Peter Hansbrough Bell fought at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. He served as Assistant Inspector General and Inspector General of the Texas Army from 1837 to 1839, was a captain of Texas Rangers and a lieutenant colonel of mounted volunteers in the Mexican War from 1845 to 1846, and was colonel of a Texas volunteer regiment from 1848 to 1849. He was Governor of Texas from November 5, 1849 to November 23, 1853, and a United States Congressman from Texas from 1853 to 1857. He fought bravely to establish the Republic and with tact and skill helped steer the ship of state through the troubled waters of its early years.