 Brooke was commissioned as a first lieutenant in May 1808, and served during the War of 1812.He and four full companies of the U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment from Pensacola established 'Cantonment Brooke" on 10 January 1824 at the mouth of the Hillsborough River, near where today's Tampa Convention Center is located in downtown Tampa.The site was marked by a huge hickory tree atop an ancient Indian mound most likely built by the Tocobaga culture centuries before.