In our last feature, we traveled back in time to 1780 and the Road to the Battle of Huck’s Defeat for the 246th commemoration weekend at Historic Brattonsville in York County, SC. You can read the full post here.
Today we’re continuing our Revolutionary York adventures with an edition of Buried History, taking time to tour historic Bethesda Presbyterian Church. Dating to the 1760s, for nearly 260 years, this parish has been an active part of the lives of those who have lived and died in York County. Its adjoining burial ground is a memorial to the legacy and lives of the souls who made such an impact in the region in life.
While every burial ground is sacred and filled with unique history, Bethesda is unique in its important role in Revolutionary War history, from its liberty minded pastor John Simpson who urged his congregation to stand up and fight against the British, to being the primary parish of patriotic men and women like Colonel Bratton and Martha Bratton who stood up to Capt. Christian Huck…stay tuned for the story…
As a Revolutionary War history buff and a taphophile, aka a person who loves to visit cemeteries and learn about the lives of those who are buried there by reading their gravestones and researching their stories, I’ve made a point to visit patriot graves during my travels. Bethesda is one of the most historic Revolutionary War era cemeteries that I’ve personally visited with at least thirty-eight known patriots buried in these hallowed grounds.
History rests here. Of the grave markers that remain, carefully etched even if time has weathered the stones, is a guidepost to the person’s life, while many buried here are known only to God, or simply listed on the church register, their field stones and grave markers eroded by time…yet their memories remain as long as we keep their stories alive.
I’ve always been drawn to learning about the history of burial grounds, not because I’m cryptic or haunted (well maybe by history), or like spooky places…I feel drawn to visiting because I like to sit and pay respects to those who walked before us. Learning about their lives and the history they witnessed. As a person with deep faith, I also like to pause and pray, not just for the dead (eternal rest give them Lord) but for their descendants.
As a storyteller by trade, I can’t help but become fascinated by the biographies of those who are citizens of these silent cities. In started my ‘Buried History’ series last year, while I enjoy visiting the graves of famous citizens, it’s even more fascinating to look into the lives of those with the tattered stones, the ones who are not in every history class, yet played an important role in the fabric of the story of the past and the crossroads with our own present and future.
I was excited when I had the opportunity to travel to Bethesda to tour the burial ground and learn more about its history with parishioner, Dr. Robert ‘Bobby’ Walker whose family has worshipped at Bethesda since before the Revolutionary War. In fact, it was Dr. Walker as a young boy scout, who along with his father, worked on a scout project to research and catalog the names of the patriots buried at Bethesda and the location of their graves (if known) years ago. It was Dr. Walker’s passion for his roots and keeping the stories of these patriots alive years ago provides us with such a wonderful working history of those buried in the churchyard today.
Revolutionary Recap: Huck’s Defeat to Bethesda Presbyterian Church
Before we learn about Bethesda’s hallowed burial ground, I think it helps to start with a whirlwind recap of May 1780-July 12th, 1780 and the Battle of Huck’s Defeat (which occurred at the Bratton’s neighbors home, ‘Williamson’s Plantation,’ currently part of Historic Brattonsville living history site).
During the Battle of Huck’s Defeat weekend, I learned about the importance of York County and neighboring Chester and Lancaster Counties in the summer of 1780. Among the thirty-eight patriot veterans buried in Bethesda, many fought in the Battle of Huck’s Defeat, helping to defeat notorious Capt. Christian Huck and his British Provincials on July 12th, 1780. Huck’s death helped reinvigorate the patriot cause in the region, and helped pave the road towards the pivotal victory by the Overmountain Men over British ‘Bulldog’ Major Patrick Ferguson at Kings Mountain (just on the SC/NC border within northwestern York County) on October 7th, 1780.
Historic Brattonsville, located near McConnells, South Carolina, is a place where history truly lives. Only about forty minutes south of Charlotte, NC, The Patriot was filmed at Brattonsville and in the greater region, including neighboring Chester County. While The Patriot is a great popcorn flick, there’s a lot more fiction than fact about what actually happened in the Revolutionary War in South Carolina. The good news is you can be transported through time back to circa 1780, when York County was part of the New Acquisition District and instead of Tavington you had the Swearing Captain Christian Huck. In reality the real story is far more dramatic than fiction.
Brattonsville was the home to Bethesda Presbyterian founding members Colonel William Bratton and his wife Martha…We’ll meet the Brattons during our cemetery tour. Colonel Bratton was in the York County Militia under the greater command of “The Gamecock,” General Thomas Sumter and helped lead the fight in defeating Captain Huck at Historic Brattonsville.
It is one of the ‘Four B’s’ – four Presbyterian Churches in present day York County that were active parishes in the American Revolution and continue to have active congregations today.
The Four B’s are:
Historian and author of The Day It Rained Militia, Michael C. Scoggins, notes, “It would not be an understatement to assert that almost every soldier who took up arms against the British was a member of the congregation of the ‘four Bs.'” In fact, some writers claim that the “Four Bs” were the “four bees” in Cornwallis’s bonnet because they gave his officers in the region so many problems.
The role of the Presbyterian Church and tight-knit Scots-Irish communities in the New Acquisition District and Waxhaws region was crucial in fanning the flames of liberty, with their congregations helping to turn the tide toward eventual British surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.
- Want to learn more about the New Acquisition District and possibly ‘Join the Militia’ – I always learn something from the New Acquisition District Militia when I attend reenactments at the Museum of the Waxhaws and Historic Brattonsville
Historians Dr. Walter Edgar and Michael C. Scoggins are both interviewed for the Liberty Awakes documentary about the Battle of Huck’s Defeat, where they both emphasize the importance of Presbyterian churches like Bethesda in the fight for independence in the backcountry.
Many of the Lowland Scots from the Ulster Plantation in Ireland had been treated poorly by the English authorities before they immigrated to America. Presbyterian preachers like Rev. William Martin of Rocky Creek and Rev. John Simpson were quick to raise the alarm against the British, asking, “Isn’t this the same issue our forefathers dealt with in Scotland?” The Scots-Irish were a tight-knit community, and when their ministers preached rebellion from the pulpit, they listened.
Fall of Charleston to Huck’s Defeat: Recap
In order to understand the foundation of the American Revolution in the New Acquisition District (now York County) it helps to have a mini breakdown of the months leading up to the Battle of Huck’s Defeat:
As the war hit a stalemate in the northern colonies, the British, under General Clinton, conceived a “Southern Strategy” in 1777-1778 first taking over Savannah, Georgia (December 1778).
The Carolinas had kicked the British out with victories at Moore’s Creek Bridge near Wilmington (February 27, 1776) and Sullivan’s Island near Charleston, SC (June 28, 1776). Charleston was an important port for the Continental Army in the south and under the command of General Benjamin Lincoln in spring of 1780.
However, when Clinton and Cornwallis returned to invade South Carolina in the spring of 1780, they had learned from their mistakes. After a 44-day siege, the Continental Commander in the South, General Benjamin Lincoln, was forced to surrender on May 12th, 1780 (read all about it here). It was a disaster for the Patriot cause—the worst surrender of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War—and hope seemed lost.
The British felt that with Charleston under their command, they would easily be able to sweep through the rest of South Carolina. If Cornwallis had his way, he’d easily be able to take over South Carolina from the coast to the backcountry with the help of what he believed to be a silent Loyalist majority ready to rise up under the banner of the British cause. The idea was to set up outposts throughout the state from Georgetown to Camden to Hanging Rock to Ninety Six that would initially be held by British-commissioned officers and British provincials (American Loyalists who served as paid officers in the British Army) before being held permanently by the Loyalist majority as Cornwallis and his troops moved into North Carolina and beyond.
Lt. Colonel George Turnbull would be assigned to an outpost at Rocky Mount, whose cavalry commander Christian Huck would earn notoriety in the backcountry, before meeting his demise at Brattonsville on July 12, 1780…
‘Buford’s Massacre’
In the Liberty Awakes video at Historic Brattonsville, the opening scenes start at a place called ‘The Waxhaws,’ in neighboring Lancaster County.
Named for an ancient Native Tribe that lived in the region, The Waxhaws region encompasses the area just south of Charlotte NC into Union County NC to Lancaster County SC, and from the Catawba River in the west to Monroe NC in the east.
- Pro Tip: You can attend a reenactment of the Battle of the Waxhaws at the Museum of the Waxhaws every June. The Museum of the Waxhaws also has an amazing museum with living history events all year. Also, you can also visit the original ‘Buford’s Massacre’ battle site and mass grave to the fall patriots buried there…learn more here.
It was at The Battle of the Waxhaws in Lancaster County that the embers of rebellion ignited into what would be a brutal war in the backcountry from the Waxhaws to the New Acquisition District…It was the Waxhaws that kicked off the drama in the weeks leading up to the Battle of Huck’s Defeat.
On May 29th, 1780, Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton would earn his nickname ‘Bloody Ban’ at the Waxhaws in present day Lancaster County, SC, when he and his men brutally defeated, Colonel Abraham Buford and his Virginia Continentals, who upon learning about the fall of Charleston, hastily turned around and were headed to North Carolina to evade the British. Tarleton fell off his horse mid battle after his horse was shot, making his men think he’d been injured or was dead. The battle was one of confusion on both sides, with Continentals attempting to surrender to the British Legion with no avail. 113 Patriots died, with many of the injured and dying taken to Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church. There is a mass grave of many of the Patriot dead at the Buford’s Defeat site in Lancaster County. Many of the parishioners of Old Waxhaw Presbyterian and neighboring communities who came to help the injured and dying, saw mangled bodies were in shock by the horrors of the battle and war now at their doorsteps.
After the brutal defeat of Abraham Buford’s Continentals—who were fleeing to North Carolina after learning of the fall of Charleston—at Waxhaws in present-day Lancaster County near the North Carolina border, the shock of seeing 113 men cut down by bayonet and gunfire in what seemed a ruthless fashion not only incensed Patriot-leaning locals, but also angered and shocked many who were neutral or Loyalist-leaning. The easy occupation of South Carolina quickly became a civil war, turning like a spark hitting dry leaves into a fire. Nowhere did this struggle erupt more than in the area of what we now refer to as the Olde English District, including modern-day York County.
It was in this bedlam that Captain Christian Huck, a Loyalist who was from Philadelphia by way of Germany, enacted a rageful fury across the region. He was known as the “Swearing Captain” (he certainly didn’t live up to his given name of Christian, although we can pray for his soul). He despised Presbyterians and burned the Fishing Creek Church and Hill’s Ironworks.
Needless to say, his reign of terror didn’t subdue the Patriots, but only inflamed them, with many Presbyterian ministers going so far as to encourage their congregations to take up arms against the British.
Michael C. Scoggins sums up The Battle of the Waxhaws bluntly in the Liberty Awakes documentary at Historic Brattonsville:
“It was a bloody mess…that sent a shockwave through the backcountry. Presbyterians in the (area) were a tight knit community that had never seen that kind of carnage before.”
On July 12th, Colonels William Bratton, William Hill, Edward Lacey, and Richard Winn, as well as Captains John McClure and John Moffett and 140 Patriot militia, defeated 120 Loyalist forces under Captain Christian Huck. Huck was shot dead off his horse. Only one Patriot died, while the British had 95 dead, injured, or captured. It was a massive blow to the British, especially in their efforts to recruit more local Loyalists to their cause. You can learn more about the entire timeline here.
This was the first major Patriot victory by militia over trained British Provincials since the fall of Charleston. Though on paper it may appear a small skirmish, this was a huge morale booster that helped encourage more men to join the Patriot cause and continue the fight for liberty during what were some of the darkest days of the Revolutionary War.
I recommend you start your Revolutionary York County adventure at Historic Brattonsville. The historic site allows you to walk the grounds where the Battle of Huck’s Defeat (also referred to as Williamson’s Plantation) took place nearly 250 years ago, while touring the original Bratton homestead where Martha Bratton defied Huck when he stormed her home (stay tuned for the rest of the story later in our adventure today).
If possible, I recommend attending their annual reenactment weekend or another living history event at the site, including their annual September Living History Event about Brattonsville’s African American community, ‘By the Sweat of Our Brows.’
- Plan your Historic Brattonsville visit here
Buried History: Bethesda Presbyterian Church, Where History Rests
After a jam-packed day traveling back to July 12th, 1780 at Historic Brattonsville for the 246th Battle of Huck’s Defeat Weekend, Dr. Robert ‘Bobby’ Walker gave me and several of my fellow historian friends from the Museum of the Waxhaws, including J.B. Houston who is active in sharing stories about Revolutionary War history in the region, a tour of Bethesda Presbyterian Church and its burial ground.
(Waxhaw NC, and another amazing site for Living History, including the annual Battle of the Waxhaws Weekend in June and Battle of Charlotte Weekend in September)
Dr. Walker’s Bethesda connections run deep with many of his ancestors buried here, including Colonel William Bratton and Martha Bratton, as well as Captain Alexander Love and others. His family has attended Bethesda for over 250 years and Dr. Walker remains active in the church and community outreach. As I mentioned earlier in the post, as a young Boy Scout, Dr. Walker chose to research, catalog and clean the graves of the thirty eight known patriots buried in the church burial ground. He’s continued that work over the years.
My friend Kelly, at The Forgotten South, who visited Bethesda several weeks prior to my visit, often shares how maintaining graves is often overlooked and has become her calling. The more I get into ‘buried history,’ the deeper my gratitude for those like Dr. Walker and volunteer organizations like the DAR/SAR and individuals who take time to clean the stones and help keep the memories of those who came before alive.
Though I trust these souls are in God’s eternal rest, we can learn so much from their life stories and lessons from the past in our present. That is why taking time to learn about and visit historic burial sites is important.
Dr. Walker started off our tour by giving me a history of the origins of settlers in the area of York County, which at the time of the American Revolution was known as the New Acquisition District.
“The first settlers to this region were Scots-Irish, who came down the Great Wagon Road in the 1750s. The Great Wagon Road ran from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania into the Shenandoah then down through the western part of the Carolinas. Some of the early settlers moved directly to this region from Ulster Ireland, whereas others like the Bratton and Love families first settled in Pennsylvania and then moved to this area. The Ulster Scots were originally from the Scottish Lowlands and some of the ancestors of these families were originally near the Scottish Borders of Counties like Yorkshire. Even when they moved to Ulster in Ireland and eventually to the Colonies, they kept their ancestral roots with them. That’s why today we refer to York County and the neighboring counties of Chester, Lancaster, as well as Chesterfield, Kershaw and Union are referred to as the ‘Olde English District,’” Dr. Walker explained. “Many of the town names come from their ancestral homeland. So York Pennsylvania where Capt. Love settled for a time, but traces back to their original heritage in Scotland and the area near England where they lived.”
Walker then filled us in on the importance of churches like Bethesda during the American Revolution. Hearing him speak brought the story to life, as he has deep roots in the region, and has done extensive research over the years about Bethesda and the ‘Four B’s.’
What we learned, was that Scots-Irish settlers of present-day York County moved to America for a chance at a better life, guided by their faith and desire to farm and actively participate in their trades. The Scots-Irish developed tight-knit communities in this area of the South Carolina backcountry. The role of churches like Bethesda, Fishing Creek, Bullock’s Church, and Old Waxhaw Presbyterian was crucial in igniting the fire of patriotism, as Presbyterian ministers—from Bethesda and Fishing Creek’s Rev. John Simpson to Rev. William Martin of Rocky Creek Presbyterian Church—preached liberty from the pulpit, helping unite many Presbyterians in the backcountry to rally to the cause of the patriots and independence.
This, along with the fact that many British officers were already prejudiced against Presbyterians due to their opposition to Anglican traditions, made Presbyterian congregations the target of many British officers and loyalists, including Captain Huck, who viewed Presbyterians with intense hostility and burned Fishing Creek Church in the weeks before Huck’s Defeat.
What’s in a name: Fellow history lover and friend from Waxhaw reenactment weekend adventures, Amanda, asked lots of great questions during our tour, including: Why the name Bethesda? The name Bethesda means Gift of Grace in Hebrew, and is the name for the Pool of Bethesda, a place of healing in scripture. The area of Bethesda Presbyterian Church was originally called ‘Bethesda’ and a community of settlers coming down the Great Wagon Road into the area. Historical records show that Bethesda was approximately sixteen square miles in size. The original Bethesda Church was about a mile from the current site, and eight miles southwest of the town of present day York, thirteen miles northeast of Chester and twenty miles from the Broad River on the west and seventeen miles from the Catawba River on the east. (notes provided by Dr. Walker from his research).
“Bethesda became a preaching station in 1760, and that year area families in the community built a plain wooden building about one mile east of the current church building where we stand today. However the parish was officially organized until 1769, when Reverend William Richardson, who was stationed at the time at Old Waxhaws Church, helped Bethesda organize as a Presbyterian Church.” Dr. Walker explained as we stood near the cemetery gates.
“Rev. Richardson was the uncle of Patriot and Father of the University of North Carolina, right?” My brain is going into overdrive. I love discovering historical connections. “I visited Rev. Richardson and William R. Davie’s grave at Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church in Lancaster after the Battle of the Waxhaws event in June. I didn’t realize Richardson’s role here.”
“Actually Richardson was active in setting up and supplying ministry for several other area churches including York’s Bethel Church as well as Chester’s Fishing Creek, among others.”
Digging Deep: In writing this feature, I took time to research the biography of Rev. William Richardson: Richardson was born in Egremont (Cumbria) England, as the youngest son in a family of fairly well to do drapers. He studied for the ministry at the University of Glasgow and then emigrated to America in 1750. Richardson actually started off in the service of minister Samuel Davies of Virginia, who I recently found out preached at Hanover County’s Polegreen Church and influenced Patrick Henry! In 1758 Richardson was sent on assignment to serve as a missionary to the Cherokees in October 1758, but it ended up being a near disaster. (per Southern Spaces) Richardson married the eldest daughter of Reverend Alexander Craighead, of the Rocky River Presbyterian Church in 1759 and was installed as the minister for the Waxhaw Presbyterian Church in Lancaster County, which would later play a major role in the aftermath of the Battle of the Waxhaws.
William Richardson convinced his sister to bring his five year old nephew, who carried his namesake, William R. Davie to America and the Waxhaws. Rev. Richardson’s personality was known to be a calming force in the region, having a way to bring the staunchly independent and at times antagonistic church neighbors together.
- Fun fact: Craighead was one of the originally ‘revolutionary’ preachers. According to Michael C. Scoggins ‘The Day it Rained Militia,’ Reverend Alexander Craighead, a third generation Presbyterian minister, preached sermons against British authority in Mecklenburg County (NC) years before the Revolution began and his influence would continue to kindle the congregation even years after his death in 1766. (p. 29)
Dr. Walker explained the importance of the church in the community that Bethesda, as well as the other Four Bs, along with Fishing Creek, Old Waxhaw and Rocky Creek in the region, were places not only for worship but meeting and discussing and debating important topics of the day, including the fight for liberty.
“This area was still a no-man’s-land until 1772, when it was officially recognized as the New Acquisition Territory… Prior to that, this region of York County was technically South Carolina, but it was disputed territory with North Carolina. Charleston and the Lowcountry elite looked down on the settlers in the backcountry and wouldn’t provide the support they needed for territorial courts and other needs, so many of the settlers would go up to Tryon or Mecklenburg Counties in North Carolina to get the help they needed. Eventually, this New Acquisition District officially became South Carolina… Many of the settlers were distrustful of the ‘elite’ in Charleston and the planter class, who snubbed the needs of the people in the New Acquisition.”
“I’d be upset too if Charleston wasn’t providing basic needs like access to courts and services. I can understand why many settlers in this region were neutral at the beginning of the war to rally to the cause. They were just trying to survive and provide for their families.” I sighed, feeling the weight of their frustration.
“The church was a center of their lives and communities. When the British did invade South Carolina, it was ministers like John Simpson of Fishing Creek and Bethesda, and Rev. William Martin of Rocky Creek who really rallied the congregation to remember that the British also had treated them poorly in Scotland and later the Ulster Plantation…this wasn’t about Charleston or the backcountry, but liberty and their God given rights.” Dr. Walker summarized as we stepped into the hallowed ground beneath our feet. As he shared the backstory about Presbyterian community in New Acquisition it called to mind earlier research I’d done about the Waxhaws area…
“I remember reading in John Buchanan’s The Road to Guilford Courthouse that Planter William Henry Drayton recognized the divide and knew that to win the war for South Carolina, they needed the help of the backcountry. In the summer of 1775—specifically July and August—Drayton visited the region with liberty-minded Presbyterian minister William Tennent and Baptist minister Oliver Hart. Drayton, though an Anglican, recognized the importance of the Presbyterian Church in the community here. I even saw a reenactment of Tennent’s sermon at Andrew Jackson State Park for their candlelight tour at the Meeting House building there. It’s interesting that as early as 1775, one of the leading Low Country Patriots, Drayton, recognized the importance of getting the Presbyterian community in the New Acquisition on their side.
Pro Tip:
- I recommend three books about the New Acquisition District:
“During the Revolutionary War years, Bethesda didn’t have a permanent minister, but was supplied with itinerant ministers from the Philadelphia Synod who traveled through the region or usually other regional ministers who would ‘supply’ the needs of the church,” Dr. Walker explained. “Along with Richardson, early ministers to supply Bethesda were Reverend Joseph Alexander of Bullock’s Creek and Reverend Hezekiah Balch of Bethel… During the Revolutionary War, Bethesda didn’t have a permanent minister, but it received supply preaching from Fishing Creek’s Reverend John Simpson beginning in 1774.”
“He’s the one we learned about at the Huck’s Defeat talk…didn’t Huck burn his house down?” I asked, trying to put all the pieces of this drama together.
“That’s the one! He was a patriot-fighting Presbyterian who no doubt encouraged many of the congregants here to rally to the cause of liberty.”
Digging deeper, I learned that Simpson’s preaching at Bethesda and Fishing Creek was electric, and he held deep antagonism for the British, reminding the congregation of their plight in Ulster before arriving in America. Rev. John Simpson became a major target for the British in the summer of 1780, as he openly encouraged his congregation to take up arms against the Crown. Simpson went so far as to take his rifle and join the Fishing Creek militia.
During the road to Huck’s Defeat, Captain Christian Huck—who despised Presbyterians, largely because area ministers rallied their congregations behind the Patriot cause—burned down the Fishing Creek Meeting House (Presbyterian Church) on June 11. While the movie The Patriot (which was filmed in York and Chester counties) shows a congregation locked inside a burning church, this did not happen in real life. The church was empty when the British arrived, as the parishioners had been warned in advance.
Huck, enraged and determined to hunt Rev. Simpson down, continued to the Reverend’s home. Thankfully, Simpson had been warned and escaped, but his wife Mary and their children were present. Huck burned the home, along with Simpson’s precious library, which was kept in an outbuilding. The family and minister of Fishing Creek and Bethesda were left homeless.
“No offense, The Patriot didn’t need to make up history, they have all the workings of a thriller here. This really should be a miniseries,” several of us on the tour discussed. “You can’t wrap your mind around the heartache violence too. Burning a church and people’s homes…”
“In addition to the British trying to force submission, you also had rivalries with neighbors and longstanding feuds that played out too. The conflict in the backcountry was pretty brutal. You think about what the congregation on both sides endured.
“You mentioned the original church was about a mile up the road? When was this church built?”
“We moved to this site in the 1770s, after local settler John Fondren donated the original seven acre tract here in 1771, and over the years acreage has been added. The original wood church built on this site burned down in 1780. While Fishing Creek and Old Waxhaw were burned by the British, contrary to some legends, it was not destroyed by the British, but just accidental fire. Another building was erected that stood for nearly forty years before the 1820 house of worship was built. Two of the original walls were replaced in 1847 due to a defect in the original design, with later additions being made in 1857 and 1882.”
“I’m sure it was hard on these congregations losing their social and spiritual hubs in such an uncertain time.” I reflected as I looked at the stones, each weathered by time and with their own unique character.
“After the Revolutionary War, we were supplied by itinerant ministers and also Reverend Simpson returned in the late 1780s until 1791. Our first full time pastor was Reverend Robert B. Walker was installed in 1794 and remained at Bethesda for over forty years.” Dr. Walker explained. “Under Reverend Walker, Bethesda enjoyed great prosperity marked by rapid and extensive growth. He was instrumental in lifting the church to great spiritual growth. Father Walker attended The Great Revivals of 1796-1805, which started in Kentucky and Tennessee, returning to Bethesda with much vigor to teach his congregation at Bethesda and the surrounding area. People came as far away as forty miles and they’d camp in wooden tents erected about the church grounds. A large wooden arbor that could accommodate 2000 worshippers was built in 1859.”
Dr. Walker explained that some of the congregation including Rev. Walker moved to Mississippi in the 1800s, due to opportunities. After retiring from Bethesda in York County, Rev. Walker actually moved to accompany his son, Zenas to northern Mississippi. Robert’s brother Thomas had already moved to that area. Dr. Walker said he visited the church and cemetery in Mississippi, also known as Bethesda (Tate County MS)
- Today Bethesda remains an active parish working to be a beacon towards the future, yet always working to commemorate the contributions of those who walked before and lessons to be learned towards a better future. You can learn more about the parish on their official website here
Revolutionary Bethesda:
We started our tour near a marker memorializing all of the patriots who fought in the war and those buried in the cemetery.
“There are thirty-eight known patriots buried in Bethesda and over seventy known patriots actually attended the church in the years during and after the Revolutionary War, which is remarkable, especially for a remote region that was deeply divided. While we honor all of these patriots, you also have to realize that making the choice to remain a loyalist wasn’t as crazy as we think it would be today. Many of those who remained neutral or were loyalists didn’t see the patriots as able to win and didn’t want to risk their livelihoods and the lives of their families in this struggle. Unfortunately many of them ended up having to move or face persecution for those choices, but it was often family members against family members in this area.
“I’ll share one particularly heartbreaking story in a moment at the grave of Captain Alexander Love.” Dr. Walker explained with passion, his understanding of the history and love of sharing the stories drawing us in. “Several of the patriot’s graves are well marked with beautifully cut headstones, others were originally marked with fieldstones lost to time. Walker noted that some of the exact burial locations are unknown, but they’d done a lot over the years to at least ensure a general record of who is actually buried here and in which section.”
- While we didn’t get to see all of the Patriots graves (I’m planning to return soon) here are a few of the highlights from the tour. I’ll be continuing to share stories about the patriots of Bethesda and the Four B’s in the coming months as I learn more about their roles. In the interim you can reference this amazing list of those buried at Bethesda, as well as Find a Grave.
Stop One: Get to Know Colonel William and Martha Bratton
Given the fact we’d just come from Historic Brattonsville, Dr. Walker started our tour at the graveside of both Colonel William Bratton and his wife Martha, two of the most important actors in the real life drama of Huck’s Defeat, Colonel William Bratton and Martha Bratton.
Colonel William Bratton was born circa 1742 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and immigrated with his family to America as a young boy. His family first settled in Pennsylvania before moving down the Great Wagon Road, living for a time in Virginia and North Carolina. The extended Bratton family—brothers John, Robert, Thomas, Hugh, and William—then moved to the area of present-day York County by 1766 as part of a larger migration of Scots-Irish into the Carolina Piedmont immediately following the French and Indian War.
Martha was born as Martha Robertson (or Robinson) around 1750 in Rowan County, North Carolina (along the Great Wagon Road and its connecting spur roads), to Hugh Robertson and Luisa Steele. Though some accounts suggest she was born at sea en route from Ireland to America (a detail noted by Lyman Draper), family tradition holds that she and William married in Rowan County. This detail was shared by the Brattons’ grandson, Dr. James Rufus Bratton, in his account to Revolutionary War historian Lyman C. Draper. Together, William and Martha had eight children. Martha would become a tour de force for the Patriot cause and a legendary heroine in the drama of Huck’s Defeat.
In 1766, Bratton purchased two hundred acres of land on the South Fork of Fishing Creek—the site that is now Historic Brattonsville. The Colonel William Bratton House is the oldest structure at Brattonsville, dating to circa 1766. The Bratton family were among the earliest congregants at Bethesda Presbyterian Church.
According to an article, Dr. Walker was shared with me by Michael C. Scoggins, Bratton was initially part of the New Acquisition Militia, which was commanded by Colonel Thomas Neel, an elder from Bethel Church.
However, according to an article by Scoggins, the New Acquisition Regiment split over differences in how to proceed against the British occupation of the Upcountry. Colonel Neel’s son, Andrew Neel, and William Hill, who owned Hill’s Iron Works near Allison Creek commanded the bulk of the old regiment, which was mostly drawn from the northernmost section of the New Acquisition.
Colonel Bratton organized a new regiment from the area around Brattonsville, south of present-day Rock Hill and west toward McConnells. Bratton’s regiment reported to Brigadier General Thomas Sumter, who, though not present at Brattonsville, actively led the Patriot rally in the Carolinas in the months following the fall of Charleston. The majority of Bratton’s men were members of Bethesda, alongside those from Beersheba and Bullock’s Creek. Together, the New Acquisition Regiment and Bratton’s forces were instrumental in defeating Christian Huck on July 12, 1780.
In early July, Lt. Colonel Turnbull, commander at Rocky Mount, heard rumors that local Patriot militia leaders like Colonel William Bratton and Captain John McClure were returning to their homesteads to tend their wheat harvest and recruit men. Huck first tried to track down McClure at his farm. Upon learning that McClure was not home, Huck terrorized McClure’s wife and set fire to their house. He also captured McClure’s younger brother, James, and his brother-in-law, Edward Martin. Both were sentenced to hang the next day, but thankfully, they survived due to Huck’s Defeat.
In the wake of the incident at the McClure house, neighbors rushed to warn Martha Bratton that Huck was coming to her home next. Acting quickly, Martha dispatched Watt, an enslaved teenager owned by the family, with a message to warn Colonel Bratton about Huck’s arrival. Watt was a true hero, ensuring the message reached Colonel Bratton later that day. While visiting Historic Brattonsville, you can pay your respects to Watt and the other enslaved members of the Brattonsville community at the historic burial ground on the property, an important site honoring Watt’s heroism.
After receiving news of Huck’s impending arrival, Colonel Bratton and other Patriot leaders organized their plan of attack to strike Huck at daybreak on July 12.
Meanwhile, Martha and her young son, also named William, were at their home when a group of Huck’s men, Loyalist New York Volunteers and local Tory militia arrived to question her about her husband’s whereabouts. One of the men was extremely violent; known as “the red ruffian,” he grabbed a reaping hook hanging on the porch and pressed it against Martha’s neck so tightly that it easily could have killed her. Where many would have cowered, Martha displayed steel courage. She refused to reveal his whereabouts, even when threatened with decapitation:
“I told the simple truth and could not tell if I would; but now I add that I would not if I could.”
Thankfully, Captain John Adamson, a Loyalist officer and one of the ruffians’ superiors, intervened to save Martha’s life. She returned the favor after Huck’s defeat: fearing for his life in the aftermath of the battle, Adamson implored Martha Bratton to confirm that he had protected her. She vouched for Adamson’s honor and went on to nurse wounded Loyalists and British Provincials, showing a spirit of grace alongside her formidable fortitude.
When Huck arrived at the home, he initially tried to turn on the charm by explaining that he only wanted to find Colonel Bratton to recruit him into the British forces. Huck went so far as to bounce “Young William” on his knee, letting the boy look at his pocket watch. However, this facade shattered when Martha firmly maintained that her husband was committed to Sumter’s army. In a rage, Huck threw Young William to the floor, leaving the boy with a broken nose that marked him for the rest of his life.
Martha was then forced to prepare dinner for Captain Huck and his men before they locked her and the rest of the household in the attic. That night, they could see the Northern Lights from inside the home. It is hard to imagine the eerie atmosphere of enduring such trauma while witnessing a rare Southern display of the Aurora Borealis.
The actual battle took place about half a mile away at the plantation of James Williamson and his family. Huck forced his way inside the home, spending the night with the Williamson family. While the house no longer stands today, you can see historical photographs and a framed “ghost structure” along the interpretative battlefield trail.
After locking the Williamson family upstairs all night, Huck demanded they make him breakfast the following morning. As portrayed in the Liberty Awakes film, an older James Williamson and his family prayed for Huck’s destruction after the officer insulted their Presbyterian faith and threatened them. As Scoggins notes in The Day It Rained Militia, Huck flourished his sword over the heads of the frightened family, threatening them with destruction unless they convinced their husbands and sons to renounce the rebel militia and take British protection.
Huck then boasted that “we have driven the Regulars out of the country, and I swear that if it rained militia from the Heavens, I would not value them!”
You couldn’t stage the timing better: at that exact instant, Huck heard the first shots as the Patriots attacked the British camp. In a stroke of irony, Huck, who took immense pride in his green British Legion jacket, left it inside the Williamson house when he ran out to investigate. The Williamson family promptly locked him out, forcing Huck to command his final battle without his prized coat.
Within fifteen minutes, the battle was over. The Patriots suffered only one casualty, while the British forces incurred around 95 casualties, including the death of the notorious Captain Huck.
Colonel Bratton was instrumental in the victory at Huck’s Defeat, but his wife Martha’s bravery and Watt’s decisive actions have truly stood the test of time (even being featured in Harper’s Weekly during the 19th century).
Bratton continued to serve as a regimental commander in Sumter’s Brigade until the end of the Revolution. After the war, he served as a justice of the peace for York County, sheriff of the Pinckney District, and a South Carolina state legislator in both the House of Representatives (1785–1790) and the Senate (1791–1794). Colonel Bratton died on February 9, 1815, and Martha passed away nearly a year later on January 9, 1816. Their descendants continued to expand Brattonsville, and visitors can explore these stories at Historic Brattonsville today.
According to Find a Grave, James Williamson is buried at Bethesda Presbyterian Church, though some historical records suggest otherwise. Regardless, several members of the Williamson family who fought at Huck’s Defeat are laid to rest at Bethesda.
Stop Two: Captain Alexander Love: A Father of York County
Dr. Walker spent time telling us about one of his relatives, Captain Alexander Love, who was an important founding figure of the New Acquisition District and even gave York County its name. In researching Love’s life, I discovered that a DAR Chapter in Texas takes their name from Capt. Love (even though they are hundreds of miles from York County), a testament to Love’s impact, not only as a patriot but as a citizen in the region.
Born in 1718, Love was a prominent Scots-Irish settler in the New Acquisition District of present-day York County. He is credited with naming York after York, Pennsylvania, where his family originally settled after immigrating to America from Ireland. While the exact date of their arrival in America is unknown, they are believed to have been part of the early wave of Scots-Irish immigration into Pennsylvania during the early 1700s.
In 1743, Alexander married Margaret Moore, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, before moving to America. Her family were staunch Quakers and strongly disapproved of their daughter marrying a Presbyterian. Margaret’s brother supported her choice, but the rest of her family was livid. As a result, Margaret was disowned (“disowned from unity”) by the Quaker meeting (Society of Friends), as was her brother, though he was later reinstated. Love’s family, on the other hand, had no objection to the marriage.
Talk about a Hallmark drama…you have the misunderstanding (Quaker vs. Presbyterian), romance at any cost, and a chance to “Love” one another! Every turn reveals fascinating history in York County.
The Scots-Irish continued their southward migration as cheaper lands opened up in Virginia and the Carolinas. The exact date Love left Pennsylvania is unknown, but it was prior to 1771. He settled his family on Upper Fishing Creek, about a mile and a half from what later became Yorkville (now York), South Carolina. This area was initially categorized under Craven County, North Carolina, then Craven County, South Carolina, later the New Acquisition District, and ultimately York County. Many local historians believe he and his family were among the very first European settlers in the immediate area.
Love quickly became a prominent citizen in the backcountry. He served as a regional representative in the multi-member delegation to the First Provincial Congress of South Carolina in Charleston in August 1775. Considering that coastal Charleston elites viewed anything fifty miles inland as the wild backcountry, it speaks volumes about Love’s standing that he was chosen to represent his region in Charleston for this critical assembly.
Love was active in helping to lay out the New Acquisition District and advocating for it to be named York County after his former home of York County, Pennsylvania. He was a devoted member of Bethesda Presbyterian Church and owned several tracts of land within the Bethesda community.
During the Revolutionary War, Alexander and many of his family members served as Patriots. His son-in-law Francis Ross, who married Love’s eldest daughter Rachel, served as a major and was tragically killed in action in 1779 during a skirmish near Rocky Point in the Savannah River region.
The children of Alexander and Margaret Love were:
- Rachel: Married Major Francis Ross
- Andrew: Married Anne Lattimore
- James: Never married; drowned
- Mary: Married David Horner
- Jane: Married John Murphy
- Elizabeth: Married Charles Miles
- Margaret: Married James Sterling
- Sarah: Married Captain John Stallings (Stallions) (she died in gunfire from a tragic skirmish against her brother (patriot) and husband (loyalist) (keep reading for the heartbreaking story)
- Robert: Revolutionary War soldier
- Alexander: Never married
- William: Married Margaret McDowell
The Crossroads of War: Heartbreak at Stallions
The surname Love stands out in reading about a tragic incident at “Stallions” (also known as the Engagement at Stallions or Stalling’s Stand), which vividly illustrates the brutal civil war fought in the backcountry. In mid-June 1780 (June 12 in many records), Patriot militia under Colonel Thomas Brandon and Captain Andrew Love attacked a group of Loyalists who had barricaded themselves inside the home of Loyalist Captain John Stallings (or Stallions).
Andrew Love’s sister, Sarah, was married to Captain Stallings. Though Sarah harbored Patriot sympathies, she remained loyal to her husband. During the confrontation, she pleaded with her brother and the Patriots to withdraw and hold their fire. Tragically, as the Patriots fired into the house to suppress the Loyalist defense, a stray bullet struck and killed Sarah.
After the skirmish ended, Andrew Love and his Loyalist brother-in-law met over her body and shed bitter tears. Despite their opposing political allegiances, Love granted Stallings parole so he could bury his wife and arrange his personal affairs. Both Andrew and Sarah were children of Captain Alexander Love. It is hard to fathom the profound heartache this family endured, just one of many stories of deep family divides in the backcountry that continues to haunt local history. The battle was recorded by eyewitness Thomas Young and is highlighted in John Buchanan’s The Road to Guilford Courthouse.
- Read more about Thomas Young and his account here
According to historical records and Find a Grave, Andrew Love eventually moved west and died in Kentucky, but he and his family were long-time parishioners at Bethesda Presbyterian Church. Andrew went on to become a colonel in the local militia, was wounded at the Battle of Kings Mountain, and served in the South Carolina State Legislature. His brother, Robert Love, also served as a Patriot soldier during the war.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good photo of the grave of James Martin, but enjoyed learning about his story and thought I’d include it in this post (I’ll continue to share more stories of York County patriots from Bethesda and the Four B’s as I learn more.
James Martin: Rank of Captain. He enlisted in 1775 and served under Capt. Andrew Lewis, Colonel Neel, and General Richardson and went out against the Tories under Cunningham. In July 1776, he was under Capt. Francis Ross and Col. Neel on the Cherokee Expedition and was in the battle at Black Hole. He was commissioned in the battles at Briar Creek and Oconee. In June 1779, he took part of his unit to North Carolina and joined Colonel Locke at Ramsour’s Mill.
- I had the chance to attend the 246th reenactment at Ramsour’s Mill in Lincolnton NC on June 20th, 1780, so finding a York County connection to the battle was interesting as I was researching Bethesda Patriots.
After being in the battle at Ramsour’s Mill he returned to South Carolina and joined Col. Polk and General Sumter. Martin fought at several major battles including Huck’s Defeat, Rocky Mount, Hanging Rock (August 6, 1780), Fish Dam Ford and Blackstocks. He was sent by Sumter to guide William Washington to Grindal Shoals and was at the Battle of Cowpens. He remained in the service until spring 1781.
I’m grateful for Dr. Robert ‘Bobby’ Walker for giving me a tour of his family burial ground and I look forward to sharing more history from Bethesda, Brattonsville, York County and beyond.
Ready to Plan your Revolutionary York County Adventures? Here are a few resources:
About American Nomad…
Hi, I’m Adele Lassiter, aka The American Nomad Traveler…I started blogging as a way to share my passion about history, national parks, scenic places, art history, museums, cool small towns and more. When I’m not blogging about travel, history and culture, I also am a singer songwriter. You can find my music here…
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Thanks for your grace if there are any typos (written by a human who spends a lot of time researching with my cat by my side).
Huzzah for History!
Wow Adele you are amazing writer- so proud!
Thank you so much!