In July 1863, the 2nd Vermont Brigade marched from Maryland to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania as part of the VI Corps. While en route, Brown violated a "no straggling" order and disobeyed a security detail guarding a well to refill the canteens of several soldiers in his company who were succumbing to the effects of the summer heat. Brown was placed under arrest and relieved of his sword and pistol, an officer's symbols of authority. Given the circumstances unfolding at the Battle of Gettysburg, Brown was not detained and was allowed to keep marching with his men. Once the 2nd Brigade arrived at Gettysburg, Brown determined to reclaim his honor by taking part in the fight. Arming himself with a hand axe from a woodpile near his regiment's camp, Brown charged into battle to the cheers of his men. During the hand-to-hand combat he compelled the surrender of a Confederate officer, whose sword and pistol Brown seized before making the Confederate a prisoner. During the battle Brown suffered head trauma from the concussion of an artillery shell which exploded near him as he rendered aid to a member of the regiment who had lost a leg during the fighting. Despite the hearing loss and other effects from the shell's concussion, Brown refused to leave the field, telling the regimental surgeon that he would continue to fight unless the entire regiment was ordered to retreat. The 13th Vermont's role at Gettysburg included taking part in the counterattack on Pickett's Charge. Units of the 2nd Vermont Brigade, commanded by George J. Stannard, marched out from the Union lines, executed a left flank maneuver, and fired directly into the flank of Pickett's men as they advanced. Stannard's timely action effectively ended Pickett's Charge and the Battle of Gettysburg. Brown continued to wear the captured sword and pistol until the end of his service. The charges against him for violating the "no straggling" order were not pursued.
Later military service
After the 13th Vermont's term of service ended, Brown reenlisted, this time as a member of the 17th Vermont Infantry. Promoted to Captain, he was assigned as commander of the regiment's Company A. In May, 1864 Brown was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness, when a bullet struck his left shoulder as he was giving orders to his company. His left arm had to be amputated, and Brown was discharged in August, 1864.
Brown died in Swanton on September 8, 1903. He is buried at Church Street Cemetery in Swanton.
Family
Brown was the son of Samuel G. Brown and Anne M. Crawford Brown. Samuel G. Brown was a Civil War veteran, having served in Company A, 1st Vermont Infantry. Stephen F. Brown's brother, Samuel G. Brown, Jr., was a lieutenant in the 17th Vermont Infantry. He died in Washington, D.C. as the result of contracting typhoid fever. In 1896 Brown married Mary N. McDonough in Swanton.
Legacy
The monument to the 13th Vermont on the Gettysburg battlefield is topped with a statue of Brown. The War Department would not allow Brown to be depicted carrying his axe, regarding that as a tribute to disobedience of orders. Instead, the statue depicts him with a sword at his side and an axe at his feet. One panel on the base of the monument is dedicated to Brown. It reads:
"The statue represents Stephen F. Brown, Co. K, who arrived on the field without a sword, but seized a camp hatchet, and carried it in the battle until he captured a sword from a Confederate officer. Persevering and determining like him were all the men of this regiment of Green Mountain Boys."
