(1784 - 1850) Twelfth President of the United States, 'Old Rough and Ready' was also a hero of the Mexican War, taking Monterrey and defeating Santa Anna. A.L.S. as Colonel, 1p. 4to., Fort Crawford, Prairie Du Chien, Dec. 22, 1834, to Joseph Rolette, also in Prairie du Chien. In full: 'I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 15th Inst. stating that the public Hospital at this place had been erected on ground belonging to you, and demanding to be put in possession of the same, or payment made you for rent; also to enter into a fair compromise with the Government if I was authorized to make it. In reply to which I have to state that I have no authority to enter into that, or any other arrangement proposed in relation to this business, but will by the next mail refer the matter to the Qr. Master. Genl, who has the control of such matters & who will do all that is proper & right in relation to the same...' Expertly mounted to a slightly larger sheet with the holograph address sheet mounted to verso. Boldly penned and near fine. A fine letter penned while Taylor was an Indian fighter between the Black Hawk War and Seminole Wars. Taylor took command of the construction of Fort Crawford in the summer of 1829, and Jefferson Davis, a lieutenant at Fort Crawford, supervised work at a sawmill on the Yellow River that provided lumber for construction. Troops moved into the new barracks in December 1830, but the stone fort remained unfinished until 1834. Taylor's troops took a more violent role to force Indians west of the Mississippi River in accordance with the policies of President Andrew Jackson.