Brooks, a South Carolinian, served as an engineer on merchant ships, until he joined the C.S. Navy in 1861. He sailed on the CSS Sumter, before his assignment on board the CSS Alabama. During the engagement with the USS Kearsarge, he was rescued by the Dearhound. He then served on the CSS Stonewall until the war’s end. After service in the Spanish Navy as an Engineer, he returned to the merchant marine with the Ocean Steamship Company. He died 1927.