FILLMORE, Millard. Autograph endorsement signed ("Millard Fillmore"), as President, to Secretary of War [Charles M. Conrad], on 4 March 1852 letter from the White House Watch to "His Excellency, the President." 1 page, 4to . FILLMORE ARMS THE WHITE HOUSE GUARDS AGAINST "INTRUDERS" AND "DEPREDATIONS" Two White House watchmen, William Knowles and Alexander Cawood pose a serious question: "...The undersigned being appointed to guard the President's House and grounds, and being exposed during the night by Intruders who might come to commit some depredation and they the Watch having no other protection save a stick, the only weapon they have at present, we therefore hope Your Excellency will allow the watch such Firearms as you may think suitable to guard themselves as well as the Publick Property." Fillmore forwards the note to the Secretary of War with his reply written underneath the watchman's request: "It seems to me that it would be well enough to give this watch muskets, or dragoon swords. Can you furnish them?" Knowles and Cawood were members of an "auxiliary guard" created during John Tyler's presidency. Tyler had originally asked Congress to create the force in response to growing rowdiness in front of the Executive Mansion. But Congress balked at giving the President the power to staff and enlarge his own armed detail. Instead they created a force for the general protection of the District of Columbia, under the mayor's control, and allowed four officers from it to be assigned to the White House. These men were known as "doormen" to avoid any militaristic connotations. The fear of creating some kind of Praetorian Guard evidently went so far as to keep them from receiving firearms as well. Knowles and Cawood manned a sentry box set up on the White House grounds. The doormen who worked inside the Mansion, however, did have access to firearms stored in a closet off the hallway to the President's office. They did not carry guns on their person. It was Fillmore's successor, Franklin Pierce, who first used a personal bodyguard--a detective who accompanied the President on all his trips outside the Mansion. The Secret Service was not created until 1865.
FILLMORE, Millard. Autograph endorsement signed ("Millard Fillmore"), as President, to Secretary of War [Charles M. Conrad], on 4 March 1852 letter from the White House Watch to "His Excellency, the President." 1 page, 4to . FILLMORE ARMS THE WHITE HOUSE GUARDS AGAINST "INTRUDERS" AND "DEPREDATIONS" Two White House watchmen, William Knowles and Alexander Cawood pose a serious question: "...The undersigned being appointed to guard the President's House and grounds, and being exposed during the night by Intruders who might come to commit some depredation and they the Watch having no other protection save a stick, the only weapon they have at present, we therefore hope Your Excellency will allow the watch such Firearms as you may think suitable to guard themselves as well as the Publick Property." Fillmore forwards the note to the Secretary of War with his reply written underneath the watchman's request: "It seems to me that it would be well enough to give this watch muskets, or dragoon swords. Can you furnish them?" Knowles and Cawood were members of an "auxiliary guard" created during John Tyler's presidency. Tyler had originally asked Congress to create the force in response to growing rowdiness in front of the Executive Mansion. But Congress balked at giving the President the power to staff and enlarge his own armed detail. Instead they created a force for the general protection of the District of Columbia, under the mayor's control, and allowed four officers from it to be assigned to the White House. These men were known as "doormen" to avoid any militaristic connotations. The fear of creating some kind of Praetorian Guard evidently went so far as to keep them from receiving firearms as well. Knowles and Cawood manned a sentry box set up on the White House grounds. The doormen who worked inside the Mansion, however, did have access to firearms stored in a closet off the hallway to the President's office. They did not carry guns on their person. It was Fillmore's successor, Franklin Pierce, who first used a personal bodyguard--a detective who accompanied the President on all his trips outside the Mansion. The Secret Service was not created until 1865.
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