Biography of Joseph Bonnell, Hero of the Texas war for Independence, West Point Class of 1825

1. The West Point Society of Central Texas
Joseph Bonnell Project
2010-2012
Honoring a Hero of the War for Texas Independence
Stan Bacon <sbacon58@sbcglobal.net> April 14, 2012
Fred Bothwell <frebo3@yahoo.com>
WPSCT
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2. •West Point founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1802
•The nation’s oldest engineering school
•West Point Societies are comprised of graduates who
oFurther the ideals of the Military Academy
o Perform community outreach
oAssist with Academy admissions.
•Over 600 West Point graduates in the Austin area
•WPSCT members adopted Mount Bonnell and began
improvement projects in 2010
Contacts:
Stan Bacon Fred Bothwell
WPSCT , Class of 1958 WPSCT, Class of 1962
sbacon58@sbcglobal.net frebo3@yahoo.com
512-345-5964 512-635-4433
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3. LIEUTENANT JOSEPH BONNELL, 1802-1840
Lieutenant Joseph Bonnell was an 1825 graduate of West
Point assigned to duty on the Texas-US border with the
US Army when he successfully quelled an uprising of
1,700 Indian warriors in East Texas through a peaceful
negotiation with Caddo Chief Cortes.
His efforts enabled General Sam Houston to focus the full
strength of the Texas army on defeating Mexican troops at
the Battle of San Jacinto, securing the independence of
the Republic of Texas.
Sam Houston gave Lieutenant Bonnell the rank of Captain
in the Texas Army, and Texas Legislature Resolution HR
No. 615, March 17, 2007, recognized Joesph Bonnell as a
Hero of the Texas Revolution.
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4. CURRENT HANDBOOK ENTRY
“Some sources credit George Bonnell as
the namesake for Mount Bonnell on the
Colorado River and that Gen. Edward
Burleson may have named the mountain
in 1838, but other historians* have also
speculated that the Travis County
landmark may have been named for
army officer Joseph Bonnell by Albert
Sidney Johnston.”
The Handbook of Texas Online,
1/21/2011
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbo17
*Position endorsed by:
the Executive Director of the Texas State Historical Association,
the Chief Historian of the Texas State Historical Association
the Austin Chapter of the Sons of the Republic of Texas, and by
Jeff Hunt, Director of the Texas Military Forces Museum, Texas’
foremost military historian.
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5. George Bonnell was an author, publisher and militiaman who came to Texas after the War for
Texas Independence had ended, moved to Austin in late 1839, wrote a book and briefly published
a newspaper in Austin in 1840, and was killed in 1842. “
More recent discovery of additional information indicates that the mountain was most likely named
in 1839 by Albert Sidney Johnston, the Texas Secretary of War, to honor his colleague and fellow
West Point graduate Joseph Bonnell. Joseph Bonnell was an officer in the Texas Army during
the War for Independence, a personal friend and Aide de Camp to General Houston, and an
acknowledged hero of the Texas Revolution, recognized by the Texas Legislature for his
valor in events leading up to the climactic Battle of San Jacinto.”
Narrative History – Reconsidering the Historical marker on Mount Bonnell – West Point Society of
Central Texas, August 2011
http://www.west-point.org/joseph_bonnell/mt-bonnell_narrative_history#_ftn54
.
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7. BONNELL HOME, NEWMARKET STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA