Joseph Bonnell

Joseph Bonnell (04 Aug 1802 - 27 Sep 1840) was an unsung hero of the Texas Revolution.He was a West Point graduate (Class of 1825) and a member of the The Long Gray Line (The phrase The Long Gray Line is used to describe all graduates and cadets of the USMA at West Point, New York).

As a Lieutenant, Bonnell was assigned to the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment when he successfully quelled an uprising of 1,700 Caddo warriors through a peaceful negotiation with Caddo Chief Cortes. His efforts helped enable General Sam Houston to focus the full strength of his army on defeating Mexican troops led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna at the famed Battle of San Jacinto, effectively securing the Independence of the Republic of Texas.: " ( http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/79R/billtext/pdf/HR00615I.pdf ) " : " ( http://www.kbsb.com/lydia_joseph_bonnell/Bnl_4151_a.jpg) "

: ----Lt. Joseph Bonnell was dispatched by U.S. Major General Edmund P. Gaines (who commanded the southwest military division of the United States in 1836 at Fort Jesup,
Louisiana and whose sympathies were with Texas) to the
Caddo villages of east Texas to persuade the Indians to remain at peace. It was Bonnell who discovered the plot of Manuel Flores to incite the tribes to war against Texas.: " ( Handbook of Texas Online, s.v., http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/fga3.html ) ": ----