Nathan Hale Hanged
Nathan Hale was an American soldier and spy born on June 6, 1755, in Coventry, Connecticut. A Yale graduate, Hale pursued a brief teaching career before joining the military during the American Revolution in 1775. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a captain and serving under General George Washington. In September 1776, Hale volunteered for a dangerous intelligence mission to gather information on British troop positions, disguising himself as a Dutch schoolteacher. Unfortunately, he was captured shortly after completing his mission and was taken to the British headquarters. Betrayed, allegedly by a cousin, Hale was sentenced to death by hanging without trial. On September 22, 1776, he made a poignant statement at the gallows, expressing his regret for having only one life to give for his country. His legacy endures as a symbol of patriotism and sacrifice in the fight for American independence.
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Nathan Hale Hanged
Nathan Hale Hanged
Nathan Hale, the son of a prosperous farmer named Richard Hale and his wife Elizabeth, was born in Coventry, Connecticut, on June 6, 1755. He entered Yale College at the age of 14 and graduated in 1773 with high honors. A friend once described Hale as slightly above average height, blue-eyed, athletic, and as having a “rather sharp or piercing” voice. Shortly after leaving Yale he took a teaching position in East Haddam, Connecticut. He remained there for several months and then moved to New London, Connecticut where he taught for less than a year.
The first skirmishes of the American Revolution ended Hale's academic career in 1775. Five of his brothers battled the redcoats at Lexington and Concord, and Hale joined the fight on July 6 when he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Seventh Connecticut militia. He was only 20 at the time of his enlistment, but despite his youth Hale advanced quickly. By the following summer he had earned the rank of captain and commanded a company in New York.
Shortly before the battle of Harlem Heights, General George Washington requested a volunteer for an intelligence mission behind enemy lines. Hale agreed to perform the task. Explaining his reasons for accepting the mission to one of his friends, he stated: “I wish to be useful, and every kind of service, necessary to the public good, becomes honorable by being necessary.”
Disguised as a Dutch schoolteacher, Hale left the rebel camp at Harlem Heights around September 12, 1776. For the next nine days he gathered information on the position of the British troops, and was returning to the American side when he was captured by the enemy. The British sentries took Hale to Beekman Mansion, the headquarters of their commander in chief, General William Howe. It was at the mansion that he was allegedly betrayed by his cousin Samuel Hale, who was serving as Howe's deputy commissioner of prisoners. However, even without his cousin's testimony there was little doubt that Hale was a spy. When captured he was not in uniform, and he had incriminating papers in his possession. Howe did not hesitate to sentence his prisoner. Without allowing him the benefit of a trial, Howe ordered that Hale be hanged the following day.
As he approached death on Sunday, September 22, 1776, the young schoolmaster did not forget his academic training. Inspired by words of the English writer Joseph Addison, “What pity is it that we can die but once to save our country,” Hale concluded his speech at the gallows with his own ringing statement: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”