Charles Oliver Brown lived to the age of 93 (1848–1941). His life experiences began early when at the age of 11 he drove a team on the canal from Toledo to Cincinnati (Miami and Erie Canal). He served as a bugler in the American Civil War at age 13, became a minister, was a noted speaker in the United States and Canada, and became a key figure in the controversy around General William Tecumseh Sherman's famous remark, "War is Hell." Following the Civil War, Brown survived a highly publicized blackmail incident in San Francisco, became a sought after speaker, and was frequently quoted on his writings on the development of Congregational churches.