Why do we call our community Brown County? Could it be because of our colorful sandstone, our carpet of downed leaves, or possibly the sheltering hills full of brown-barked trees?
Remember, our county was established in 1836. By that year, all the previous presidents of our country had provided names to other Indiana counties. Likewise, many of our Revolutionary War generals — from Clark to Knox to Wayne and even Steuben and Kosciusko — were honored with county names.
Why then, Brown County?
We owe our county’s name to Maj. Gen. Jacob Jennings Brown. In Brown’s biography, “Sword of the Border” by John D. Morris, Brown is described as “the most successful yet forgotten general of his time.”
Born in Bucks County, Penn., May 9, 1775, Brown was the second child of Samuel and Abi Brown, eventually joined by seven brothers and three sisters. Jacob Brown taught in a Quaker school from age 18 to 21. He moved at age 24 with various family members to northern New York’s Black River valley near Lake Ontario.
Apparently, the Brown family was quite industrious, as by 1801, the family business empire consisted of a sawmill, a gristmill and a general store. Brown became involved in land speculation and was named the federal land agent for the area near present-day Watertown and the new settlement of Brownville. Brown married Pamela Williams in 1802 and together, they raised nine children.
While Brown was regionally respected for his land sales, his eventual national notoriety and his connection to our home county began with his commission as a captain in the New York Militia in 1807. Two years later, he was promoted to colonel. In 1811, Brown was commissioned as a brigadier general of New York’s militia. Again quoting from “Sword of the Border”: “The War of 1812 changed Jacob Brown’s life forever. He would make himself the country’s best battlefield commander, and his wartime experiences would raise him from the obscurity of northern New York to the national stage for the rest of his life.”
First in command of the New York militia, Brown defended that state’s northern border, including the successful defense of Sackets Harbor, against a major British attacking force. This battle and others led Secretary of War John Armstrong to appoint Brown a brigadier general in the regular army. In February 1814, he was promoted to major general, and over the course of the war, he won four of the nine American victories, more than Andrew Jackson or William Henry Harrison.
At the war’s conclusion, Brown remained in the U.S. Army and became the commanding general of the Army in 1821.
Brown is credited with establishing two graduate schools for upper-level officers similar to today’s staff and command colleges or schools.
While serving as the army’s top general, Brown also implemented a recruiting system, recommended increased pay for enlisted men, and advised national leaders on military policy. Many of his reforms continued until the early 1900s.
Brown died Feb. 24, 1828, while still serving as the commanding general of the regular army. The nation’s tribute to Gen. Brown consisted, in part, of the closing of all federal offices, including the White House, the Supreme Court and Congress. Brown’s funeral procession began at 11 a.m. and proceeded down a muddy Pennsylvania Avenue. Artillery rounds were fired every half-hour throughout the trip to the Congressional Cemetery.
The following tribute was written on Brown’s white marble monument: “Sacred to the memory of Major General Jacob Brown, By Birth, By Education, By Principle, devoted to Peace. In defense of his country, and in vindication of her rights, a Warrior. To her he dedicated his life — wounds received in her cause abridged his days.”
The War of 1812 and its successful general, Jacob Brown, may only linger in our fading memory of an earlier time, place and person. But to the people forming a new county in southern Indiana in 1836, the glory, success and patriotism of Gen. Jacob Jennings Brown clearly provided a proper justification for naming our newly formed county, Brown.
Submitted by Bob Shook, Brown County Historical Society
