William Brown (1759–1808) was a soldier for the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He was born in Stamford and enlisted in the

5th Connecticut Regiment The 5th Connecticut Regiment was raised on April 27, 1775, at Danbury, Connecticut, under the command of David Waterbury. The Regiment was one of six formed by the Connecticut Legislature in response to the hostilities at Lexington and Concord, ...

as a corporal on 23 May 1775, and re-enlisted as a private on 9 April 1777, for the duration of the war in the 8th Connecticut Regiment. He was promoted to corporal on 8 May 1779, and to sergeant on 1 August 1780, transferring with the consolidation of units to the 5th Connecticut Regiment on 1 January 1781, and to the

2nd Connecticut Regiment The 2nd Connecticut Regiment was a regiment in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. It is not to be confused with the 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment which served during the American Civil War. History The 2nd Conn ...

on 1 January 1783. He was awarded the

Badge of Military Merit The Badge of Military Merit was a military award of the United States Armed Forces. It is largely considered America's first military decoration, and the second oldest in the world (after the Cross of St. George). The award was only given to non- ...

, one of only three people to be awarded the medal that later became the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

. No record of his citation has been uncovered, but it is believed that he participated in the assault on Redoubt No. 10 during the

siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

. After the war he moved west to a newly developed river town called

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. When President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

sent General

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

out to Cincinnati in the spring of 1793 to take charge of subduing the Indians, one of Wayne's first acts was to call upon William Brown to furnish him with a "company of spies". It is possible that Brown joined the General at the

Battle of Fallen Timbers The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United States ...

. He lived out his days in Cincinnati, his original tombstone was lost to time; possibly stolen or destroyed. On 24 July 2004, at a cemetery across the street from what is known as

Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport Cincinnati Municipal Airport – Lunken Field (Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport) is a public airport in Cincinnati, Ohio, three miles (5 km) east of Downtown Cincinnati. It is owned by the city of Cincinnati and serves private aircr ...

, a new tombstone was laid out in remembrance to Sgt. William Brown.

References

External links

Page on the badge of military merit/the purple heart
at the

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...

*
History of the Badge of Military Merit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, William 1759 births 1808 deaths Continental Army soldiers People of Connecticut in the American Revolution