William Brattle


William Brattle was the Attorney General of Province of Massachusetts Bay as well as a physician, the Major General for all of the militia in Massachusetts Bay, a selectmen for Cambridge for 14 years and politician in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. During the American Revolution, he was Major General of the Royal Militia and played a role in the Powder Alarm. He was known as "the wealthiest man" in Massachusetts and was buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Lorenzo Sabine said of him, "A man of more eminent talents, and of greater eccentricities, has seldom lived."

Early life

William Brattle was born on April 18, 1706 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was the son of Reverend William Brattle of the First Parish in Cambridge, a member of Royal Society, and a Harvard graduate, educator, and leader. Brattle's father was also a slave owner. His mother was Elizabeth Hayman Brattle; she died July 28, 1715. He had an older brother, Thomas, who died as a young child. He was the nephew of Thomas Brattle and the last only descendant in the male line of Captain Thomas Brattle, his grandfather.
His father died in 1717, and without a means of support, Brattle began attending Harvard, during which time he was both fined for violating college rules and was head of the class. In 1722, he graduated from Harvard. His classmates included Richard Saltonstall of the Saltonstall family and William Ellery. He continued his studies for a graduate degree, and was head of the masters class of 1725.
When he was 21 years of age, Brattle inherited the estates of his father and uncle Thomas. Author James Henry Stark said "He inherited a large and well invested property, and had ample means to cultivate those tastes to which, by his nature and education, he was inclined."

Career

He preached sermons in the early 1720s, but by 1725 decided that he did not want to continue to pursue the ministry and began to practice medicine, providing treatment over his years in Cambridge to residents and students. He had a private law practice and for many years was an overseer of Harvard.
In 1728, at age 22, William Brattle attained the rank of Major. In 1729, he became a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. He was a captain or the major of the First Regiment of Militia in the County of Middlesex in 1733 when he wrote Sudnry rules and directions for drawing up a regiment, posting the officers.
Beginning about 1729, he served 21 terms as selectman of Cambridge. He became a member of the House of Assembly of Massachusetts Bay in 1736. He then was the attorney general of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

French and Indian Wars

Brattle served in two French and Indian Wars. By 1745, during King Georges War, Brattle was appointed commander of the forces at Castle William. He served in the French and Indian War, joining the governor's council in 1755. He was active in raising troops and with the general administration of military affairs in the Province. During the war he became Adjutant-general in 1758 and Brigadier-general in 1760.

American Revolution

Friendly with the Sons of Liberty, in 1769 he supported the revolutionary cause, but two years later he became major-general of the Militia of Great Britain in Massachusetts, American patriots called him a "fence straddler" for "simultaneously appeasing patriots while supporting the British." A Loyalist, he had notified the Royal government when people began to prepare for the Revolutionary War by storing arms. In 1772, he had a significant public dispute with John Adams.
Brattle wrote a letter in the autumn of 1774 to the Royal Governor of Massachusetts Bay, Thomas Gage, stating that members of the local militia were building up arms and that he feared that they were going to steal the store of gunpowder from the Charlestown Powder house. The letter was lost on its way to Gage and was found and published in a Boston newspaper. Gage had the powder barrels removed from Charlestown by 300 troops, which was seen as a means of provocation and resulted in the gathering of 4,000 people at the Cambridge Common. This incident, called the Powder Alarm, made the Tories who lived in Cambridge to feel uneasy. Brattle moved to Boston and remained on Castle Island through the siege of Boston.
In the meantime, his house and other abandoned properties of the Tories were occupied by patriots. His house became the headquarters of Thomas Mifflin, the Commissary General. Regular visitors included George Washington, John Adams and Abigail Adams.
John Adams said of Brattle becoming a Loyalist:
After the 1774 incident known as the Powder Alarm, an angry mob surrounded the Brattle mansion and forced the family to flee to Boston. At age 70, Brattle left Boston for Halifax, Nova Scotia on Evacuation Day, March 17, 1776, and died a few months later on October 26, 1776. He was buried in the Old Burying Ground. While his gravestone is reported to have existed in 1910, it has been lost.
The Patriot newspapers derided Brattle after he had escaped Boston. The Boston Gazette wrote:
His children were allowed to keep his property in Cambridge, but his Boston and Oakham property was confiscated by the province of Massachusetts. Brattle also owned property in Halifax and southeastern Vermont.
, 42 Brattle Street on Tory Row, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Family

Married at the age of 21, his first wife was Katherine, the daughter of the Governor of Connecticut Gurdon Saltonstall. After she died in 1752 in Cambridge, he married Martha Fitch, the daughter of Thomas Fitch and widow of James Allen. His children included Thomas and Katherine, who in 1752 was married to Boston merchant John Mico Wendall. They were the only two of nine children who survived to adulthood.

Legacy