George Brown, a native of Indiana, graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1855, and was promoted through the ranks to lieutenant commander on July 16, 1862; he was assigned to command the gunboat USS Indianola. On February 24, 1863, near Palmyra Island on the Mississippi River, the Indianola was attacked and sunk by the Confederate ram Queen of the West. Brown was taken prisoner and held at Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, until his exchange in May 1863. Upon his release, he commandeered and armed the civilian vessel Union for defense against General John Hunt Morgan’s Confederate cavalry. In 1864 Brown commanded the USS Itasca at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

After the war, Brown remained in the navy and served in various positions; he retired on June 19, 1897, as an admiral.

He died on June 29, 1913.

Carte-de-Visite by Porter’s, Cincinnati, Ohio

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30268