Posts Archives - Bonny Miller

Who was William Henry Browne? Part 2

On April 4, 2026

[Continued from Part 1 of this blog]

The New-York Observer honored William Henry Browne after he was wounded at the Battle of Salem Church, Virginia, writing, “Even if crippled for life, he glories in his sacrifices for the Union, and the honor of the national flag.”¹

Bone from a deer leg is shone shattered by a minie ball — Field Hospital, Gettysburg Reenactment, July 21, 2010 (Photo by the author)

Minié balls were among the deadliest weapons on the Civil War battlefields. These bullet wounds accounted for a high percentage of amputations in Civil War hospitals. Months of recovery followed the fighting at Salem Heights for William Henry, but he was unusually lucky to survive the ordeal, when so many soldiers lost a limb through amputation, or died from infection and gangrene in the wound.

Who was William Henry Browne? Part 1

By Bonny Miller

On April 4, 2026

In Posts

Who was William Henry Browne? Some five years younger than his sister Augusta Browne, William Henry left a personal mark in U.S. history as a Union brigadier general in the Civil War, and as the preeminent American authority on trademark law during the nineteenth century. The lives and activities of Augusta and William Henry grew ever more interwoven through their adult years. During the 1870s, the brother and sister worked together on music performances and songwriting, culminating in a series of campaign songs for Rutherford B. Hayes, the Republican presidential candidate in the 1876 election.

Augusta Browne and the 1876 Presidential Election: “The Nation Calls!”

By Bonny Miller

On August 25, 2025

In Posts

Women could not vote in national elections when Augusta Browne Garrett participated in the 1876 presidential campaign.[1] Nevertheless, seventeen songs contributed by Browne Garrett and her younger brother, General William Henry Browne (1825–1900), appeared in the pocket-size Hayes & Wheeler Song Book as part of the 1876 election battle. Although Browne Garrett never advocated for women’s suffrage in her extensive published prose, her contributions to the 1876 presidential race heralded American women’s future political activity.

The Republican National Committee distributed the Hayes & Wheeler Song Bookfrom coast to coast during the contest between the Republican candidate, Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio, and the Democrat, Governor Samuel Tilden of New York.[2] Victory for Hayes ultimately came down to a single electoral vote, making this contest the most disputed presidential election of the nineteenth century.

Augusta Browne and the Morse Telegraph

By Bonny Miller

On July 12, 2025

In Posts

“Music! the electric telegraph of the heart, having its termination in Heaven.” With these poetic words, Augusta Browne began an 1849 essay in the Message Bird, a fortnightly New York journal of the arts. I find it one of her most engaging aphorisms, comparing the power of music to convey love, grief, or joy, to the near-instant function of Samuel Morse’s telegraph to transport words and messages.

Telegraph key used to send Morse code — Telegraph Key

Augusta’s admiration and enthusiasm for the new technological marvel suggests a progressive young adult of her era. But there was more to it than just the innovation in communication. A chain of connections between Morse, the telegraph, and Augusta Browne emerges from her life and family story like a series of electric bulbs lighting up.

Who was Lady Augusta Browne? Not the American Composer.

By Bonny Miller

On January 20, 2025

In Posts

The American composer Augusta Browne was not Lady Augusta Browne (1838–1909), ninth child and sixth daughter of Howe Peter [Browne], 2^nd Marquess of Sligo (1788–1845). A photograph of Lady Augusta Browne is frequently displayed and misidentified as an image of the composer. The two unrelated women were born in Ireland almost twenty years apart. Lady Augusta Browne sat for portraits and photographs because she was a member of the minor British peerage in Ireland. Her carte-de-visite from the 1860s belongs to the National Portrait Gallery in London. Lady Augusta Browne never married and led a quiet life in Westport, County Mayo.

Lady Augusta Browne
by Numa Blanc & Cie
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG Ax46406

The image of Lady Augusta Browne in the Victorian-era photo does not depict the American composer.

Music, History, Women, and Heritage

Category: Posts Page 1 of 5

Who was William Henry Browne? Part 2

Who was William Henry Browne? Part 1

Augusta Browne and the 1876 Presidential Election: “The Nation Calls!”

Augusta Browne and the Morse Telegraph

Who was Lady Augusta Browne? Not the American Composer.