United States Navy Rear Admiral. He attended the Newburg Seminary in New York, but soon left and went to live with his sister in Galveston, then in the Republic of Texas. He had appealed to the Secretary of the Navy for a midshipman appointment, but there wasn't a appointment available in New York, but was told by the Secretary that one should be available shortly in Texas. He moved to Texas and a short time later received his appointment as a midshipman on July 4, 1846. He was assigned to the "USS Austin" then operating in the Gulf of Mexico. He served in the Mexican War aboard the steamer "USS Mississippi", the flagship of the squadron then under the command of Commander Matthew C. Perry. In 1852 he was assigned to the sloop-of-war "USS St. Louis" and in August of the same year sailed on her to the Mediterranean. He became an aide to Duncan Ingraham at the time of the Kozsta incident which created worldwide attention. In 1855 he was promoted to Lieutenant and later that year was assigned to coast duty along the South Carolina/North Carolina shore. At the start of the Civil War, Braine was assigned to the privateer chaser "USS Monticello". His next command, after a tour of duty at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, was the steamer "USS Vicksburg". On July 15, 1862 he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and in late 1864 took command of the gunboat "USS Pequot" which participated in the battle of Fort Fisher where his command played a prominent part in the success of the Union forces. On July 26, 1866 he was promoted to Commander and was assigned to ordnance duty. The following year he was given command of the "USS Shamokin" and was assigned duty at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was next transferred to ordnance duty for several years at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and in 1873 was given the command of the corvette "USS Juniata" with the assignment to search for the long lost Polaris expedition in the Arctic. In 1875 he was promoted to Captain and given the command of the receiving ship "USS Colorado" followed by the command of the steamship "USS Powhatan" of the North Atlantic Squadron. In 1885 he was promoted to Commodore and in late 1886 he took command of the South Atlantic squadron as a Rear Admiral. He commanded the squadron until 1889 when he took a leave of absence. Returning to duty in November 1889 he was assigned the command of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In 1891 he turned sixty two years old and due to regulations retired from the Navy.