William Brattle

Major-General William Brattle (April 18, 1706 – October 25, 1776) was an American politician, lawyer, and militia officer who served as the Massachusetts Attorney General from 1736 to 1738. Born into a prominent Massachusetts family, Brattle inherited the estates of his father and uncle at a young age and attended Harvard College, graduating with a master's degree in 1725. He proceeded to dabble in preaching, law and medicine, though in 1729 Brattle began a career in politics and the military, being elected to the Massachusetts House of Assembly and commissioned into the militia at the rank of major.

Over the course of the 1730s, Brattle continued to be involved in politics. In addition to establishing his own private law practice, he was also appointed as the colony's Attorney General in 1736, though he never prosecuted anyone as attorney general due to resistance from Governor Jonathan Belcher. In 1745, he was appointed as the commander of the garrison at Castle William after King George's War broke out, though Brattle saw no action. He married twice, once in 1727 and again in 1755, with the marriages producing nine children, though only two, Thomas and Katherine, survived to adulthood.

During the early years of the American Revolution, Brattle was a leader of colonial opposition to British policies, though by the 1770s he had gradually shifted to the Loyalist side. In 1774, Brattle unwittingly sparked the Powder Alarm, leading to a riot which forced Brattle to flee to Boston. In 1775, the Revolutionary War broke out, with the Continental Army besieging Boston. When the British evacuated the city in 1776, Brattle went with them to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he died after staying there for several months. In the 21st century, Brattle's ownership of slaves has come under increasing scrutiny.