Background
Brown was born in Lexington, Kentucky. His maternal grandfather was General William C. Preston of the Confederate Army, while his father was a Union Army colonel.
Brown was born in Lexington, Kentucky. His maternal grandfather was General William C. Preston of the Confederate Army, while his father was a Union Army colonel.
Bachelor of Arts, Yale. 1892, Master of Arts, 1920. Honor graduated from Army School, of the Lincolnshire, 1913.
Graduated from Army Staff College, 1914.
Army War College, 1920. L.L.D., Trinity College, Hartford, 1926.
After his graduation in 1892, he entered the army as a private. He was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in 1897 and rose through the ranks. He became a major in 1916 and a Lieutenant Colonel in 1917.
In 1918, he was appointed Colonel of the National Army and in August of the same year was promoted to be Brigadier General.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership of the 3rd Infantry Division, as well as his previous efforts as Chief of Staff of the 2nd Infantry Division. He was appointed instructor in the Army General Staff College in 1919.
Preston Brown was commandant of the Panama Canal Zone from 1928 until 1932. He retired to Martha"s Vineyard, Massachusetts in 1936, having reached the rank of Major General.
Brown died on June 30, 1948, and is interred in Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky.
They had one child, Dorrance Brown who died in 1936.
Served as private and corporal Battery A. 5th Artillery, September 1894-March 26, 1897. Member Society of the Cincinnati. Clubs: University (New York) Graduate (New Haven, Connecticut).
Married Susan Ford Dorrance, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1905.