Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/429

Rh two years was engaged with the statue of De Witt Clinton for Greenwood cemetery. This was the first bronze statue cast in this country. During these years and until 1855 he was at work on the fine equestrian statue of Washington in Union square, New York. In 1857 he was invited by the state of South Carolina to undertake the decoration of the statehouse in Columbia, which current rumor made the capital of the then projected confederacy. The principal design was a group for the main pediment, a colossal ideal figure of South Carolina, with Justice and Liberty on either hand, while the industries were represented by negro slaves at work in cotton- and rice-fields. The figure of South Carolina was nearly finished when the civil war began, and Sherman's soldiers, regarding it as the typical genius of secession, destroyed it when they passed through Columbia in 1865. Mr. Brown made many friends during his residence in the south, was strongly urged to cast his lot with the seceding states, and remained in fulfilment of his professional contract until hostilities actually began. During 1859 and 1860 he served on an art commission appointed by President Buchanan, and wrote a report, submitted 9 March, 1860, which to some extent disseminated correct ideas about art among members of both houses of congress. During the civil war he was an active officer of the sanitary commission. Mr. Brown's average work undeniably suffers by comparison with the highest standards; but his best efforts evince earnestness and dignity and no small degree of artistic talent. The equestrian statues are particularly good, a result doubtless due to his love for horses. His artistic career will always be noteworthy as covering the whole period of American sculpture from its very beginning until a time when our sculptors had worked their way to the foremost rank of contemporary artists. The following-named statues are among his principal works: "Dr. Geo. W. Bethune," in Packer institute, Brooklyn (1865); "Lincoln," in Prospect park, Brooklyn (1866); "Gen. Nathanael Greene," for the state of Rhode Island, presented to the national gallery in the capitol at Washington (1867); "Lincoln," in Union square, New York (1867-'8); "Equestrian Statue of Gen. Scott," for the U. S. government (begun in 1871), considered his best work; "Gen. George Clinton," for presentation to the U. S. government by the state of New York (1873); "Gen. Philip Kearny," in Newark, N. J., also "Richard Stockton," for the state of New Jersey (1874); "An Equestrian Statue of Gen. Nathanael Greene," for the national government (1875-'7); "The Resurrection" (1877).

BROWN, Isaac Van Arsdale, clergyman, b. in Somerset co., N. J., 4 Nov., 1784 ; d. in Trenton, N. J., 19 April, 1861. He was graduated at Prince- ton in 1802 and studied theology under Dr. John Woodhull, of Freehold, N. J., was ordained by the New Brunswick presbytery, and in 1807 was made pastor at Lawrenceville, N. J., where in 1810 he established a classical and commercial boarding- school. In 1843 he removed to Mount Holly, and subsequently to Trenton, N. J., where he devoted his time principally to literary work. Among his publications are "Life of Robert Finley, D. D.," "The Unity of the Human Race," and also a "Historical Vindication of the Abrogation of the Plan of Union by the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America" (Philadelphia, 1855). Dr. Brown was one of the founders of the American Colonization Society, and worked for its advancement, and was one of the original members of the American Bible Society.

BROWN, John Appleton, artist, b. in Newburyport, Mass., 24 July, 1844. He pursued his early art studies in ^Boston under B. C. Porter, and in Paris under Emile Lambinet. On his return to the United States he opened a studio in Boston, where he lias since resided. Among his works are "A View, Dives Calvados, Prance" (1875); "Old Road near Paris " (1875); "On the Merrimac at Newburyport, Autumn"; "Storm at the Isle of Shoals"; "Glen Mill Brook, Byfield, Mass."; "Springtime" (1884).—His wife, Agnes, b. in Newburyport, is also an artist, painting landscapes, flower-pieces, and animals in oil-colors; her especial forte being cats, which she portrays with remarkable success. Her pictures are well known in the principal exhibitions of the United States.

BROWN, Jacob, soldier, b. in Bucks co., Pa., 9 May, 1775; d. in Washington, D. C., 24 Feb., 1828. He was of Quaker ancestry and supported himself in early life by teaching school. From 1796 till 1798 he was engaged in surveying public lands in Ohio. In 1798 he settled in New York, where he conducted a school, studied law, and wrote political articles for the press. Later he purchased land in Jefferson co., N. Y., where he established himself and erected the first building in Brownsville, which has since become a flourishing village. He became county judge, and, having had military experience as secretary to Gen. Alexander Hamilton, he was in 1809 made colonel of the militia. In 1810 he was advanced to brigadier-general, and in 1812 received the appointment of commander of the frontier from Oswego to Lake St. Francis, a line 200 miles in extent. On 4 Oct., 1812, he repelled the attack of a superior British force on Ogdensburg, where his headquarters were located. He was then offered a regiment in the regular army, but he declined. During the spring of 1813 he assumed command at Sackett's Harbor, where, on 29 May, 1813, he defeated an attack of a superior force. On 19 July, 1813, he was appointed brigadier-general in the regular army, and on 24 Jan., 1814, placed in command of the army of Niagara with the rank of major-general. In the campaign that followed the American forces were successful. Gen. Brown took possession of Fort Erie, and on 5 July, 1814, gained a victory over Gen. Riall at Chippewa. On 25 July he defeated a superior force under Gen. Drummond at the battle of Lundy's Lane, where he received two severe wounds. In the sortie from Fort Erie on 17 Sept., 1814, he again defeated Gen. Drummond. In connection with this engagement it was said of Gen. Brown that "no enterprise that he undertook ever failed." The city of New York voted him its freedom, he received the thanks of congress on 3 Nov., 1814, and was awarded a gold medal emblematical of his triumphs. At the close of the war he was retained in command of the northern division of the army, and on 10 March, 1821, became general-in-chief of the U. S. army. He was buried in the Congressional cemetery in Washington.—His son, Nathan W., soldier, b. in New York about 1819. He was appointed a major and paymaster in the U. S. army on 5 Sept., 1849, and served in Florida in 1849, in California in 1850-5, in New York city in 1856-'7, in Florida and the west in 1858-'60, and was with Sturgis when he evacuated Fort Smith, Ark., in April, 1861. He then joined Emory's command at Fort Washita, and until 1869 was stationed at St. Louis in charge of the pay district of the Missouri. He was appointed deputy paymaster-general, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, on 4 April, 1864, and assistant paymaster-general, with the I'ank of colonel, on 28 July, 1866.