TEXAS - McCULLOCH, Ben. Autograph letter signed "

TEXAS - McCULLOCH, Ben. Autograph letter signed "Ben McCulloch" to the District Court giving testimony in a disputed land survey. Gonzales, TX: 22 May 1847. 1 p. (325 x 210 mm). scarce autograph of a founding texas ranger and confederate brigadier. In spite of being asked to testify, McCulloch tries to extricate himself from a boundary dispute between a Mr. Bowman and a Texican landowner, Paco. He writes that as County Surveyor he detected a discrepency and approached Bowman about it "who said that whatever alteration he (Bowman) had made would be satisfactory to Paco." He also writes that he "does not recollect the extent of the conflict between the two" and finally that "I know nothing more about the matter." McCulloch, originally from Tennessee and trained as a surveyor (a useful skill for a military scout), followed Crockett to Texas, where he fought at San Jacinto rather than the Alamo, distinguishing himself on the field. One of the original Texas Rangers, he gained wide renown both as an Indian fighter and for his adoption of the then relatively unknown Colt revolver. He raised a company of Rangers, the Texas Mounted Volunteers, at the outbreak of the Mexican American War (also arming them with Colts, an endorsement that saved Samuel Colt's struggling enterprise) and made himself invaluable to the Army of the Rio Grande by being named Zachary Taylor's chief scout. His daring on reconnaissance expeditions into Mexico became legendary. His military career resumed during the Civil War, with Jefferson Davis appointing McCulloch the second-ranking brigadier general in the Confederate Army and the first civilian to be commissioned a general-grade officer. He was killed during a charge at the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas on 7 March 1862, a disastrous blow for the Confederacy's campaign. a scarce signature.