Susan Brownlow Sawyers Boynton (July 23, 1837 – March 12, 1913) was a folk heroine of the American Civil War.

The story, popularized by her father's book tour in 1862–63, was that Confederate soldiers had come to their family home demanding she pull down the Stars and Stripes, the flag of the United States.

[1] Dr. Sawyers contracted a contagious disease from one of his patients, dying young on May 22, 1858, leaving Susan widowed and six months pregnant.

[5] Major Reynolds, the author of the book, changed the main character's name from Susan Sawyers to Martha Brownlow for unknown reasons, perhaps to avoid needing to pay her royalties or possibly for security during the ongoing war.

[1][4] Daniel Tucker Boynton had been an assistant surgeon with the 104th Ohio Infantry during the war and afterward became a federal pension agent in Knoxville.