Harry Love (lawman)

Harry Love
Artist's depiction of Harry Love
Born	1810 Vermont
Died	June 29, 1868(1868-06-29) Santa Clara, California
Occupation	Lawman
Spouse(s)	Mary Bennett

Harry Love (1810 – June 29, 1868) was the head of California's first law enforcement agency, the California Rangers, and became famous for allegedly killing the notorious bandit Joaquin Murrieta.

Love was born in Vermont and left home at an early age to become a sailor. He joined the army as a volunteer to fight in the Mexican American War, and later served as a courier along the Rio Grande and the Texas border.

During the California Gold Rush, Love came to California in 1850 to seek his fortune but was unsuccessful. Instead, he worked as a bounty hunter, capturing Pedro Gonzalez, a member of Murrieta's gang who had been accused of murder, in June 1852. With his reputation from the war and this success under his belt, Love was named as the commander of the California Rangers. The unit was created on May 11, 1853 by Governor John Bigler specifically to capture or kill the "Five Joaquins" gang, who had been identified as being responsible for over 20 murders in California's Gold Country.

On July 25, 1853, Love and 20 of the Rangers encountered a group of men near Panoche Pass in San Benito County, about 100 miles (160 km) away from the Mother Lode and 50 miles (80 km) away from Monterey. A confrontation occurred and two of the men were killed. It was claimed that one of the dead men was Murrieta and the other Manuel Garcia (known as "Three-Fingered Jack"), Murrieta's right-hand man. The Rangers cut off the heads of both men as well as Garcia's hand as proof. Murrieta's head and the hand were preserved in brandy, but Garcia's head was not and it decayed, forcing them to bury it at Fort Miller, near Millerton.