Horatio D. Brown

Name: Horatio D. Brown Company: C Enlisted March 9, 1862; promoted First Sergeant March 18, 1862; promoted Second Lieutenant August 31, 1862; Adjutant Eleventh Minnesota Infantry August 5, 1864.
Birth Date: April 15, 1835 Place: Fabius, Onondaga County, New York	Mustered In Date: March 9, 1862 Rank: First Sergeant Age: 26 Residence prior to military service: Fabius, Onondaga County, New York; Illinois; Iowa; Hayward, Freeborn County, Minnesota Vocation prior to military service: Teacher, Surveyor, Deputy Clerk of the Court
Death Date: August 3, 1901 Place: Albert Lea, Freeborn County, Minnesota	Mustered Out Date: June 26, 1865 (from the 11th Minnesota Infantry) Rank: Adjutant Age: about 30 Residence following military service: Albert Lea, Freeborn County, Minnesota Vocation following military service: State Senator; President of Albert Lea National Bank

Horatio D. Brown Biography and Civil War Narrative

Horatio D. Brown was born on April 15, 1833, in Fabius, Onondaga County, New York, about 20 miles south-southeast of Syracuse. He grew up on a farm and received education at DeRuyter seminary (southeast of Fabius) and Cazenovia seminary (northeast of Fabius). In 1852 he entered Junior class at Union College, Schenectady, New York, about 125 miles east of home. Graduating as a civil engineer in 1855, he moved West and spent a year teaching in Illinois and Iowa.

In 1856 Brown moved to Freeborn County, Minnesota, taking a claim in Hayward, about six miles southeast of Albert Lea. He worked as a surveyor and was elected County Surveyor in 1857. Soon after he was appointed deputy Clerk of the Court and then, in 1861, elected to the office of Clerk of the Court, which he held for ten years.

The 1860 U.S. census enumerated June 25 shows 25-year-old Horatio D. Brown living in the household of Harris and Martha Peck in Albert Lea, Freeborn County, Minnesota. Harris was a 54-year-old Cabinet Maker born in New York. They had a 19-year-old daughter named Mary born in Ohio. On December 19, 1861, Horatio D. Brown married Mary Louise Peck. Mary's Peck ancestry was published by Darius Peck in A Genealogical Account of the Descendants in the Male Line of William Peck in 1877.

Less than three months after his wedding, Horatio Brown enlisted in Company C of the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to First Sergeant almost immediately on March 18. Company C began its active service with garrison duty at Fort Ripley, north of Little Falls, Minnesota. Concluding their service at Fort Ripley, Company C joined the rest of the 5th Minnesota on December 12, 1862, near Oxford, Mississippi.

When Colonel Rudolph Borgersrode resigned on August 31, 1862, a series of promotions resulted in the promotion of Sergeant Brown to Second Lieutenant. Lieutenant Colonel Lucius F. Hubbard was promoted to Colonel; Major William B. Gere was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel; Captain Francis Hall of Company C was promoted to Major; First Lieutenant Timothy J. Sheehan was promoted to Captain; Second Lieutenant Frank B. Fobes was promoted to First Lieutenant; and Sergeant Horatio D. Brown was promoted to Second Lieutenant.

From mid-May to early July 1863, the 5th Minnesota participated in the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, serving in Mower's 2nd Brigade in the 3rd Division (Tuttle) of the 15th Army Corps (Sherman), Army of the Tennessee (Grant). On May 22nd they participated in a large assault on Vicksburg. While the siege was going on they went on expeditions to Sartaria and Mechanicsburg, Mississippi, and to Richmond, Louisiana. They also toiled in a failed attempt to divert the Mississippi River through a canal.

After the fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863 (while the Battle of Gettysburg was taking place), the 5th Minnesota was assigned guard duty at Black River Bridge, located east of Vicksburg, on the road to Jackson, Mississippi. In October, the regiment went on an expedition to Canton, Mississippi, after which they moved to LaGrange, Tennessee. In 1864 they participated in the Meridian Campaign (February 3 to March 2), Red River Campaign (March 10 to May 22), and a battle at Lake Chicot, Arkansas (June 6).

On August 5, 1864, Horatio D. Brown was again promoted, this time to Adjutant of the Eleventh Minnesota Infantry Regiment. The Eleventh Minnesota was recruited during the months of August and September. During much of that time, Adjutant Brown was in charge of the regiment as they began their drills. In September, Lieutenant Colonel John Ball assumed command, and on September 20th, the regiment marched from Fort Snelling to St. Paul where steamboats transported them to La Crosse, Wisconsin, and boxcars carried them south to be posted along the line of the Louisville and Nashville railroad, north of Nashville, Tennessee. Adjutant Horatio D. Brown was mustered out on July 26, 1865, the same day that the Eleventh Minnesota was relieved of its railway guard duties and started back to Minnesota. Returning to Albert Lea, Minnesota, and his family, Horatio Brown resumed his duties as Clerk of the Court.

At the time of the 1870 census, Horatio was age 35, and his wife, Mary, was 28. They had two sons: Louis A. (age 4) and Harris (age 2). On November 7, 1871, he was elected State Senator representing Freeborn County and resigned his position as court clerk. He served during the 14th legislative session from January 2, 1872, to January 6, 1873. In the 1870's, Brown also took up banking.

The 1880 census listed 45-year-old "Horace" Brown as a banker. Son "Albert" was 14 years old; Harris was 13; and "Baby" son was 3 months old. A 16-year-old servant girl also lived with them. When the Albert Lea National Bank was incorporated in 1892, Horatio Brown became its president.

In 1900, the Brown family lived at 204 West Fountain Street (on Fountain Lake) in Albert Lea. Living with Horatio and Mary were their son, Fred C. (Bank Accountant, age 21, born March 1879 in Minnesota) and his wife of 2 years, Florence (age 20, born November 1879 in Minnesota). They also had another servant girl, Minnie Ingvaldson (age 17, born September 1882 in Minnesota). Their son "L. A." (Dentist, age 34, born February 1866 in Minnesota) lived in Albert Lea Township with his family: wife Nettie (age 34, born March 1866 in Ohio), "son"(?) Evelyn (age 10, born January 1890 in Minnesota) and son Louis (age 6, born November 1893 in Minnesota). Horatio and Mary's son Harris (Banker, age 32, born September 1867 in Minnesota) lived at 216 North Washington Street in Albert Lea with his family: wife Minnie F. (age 32, born May 1868 in Minnesota) and daughter Florence M. (age 6, born March 1894 in Minnesota).

Horatio D. Brown died August 3, 1901, in Albert Lea, Freeborn County, Minnesota. Mary L. Brown is shown living in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, in the 1910 census, but again living in Albert Lea in 1920. Mary Louise Brown died August 18, 1924, in Freeborn County, Minnesota.

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This page is maintained by Tim Bode (timbode@juno.com ). Page created on 9/11/2009. Last modified on 9/12/2009.