John Mason Brown was born in Frankfort in Liberty Hall on April 26, 1837. His grandfather was John Brown, a leading lawyer, a U.S. Congressman, and, when Kentucky became a state, one of the state’s first two senators. His father was Mason Brown, a circuit judge in Kentucky who served as secretary of state.
John Mason Brown was educated in the Frankfort schools, but when he was 9 years old, he was involved in a serious accident in a mill that injured his right lower limb, confining him to his bed. While recuperating from his injury, Brown read books and had home schooling. When Brown was 17, celebrated educator B.B. Sayre prepared him for the junior class of Yale University. Brown entered Yale in 1854 and graduated in 1856. He had advanced with his studies to the point where he graduated two years early.
After graduating from Yale, Brown studied law under Thomas N. Lindsay of Frankfort from 1856-1858. In 1859, at the age of 21, he acquired his license as a lawyer and began his practice in St. Louis, Missouri. His health turned for the worst, and he decided to move to the Northwest, where American Indians and buffalo roamed the plains. While among the natives, Brown listened to their stories. He lived in wigwams, hunted with them, studied their habits, and learned their language. He mastered their language and could hold conversations with the natives. He kept a journal of his encounters with the indigenous tribes and observed and gathered information about Native American culture.
When Brown returned from his life with the American Indians, he had no time to practice law. The Civil War was erupting across the American landscape. In 1862, he joined the Union Army, and the War Department promoted him to major of the 10th Kentucky Union Cavalry. He was only 24. As soon as the 10th Kentucky was mustered into service, they were ordered to duty in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. During the fall and winter of 1862-1863, the 10th Kentucky remained in the mountains of eastern Kentucky.
In February 1863, Confederate Col. Roy Cluke crossed the Cumberland River with 750 men below Somerset and captured Union supplies. He then moved toward Richmond. The 10th Kentucky Cavalry, along with other Union troops, was sent to intercept Cluke’s forces. Brown fought Cluke at Stoner’s Creek and near Mount Sterling. In June 1863, the 10th Kentucky was placed in the Fourth Division of the 23rd Army Corps under the command of Gen. Julius White.
On July 8, 1863, Brown led an expedition into Virginia from Pikeville. He detached the 2nd Battalion of the 10th Kentucky and the 1st Ohio Squadron through the Pound Gap and attacked the Confederates at Gladesville, inflicting 150 casualties. Brown was involved in engagements at Elk Creek, Tennessee; Triplett’s Bridge (Fleming County), Lancaster, Richmond and Mount Sterling in Kentucky; and Gladesville, Virginia. In southwest Virginia, Brown captured the famous breech-loading cannon that belonged to Confederate Gen. Humphrey Marshall, which was sent to the arsenal in Frankfort. He was promoted to inspector general for the state of Kentucky. In December 1863, he was promoted to colonel of the 45th Kentucky Mounted Infantry. The 45th Kentucky was recruited in eastern Kentucky by Capt. L.M. Clark, but the War Department put Brown in command.
During the winter of 1863-1864, the 45th Kentucky aided in covering the Virginia front from Louisa to the Cumberland Gap and kept the Confederate soldiers concentrated in Abington, Virginia, in check. From January to April 1864, Brown was under the command of Gen. George Stoneman. He also was under the command of Maj. Gen. John Schofield until the close of the war. In early 1864, he was in command of the Second Brigade of the 5th Division of the 23rd Corps. Brown’s command, along with other Union troops, made a campaign into eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia.
In June 1864, Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan entered Kentucky with a large force through Pound Gap. Brown, with his brigade, and other Union troops, was in Pike County and advanced toward Virginia. Morgan passed by Brown’s force and made his way into the fertile regions of Kentucky. Brown and the other Federal troops followed Morgan, and, in 30 hours, they made a march of 90 miles. On June 9, they dashed into Morgan’s camp near Mount Sterling. A fierce fight took place between Morgan and Brown. The Confederates troops were, at first, repulsed, but the Union troops renewed the fight. Three days later, the Federal cavalry attacked Morgan at Cynthiana. Brown and the other Federal troops defeated Morgan, and the Confederate cavalry retreated from Kentucky.
When the Civil War ended, Brown returned to Kentucky and resumed the practice of law. In 1869, he married Mary Preston, the daughter of Confederate Gen. William Preston of Lexington. He moved to Lexington and became the junior partner of the distinguished lawyer Madison C. Johnson.
In 1873, Brown moved to Louisville and entered into a partnership with William Barrett. In 1882, he became the law partner of George Davie, and in 1885, Judge Alexander P. Humphrey joined his partnership to establish the law firm of Brown, Humphrey, and Davie.
Outside of law, Brown pursued other branches of knowledge, such as mathematics, mechanism, music, archaeology and geology. He studied Greek and Latin. He also knew Italian, Spanish and French. In addition to the American Indian languages that he had picked up in his youth, he learned aboriginal tongues and studied the prehistoric picture writings. His research enabled him to decipher the mysterious carvings on the ruins at Copan and the cities of the Yucatan.
Brown loved history and studied Kentucky pioneer history, including Kentucky’s origins. In 1886, he published an article on Native American medicine in The Atlantic Monthly. He wrote an article in 1867 titled “Traditions of the Blackfeet Indians” for The Galaxy magazine. In 1882, he gave an oration at the centennial celebration of the Battle of Blue Licks, and his paper on the “Old Court and the New” was read before the Kentucky Bar Association. He gave an address in 1886 at the Frankfort Centennial. In 1887, he wrote an article for Harper’s Weekly on Kentucky pioneers. He amassed a large collection of manuscripts that dealt with the political history of Kentucky, including documents written in Spanish by Don Gardoqui, Minister of Spain to the United States at the close of the 1700s, which related to the opening of the Mississippi River. Brown studied Spanish in order to read the documents. He later loaned his translated documents to Theodore Roosevelt, who used them to write his book The Winning of the West. During Brown’s final days, he worked on a book called The Political Beginnings of Kentucky, which discussed the separation of Kentucky from Virginia, the formation of the state of Kentucky, and the adoption of the new state constitution.
Brown hoped for a Louisville park system. His final act was to secure funds to purchase land for a system of parks and boulevards in the city. He also wanted a music hall, a museum and a library. As a member of the Commercial Club, he led the effort to build a Polytechnic Institute and Auditorium to mark Kentucky’s centennial.
On Jan. 29, 1890, Brown became critically ill from pneumonia and was in his bed in his home at 1045 South Fourth Street, Louisville. The entire family was around his bedside. His wife remained at her husband’s side. His law partners also were there. He had other visitors who stopped by his home to check on his condition, including Col. J. Stoddard Johnston, Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. and Gen. Fayette Hewitt. At 10 p.m. that night, Brown passed away at his home.
When Maj. Gen. Schofield learned of Brown’s death, he sent a telegram to Capt. Thomas Speed on Feb. 10, 1890, from Washington, D.C. He wrote: “It affords me much pleasure to refer to the valuable services connected with the Union armies, of Col John Mason Brown, 45th Kentucky Mounted Infantry. They were marked by elevated judgement, coolness, and bravery; are attested by the official archives and from the date in 1862, when he entered the service as Major of the Tenth Cavalry, extended West Virginia, Tennessee and his own native State. Through his death a great loss has fallen to his State and to the country as well.”
Upon hearing of Brown’s death, President Benjamin Harrison expressed his deepest regret at the loss of one of his best friends and advisers, “whom he entertained the kindest and most considerate feelings.”
Brown’s funeral was held at Calvary Church in Louisville, and he was buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in the Preston plot, Section D, Lot 51, Grave 3. His active and honorary pallbearers included not only former Union soldiers but also Confederate officers, including Confederate Gen. Basil Duke, Col. J. Stoddard Johnston and Confederate Gen. Alpheus Baker. Some of his other pallbearers were Col. Mrriwether Lewis Clark Jr., R.T. Durrett, John Atherton, Thomas Speed, John Marshall, Alex P. Humphrey, D.W. Lindsey, John W. Barr, E.D. Layer and J.B. McFerran.