Pittsfield historical marker to honor Secret Service agent's sacrifice

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) -- At the end of the month, officials in Pittsfield will come together to honor a fallen Secret Service member and 26th President Theodore Roosevelt with a historical marker. The Berkshire County Historical Society said the ceremony will commemorate the trolley accident that killed William Craig and injured Roosevelt in 1902 at the corner of South Street and Mountain Drive.

The marker honors Craig as the first Secret Service officer in history to die in the line of duty. The trolley accident that killed Craig happened on September 3, 1902, when Roosevelt visited Pittsfield as part of a brainstorming tour across New England, supporting local Republican candidates.

The historical society said Roosevelt and Craig were aboard a carriage bound for the Country Club of Pittsfield to sign the club's register and then to Lenox for a speech. Craig sat with carriage owner David J. Pratt on the front raised bench while Roosevelt sat inside with his secretary, George Cortelyou, and Massachusetts Governor Winthrop Crane.

Although the Secret Service ordered no other trolleys be used that day, guests and the Pittsfield Electric Street Railway owner used trolley number 29 to get to the County Club. Running late and attempting to arrive before the President, and possibly influenced by the owner to speed up, trolley driver Euclid Madden said he used the momentum of going downhill to pass the President's carriage.

Aware of the incoming danger, Craig stood to protect Roosevelt and was thrown from the carriage upon impact into the path of the other carriage and crushed under its wheels. Pratt was seriously injured, and all other passengers had non-life-threatening injuries.

Roosevelt suffered an injury to his leg in the accident and had surgery months later at a hospital in Indianapolis. Berkshire County Historical Society Executive Director Lesley Herzberg said the historical marker culminates five years of collaboration.

"We are grateful to the City of Pittsfield, The William Pomeroy Foundation, the Theodore Roosevelt Association, local historian Dr. Richard Henneberry, and of course for the Herberg Civics Club whose intellectual curiosity and desire to leave a legacy in their city helped inspire this project,” Herzberg said.