Brownell was an acting Ensign aboard Admiral Farragaut's flagship Hartford, and officially served as the Admiral's secretary. He also wrote poems about his experiences at war, most notably with The Bay Fight and The River Fight, about the battles of Mobile Bay and New Orleans. His work was the subject of an appreciative essay "Our Battle Laureate" authored by Oliver Wendell Holmes. CDV was published by Prescott and Gage of Hartford, Connecticut, photographer credit is not known