Peter Brown (1837 – 10 September 1894) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

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and

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forces.

Details

Brown was approximately 42 years old, and a Trooper in the

Cape Mounted Riflemen The Cape Mounted Riflemen were South African military units. There were two separate successive regiments of that name. To distinguish them, some military historians describe the first as the "imperial" Cape Mounted Riflemen (originally the ' ...

Cape Colonial Forces The Cape Colonial Forces (CCF) were the official defence organisation of the Cape Colony in South Africa. Established in 1855, they were taken over by the Union of South Africa in 1910, and disbanded when the Union Defence Forces were formed in ...

during the Morosi's Mountain 1879 Campaign when, on 8 April 1879 during the assault on

Morosi's Mountain Mount Moorosi (or Moorosi's Mountain) is a mountain in the Drakensberg mountain range on the banks of the Orange River in southern Basutoland (modern Lesotho). It acquired the name Moorosi's Mountain after Moorosi, the Chief of a local tribe, wh ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, Trooper Brown spent all day carrying water to his wounded comrades who were lying under rocks where they had taken shelter. He did this within 200 yards of the enemy who were firing from redoubts up the sides of the mountain and he was severely wounded during the day, his forearm was shattered and he was also hit in the leg. Nevertheless, he did not cease his efforts until his water bottle was shot through and became useless. The published citation read:

Death

He died at his home in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

from

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied b ...

References

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 36 ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fol ...

(This England, 1997) *Moorosi: A South African king's battle for survival (Graham Fysh) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Peter 1837 births 1894 deaths British colonial army soldiers Swedish emigrants to South Africa People of the Basuto Gun War Deaths from kidney disease Recipients of the Victoria Cross