Major-General William Brattle (April 18, 1706 – October 25, 1776) was an American politician, lawyer, cleric, physician and military officer who served as the Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1736 to 1738.

Brattle is best known for his actions during the American Revolution, in which he initially aligned himself with the Patriot cause before transferring his allegiances towards the Loyalist camp, which led to the eventual downfall of his fortunes.

The son of a prominent Massachusetts cleric, Brattle graduated from Harvard College in 1722 and eventually inherited the estates of both his father and uncle, making him one of the richest men in the colony.

Brattle dabbled in medicine and law before spending the majority of his career as both a politician and a military officer in the colonial militia, serving through two French and Indian Wars and rising to the rank of brigadier-general by 1760.

When tensions increased between Great Britain and its American colonies, Brattle initially supported the Patriot side before joining the Loyalist cause after a disagreement over judges' salaries.

William Brattle, was a Congregationalist cleric who served as the minister of the First Parish in Cambridge from 1696 to 1717; he was also a Harvard College graduate, a fellow of the Royal Society, and a slaveholder.

However, by 1725 he had decided he was no longer interested in continuing to pursue the ministry and began to practice medicine, providing treatments during his time in Cambridge to both residents and college students.

[7][14] His family connections placed him among the Massachusetts elite, and Brattle quickly became involved in many of the major political, religious and military developments of the period.

As head of the militia, Brattle "appeared prominently at the increasingly futile displays of royal authority", and signed a testimonial defending Hutchinson alongside "others of his class".

[20] Rumors emerged that violence had broken out during the powder's removal; an angry mob surrounded Brattle's mansion, forcing him and his family to flee towards Boston seeking British protection.

[9] American statesman John Adams described Brattle as having "acquired great popularity by his zeal, and, I must say, by his indecorous and indiscreet ostentation of it, against the measures of the British government.

[29][30] The town in Vermont was named after Brattle as he was one of Brattleborough's principal proprietors, even though, as noted by historians Austin Jacobs Coolidge and John Brainard Mansfield, there is no record of him ever visiting the settlement.