson, Bratton led the 6th South Carolina Regiment in an assault on several isolated Union entrenchments west of Seven 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, he was subsequently captured by remaining Union forces. Upon hearing word of the 6th Regiment's gallantry, Union Brig. Gen. Philip Kearny
Philip Kearny
Philip Kearny, Jr., was a United States Army officer, notable for his leadership in the Mexican-American War and American Civil War. He was killed in action in the 1862 Battle of Chantilly.-Early life and career:...
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 the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
in December. In the spring of 1863, his regiment missed the Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
because it accompanied Longstreet's Corps in the Siege of Suffolk
Siege of Suffolk
The Siege of Suffolk was fought around Suffolk, Virginia, from April 11 to May 4, 1863, during the American Civil War.-Background:In 1863 Lt. Gen. James Longstreet was placed in command of the Confederate Department of Virginia and North Carolina. Longstreet was given four objectives: 1) to...
, where Bratton served as temporary brigade commander. The regiment garrisoned Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, while Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's army fought the Gettysburg Campaign
Gettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
during June and July. 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 the Chattanooga Campaign
Chattanooga Campaign
The Chattanooga Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil War. Following the defeat of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Union Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga in September, the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen...
and the Knoxville Campaign
Knoxville Campaign
The Knoxville Campaign was a series of American Civil War battles and maneuvers in East Tennessee during the fall of 1863. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside occupied Knoxville, Tennessee, and Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. James Longstreet were detached from Gen...
.
Bratton's regiment did not reach the Army of Tennessee
Army of Tennessee
The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater...
until after the Battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
. Brig. Gen. Micah Jenkins replaced Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood
John Bell Hood
John Bell Hood was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness...
after he was wounded at Chickamauga and Bratton once again served as brigade commander. Bratton led a night attack on Federal forces at Wauhatchie
Battle of Wauhatchie
-References:* Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: McKay, 1988. ISBN 0-8129-1726-X. First published 1959 by McKay.* Cozzens, Peter. The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994. ISBN 0-252-01922-9.* Korn, Jerry, and...
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.
Bratton was promoted to brigadier 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 as the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
, Spotsylvania Court House
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania , was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged...
, and Cold Harbor
Battle of Cold Harbor
The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31 to June 12, 1864 . It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign during the American Civil War, and is remembered as one of American history's bloodiest, most lopsided battles...
. He then participated in the defense of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
and was wounded in the shoulder at the Battle of Darbytown Road
Battle of Darbytown Road
|The Battle of Darbytown Road was fought on October 13, 1864, between Union and Confederate forces. The Confederates were attempting to retake ground they had lost to Federal forces during battles near Richmond, Virginia. Their efforts failed....
.
He surrendered his brigade, the largest in the Army of Northern Virginia at the end of the war, at Appomattox Court House
Appomattox Court House
The Appomattox Courthouse is the current courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892. It is located in the middle of the state about three miles northwest of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, once known as Clover Hill - home of the original Old Appomattox Court House...
in April 1865 and was paroled on April 9.
Postbellum career
In the years following the war, Bratton concentrated on farming cotton and raising imported livestock. He entered politics during Reconstruction as a supporter of the conservative Democratic regime dominated by Gen. Wade HamptonWade Hampton
Wade Hampton may refer to:*Wade Hampton I , American soldier in Revolutionary War and War of 1812*Wade Hampton II , American plantation owner and soldier in War of 1812...
.
Bratton served as member of the State constitutional convention in 1865. He represented Fairfield in the South Carolina Senate
South Carolina Senate
The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives...
in 1866. He served as chairman of the South Carolina delegation in the 1876 Democratic National Convention
1876 Democratic National Convention
The 1876 Democratic National Convention assembled in St. Louis just nine days after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention. The convention opened with three contenders, Bourbon Democrat Samuel J. Tilden of New York, Thomas Hendricks of Indiana and Union General Winfield S. Hancock of...
. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1880. Bratton was elected comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
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 of John H. Evins
John H. Evins
John Hamilton Evins was a U.S. Representative from South Carolina.Born in Spartanburg District, South Carolina, Evins attended the common schools and was graduated from South Carolina College at Columbia in 1853....
and served from December 8, 1884, to March 3, 1885. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1884.
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.
Honors
The General John Bratton Camp #1816 of the Sons of Confederate VeteransSons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans is an American national heritage organization with members in all fifty states and in almost a dozen countries in Europe, Australia and South America...
was named in his honor.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals