Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Browne, James Frankfort Manners
BROWNE, Sir JAMES FRANKFORT MANNERS (1823–1910), general, colonel-commandant royal engineers, born in Dublin on 24 April 1823, was eldest son of Henry Montague Browne (1799–1884), dean of Lismore, second son of James Caulfeild Browne, second Lord Kilmaine. His mother was Catherine Penelope (d. 1858), daughter of Lodge Evans Morres, first Viscount Frankfort de Montmorency. Educated at Epsom and at Mr. Miller's at Woolwich, he became a gentleman cadet of the Royal Military Academy on 15 May 1838. On 1 Jan. 1842 he received a commission as second lieutenant in the royal engineers. After serving at Woolwich and in Ireland, he embarked for Halifax, Nova Scotia, in March 1845, and on 1 April was promoted lieutenant. In Nov. 1846 he was transferred to Quebec.
In June 1847 Browne was sent on special service to Fort Garry in the Red River Settlement, Hudson's Bay territory (now Manitoba), where a detachment of royal artillery, another of royal sappers and miners, and three companies of the 6th foot had been quartered since the summer of 1846 in connection with the Oregon boundary settlement. Browne took two months to reach the inaccessible spot now known as Winnipeg, and was engaged in surveying, superintending the clearance of forest, and pioneer work generally. In August 1848 the force was withdrawn, and Browne went back to Quebec.
In the autumn of 1851 he was in Ireland, doing duty first at Clonmel, and then at Kilkenny. Promoted second captain on 7 Feb. 1854, he went to Chatham in July to take command of the 1st company of royal sappers and miners. He put it through a course of field work instruction, and on 5 Jan. 1855 embarked with it for the Crimea. On reaching Balaclava on 5 Feb., Browne and his company were soon moved to the trenches of the British right attack on Sevastopol, and remained there until near the end of August.
On 22 March 1855, and again on 5 April, Browne took part in the repulse of sorties made in force by the Russians. He was promoted first captain on 1 June and was the senior executive officer of engineers on 7 June, when he rendered conspicuous service in the successful attack on the quarry outworks covering the Redan. The execution of the arrangements as well as the general superintendence of the work was in his hands. Captain (now Field-marshal Viscount) Wolseley of the 90th foot was his assistant engineer, and Browne reported in high terms of his conduct. Browne was mentioned in the despatches both of Sir Harry Jones (8 June) and of Lord Raglan (9 June). On 17 July he received a brevet majority.
When Lieutenant-colonel Richard Tylden, R.E. [q. v.], director of the right attack, was fatally wounded on 18 June 1855, his duties devolved on Browne. But on 24 Aug. Browne was severely wounded, and on 18 Nov. was invalided home. He was mentioned in Sir Harry Jones's despatch of 9 Sept. 1855. For his services in the Crimea he was created C.B. (military division) and a knight of the legion of honour; he received the war medal with clasp for Sevastopol, the Sardinian and Turkish medals, the order of the Medjidieh (5th class), and a second brevet, that of lieutenant-colonel, was gazetted on 26 Dec. 1856. A pension of 200l. a year, awarded him for three years, was afterwards made permanent.
Recovering his health at the end of 1856, Browne was quartered in Dublin until July 1859, when he went out to India to command the engineers in the Bombay presidency, with headquarters at Poona; in March 1860 he went on to Mauritius as commanding royal engineer, and in Aug. 1861 he returned home to become superintendent of military discipline (now called assistant-commandant) at Chatham, where he was second in command. He was promoted brevet-colonel on 26 Dec. 1864, and regimental lieutenant-colonel on 2 May 1865.
On 1 Jan. 1866 Browne was moved to headquarters at the war office, as assistant adjutant-general for royal engineers, on the staff of the commander-in-chief, and five years later he was appointed deputy adjutant-general. In July 1870 he was a member of the committee on the pay of officers of the royal artillery and royal engineers, and in January 1873 on the admission of university men to the scientific corps. He was awarded a distinguished service pension in Oct. 1871.
On 1 Jan. 1876 Browne was appointed colonel on the staff, and commanding royal engineer of the south-eastern district, with his headquarters at Dover; but his promotion to be major-general on 2 Oct. 1877 (afterwards antedated to 22 Feb. 1870) placed him on the half-pay list. For seven years from 2 June 1880 he was governor of the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich; was promoted lieutenant-general on 13 Aug. 1881; was placed on the unemployed list in 1887, and was promoted general on 12 Feb. 1888.
Browne retired on a pension on 5 May 1888. On 6 April 1890 he was made a colonel-commandant of royal engineers, and on 26 May 1894 was created K.C.B. He died at his residence, 19 Roland Gardens, London, on 6 Dec. 1910, and was buried in Brompton cemetery.
On 24 April 1850 Browne married, at Quebec, Mary (d. 1888), daughter of James Hunt of Quebec, by whom he had two daughters, both unmarried. A portrait in oils, painted by Mr. Charles Lutyens, is in the possession of his daughters.
[War Office Records; Porter, History of the Royal Engineers, 1889, 2 vols.; Connolly, Royal Sappers and Miners; The Times, 9 Dec. 1910; Royal Engineers' Records; private information.]