Nathan Hale facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nathan Hale |
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Nathan Hale, by Frederick MacMonnies, City Hall Park, New York
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| Allegiance | United States |
| Active | 1775-1776 |
| Rank | Captain |
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| Born | June 6, 1755 Coventry, Connecticut Colony, British America |
| Died | September 22, 1776 (aged 21) British-occupied New York City |
| Parents | Richard Hale Elizabeth Strong |
| Occupation | Soldier Spy |
| Alma mater | Yale College |
Nathan Hale (born June 6, 1755 – died September 22, 1776) was an American hero during the American Revolutionary War. He was a soldier and a spy for the Continental Army, which was the American army fighting for independence. Nathan Hale bravely volunteered for a secret mission to gather information in New York City. However, he was caught by the British and sadly, executed. Today, Nathan Hale is remembered as an American hero. In 1985, he was officially named the state hero of Connecticut.
Contents
Nathan Hale's Early Life and Family
Nathan Hale was born in Coventry, Connecticut, in 1755. His parents were Deacon Richard Hale and Elizabeth Strong. He was related to important figures from early American history.
In 1769, when Nathan was 14, he and his 16-year-old brother Enoch went to Yale College. One of his classmates was Benjamin Tallmadge, who also became an American spy. The Hale brothers were part of the Linonian Society at Yale. In this group, they discussed topics like space, math, books, and the fairness of slavery. Nathan graduated with top honors in 1773 when he was 18. He then became a teacher, first in East Haddam, Connecticut, and later in New London, Connecticut.
Nathan Hale and the American Revolutionary War
When the American Revolutionary War began in 1775, Nathan Hale joined a local army group in Connecticut. Within five months, he became a first lieutenant. His company took part in the Siege of Boston, but Hale stayed behind. Some people think he wasn't sure if he wanted to fight yet. Others believe his teaching job in New London, Connecticut, didn't end until July 1775, which held him back.
On July 4, 1775, Hale received a letter from his friend and classmate, Benjamin Tallmadge. Tallmadge had gone to Boston to see the battle for himself. He wrote to Hale, "If I were in your shoes, I think serving our country more widely would be my choice. Our faith, the honor of God, our wonderful country, and a good government are what we must protect." This letter inspired Hale. A few days later, he accepted an official role as a first lieutenant in the 7th Connecticut Regiment.
Hale also joined Knowlton's Rangers. This was like the first secret information-gathering group for the American army, led by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton. In the spring of 1776, the American army moved to Manhattan Island to defend New York City from a British attack. In August, the British badly beat the Americans in the Battle of Long Island. They attacked from Staten Island across Brooklyn, New York. General George Washington really needed to find out where the British would attack Manhattan next. So, Washington asked for someone to go behind enemy lines as a spy. Nathan Hale was the only volunteer.
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Nathan Hale's official paper making him a captain in the Nineteenth Regiment of foot. It was signed by John Hancock on January 1, 1776.
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A bronze statue of Nathan Hale (1890) by Frederick William MacMonnies at the Brooklyn Museum.
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Beekman House in Manhattan, where General Howe had his headquarters.
Nathan Hale's Secret Mission
On September 8, 1776, Hale volunteered for the dangerous mission. He knew that spying behind enemy lines was a crime punishable by death. On September 12, he was taken by boat across Long Island Sound to Huntington, New York, which was controlled by the British. Hale planned to pretend to be a Dutch schoolteacher looking for a job. However, he didn't use a fake name and supposedly carried his Yale diploma, which had his real name on it.
While Hale was on his secret mission, New York City fell to British forces on September 15. This area was then at the southern tip of Manhattan. General Washington's army had to move north to Harlem Heights. On September 21, a large part of lower Manhattan burned in the Great New York Fire of 1776. Many believed American agents started the fire to keep the city from falling into British hands. However, General Washington and Congress said no to this idea and denied they were responsible. Americans blamed British soldiers for starting fires without orders, so they could loot the city.
A story about Hale's capture was later found by the Library of Congress. It was written by Consider Tiffany, a shopkeeper from Connecticut who supported the British. In Tiffany's story, Major Robert Rogers of the Queen's Rangers saw Hale in a tavern and recognized him. Rogers tricked Hale into revealing he was an American supporter by pretending to be one himself. Then, Rogers and his Rangers caught Hale near Flushing Bay in Queens, New York. Another story says Hale's cousin, Samuel Hale, who supported the British, told them who Nathan really was.
British General William Howe had his headquarters in the Beekman House. This was in a rural part of Manhattan, near where Beekman Place is today. Hale was reportedly questioned by Howe, and secret papers were found on him. Rogers also provided information about the case. Some stories say Hale spent the night in a greenhouse at the mansion, while others say he was in a bedroom. He asked for a Bible, but it was not given to him. Later, he asked for a minister, but that request was also denied.
Nathan Hale's Capture and Last Words
In those days, spies were hanged as illegal fighters. Everyone agreed that Hale acted bravely and calmly before his execution. Frederick MacKensie, a British officer, wrote in his diary that day:
He behaved with great composure and resolution, saying he thought it the duty of every good Officer, to obey any orders given him by his Commander-in-Chief; and desired the Spectators to be at all times prepared to meet death in whatever shape it might appear.
On the morning of September 22, 1776, Hale was marched along Post Road to the Park of Artillery. This was next to a public house called the Dove Tavern, near modern-day 66th Street and Third Avenue. There, he was hanged. He was only 21 years old.
There are no official records of what Hale said at the very end. However, it is often said that his last words were: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." This famous quote came from British Captain John Montresor, who was there when Hale was hanged. The next day, Montresor spoke with American Captain William Hull during a ceasefire. Hull wrote in his memoirs what Montresor told him:
"On the morning of his execution," continued the officer, "my station was near the fatal spot, and I requested the Provost Marshal [William Cunningham] to permit the prisoner to sit in my tent, while he was making the necessary preparations. Captain Hale entered: he was calm, and bore himself with gentle dignity, in the knowing he had done the right thing with good intentions. He asked for writing materials, which I furnished him: he wrote two letters, one to his mother and one to a brother officer. He was shortly after called to the gallows. But a few persons were around him, yet his characteristic dying words were remembered. He said, 'I only regret, that I have but one life to lose for my country.'"
Since Captain Hull didn't hear Hale's speech himself, some historians wonder if this story is completely accurate.
Over the years, there have been many discussions about whether Hale actually said these exact words or something similar. If Hale didn't create the statement himself, he might have repeated a line from a popular play called Cato by Joseph Addison. This play was very popular at the time and inspired many American Patriots. One line from the play says:
How beautiful is death, when earn'd by virtue!
Who would not be that youth? What pity is it
That we can die but once to serve our country.
It is almost certain that Hale's last speech was longer than just one sentence. Several early stories mention different things he said. These stories don't necessarily disagree. Instead, they help us imagine what his speech might have been like. Nathan's brother, Enoch Hale, wrote in his diary on October 26, 1776, after talking to people who were there: "When at the Gallows he spoke & told them that he was a Capt in the Cont Army by name Nathan Hale." The February 13, 1777, issue of the Essex Journal newspaper stated that Hale "made a sensible and spirited speech; among other things, told them they were shedding the blood of the innocent, and that if he had ten thousand lives, he would lay them all down, if called to it, in defence of his injured, bleeding Country." The May 17, 1781, issue of the Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advertiser newspaper gave this version: "I am so satisfied with the cause in which I have engaged, that my only regret is, that I have not more lives than one to offer in its service."
Besides the site at 66th Street and Third Avenue, two other places in Manhattan claim to be where Hale was hanged:
- City Hall Park, where a statue of Hale by Frederick William MacMonnies was put up in 1890.
- Inside Grand Central Terminal.
The Yale Club has a plaque from the Daughters of the American Revolution. It says the event happened "near" the Club. Yale was Hale's college, and the Club is very close to Grand Central Terminal. Another story says Hale was executed at Bergen Beach, Brooklyn, but there is no proof for this claim.
Nathan Hale's body was never found. His family built a memorial stone for him in Nathan Hale Cemetery in South Coventry Historic District, Connecticut.
Nathan Hale's Lasting Legacy
Statues and Descriptions of Nathan Hale
Statues of Nathan Hale are based on idealized images, because no pictures of him from his own time have been found. Old papers and letters show that Hale was a smart, practical, and careful person who planned things well. Lieutenant Elisha Bostwick, a fellow soldier, described Hale's appearance and actions. He wrote that Hale had blue eyes, light blonde hair, darker eyebrows, and was a bit taller than most people then. He also had a calm mind and was very religious. Bostwick wrote:
I can still imagine him and hear his voice. He was a bit taller than average, with normal shoulders and strong, straight limbs. He had regular features, very fair skin, blue eyes, and light blonde hair that he kept short. His eyebrows were a bit darker than his hair, and his voice was somewhat sharp. He was very agile. I saw him play football and kick it over the trees in New York. He was quite smart, had a calm and serious mind, and was definitely religious. People noticed that when any of his soldiers were sick, he always visited them and often prayed with them.
Hale has been honored with two main types of statues:
- A statue by Frederick William MacMonnies was dedicated on November 25, 1893, at City Hall Park, New York. This statue created Hale's strong, heroic image that we know today. A copy of MacMonnies's statue stands in Williams Park in New London, Connecticut.
- A statue of Hale, sculpted between 1908 and 1912 by Bela Pratt, was cast in 1912. It stands in front of Connecticut Hall, where Hale lived while at Yale. Copies of this sculpture are at the Phillips Academy school in Andover, Massachusetts; the Nathan Hale Homestead in Coventry; the home of Connecticut's Governor in Hartford, Connecticut; Fort Nathan Hale in New Haven, Connecticut; Mitchell College in New London, Connecticut; the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.; Tribune Tower in Chicago; and at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia.
Other statues and markers include:
- A statue of Hale with his reported last words is on the first floor of the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford. Statues of Hale are also in the Tulane University Law School reading room and in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
- A memorial for him is in Huntington, New York, where he landed for his important spying mission.
- A historical marker in Freese Park, Norwalk, Connecticut, shows where he started his final mission.
- A 45-foot tall, pointed monument called the Captain Nathan Hale Monument was built in his honor in 1846 in his birthplace of Coventry, Connecticut.
In January 1899, a play about Hale's life, Nathan Hale by playwright Clyde Fitch, opened at New York's Knickerbocker Theatre. It was very successful for eight weeks. Then, it toured for over a year. Actor Nat Goodwin played Hale, and his wife Maxine Elliott played Alice Adams.
Places and Things Named After Nathan Hale
- The small town of Halesite, New York (once called Huntington Harbor) on Long Island is named after Hale. There is a memorial plaque on a large rock. This rock was moved from a nearby beach where Hale is believed to have landed for his important mission.
- Nathan Hale Army Depot, a U.S. Army base, is in Darmstadt, Germany.
- Fort Nathan Hale, a historic fort from the Revolutionary War time in New Haven, Connecticut, is named after him.
- The Nathan Hale dorm at the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs, Connecticut, is named after Hale.
- The Nathan Hale dorm, usually for first-year girls, at Phillips Academy school in Andover, Massachusetts, is named after Hale.
- The Nathan Hale Center at Robert Morris University, opened in 1971, is a classroom building on campus.
- Nathan Hale Hall is a building at Farmingdale State College in Farmingdale, New York. It houses Biology and Art Centers.
- Nathan Hale Hall is a barracks building at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.
- Nathan Hale Hall is the main academic building at Mitchell College in New London, Connecticut.
- The Nathan Hale Memorial Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (a historical society) was started on June 6, 1900, in East Haddam, Connecticut. The ceremony took place at the one-room schoolhouse where he used to teach.
- High schools named after Hale include Nathan Hale-Ray High School in East Haddam, Connecticut (where he was a schoolmaster), Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Washington, and high schools in West Allis, Wisconsin, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
- Middle schools named after Hale include Nathan Hale-Ray Middle School in East Haddam, Connecticut; Nathan Hale Middle School in Norwalk, Connecticut (where he started his final mission); and Captain Nathan Hale Middle School in Coventry, Connecticut (his birthplace). There are also middle schools in Northvale, New Jersey; Omaha, Nebraska; Cleveland, Ohio; and Crestwood, Illinois.
- There are elementary schools named after Hale in Roxbury, Boston; New London, Connecticut; Enfield, Connecticut; Manchester, Connecticut; Meriden, Connecticut; New Haven, Connecticut; Whiting, Indiana; Schaumburg, Illinois; Lansing, Illinois; Crestwood, Illinois; Chicago, Illinois; Carteret, New Jersey; Northvale, New Jersey; Mesa, Arizona; and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- The United States Navy submarine USS Nathan Hale (SSBN-623) was named in his honor.
- The Nathan Hale Ancient Fife and Drum Corps from Coventry, Connecticut, is named after him. It includes a division called Knowlton's Connecticut Rangers.
- The "Nathaniel Hale" Battalion is an Army ROTC group at the University of Connecticut. It includes Knowlton Company (Company A) at UConn and Sillman Company (Company B) at Sacred Heart University.
- Campsite Nathan Hale is at Baiting Hollow Scout Camp in Baiting Hollow, New York, run by the Boy Scouts of America.
Songs and Poems About Nathan Hale
Two old songs try to tell what Hale's last speech might have been like. The book Songs and Ballads of the Revolution (1855) included an anonymous "Ballad of Nathan Hale" from 1776. It said things like: "Oh, pale king of fears, you enemy of life, Go scare the slave; tell rulers they owe you loyalty. But the brave have no fears!"
A poem called "To the Memory of Capt. Nathan Hale" was written by Eneas Munson Sr. soon after Hale died:
"Hate of oppression's arbitrary plan,
The love of freedom, and the rights of man;
A strong desire to save from slavery's chain
The future millions of the western main,
And hand down safe, from men's invention cleared,
The sacred truths which all the just revered;
For ends like these, I wish to draw my breath,"
He bravely cried, "or dare encounter death."
And when a cruel wretch pronounced his doom,
Replied, "'Tis well, – for all is peace to come;
The sacred cause for which I drew my sword
Shall yet prevail, and peace shall be restored.
I've served with zeal the land that gave me birth,
Fulfilled my course, and done my work on earth;
Have ever aimed to tread that shining road
That leads a mortal to the blessed God.
I die resigned, and quit life's empty stage,
For brighter worlds my every wish engage;
And while my body slumbers in the dust,
My soul shall join the assemblies of the just."
Munson had taught Hale before college and knew him and his family well. So, even if the exact words of this speech might not be accurate, Munson knew what Hale believed.
Images for kids
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Nathan Hale's official paper making him a captain in the Nineteenth Regiment of foot. It was signed by John Hancock on January 1, 1776.
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A bronze statue of Nathan Hale (1890) by Frederick William MacMonnies at the Brooklyn Museum.
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Beekman House in Manhattan, where General Howe had his headquarters.
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A plaque at the Yale Club in New York City, placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
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Statue by Bela Pratt at the Tribune Tower, Chicago.
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Statue by Enoch Smith Woods at Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, put up in 1894.
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A bust in East Haddam, Connecticut, sculpted by Enoch Smith Woods between 1885–1900.
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Statue by Bela Lyon Pratt at Fort Nathan Hale.
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Nathan Hale statue with Yale servicemen, Yale campus, New Haven, Connecticut, November 1917.
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A marker in Freese Park, Norwalk, Connecticut, showing where Hale started his final mission.
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Nathan Hale appeared on U.S. postage stamps in 1925 and 1929. The picture is from a statue by Bela Lyon Pratt.
See also
In Spanish: Nathan Hale para niños
