Browne was elected a representative to the so-called "Charter" General Assembly of Rhode Island in 1842.

He served as delegate to the Peace Conference of 1861, held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war.

He entered the Union Army as colonel of the Twelfth Regiment, Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, October 13, 1862, and served throughout the Civil War.

Browne was elected chief justice of the supreme court of Rhode Island in May 1874 but declined the office.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress