Brigadier General John L. Bullis, for whom Camp Bullis, Texas was named is a Notable burial at https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/sanantonio.asp.   John Lapham Bullis (April 17, 1841 – May 26, 1911) was a much-decorated American soldier and entrepreneur. He was born in Macedon, New York, the eldest of the seven children of Dr. Abram R. and Lydia P. (Lapham) Bullis.  He served in the Civil War, Indian Wars, and Spanish–American War.

In the 1870s and 1880s Bullis used his knowledge of West Texas to make very shrewd investments in land. In 1886 Bullis was a partner in the Shafter Silver Mine in Presidio County, Texas with famed Colonel William R. Shafter and rancher John A. Spencer. These investments made him a very wealthy man.
On August 8, 1862, Bullis enlisted as a private in the 126th New York Volunteer Infantry. He was quickly promoted to corporal.  Bullis was wounded and captured at the Battle of Harpers Ferry (September 12–15, 1862). During the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), he was wounded and captured again. He then was imprisoned for 10 months at the brutal Libby Prison in Virginia until he was exchanged for a Confederate soldier in the spring of 1864.

In August 1864 he was commissioned as a captain in the 118th USCT Infantry. The United States Colored Troops were a unit composed of runaway and freed black slaves who had volunteered to fight against the Confederacy. Their officers and most senior non-commissioned officers were white; they had to volunteer for the assignment and received a promotion. In February 1866, he was mustered out of the Army after failing to acquire a regular commission in the drastically-reduced postwar Army.  In September 1867, he was offered a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the 41st (Colored) Infantry, an all-black regiment. In 1869, there was a downsizing of the Corps of Infantry from 45 regiments to 25 and he was reassigned as a Lieutenant in the 24th (Colored) Infantry, a famed Buffalo Soldier regiment in Texas.  In 1873, Bullis was promoted to First Lieutenant, and re-assigned to command the Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts at Fort Clark, Texas.  From 1873–1876 and 1878–1879 he served under General Ranald S. Mackenzie, where he received citations for bravery.  From 1882 to 1888 he served at Fort Supply in the Indian Territory.  In 1886, he served under General Nelson A. Miles on his campaign to capture Geronimo.  From 1888 to 1893 Bullis served as an Indian Agent to the Apaches on the San Carlos Reservation. From 1893 to 1897 he was stationed in Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory, where he served as an Indian Agent to the Pueblos and Jicarilla Apaches.  Bullis was promoted to major in 1897 and served as a paymaster at Fort Sam Houston.  In 1898–1899 Bullis served in the Spanish–American War in Cuba with the 24th Colored Infantry of Buffalo Soldiers.  In 1904, shortly before his retirement, he was promoted to brigadier general by President Theodore Roosevelt.  https://www.nps.gov/amis/learn/historyculture/bullis.htm.
*The preceding content is not intended as a comprehensive biography, but it highlights their significance as a result of military or civilian distinction, lasting achievements, or association with impactful national events. 

Portrait of Brigadier General John L. Bullis.  Ernst Wilhelm Raba Photograph Collection.

Portrait of Brigadier General John L. Bullis. Ernst Wilhelm Raba Photograph Collection.

JOHN L BULLIS

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