When the War of 1812 began, Jacob Brown was a brigadier general in the New York militia, having been appointed to that rank in 1811. Though he opposed the war, he organized the defenses in the Great Lakes region. Troops led by Brown defeated the British at the Battle of Sackets Harbor on May 29, 1813. As a result of his actions there, he was given a commission as a brigadier general in the regular army. The next year his army captured Fort Erie in Ontario. He was wounded twice at the Battle of Lundy's Lane, one of the bloodiest engagements of the war for both sides. His last battle of the war was the Siege of Fort Erie in 1814, which resulted in an American victory. His successes, in what was the northwest U.S. at that time, made him a national hero. To express its appreciation, Congress authorized the award to Brown of a Congressional Gold Medal on November 3, 1814. General Brown was the 24th American to receive the Congressional Gold Medal.
After the war, the U.S. Army was reduced in size. By 1821, he was the only major general in the service and President James Monroe made him commanding general. Despite a stroke he suffered in 1821, he functioned well in his new post. He reorganized the army staff into the form it retained for the rest of the century. He advised the secretaries of war and the presidents on military policy. He also pushed for the establishment of two post-graduate schools for the military, the precursors of present day staff and command colleges. Another first was his creation in 1822 of the General Recruiting Service as the first organization responsible for providing manpower for the Army.
General Brown died on 24 February 1828 and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
