Difference between revisions of "Nathan Hale" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
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==The speech==
 
==The speech==
By all accounts, Hale comported himself eloquently before the hanging. But it is not clear if he specifically uttered the famous line:
+
By all accounts, Hale comported himself eloquently before the hanging. He is famously quoted as exclaiming:
:"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
 
  
The story of Hale's famous speech began with [[John Montresor]], a British soldier who witnessed the hanging. Soon after the execution, Montresor spoke with American officer [[William Hull]] about Hale's death. Later, it was Hull who widely publicized Hale's use of the phrase. Because Hull was not an eyewitness to Hale's speech, some historians have questioned the reliability of the account.<ref name=ctssar/>
+
"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
  
If Hale did give the famous speech, it is most likely he was actually [http://www.hartnet.org/als/nathanhale/default.htm repeating a passage] from [[Joseph Addison]]'s play, ''[[Cato (tragedy)|Cato]]'', an ideological inspiration to many [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Whigs]]:  
+
The story of Hale's famous speech began with [[John Montresor]], a British soldier who witnessed the hanging. Soon after the execution, Montresor spoke with American officer [[William Hull]] about Hale's death. Later, it was Hull who widely publicized Hale's use of the phrase. Because Hull was not an eyewitness to Hale's speech, some historians have questioned the reliability of the account.
 +
 
 +
If Hale did give the famous speech, it is most likely he was actually repeating a passage from [[Joseph Addison]]'s play, ''Cato'', an ideological inspiration to many [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Whigs]]:  
 
<blockquote>
 
<blockquote>
 
''How beautiful is death, when earn'd by virtue!<br>  
 
''How beautiful is death, when earn'd by virtue!<br>  
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It is almost certain that Nathan Hale's last speech contained more than one sentence. Several early accounts mention different things he said. These are not necessarily contradictory; rather, together they give us an idea of what the speech must have been like. The following quotes are all taken from George Dudley Seymour's "Documentary Life of Nathan Hale", published in 1941 by the author.
 
It is almost certain that Nathan Hale's last speech contained more than one sentence. Several early accounts mention different things he said. These are not necessarily contradictory; rather, together they give us an idea of what the speech must have been like. The following quotes are all taken from George Dudley Seymour's "Documentary Life of Nathan Hale", published in 1941 by the author.
  
From the diary entry of [[September 22]] [[1776]], of Lieutenant Frederick MacKenzie, British officer: "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."
+
From the diary entry of September 22, 1776, of Lieutenant Frederick MacKenzie, British officer: "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."
  
 
From the diary of Enoch Hale, Nathan's brother, after he went to question people who had been present, October 26, 1776: "When at the Gallows he spoke & told them that he was a Capt in the Cont Army by name Nathan Hale."
 
From the diary of Enoch Hale, Nathan's brother, after he went to question people who had been present, October 26, 1776: "When at the Gallows he spoke & told them that he was a Capt in the Cont Army by name Nathan Hale."
  
From the ''Essex Journal'', [[February 13]] [[1777]]: "However, at the gallows, he 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."
+
From the ''Essex Journal'', February 13, 1777: "However, at the gallows, he 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 defense of his injured, bleeding Country."
 
 
From the ''Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advertiser'', [[May 17]] [[1781]]: "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."
 
 
 
From the memoirs of Captain [[William Hull]], quoting British Captain John Montresor, who was present and who spoke to Hull under a flag of truce the next day: “’On the morning of his execution,’ continued the officer, ‘my station was near the fatal spot, and I requested the Provost Marshal [the infamous [http://famousamericans.net/williamcunningham/ William Cunningham]] to permit the prisoner to sit in my marquee, while he was making the necessary preparations. Captain Hale entered: he was calm, and bore himself with gentle dignity, in the consciousness of rectitude and high intentions. He asked for writing materials, which I furnished him: he wrote two letters, one to his mother [almost certainly to his brother Enoch; the letter was never delivered, but Enoch heard of it from another American prisoner, John Wyllys, who knew Nathan. Cunningham had shown him the letter to taunt him] and one to a brother officer.’  He was shortly after summoned 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.’”
 
  
[[William Hull]], the only source for Hale's famous speech, is better known as the brigadier general who later surrendered the entire U.S. northwestern army to the British during the [[War of 1812]].
+
From the ''Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advertiser'', May 17, 1781: "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."
  
Two early ballads also attempt to recreate Hale’s last speech. They are probably more imaginative than accurate, but are included here for completeness:   
+
From the memoirs of Captain [[William Hull]], quoting British Captain John Montresor, who was present and who spoke to Hull under a flag of truce the next day: “’On the morning of his execution,’ continued the officer, ‘my station was near the fatal spot, and I requested the Provost Marshal to permit the prisoner to sit in my marquee, while he was making the necessary preparations. Captain Hale entered: he was calm, and bore himself with gentle dignity, in the consciousness of rectitude and high intentions. He asked for writing materials, which I furnished him: he wrote two letters, one to his mother (almost certainly to his brother Enoch; the letter was never delivered, but Enoch heard of it from another American prisoner, John Wyllys, who knew Nathan. Cunningham had shown him the letter to taunt him)and one to a brother officer.’ He was shortly after summoned 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.’”
  
From ''Songs and Ballads of the Revolution'', collected by F. Moore (1855), "Ballad of Nathan Hale" (anonymous), dated 1776: ''"’Thou pale king of terrors, thou life’s gloomy foe, Go frighten the slave; go frighten the slave; Tell tyrants, to you their allegiance they owe. No fears for the brave; no fears for the brave.’"''
+
William Hull, the only source for Hale's famous speech, is better known as the brigadier general who later surrendered the entire [[United States]] northwestern army to the British during the [[War of 1812]].
  
 
From "To the Memory of Capt. Nathan Hale" by Eneas Munson, Sr. written "soon after" Hale’s death:
 
From "To the Memory of Capt. Nathan Hale" by Eneas Munson, Sr. written "soon after" Hale’s death:
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Munson had tutored Hale before college, and knew him and his family well, so even though the particulars of this speech may be unlikely, Munson knew first hand what Hale’s opinions were.
 
Munson had tutored Hale before college, and knew him and his family well, so even though the particulars of this speech may be unlikely, Munson knew first hand what Hale’s opinions were.
  
==Estimations of Hale==
 
"Hale is in the American pantheon not because of what he did but because of why he did it," noted former CIA chief [[Richard Helms]].
 
  
"And because that boy said those words, and because he died, thousands of other young men have given their lives to his country," noted Dr. Edward Everett Hale, great-nephew of Nathan Hale, at the dedication of the Hale statue in [[New York]], 1893.
 
  
 
==Hanging site(s)==
 
==Hanging site(s)==
Besides the site at 66th and Third, there are two other sites in [[Manhattan]] that claim to be the hanging site:
+
Besides the site at 66th and Third, there are two other sites in Manhattan that claim to be the hanging site:
  
: A statue designed by [[Frederick William Macmonnies]] was erected in [[1890]] [[New York City Hall|City Hall Park]] at what was claimed to be the site; (No authentic likeness exists and the statue established Hale's idealized square-jawed image);
+
: A statue designed by Frederick William Macmonnies was erected in 1890 City Hall Park at what was claimed to be the site; (No authentic likeness exists and the statue established Hale's idealized square-jawed image);
 
   
 
   
: A plaque erected by the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] (DAR) hangs on the [[Yale Club]] at 44th and Vanderbilt by [[Grand Central Terminal]] saying the event occurred there.   
+
: A plaque erected by the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] (DAR) hangs on the Yale Club] at 44th and Vanderbilt by Grand Central Terminal saying the event occurred there.   
  
 
: There is also a memorial at another possible hanging site in Halesite (Huntington), New York, on Long Island.  
 
: There is also a memorial at another possible hanging site in Halesite (Huntington), New York, on Long Island.  
  
Nathan Hale's body has never been found. An empty grave [[cenotaph]] was erected by his family in Nathan Hale Cemetery in [[South Coventry, Connecticut]].<ref name=NHweb/>
+
Nathan Hale's body has never been found. An empty grave cenotaph was erected by his family in Nathan Hale Cemetery in South Coventry, Connecticut.
  
 
==Statues and appearance==
 
==Statues and appearance==
[[Image:Nathan-Hale-statue-Chicago-Tribune-Tower-bust.jpg|thumb|180px|right|Bust of Nathan Hale, from statue by [[Bela Lyon Pratt]].]]
+
[[Image:Nathan-Hale-statue-Chicago-Tribune-Tower-bust.jpg|thumb|180px|right|Bust of Nathan Hale, from statue by Bela Lyon Pratt.]]
  
[[Image:Nathan-Hale-statue-Chicago-Tribune-Tower-figure.jpg|thumb|180px|right|Nathan Hale statue by [[Bela Lyon Pratt]] at [[Chicago Tribune Tower]].]]
+
[[Image:Nathan-Hale-statue-Chicago-Tribune-Tower-figure.jpg|thumb|180px|right|Nathan Hale statue by Bela Lyon Pratt at Chicago Tribune Tower.]]
 
 
Statues of Nathan Hale are based on artistic impression or family members: no portraits of him have been found.<ref name=NHweb>{{cite web |url=http://www.hartnet.org/als/nathanhale/faq.htm |title=FAQ |accessdate=2007-01-22 |last=Mobed |first=Desiree |coauthors=Baker, Mary Beth |publisher=The Nathan Hale website}}</ref>
 
Documents and letters reveal Hale was an informed, practical, detail-oriented man who planned ahead.<ref name=NHweb/> Of his appearance and demeanor, fellow soldier Klisha Bostwick wrote that Nathan Hale had blue eyes, flaxen blond hair, darker eyebrows, and stood slightly taller than average height (of the time), with mental powers of a sedate mind and pious; Lieutenant Klisha Bostwick wrote [archaic grammar]:<ref name=NHweb/><ref name=AHMweb>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1964/3/1964_3_50.shtml |title=The Last Days and Valiant Death of Nathan Hale |accessdate=2007-01-22 |year=1964 |month=April |work=American Heritage Magazine |publisher=American Heritage Inc.}}</ref>
 
 
 
: "... I can now in imagination see his person & hear his voice- his person I should say was a little above the common stature in height, his shoulders of a moderate breadth, his limbs strait & very plump: regular features— very fair skin— blue eyes— flaxen or very light hair which was always kept short— his eyebrows a shade darker than his hair & his voice rather sharp or piercing— his bodily agility was remarkable. I have seen him follow a football & kick it over the tops of the trees in the Bowery at New York, (an exercise which he was fond of)— his mental powers seemed to be above the common sort— his mind of a sedate and sober cast, &c he was undoubtedly Pious; for it was remark’d that when any of the soldiers of his company were sick he always visited them & usually Prayed for & with them in their sickness."<ref name=AHMweb/>
 
  
 
There are several statues of Nathan Hale at various sites:
 
There are several statues of Nathan Hale at various sites:
  
* A statue designed by Frederick William Macmonnies was erected in [[1890]] at City Hall Park (the statue established Hale's idealized square-jawed image);
+
* A statue designed by Frederick William Macmonnies was erected in 1890 at City Hall Park (the statue established Hale's idealized square-jawed image);
  
* A statue of Hale, sculpted around [[1898]] by [[Bela Lyon Pratt]], was cast in [[1912]] and stands in front of [[Connecticut Hall]] at Hale's alma mater, [[Yale]]. Copies of this sculpture stand at the [[Phillips Academy]] in [[Andover, Massachusetts|Andover]], [[Massachusetts]]; the Nathan Hale Homestead; the Department of Justice in [[Washington, D.C.]]; and at the headquarters of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
+
* A statue of Hale, sculpted around 1898 by Bela Lyon Pratt, was cast in 1912 and stands in front of Connecticut Hall at Hale's alma mater, Yale. Copies of this sculpture stand at the Phillips Academy in Andover, [[Massachusetts]]; the Nathan Hale Homestead; the Department of Justice in [[Washington, D.C.]]; and at the headquarters of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
  
* A statue stands at the front of the [[Chicago Tribune Tower]] in [[Chicago, IL]].
+
* A statue stands at the front of the Chicago Tribune Tower in Chicago.
  
The statues were created in both the [[19th century]] & [[20th century]].
 
 
== Legacy and influence ==
 
<!-- UNTAG (20Jan07): {{toomuchtrivia}} —>
 
The life of Nathan Hale has had an enduring influence over the past centuries:
 
 
* The [[United States Navy]] [[submarine]] [[USS Nathan Hale (SSBN-623)|USS ''Nathan Hale'' (SSBN-623)]] was named in his honor.
 
* In [[1991]], a piece for a band called The Nathan Hale Trilogy was written in honor of Hale by James Curnow.
 
* Hale was the uncle of orator and statesman [[Edward Everett]] (the other speaker at [[Gettysburg Address|Gettysburg]]) and the grand-uncle of [[Edward Everett Hale]] (quoted above), a Unitarian minister, writer, and activist noted for social causes including [[abolitionism]].
 
* Nathan Hale, a teacher by profession, is honored by a number of namesake schools:
 
** [[Captain Nathan Hale Middle School]] in [[Coventry, Connecticut]] (his birthplace);
 
** [[Nathan Hale-Ray High School and Nathan Hale-Ray Middle School]] in [[East Haddam, Connecticut]] (where he was schoolmaster);
 
** [[Nathan Hale Middle School]] in [[Norwalk, Connecticut]] (departure point for his final mission);
 
** Nathan Hale Middle School in [[Omaha, Nebraska]];
 
** Nathan Hale Middle School in [[Cleveland, Ohio]];
 
** Nathan Hale Elementary Schools in:
 
*** [[New London, Connecticut]] (where he was schoolmaster); [[Meriden, Connecticut]];
 
*** [[Whiting, Indiana]]; [[Schaumburg, Illinois]]; and [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]];
 
** Nathan Hale High Schools in:
 
*** [[West Allis, Wisconsin]]; [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]]; and [[Seattle, Washington]].
 
* The Nathan Hale [[Ancient Fife and Drum Corps]] from [[Coventry, Connecticut]], is named after him and includes a division known as [[Knowlton%27s rangers|Knowlton's Connecticut Rangers]].
 
* The protagonist of the first-person shooter video game [[Resistance: Fall of Man]] ([[2006]]) for [[PlayStation 3]] is named Sergeant Nathan Hale (though it is not intended to be the real Nathan Hale).
 
  
  
 +
==References==
 +
* Ford, David Stanley. ''The interrogation of Nathan Hale: by Captain John Montresor of HRM Expeditionary Forces''. Woodstock, Ill: Dramatic Pub.1997. ISBN 9780871297501
 +
* Hagman, Harlan L. ''Nathan Hale and John André: reluctant heroes of the American Revolution''. Interlaken, N.Y.: Empire State Books 1992. ISBN 9781557870773
 +
* Hogrogian, Robert. ''Nathan Hale. People to remember series''. [Fairlawn, N.J.]: January Productions 1979. ISBN 9780934898355
 +
* Libertson, Jody. ''Nathan Hale: hero of the American Revolution''. New York: Rosen Central Primary Source 2004. ISBN 9780823941179
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
  
*{{cite web
+
*[http://www.hartnet.org/als/nathanhale/ "Official Nathan Hale Website"] ''Antiquarian & Landmarks Society'' retrieved March 20, 2007.
| url = http://www.hartnet.org/als/nathanhale/
+
*[http://www.connecticutsar.org/patriots/hale_nathan_2.htm "Captain Nathan Hale (1755 - 1776)"] ''The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution'' retrieved March 20, 2007.
| title = Official Nathan Hale Website
+
*[http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0307-8/hale.html "Nathan Hale Revisited"] ''Library of Congress'' retrieved March 20, 2007.
| last = Mobed
+
*[http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h550.html "Nathan Hale, American Patriot"] ''U-S-History.com'' retrieved March 20, 2007.
| first = Desiree
 
| authorlink =
 
| coauthors = Mary Beth Baker
 
| publisher = Antiquarian & Landmarks Society
 
}}
 
 
 
*{{cite web
 
| url = http://www.connecticutsar.org/patriots/hale_nathan_2.htm
 
| title = Captain Nathan Hale (1755 - 1776)
 
| last = Ortner
 
| first = Mary J.
 
| authorlink =
 
| year = 2001
 
| publisher = The Connecticut Society of the [[Sons of the American Revolution]]
 
}}
 
 
 
*{{cite web
 
| url = http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0307-8/hale.html
 
| title = Nathan Hale Revisited
 
| last = Hutson
 
| first = James
 
| authorlink =
 
| work = Information Bulletin: July/August 2003
 
| publisher = Library of Congress
 
| quote = [A newly discovered] account of the capture of Nathan Hale fits the facts as we know them so well that one is tempted to accept it as being substantially true.
 
}}
 
 
 
*{{cite web
 
| url = http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h550.html
 
| title = Nathan Hale, American Patriot
 
| publisher = U-S-History.com
 
}}
 
 
 
*[http://www.connecticutsar.org/ The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution]
 
 
 
*[http://www.bobcastillo.com/nathan.htm The Nathan Hale Ancient Fifes & Drums]
 
 
 
== Reference ==
 
* Rose, Alexander.  ''Washington's Spies:  The Story of America's First Spy Ring.'' Random House, New York, New York, 2006.  ISBN 0-553-80421-9.
 
  
  

Revision as of 13:59, 20 March 2007

Nathan Hale, by Frederick MacMonnies, 1893, City Hall Park, New York

Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was a captain in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Hale is best remembered for his "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" speech before being hanged following the Battle of Long Island after being caught by the British.

Widely considered America's first spy, A copy of Frederick MacMonnies statue of Hale is located outside the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency, in Langley, Virginia. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission and was caught and executed. Hale has long been considered an American hero and, in 1985, he was officially designated the State Hero of Connecticut.

Early Life

Hale was born in Coventry, Connecticut. In 1769, when he was fourteen years old, he was sent with his brother Enoch to Yale College. He became very close to Benjamin Tallmadge, a fellow student who would later head Washington's intelligence service. The Hale brothers belonged to the Yale literary fraternity, Linonia, which debated topics in astronomy, mathematics, literature, and the ethics of slavery. Graduating with first-class honors in 1773, Nathan became a teacher, first in East Haddam and later in New London. After the Revolutionary War began in 1775, he joined a Connecticut militia and was elected first sergeant.

September 22, 1776: Nathan Hale at the gallows.

When his militia unit participated in the Siege of Boston, Hale remained behind, but, on July 6, 1775, he joined the regular Continental Army's 7th Connecticut Regiment under Colonel Charles Webb of Stamford. He was promoted to captain and in March 1776, commanded a small unit of Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton's Rangers defending New York City. They managed to rescue a ship full of provisions from the guard of a British man-of-war.

Espionage

Nathan Hale appeared on US postage stamps issued in 1925 and 1929. Likeness is from statue by Bela Lyon Pratt.

During the Battle of Long Island in August and September 1776, which led to the British capture of New York City, via a flanking move from Staten Island across Long Island, Hale volunteered to go behind enemy lines to report on British troop movements.

Sometime in September, he landed on the north shore of Long Island at what is now called Halesite, New York, on Huntington Bay.

He disguised himself as a Dutch schoolteacher, carrying his Yale diploma to prove his credentials.

During his mission, New York City (then the area at the southern tip of Manhattan around Wall Street) fell to British forces and Washington was forced to retreat to the island's northern tip in Harlem Heights (what is now Morningside Heights).On September 21, a quarter of the lower portion of Manhattan burned in the Great New York Fire of 1776. The fire was later widely thought to have been started by American saboteurs to keep the city from falling into British hands, though Washington and Congress had already rejected this idea. It has also been speculated that the fire was the work of British soldiers acting without orders, intending to punish and/or intimidate any remaining Patriots in the city — with unintended consequences, however. In the fire's aftermath, more than 200 American partisans were rounded up by the British.

An account of Nathan Hale's capture was written by Consider Tiffany, a Connecticut shopkeeper and Loyalist, and obtained by the Library of Congress. In Tiffany's account, Major Robert Rogers of the Queens Rangers met Hale in a tavern and saw through his disguise. After luring Hale into betraying himself by pretending to be a patriot himself, Rogers and his Rangers apprehended Hale near Flushing Bay, in Queens, New York.

British General William Howe had his headquarters in a manor house (called the Beekman Mansion) in a rural part of Manhattan, at what is now 51st Street and First Avenue. Hale reportedly was questioned by Howe and physical evidence was found on him. Rogers provided information about the case. According to tradition, Hale spent the night in a greenhouse at the mansion and then was marched along Post Road to the Park of Artillery, which was next to a public house called the Dove Tavern (at modern day 66th Street and Third Avenue, and hanged. The executioner was the former slave and loyalist Bill Richmond, who later became famous as a boxer in Britain.

The speech

By all accounts, Hale comported himself eloquently before the hanging. He is famously quoted as exclaiming:

"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

The story of Hale's famous speech began with John Montresor, a British soldier who witnessed the hanging. Soon after the execution, Montresor spoke with American officer William Hull about Hale's death. Later, it was Hull who widely publicized Hale's use of the phrase. Because Hull was not an eyewitness to Hale's speech, some historians have questioned the reliability of the account.

If Hale did give the famous speech, it is most likely he was actually repeating a passage from Joseph Addison's play, Cato, an ideological inspiration to many Whigs:

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.

No official records were kept of Hale's speech. However, Robert MacKensie, a British officer, wrote this diary entry for the 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.

It is almost certain that Nathan Hale's last speech contained more than one sentence. Several early accounts mention different things he said. These are not necessarily contradictory; rather, together they give us an idea of what the speech must have been like. The following quotes are all taken from George Dudley Seymour's "Documentary Life of Nathan Hale", published in 1941 by the author.

From the diary entry of September 22, 1776, of Lieutenant Frederick MacKenzie, British officer: "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."

From the diary of Enoch Hale, Nathan's brother, after he went to question people who had been present, October 26, 1776: "When at the Gallows he spoke & told them that he was a Capt in the Cont Army by name Nathan Hale."

From the Essex Journal, February 13, 1777: "However, at the gallows, he 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 defense of his injured, bleeding Country."

From the Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advertiser, May 17, 1781: "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."

From the memoirs of Captain William Hull, quoting British Captain John Montresor, who was present and who spoke to Hull under a flag of truce the next day: “’On the morning of his execution,’ continued the officer, ‘my station was near the fatal spot, and I requested the Provost Marshal to permit the prisoner to sit in my marquee, while he was making the necessary preparations. Captain Hale entered: he was calm, and bore himself with gentle dignity, in the consciousness of rectitude and high intentions. He asked for writing materials, which I furnished him: he wrote two letters, one to his mother (almost certainly to his brother Enoch; the letter was never delivered, but Enoch heard of it from another American prisoner, John Wyllys, who knew Nathan. Cunningham had shown him the letter to taunt him)and one to a brother officer.’ He was shortly after summoned 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.’”

William Hull, the only source for Hale's famous speech, is better known as the brigadier general who later surrendered the entire United States northwestern army to the British during the War of 1812.

From "To the Memory of Capt. Nathan Hale" by Eneas Munson, Sr. written "soon after" Hale’s death:

"’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 tutored Hale before college, and knew him and his family well, so even though the particulars of this speech may be unlikely, Munson knew first hand what Hale’s opinions were.


Hanging site(s)

Besides the site at 66th and Third, there are two other sites in Manhattan that claim to be the hanging site:

A statue designed by Frederick William Macmonnies was erected in 1890 City Hall Park at what was claimed to be the site; (No authentic likeness exists and the statue established Hale's idealized square-jawed image);
A plaque erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) hangs on the Yale Club] at 44th and Vanderbilt by Grand Central Terminal saying the event occurred there.
There is also a memorial at another possible hanging site in Halesite (Huntington), New York, on Long Island.

Nathan Hale's body has never been found. An empty grave cenotaph was erected by his family in Nathan Hale Cemetery in South Coventry, Connecticut.

Statues and appearance

File:Nathan-Hale-statue-Chicago-Tribune-Tower-bust.jpg
Bust of Nathan Hale, from statue by Bela Lyon Pratt.
Nathan Hale statue by Bela Lyon Pratt at Chicago Tribune Tower.

There are several statues of Nathan Hale at various sites:

  • A statue designed by Frederick William Macmonnies was erected in 1890 at City Hall Park (the statue established Hale's idealized square-jawed image);
  • A statue of Hale, sculpted around 1898 by Bela Lyon Pratt, was cast in 1912 and stands in front of Connecticut Hall at Hale's alma mater, Yale. Copies of this sculpture stand at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts; the Nathan Hale Homestead; the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.; and at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency.
  • A statue stands at the front of the Chicago Tribune Tower in Chicago.


References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Ford, David Stanley. The interrogation of Nathan Hale: by Captain John Montresor of HRM Expeditionary Forces. Woodstock, Ill: Dramatic Pub.1997. ISBN 9780871297501
  • Hagman, Harlan L. Nathan Hale and John André: reluctant heroes of the American Revolution. Interlaken, N.Y.: Empire State Books 1992. ISBN 9781557870773
  • Hogrogian, Robert. Nathan Hale. People to remember series. [Fairlawn, N.J.]: January Productions 1979. ISBN 9780934898355
  • Libertson, Jody. Nathan Hale: hero of the American Revolution. New York: Rosen Central Primary Source 2004. ISBN 9780823941179

External links


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