ALS as president signed “Fr. Pierce,” one page, 4.75 x 6.5, no year but circa 1855. Letter to Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, in full: “Will you send me the recommendations on file for Capt. Love of California?” In fine condition, with show-through from reverse address field. After making a name for himself as a Rio Grande courier during the US–Mexican War, Henry Love headed north during the gold rush boom of 1849, working as a bounty hunter and outlaw fighter before being named captain of the newly created California State Rangers on May 11, 1853; his first and only mission was to bring the Five Joaquins gang to justice, which Love allegedly did with the death and beheading of its bandit leader, Joaquin Murrieta. An exceptional letter from a sitting president to a member of his cabinet, augmented by the mention of the storied Golden State lawman. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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