Historic Bethesda Presbyterian Church Cemetery In York County

Historic Bethesda Presbyterian Church cemetery in McConnells
in York County, South Carolina.

Historic Bethesda Presbyterian Church is located just off South Carolina Highway 322 in the small town of McConnells in York County. 

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.  According to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History Bethesda Presbyterian Church is one of the oldest churches in the South Carolina Upcountry, Bethesda Presbyterian Church is also one of the four original Presbyterian churches in the state’s old York District. The original structure was build sometime around 1760 about a mile from the site.  

Many of the graves in the historic cemetery include those of local American Revolutionary War militiamen, Confederate soldiers, US Veterans, and Scots-Irish immigrants who migrated to the area from Pennsylvania (and prior to that from Ulster in Northern Ireland and Scotland) in the mid-1700s.

Also buried in the cemetery are the graves of Colonel William Bratton and his wife, Martha, who both played an important role during the Battle of Williamson Plantation (Huck's Defeat) during the American Revolutionary War and many of the Bratton family, including their grandson, J. Rufus Bratton, one of the more infamous characters in York County's history during the Reconstruction Era (1867-1876).

A number of Confederate graves are located in the cemetery,
almost all of them marked by an iron Southern Cross of Honor.

Many of the graves at Bethesda Presbyterian Church include
Scots-Irish immigrants who settled in the South Carolina upstate
in the mid-1700s, probably one of the tens of thousands who migrated
to the area from Pennsylvania down the Great Wagon Road.

Woodmen of the World marker.

Bratton family plot.

A toddler's grave for 3 year old Robert Lowry.

Grave of Colonel William Bratton & his wife Martha Bratton,
two local heroes of the Battle of Williamson Plantation (Huck's
Defeat) on Wednesday, July 12, 1780.
Colonel Bratton was one of the local Patriot militia leaders who fought
a partisan campaign against occupying British soldiers and Loyalist
supporters during the summer and fall of 1780.
His wife Martha was best known for her courage when confronted
by a Loyalist officer and threatened at weapon point on the porch
of the Bratton family home just prior to the battle the next day.
Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) markers also honor their
service at the site.

Grave of Dr. John S. Bratton (1789-1848) noted local doctor and
youngest son of Colonel William Bratton & Martha Bratton, and father
of J. Rufus Bratton. As a young boy, he held onto his mother as she was
threatened on the porch of the Bratton homestead by a Loyalist officer on
July 11, 1780 prior to the Battle of Williamson Plantation (Huck's Defeat)
the next day. His nose had been broken by Captain Christian Huck as the
family had been held hostage.

The grave of Confederate surgeon J. Rufus Bratton
(1821-1897) and his wife Mary R. Bratton (1831-1921).
Rufus Bratton is also infamous for leading a local
branch of the first Ku Klux Klan during the
Reconstruction Era and subsequent terrorist activities
committed in York County in 1871.

South Carolina Observes Two Memorial Days In May For American War Dead -- Lest We Forget

The guns have fallen silent, and may they always remain so.

During the month of May here in South Carolina, we observe two Memorial Days: Confederate Memorial Day (May 10th) a State holiday; and U.S. Memorial Day (May 29th) a Federal holiday observed on the last Monday of the month each year -- both to honor the men and boys who served in the War Between The States (American Civil War) 1861-1865.*

South Carolina sent tens of thousands of her sons, brothers, and husbands to fight in the War Between The States. About 60,000 men and boys of all social, racial and religious backgrounds fought with the Southern Confederacy to defend the newly independent State and their homes and families from unconstitutional invasion by federal forces. Another 5,400 African-American men fought with the Union forces among the ranks of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) to defend their new individual freedom and to preserve that same freedom for their own families.

Many of those same soldiers -- Union and Confederate -- never returned home and many of them never received proper burials far from the land of their birth. Some families never learned the ultimate fate of their loved ones.

The exposed skulls and bones of unburied Confederate soldiers near the Orange Plank Road
photographed in April, 1866 -- nearly two years after the Battle of the Wilderness was fought
there on May 5-7, 1864. Approximately 28,700 Americans (Union and Confederate) were
casualties during the battle.
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Proper memorials to remember them were later built, sometimes decades after the end of the war, because of the high cost of building them in the war-damaged economy. Many others are buried in National and historic cemeteries and local church yards across South Carolina. The Confederate battle flags and United States flags these men fought under fly over these graves every year, placed there by patriotic veterans organizations, descendants of the soldiers, and thoughtful individuals that honor the memory of the dead.

It is to the memory of those sons of South Carolina, no matter their allegiances, who paid the ultimate sacrifice in that long and bloody war that this blog post is dedicated.

 Never Forget!

*Writer's Note: While this blog post explains why South Carolina honors American Civil War dead during the Month of May, US Memorial Day also honors all those in the United States armed forces who died in military service in every major and minor American conflict in this country's nearly 250 year history, especially men from South Carolina -- all of whom this blogger has nothing but the highest respect for their memories and service.

Confederate Grave Markers Installed In Union County, South Carolina

On Saturday, June 4, 2022, five brand new Confederate soldiers headstones were placed on previously unmarked grave sites this morning. Members of several South Carolina Division Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCSCV) camps from the upstate worked hard to install the headstones for these men at their final resting places at Padgett's Creek Baptist Church in Union County, South Carolina.

A special thanks to members of the General States Rights Gist Camp #1451 (Union, SC), Captain Moses Wood Camp #125 (Gaffney, SC), and the Adam Washington Ballenger Camp #68 (Spartanburg, SC) and others for their contributions and the work they put in to honor the memory of these Southern men and Confederate veterans.

The following are the names and units these men served in:

Pvt. William Barnett, Company B, 15th SC Infantry, CSA. Died In The War
Pvt. Byrd Murphy Bobo, Company H, 5th SC State Troops, CSA.
Pvt. John Bobo, Company C, 18th SC Infantry, CSA.
Pvt. Shelton "Shell" Eubanks, Company B, 15th SC Infantry, CSA.
Pvt. G. Stanford Gregory, Company A, 18th SC Infantry, CSA.

May they Rest In Eternal Peace.