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Stephen F. Brown

Union Army officer

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 3, 2026
Entity authorityQ16030744 ↗
Source-derived summary

Stephen F. Brown (April 4, 1841 – September 8, 1903) was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War. He became famous for entering the Battle of Gettysburg armed only with a camp hatchet. He soon acquired a sword and pistol from a Confederate he took prisoner. Brown distinguished himself in battle and aiding other soldiers.

After the war, he graduated from Albany Law School, and moved to the growing city of Chicago to set up a practice. He became a businessman in addition to attorney. Brown rebuilt his practice and businesses after losing multiple properties in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Two decades later he returned to Swanton, Vermont to aid his aging parents.

The 13th Vermont Infantry honored Brown by placing a statue of him on the Regimental Monument at Gettysburg.

Early life

Stephen Flavius Brown was born to Samuel G. Brown and Anne M. (Crawford) Brown in Swanton, Vermont, on April 4, 1841.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Stephen F. Brown” as union Army officer. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1841, 1903, 1871—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1841-04-04. The account is most persuasive where Stephen, Brown and Union can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as union Army officer. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16030744. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1841, 1903 and 1871.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

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  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Stephen F. Brown”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Stephen F. Brown primary sources, Stephen F. Brown archive and Stephen research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Stephen F. Brown” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.