William H. Brown was born around 1834 in Framingham, Massachusetts, to Joseph and Sarah Brown. His father was a farmer who owned $3,150 of real estate by 1850. He grew up and attended school in Framingham, and by the early 1860s, he was living in Natick, Massachusetts.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on June 29, 1861, and he mustered in as a sergeant in Company H of the 13^th Massachusetts Infantry. In May 1862, after a tiring 17-mile march, he complained about the hardships of army life. “The fact is, it is a regular dogs life,” he informed his brother, “and I would give one years work to get out of it. It sounds very nice to sit at home and read about one of these marches. but come and try just one with a heavy knapsack and you would soon sing quite a different tune…I am not disabled yet, but I have no idea that I can stand the heat this summer.”

 

In August 1862, he was promoted to 2^nd lieutenant in the 39^th Massachusetts Infantry.  The regiment took part in the Overland Campaign, the siege of Petersburg, and the Appomattox campaign. He fell ill in the summer of 1864 and spent several months recovering. He returned to duty on December 24, 1864, and he was promoted to 1^st lieutenant on March 1, 1865. He mustered out on June 2, 1865.

 

He returned to Natick after the war, and he worked in a shoe factory. He married Mariah Osgood on January 19, 1864, and they had at least two children: Harry, born around 1867; and Frank, born around 1869. By 1870, they owned $2,000 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in May 1899 and eventually received one. He died of myocarditis in Natick on March 22, 1909.

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