Indian Wars Medal of Honor Recipient. A native of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, he served in the United States Army during the Wars with the Plains Indians as a Sergeant in Company C, 24th United States Infantry, a "Buffalo Soldier" unit whose enlisted men were African-Americans. He was awarded the CMOH for bravery in action in Arizona on May 11, 1889. His citation reads "Although shot in the abdomen, in a fight between a paymaster's escort and robbers, did not leave the field until again wounded through both arms." Sergeant Brown was part of a 12-man escort of Buffalo Soldiers ordered to guard a government convoy, led by Army Paymaster Major Joseph W. Wham, that was carrying over $28,000 in gold coins from Fort Grant to Fort Thomas in the Arizona Territory. When he and his detail were ambushed by robbers near Cedar Springs, he defended his charge in open ground, and refused to flee to safety despite being severely wounded. Ultimately, the bandits were able to fend off the defenders and steal the $28,000 (the were later captured and tried for the robbery). He and fellow 24th Infantry member Corporal Isaiah Mays were awarded Medals for their bravery on that day on February 19, 1890. Despite serving on active duty until a stroke disabled him in 1904, Sergeant Brown never fully recovered from his wounds, and carried bullets in his body until he died. In 2000 author Larry D. Ball published a work about the incident titled "Ambush at Bloody Run: the Wham paymaster robbery of 1889: a story of politics, religion, race, and banditry in Arizona Territory".
Indian Wars Medal of Honor Recipient. A native of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, he served in the United States Army during the Wars with the Plains Indians as a Sergeant in Company C, 24th United States Infantry, a "Buffalo Soldier" unit whose enlisted men were African-Americans. He was awarded the CMOH for bravery in action in Arizona on May 11, 1889. His citation reads "Although shot in the abdomen, in a fight between a paymaster's escort and robbers, did not leave the field until again wounded through both arms." Sergeant Brown was part of a 12-man escort of Buffalo Soldiers ordered to guard a government convoy, led by Army Paymaster Major Joseph W. Wham, that was carrying over $28,000 in gold coins from Fort Grant to Fort Thomas in the Arizona Territory. When he and his detail were ambushed by robbers near Cedar Springs, he defended his charge in open ground, and refused to flee to safety despite being severely wounded. Ultimately, the bandits were able to fend off the defenders and steal the $28,000 (the were later captured and tried for the robbery). He and fellow 24th Infantry member Corporal Isaiah Mays were awarded Medals for their bravery on that day on February 19, 1890. Despite serving on active duty until a stroke disabled him in 1904, Sergeant Brown never fully recovered from his wounds, and carried bullets in his body until he died. In 2000 author Larry D. Ball published a work about the incident titled "Ambush at Bloody Run: the Wham paymaster robbery of 1889: a story of politics, religion, race, and banditry in Arizona Territory".
Bio by: RPD2
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