Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville (April 14, 1796 – June 12, 1878) was a French-born officer in the United States Army, fur trapper, and explorer in the American West. He is noted for his expeditions to the Oregon Country and the Great Basin, and in particular for blazing portions of the Oregon Trail.
In the summer of 1833, Bonneville ventured into the Wind River Range in present-day Wyoming to trade with the Shoshone. By this time, he realized that he would not be able to return east by October as planned. He wrote a lengthy letter to Gen. Macomb summarizing some of his findings and requesting more time, specifically to survey the Columbia River and parts of the Southwest before his return.
After spending the early winter at Fort Bonneville, he set out westward in January 1834 with the goal of reaching the Willamette Valley. He and his men traveled up the Snake River, through Hells Canyon, and into the Wallowa Mountains, where they found a hospitable welcome by the Nez Perces along the Imnaha River.
Bonneville retired from the military in 1861 but was soon recalled to duty during the Civil War, reaching the rank of brevet Brigadier General. From 1861 to 1863 Bonneville served as superintendent of recruiting in Missouri with a brief stint in 1862 as commander of Benton Barracks in St. Louis. He retired a second time in 1866 and moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he married a second time, to Sue Neis.
He died at age 82 in 1878. He is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri.
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