Brand was the grandson of Bard, the man who slew Smaug, the great dragon of the Lonely Mountain, and became the Lord of Dale.

Brand was slain during the War of the Ring alongside his ally, Dain II of Erebor.

After word of Sauron's defeat reached those who had been besieged, Brand's son Bard II avenged his father's death against those minions of Sauron who remained, and broke the siege.