Bonebrake received the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action during the Battle of Five Forks in Virginia on 1 April 1865.

[5] During the Battle of Five Forks on 1 April 1865, Bonebrake spotted a color-bearer urging on his fellow Confederates.

[5] The flag, which then belonged to the 35th Regiment North Carolina State Troops, was later deposited at the War Department and labeled with capture number 340.

He married twice, first to Cora Walters and then, after her death in 1899, to Clara Palm, who also died before him in 1909.

[4] As 1 of the first of Devin's Division to enter the works, he fought in a hand-to-hand struggle with a Confederate to capture his flag by superior physical strength.