{"chunks_used":1,"query":"The Night Sergeant Douglass Fell","report":"**The Night Sergeant Douglass Fell: A Tragic Episode in the 1900 New Croton Dam Strike**  \n\nOn the evening of April 16, 1900, the New Croton Dam construction site in Croton Landing erupted into violence when Sergeant Robert Douglass of the Eleventh Separate Company, New York National Guard, was fatally shot during a routine guard change. The incident, described as the first bloodshed of the ongoing labor strike, occurred at 9:50 p.m. near Little Italy, a hilltop location offering a commanding view of the dam site and surrounding Croton Valley (Cortland Evening Standard, 1900). Douglass, a Mount Vernon militia member, was relieving guard duty when he was struck by a concealed shooter. Corporal McDowell and other soldiers reported hearing no gunshot or seeing a flash, underscoring the mystery of the attack. Douglass collapsed with the words, \u201cLoad, boys, I\u2019m shot,\u201d and died shortly after without further speech.  \n\nThe shooting occurred amid heightened tensions during the 1900 New Croton Dam strike, which involved armed strikers drilling and marching near the construction site. The Cortland Evening Standard (1900) noted that armed workers had been observed in the area earlier that day, though the article does not clarify whether they were directly involved in the assassination. Soldiers at Camp Roosevelt reacted with \u201cwild excitement,\u201d reflecting broader anxieties about labor unrest and potential violence. The location of the shooting\u2014on a hilltop overlooking the dam\u2019s masonry\u2014added symbolic weight to the tragedy, as it marked a strategic vantage point for both laborers and military personnel.  \n\nThe lack of witnesses or immediate suspects left the incident shrouded in uncertainty. Soldiers fired volleys into nearby bushes without success, and the article emphasizes the \u201ccowardly crime\u201d as a catalyst for fear and anger within the camp. While the strike\u2019s broader labor disputes remain underexplored in this source, Douglass\u2019s death became a pivotal moment, galvanizing military and civilian responses to the conflict.  \n\n**Sources consulted**  \n- *Cortland Evening Standard*, Tuesday, April 17, 1900, \u201cSERGEANT MURDERED. First Bloodshed in Croton Landing Strike.\u201d Transcribed by Jeff Paine at https://jeffpaine.blogspot.com/2022/12/first-bloodshed-during-croton-dam.html.","sources_consulted":["Cortland Evening Standard, Tuesday, April 17, 1900: \"SERGEANT MURDERED. First Bloodshed in Croton Landing Strike. SOLDIER SHOT BY ASSASSIN. Member of Mount Vernon Militia, While Relieving Guard, Suddenly Falls, Pierced With Bullet Fired By Unknown\u2014Excitement Runs Wild Over Affair.\" Public-domain newspaper dispatch from Croton Landing covering the first death at Camp Roosevelt during the 1900 New Croton Dam strike \u2014 Sergeant Robert Douglass of the Eleventh Separate Company, New York National Guard, shot at 9:50 p.m. April 16, 1900. Transcribed verbatim by Jeff Paine at https://jeffpaine.blogspot.com/2022/12/first-bloodshed-during-croton-dam.html"]}