THE WEST POINT STORY AT MOUNT BONNELL!

The new PARD kiosk atop Mount Bonnell confronts visitors with a detailed

account of West Pointers’ historical association with the site

"Mount Bonnell is a famous and integral part of Austin. Its close association with the

military defense of Austin in 1839, Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, the Army of the

Republic of Texas, Maj. Gen. George Armstrong Custer, and the Band of the Sixth

Cavalry Regiment makes it a significant and historic military site"

The new PARD kiosk atop Mt Bonnell contains an extensive discussion of the

military history of Mt Bonnell on a poster - The poster measures about 2x3 feet,

and includes pictures of AS Johnston and George Custer.

Largely excerpted verbatim from Sel Graham's Mt Bonnell entry in the Handbook of

Texas at http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rjm28, the text makes

no mention of either George or Joseph Bonnell, but includes the extended quotation

from Libby Custer's "Tenting on the Plains" wherein she describes visits to Mt Bonnell

with the band of the 6th Cavalry.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the poster is the inclusion of Sel's closing

statement in the Handbook: "Mount Bonnell is a famous and integral part of Austin.

Its close association with the military defense of Austin in 1839, Gen. Albert Sidney

Johnston, the Army of the Republic of Texas, Maj. Gen. George Armstrong Custer, and

the Band of the Sixth Cavalry Regiment makes it a significant and historic military site"

A smaller poster, about 1X2 feet in size has a picture of Frank Covert and describes the

Covert family donation of the land to the people as a park, and the status of Mount

Bonnell as one of Austin’s most beloved parks. At the bottom of that entry, the logos of

the various organization associated with the park are displayed, to include the crest of

the West Point Association of Graduates.