Dunning Robert McNair (April 2, 1797 – March 16, 1875) was the

Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate The sergeant at arms and doorkeeper of the United States Senate (originally known as the doorkeeper of the Senate from April 7, 1789 – 1798) is the protocol officer, executive officer, and highest-ranking federal law enforcement officer of th ...

from March 17, 1853, to July 6, 1861.

Biography

Dunning R. McNair was born in what would become

Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania Wilkinsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough has a population of 14,349 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Wilkinsburg is part of the Greater Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh ...

, on April 2, 1797, the son of Dunning Mcnair, a prominent Pittsburgh area legislator, militia colonel, businessman, and land speculator. Dunning R. McNair was involved in several business ventures, including operation of a stage line that carried mail between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and along the National Road between

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, Maryland and Wheeling, West Virginia. He also became active in the militia and attained the rank of colonel. McNair later relocated to

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, where he speculated in land and continued to operate stagecoach lines and carry mail. In the 1840s he was appointed

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet ...

Mineral Agent with the rank of Major at Fort Wilkins,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, where he supervised the mining of copper ore for military use. From 1853 to 1861 McNair was Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate. He is most notable because while serving as Sergeant at Arms in 1856 he helped restrain Representative

Preston Brooks Preston Smith Brooks (August 5, 1819 – January 27, 1857) was an American slaver, politician, and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina, serving as a member of the Democratic Party from 1853 until his resignation i ...

after Brooks used his cane to beat Senator

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American ...

on the Senate floor. McNair died in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on March 16, 1875, and he was buried at the

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street in Washington, D.C., in the Hill East neighborhood on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcnair, Dunning Robert Sergeants at Arms of the United States Senate People using the U.S. civilian title colonel 1797 births 1875 deaths People from Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania People from Pennsylvania