Henry Maxwell Brown served in the CSA, was taken prisoner, and released at Point Lookout, Maryland, in July, 1865. His father had died during the war, and in spite of difficult financial circumstances, Henry attended several sessions at the Reformed School in Newton, NC, and received additional training at NC College in Mt Pleasant.

He was ordained on May 4, 1873, by the NC Synod at a meeting at St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Rowan County.