William Brown (soldier)

William Brown (1759–1808) was a soldier for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was born in Stamford and enlisted in the 5th Connecticut Regiment as a corporal on May 23, 1775, and re-enlisted as a private on April 9, 1777, for the duration of the war in the 8th Connecticut Regiment. He was promoted to corporal on May 8, 1779, and to sergeant on August 1, 1780, transferring with the consolidation of units to the 5th Connecticut Regiment on January 1, 1781, and to the 2nd Connecticut Regiment on January 1, 1783. He was awarded the Badge of Military Merit, one of only three people to be awarded the medal that later became the Purple Heart. 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.

After the war he moved west to a newly developed river town called Cincinnati, Ohio. He lived out his days there, his original tombstone was lost to time; possibly stolen or destroyed. On July 24, 2004, at a cemetery across the street from what is known as Lunken Airport, a new tombstone was laid out in remembrance to Sgt. William Brown. {The vital dates here are from the 1929 DAR publication "Official Roster Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in the State of Ohio" .p.56-which also reports he was the Standard Bearer of the Forlorn Hope at 1780 battle of Stony Point}.

External links

* [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/reference/PurHrt.htm US Army page on the badge of military merit/the purple heart]