Jacob Jennings Brown (May 9, 1775 – February 24, 1828)[2] was known for his victories as an American army officer in the War of 1812, where he reached the rank of general.

His successes on the northern border during that war made him a national hero, and he was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.

He initiated post-graduate education for staff and command officers, and the General Recruiting Service, to manage acquiring troops.

After his death, he received a military funeral in Washington, DC, with a mile-long parade along Pennsylvania Avenue to his burial at Congressional Cemetery.

Jennings had served as deputy governor of West Jersey and later receiver general of Pennsylvania in the early 18th century.

In 1798, he moved to upstate New York, which was being settled and developed after the sale of thousands of acres of land formerly held by nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.

He and his extended family established mills and a store, laid out roads and improved navigation on the lower Black River, which flowed into Lake Ontario.

Militia officers including Brown served part time, and made their livings from farming and other occupations.

Sackets Harbor had become a major military shipyard for construction of American naval war ships to sail on the Great Lakes, and its protection was critical.

The following Battle of Lundy's Lane on 25 July 1814, resulted in such high casualties on both sides that it was considered one of the bloodiest engagements of the war.

He had directed fortifications to improve defenses at Fort Erie, which contributed to the American success in defeating the British.

He was buried in the Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.[2] President John Quincy Adams said of him: General Brown was one of the eminent men of this age and nation.

They had four sons (Gouverneur, Jacob, William, and Nathan) and five daughters (Mary, Eliza, Pamela, Margaret and Katherine).

Pamela Brown married David Hammond Vinton, who served as assistant quartermaster general of the Union Army during the Civil War.

Her younger sister Katherine married Larkin Smith, a Southerner and West Point classmate of their brother William.

Several counties, townships, towns, and schools were named after Jacob Jennings Brown, both in New York and in other states: