(1820-1872)
This poet, prominent among those who gained their chief inspiration from
the stirring events of the Civil War, was born in Providence, Rhode
Island, February 6th, 1820, and died in East Hartford, Connecticut,
October 31st, 1872. He was graduated at Trinity College, Hartford,
studied law, and was admitted to the bar; but instead of the legal
profession adopted that of a teacher, and made his home in Hartford,
which was the residence of his uncle, the Bishop of Connecticut.
Although Mr. Brownell soon became known as a writer of verse, both grave
and humorous, it was not till the coming on of the Civil War that his
muse found truest and noblest expression. With a poet's sensitiveness he
foresaw the coming storm, and predicted it in verse that has the ring of
an ancient prophet; and when the crash came he sang of the great deeds
of warriors in the old heroic strain. Many of these poems, like 'Annus
Memorabilis' and 'Coming,' were born of the great passion of patriotism
which took possession of him, and were regarded only as the visions of a
heated imagination. But when the storm burst it was seen that he had the
true vision. As the dreadful drama unrolled, Brownell rose to greater
issues, and became the war-poet _par excellence_, the vigorous
chronicler of great actions.
He was fond of the sea, and ardently longed for the opportunity to
witness, if not to participate in, a sea-fight. His desire was gratified
in a singular way. He had printed in a Hartford paper a very felicitous
versification of Farragut's 'General Orders' in the fight at the mouth
of the Mississippi. This attracted Farragut's attention, and he took
steps to learn the name of the author. When it was given, Commodore
Farragut (he was not then Admiral) offered Mr. Brownell the position of
master's-mate on board the Hartford, and attached the poet to him in the
character of a private secretary. Thus he was present at the fight of
Mobile Bay. After the war he accompanied the Admiral in his cruise in
European waters.
Although Brownell was best known to the country by his descriptive
poems, 'The River Fight' and 'The Bay Fight,' which appear in his volume
of collected works, 'War Lyrics,' his title to be considered a true poet
does not rest upon these only. He was unequal in his performance and
occasionally was betrayed by a grotesque humor into disregard of dignity
and finish; but he had both the vision and the lyric grace of the
builder of lasting verse.