Sword of the Border

Perhaps the most successful -- yet forgotten -- general of his time, Jacob Jennings Brown commanded the militia defending 200 miles of the New York-Canadian border. His defense of the Lake Ontario naval base at Sackets Harbor in 1813 was rewarded with a regular army commission as brigadier general. He won more battles against British regular troops than any general in American history.Brown helped create a professional army. As division commander, and later as commanding general, he was instrumental in establishing the staff and command structure that was operational until the 20th century. Many military reforms -- among them the recruiting system and the forerunners of the modern command and staff colleges of the army -- began as suggestions from Brown.