Lafayette Brant was born around 1841 in Michigan to Daniel and Marietta Brant. His father was a farmer who owned $800 of real estate by 1850. He grew up and attended school in Berrien County, Michigan, and by 1860, he was working as a farmer.
He enlisted in the Union army on August 14, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company B of the 6th Michigan Infantry six days later. He died of disease on Ship Island, Mississippi, on April 2, 1862.