Union Army officer. He was born in South Danvers, now the city of Peabody, the son of Samuel Jr. and Fanny (Marsh) Brown. He graduated from Bowdoin College, and then went to Connecticut where he taught at a private school for boys. At the outbreak of war he was teaching in Beverly, Massachusetts. He immediately joined the Army. In 1862, he went to Enfield, Connecticut, and became a recruiting officer. He succeeded in raising a company and was chosen its captain. He was commissioned as captain of Company D, 16th Connecticut Volunteers, in August 1862. He was killed in his first action on the afternoon of September 17, 1862, in the union advance on the lower bridge of Antietam Creek, when, due to missed or misinterpreted orders, the untrained and undrilled 16th Connecticut and another green regiment, the 4th Rhode Island, found themselves in the vanguard of the advance in a 40-acre cornfield. Both regiments were decimated by fire from fresh elements of A.P. Hill's Division that had just joined the battle. Capt. Brown was reported by a witness to be wounded three times: in the neck, hip and head, and died instantly. He was waving his sword and his last words were reported to be "Charge bayonets" and "Come on, boys." He was 26 years old. Lewis Brown, the brother of Capt. Brown, retrieved his body and accompanied it home for a public burial ceremony.
Union Army officer. He was born in South Danvers, now the city of Peabody, the son of Samuel Jr. and Fanny (Marsh) Brown. He graduated from Bowdoin College, and then went to Connecticut where he taught at a private school for boys. At the outbreak of war he was teaching in Beverly, Massachusetts. He immediately joined the Army. In 1862, he went to Enfield, Connecticut, and became a recruiting officer. He succeeded in raising a company and was chosen its captain. He was commissioned as captain of Company D, 16th Connecticut Volunteers, in August 1862. He was killed in his first action on the afternoon of September 17, 1862, in the union advance on the lower bridge of Antietam Creek, when, due to missed or misinterpreted orders, the untrained and undrilled 16th Connecticut and another green regiment, the 4th Rhode Island, found themselves in the vanguard of the advance in a 40-acre cornfield. Both regiments were decimated by fire from fresh elements of A.P. Hill's Division that had just joined the battle. Capt. Brown was reported by a witness to be wounded three times: in the neck, hip and head, and died instantly. He was waving his sword and his last words were reported to be "Charge bayonets" and "Come on, boys." He was 26 years old. Lewis Brown, the brother of Capt. Brown, retrieved his body and accompanied it home for a public burial ceremony.
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