Henry "Dad" Brown

Henry "Dad" Brown (1830-1907), a black veteran of the Mexican, Civil, and Spanish-American Wars, was born near Camden and is buried with his wife Laura. He was variously said to have been born free or born enslaved and to have purchased his and Laura's freedom. A brickmason, Brown joined the Confederate army in May 1861 as a drummer in the Darlington Grays, Company F, 8th South Carolina Infantry. He enlisted as a drummer in Company H, 21st South Carolina Infantry in July 1861 and served for the rest of the war, during which he "captured" a pair of Union drumsticks in battle. He was also a member of the Darlington Guards from 1878 to 1907. At his death in 1907, he was described as "a man of rare true worth," and Darlington citizens honored him shortly afterward.

Darlington, South Carolina · United States