Fearless Martha by Sheila Ingle was a great read!

Definitely read this book in print, because the illustrations are wonderful. They were drawn by John Ingle, Sheila’s husband.

Fearless Martha begins with a brief forward, and ends with a glossary explaining colonial-era words the reader may not be familiar with.

Set during the American Revolution, the book is well-researched and fast-paced. Martha Bratton, the heroine of the book, protected her family from the British and struck her own blow against the enemy.

If you liked A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon, you’ll enjoy this book.

Here’s the setup:

Most history books describe the American Revolution as a war between men, but in the Carolinas, heroic women like Martha Bratton played a part in defeating the British and ensuring independence for the thirteen colonies. Fearless Martha: A Daughter of the American Revolution is a fictionalized and illustrated biography of this plucky female patriot for young readers. Each captivating chapter describes this resilient and fearless young mother in her commitment to preserve and protect her family and home in the backcountry of South Carolina. When her husband rides off to join a militia and fight for independence, Martha and her children―four daughters and a rambunctious six-year-old boy―try to hold their lives together. Between blowing up a secret cache of gunpowder before Tories can confiscate it to blowing off a rattlesnake’s head, Martha Bratton stands tall as battles wage around her during the summer of 1780. In a riveting scene on the front porch of her home, Martha meets the enemy face to face as a British soldier holds a blade to her neck and her children cower behind her. Recreated through imagination, public records and backcountry traditions, Fearless Martha is a powerful story of bravery in a tumultuous time.

Accompanying Field Trips:

Visit Historic Brattonsville to check out a historical reenactment of the Battle of Huck’s Defeat.

You can also see Colonel William and Martha Bratton’s home.

Also visit the “Know Your Nature” exhibit at the Museum of York County to see what the woods of the backcountry would have looked like as Martha Bratton raced through them.

Sheila Ingle includes lesson plan ideas to accompany the book on her website:

Age Recommendation:

Middle grade and up

For another (non-fiction) read about this part of the American Revolution, try The Carolina Brattons by Patricia D. West

Although the writer was hired by the Bratton family to write the family stories down, she wasn’t afraid to go into the sometimes dark history of some of the Brattons.

Publisher’s Blurb:

The Carolina Brattons is a family history that focuses on four extraordinary men and their families in one line of the Bratton family from South Carolina. It includes a Revolutionary War hero, a general in the American Civil War, a bishop of Mississippi, and an entrepreneur and philanthropist. The book is highly researched, full of historical details, and spans six generations. It also contains over fifty images and five appendixes.

The reader will travel with the Brattons from Ireland to South Carolina, and then move with them to Tennessee, Mississippi, and to North Carolina, and will see how they made the best of their circumstances to become successful, not only by providing for their families but also by contributing to their communities and their states. This is an American success story of Scots-Irish emigrants who hoped for a better life–and found one.

The Brattons are seen through the eyes of their times. There will be information about their social, economic, and political environments and personal stories of their triumphs and tragedies. There will be stories of relatives who were both famous and infamous. Common family themes will begin to emerge throughout the generations, including family strengths and connections, a love of the land and property ownership, and strong moral values. Honor, personal responsibility, patriotism, and faith in God are exemplified in every generation.