Nathan Hale, born in Connecticut on the 6th of June, 1755, was a school teacher who graduated from Yale College. He left his teaching position, to aid the war effort, after he learned about the battles at Lexington and Concord.
During the New York battles, General Washington needed someone to find out what was going on behind enemy lines. Nathan Hale volunteered, disguising himself as a Dutch teacher in search of work.
In September of 1776, Hale gathered information (including British troop locations). Before he could provide the materials to General Washington, the patriot was captured on September 21st. General Howe ordered his hanging the next day. It may be that his Loyalist cousin, Samuel Hale, gave him up. It may be that he was hoodwinked by Major Robert Rogers.
As he walked to the gallows (believed to have been erected near 63rd Street and First Avenue in today’s New York City), 21-year-old Hale reportedly said: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” (No first-hand accounts survive of witnesses who heard him say those words.) He died less than three months after the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
This thirteen-foot sculpture, created by Frederick MacMonnies (1863-1937), faces New York’s city hall and reflects the last moments of Hale’s life. No life portraits of Hale exist, so MacMonnies’ work is his own interpretation.
Credits
Image, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
Information, Library of Congress, Today in History - September 22.
Linked Above: The story of Nathan Hale appears in the diary of Consider Tiffany, a Connecticut Loyalist. The Library of Congress received the Tiffany manuscript in 2000. It reveals, among other things, how Nathan Hale was allegedly captured - and by whom.
