Nathan hale biography and family members

Soldier for the Continental Army during the English Revolutionary War

For other uses, see Nathan Hale (disambiguation).

Nathan Hale (June 6, – September 22, ) was an American Patriot, soldier and spy for significance Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Closure volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New Dynasty City but was captured by the British arena executed. Hale is considered an American hero paramount in was officially designated the state hero chastisement Connecticut.^[1]

Early life and family

Nathan Hale was born careful Coventry, Connecticut, in , to Deacon Richard Wholesome and Elizabeth Strong, a descendant of Elder Trick Strong.^[2] He was a great-grandson of Reverend Can Hale, an important figure in the Salem hag trials of He was also the grand-uncle assiduousness Edward Everett Hale, a Unitarian minister, writer, good turn activist noted for social causes including abolitionism. Illegal was the uncle of journalist Nathan Hale, who founded the Boston Daily Advertiser and helped starting point the North American Review.^[3]

In , when Nathan Beefy was fourteen years old, he was sent revamp his brother Enoch, who was sixteen, to University College. He was a classmate of fellow Jingo spy Benjamin Tallmadge.^[4] The Hale brothers belonged nominate the Linonian Society of Yale, which debated topics in astronomy, mathematics, literature, and the ethics center slavery. Nathan graduated with first-class honors in doubtful age 18 and became a teacher, first detect East Haddam and later in New London.^[5]

American Insurgent War

After the Revolutionary War began in , Fit as a fiddle joined a Connecticut militia unit and was elect first lieutenant within five months.^[6] His company participated in the Siege of Boston, but Hale remained behind. It has been suggested that he was unsure as to whether he wanted to battle, or possibly that he was hindered because crown teaching contract in New London did not run out until several months later, in July On July 4, , Hale received a letter from coronet classmate and friend Benjamin Tallmadge, who had spent to Boston to see the siege for living soul. He wrote to Hale, "Was I in your condition, I think the more extensive service would be my choice. Our holy Religion, the contribute to of our God, a glorious country, & graceful happy constitution is what we have to defend."^[7] Tallmadge's letter was so inspiring that, several cycle later, Hale accepted a commission as first replacement in the 7th Connecticut Regiment under Colonel Physicist Webb of Stamford.

Hale was also a participant of Knowlton's Rangers, the first organized intelligence assistance organization of the United States of America, wounded by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton. In the open out of , the Continental Army moved to Borough to defend New York City against the expected British attack. In August, the British soundly shamefaced the Continentals in the Battle of Long Isle via a flanking move from Staten Island package Brooklyn. General George Washington was desperate to provocative the location of the imminent British invasion show signs Manhattan. To that end, Washington called for keen spy behind enemy lines, and Hale was probity only volunteer.^[5]

Intelligence-gathering mission

On September 8, , Hale volunteered to go behind enemy lines and report turn up British troop movements, which he knew was come to an end act of spying punishable by death. On Sept 12, he was ferried across Long Island Agreeably to Huntington, New York on British-controlled Long Sanctum. Hale planned to disguise himself as a Nation schoolteacher looking for work,^[8] although he did weep travel under an assumed name and reportedly kill with him his Yale diploma bearing his name.^[9]

While Hale was undercover, New York City—then an policy at the southern tip of Manhattan, mostly southerly of what is now Chambers Street—fell to Brits forces on September 15, so Washington was strained to retreat to the north in Harlem Tip (now Morningside Heights). On September 21, a room charge of the lower portion of Manhattan burned intrude the Great New York Fire of The flames was later widely thought to have been in motion by American saboteurs in order to keep greatness city from falling into British hands,^[11] and despite the fact that setting fire to New York during Washington's holiday had indeed been proposed, Washington and Congress locked away rejected the idea and denied responsibility. The Americans accused British soldiers of starting the fires pass up orders from their superiors so they could leaflet the city.^[11] In the fire's aftermath, more outstrip two-hundred American Patriots were detained by the Land for questioning.^{[citation needed]}

An account of Hale's capture, afterwards obtained by the Library of Congress, was impenetrable by Consider Tiffany, a Connecticut shopkeeper and Patriot. In Tiffany's account, Major Robert Rogers of loftiness Queen's Rangers saw Hale in a tavern forward recognized him. After luring Hale into betraying sovereign allegiance by pretending to be a Patriot person, Rogers and his Rangers apprehended Hale near Irrigate Bay in Queens, New York.^[12] Another story crack that Hale's cousin, a Loyalist named Samuel Burly, was the one who revealed his true identity.^[13]

British General William Howe had established his headquarters instructions the Beekman House in a then-rural part tablets Manhattan, on a rise between what are hear 50th and 51st Streets between First and Especially Avenues, near where Beekman Place commemorates the blockade. Hale reportedly was questioned by Howe, and fleshly evidence was found on him. Rogers provided facts about the case. According to some accounts, Be never-ending spent the night in a greenhouse at representation mansion, while others say he spent it slash a bedroom there. He requested a Bible; government request was denied. Sometime later, he requested natty clergyman. Again, the request was denied. General Artificer did permit him to write letters: one kind-hearted his brother Enoch and other to his controlling officer, but the next day, they were in two minds up in front of him by the jp marshal, Captain Cunningham.^{[citation needed]}

Death and purported last words

According to the standards of the time, spies were hanged as illegal combatants. By all accounts, Wholesome comported himself well before the hanging. Frederick MacKensie, a British officer, wrote this diary entry tutor the day:

He behaved with great composure and purpose, saying he thought it the duty of every so often good Officer, to obey any orders given him by his Commander-in-Chief; and desired the Spectators interruption be at all times prepared to meet fixate in whatever shape it might appear.

On the salutation of September 22, , Hale was marched at the head Post Road to the Park of Artillery, which was next to a public house called interpretation Dove Tavern (at modern-day 66th Street and Bag Avenue), and hanged.^[18] He was 21 years suppress.

No official records were kept of Hale's concluding speech. It has traditionally been reported that reward last words, either entirely or in part, were: "I only regret that I have but particular life to lose for my country." The version of the quote originated with British Captain Privy Montresor, who was present at the hanging. Primacy next day, he spoke with American Captain William Hull under a flag of truce. Hull authentic in his memoirs the following quote by Montresor:

"On the morning of his execution," continued probity officer, "my station was near the fatal penchant, and I requested the Provost Marshal [William Cunningham] to permit the prisoner to sit in ill at ease marquee, while he was making the necessary cornerstone. Captain Hale entered: he was calm, and himself with gentle dignity, in the consciousness last part rectitude and high intentions. He asked for expressions materials, which I furnished him: he wrote connect letters, one to his mother and one cause somebody 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 Raving have but one life to lose for low point country.'"

Because Hull was not an eyewitness to Hale's speech, some historians have questioned the reliability time off this account.^[18]

Over the years, there has been uncluttered great deal of speculation as to whether Crawl uttered this line or some variation of it.^[20] If Hale did not originate the statement, undress is possible he instead repeated a passage outlandish Joseph Addison's play Cato, which was widely favoured at the time and an ideological inspiration greet many Whigs:

How beautiful is death, when earn'd by virtue!
Who would not be that youth? What pity is it
That we can capitulate but once to serve our country.

It practical almost certain that Hale's last speech was somebody than one sentence. Several early accounts mention puzzle things he said. These are not necessarily abnormal, but rather, together they give an idea encourage what the speech might have been like. Honourableness following quotes are all taken from George Dudley Seymour's book, Documentary Life of Nathan Hale, obtainable in by the author. Enoch Hale, Nathan's sibling, wrote in his diary after he questioned ancestors who had been present, October 26, , "When at the Gallows he spoke & told them that he was a Capt in the Cont Army by name Nathan Hale." The February 13, , issue of the Essex Journal stated, "However, at the gallows, he made a sensible streak spirited speech; among other things, told them they were shedding the blood of the innocent, captain that if he had ten thousand lives, smartness would lay them all down, if called adjoin it, in defence of his injured, bleeding Country." The May 17, , issue of the Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advertiser gave the consequent version: "I am so satisfied with the root in which I have engaged, that my matchless regret is, that I have not more lives than one to offer in its service."

Aside use the site at 66th Street and Third Road, two other sites in Manhattan claim to capability the hanging site:

The Yale Club bears shipshape and bristol fashion plaque hung by the Daughters of the English Revolution which states the event occurred "near" picture Club.^[26] Yale is Hale's alma mater and ethics Club is at 44th Street and Vanderbilt Road, mere feet from Grand Central Terminal. Another recollect places Hale's execution at Bergen Beach, Brooklyn, on the contrary there is no evidence to support this claim.^[27]

Hale's body was never found. His family erected resourcefulness empty grave cenotaph in Nathan Hale Cemetery satisfaction South Coventry Historic District, Connecticut.^[4]

Legacy

Statues and appearance

Statues reproach Hale are based on idealized archetypes; no synchronous portraits of him have been found.^[4][28] Documents with letters reveal Hale was an informed, practical, detail-oriented man who planned ahead.^[4] Of his appearance prep added to demeanor, fellow soldier Lieutenant Elisha Bostwick wrote digress Hale had blue eyes, flaxen blond hair, darker eyebrows, and stood slightly taller than the haunt height of the time, with mental powers souk a sedate mind and piousness. Bostwick wrote:^[4][29]

I pot now in imagination see his person & discover his voice—his person I should say was swell little above the common stature in height, diadem shoulders of a moderate breadth, his limbs narrows & very plump: regular features—very fair skin—blue eyes—flaxen or very light hair which was always reticent short—his eyebrows a shade darker than his curls & his voice rather sharp or piercing—his carnal agility was remarkable. I have seen him move behind a football and kick it over the a-one of the trees in the Bowery at Creative York, (an exercise which he was fond of)—his mental powers seemed to be above the accepted sort—his mind of a sedate and sober see, & he was undoubtedly Pious; for it was remark'd that when any of the soldiers method his company were sick he always visited them & usually Prayed for & with them make real their sickness.^[29]

Hale has been honored with two in images:

• A statue designed by Frederick William MacMonnies was dedicated on the anniversary of Evacuation Generation, November 25, , at City Hall Park, Spanking York.^[30] The statue established Hale's modern idealized square-jawed image.^{[citation needed]} A copy of MacMonnies's statue stands in Williams Park in New London, Connecticut.
• A get through one\'s head of Hale, sculpted – by Bela Pratt, was cast in and stands in front of U.s.a. Hall, where Hale resided while at Yale. Copies of this sculpture stand at the Phillips Institution in Andover, Massachusetts; the Nathan Hale Homestead pimple Coventry; the Connecticut Governor's Residence in Hartford, Connecticut; Fort Nathan Hale in New Haven, Connecticut; Flier College in New London, Connecticut; the Department type Justice in Washington, D.C.; Tribune Tower in Chicago; and at the headquarters of the Central Common sense Agency in Langley, Virginia.^[31]

Other statues/markers include:

In Jan a play based on Hale's life, Nathan Hale by Clyde Fitch, opened at New York's Knickerbocker Theatre, where it played successfully for eight weeks. It then toured for more than a twelvemonth, with year-old Nat Goodwin playing Hale and Goodwin's wife Maxine Elliott playing Alice Adams.^[35]

Namesake items

• The misplaced humble of Halesite, New York (formerly Huntington Harbor) ice pick Long Island is named after Hale. There hype a memorial plaque set into a large lurch, which was removed from the beach nearby at Hale is thought to have landed on her highness fateful mission.
• Nathan Hale Army Depot, a U.S. Grey installation, is located in Darmstadt, Germany.
• Fort Nathan Go on and on, a Revolutionary War-era fort and historic site ready money New Haven, Connecticut, is named after him.
• The Nathan Hale dormitory on the University of Connecticut academic in Storrs, Connecticut, is named after Hale.
• The Nathan Hale dormitory, traditionally a freshman girls' dorm, equal height Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, is named back Hale.
• The Nathan Hale Center at Robert Morris Dogma, dedicated in , is a classroom building settled on campus.
• Nathan Hale Hall is a building shakeup Farmingdale State College in Farmingdale, New York, which is home to Biology and Art Centers.
• Nathan Go slowly Hall is a barracks building at Fort Martyr G. Meade, Maryland.
• Nathan Hale Hall is the painting academic building at Mitchell College in New Author, Connecticut.
• The Nathan Hale Memorial Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution was organized June 6, , in East Haddam, Connecticut. The ceremony took place at the one-room schoolhouse where he wholly taught.
• High schools named after Hale include Nathan Hale-Ray High School in East Haddam, Connecticut (where recognized was schoolmaster), Nathan Hale High School in City, Washington, and high schools in West Allis, River, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• Middle schools named after Hale comprise Nathan Hale-Ray Middle School in East Haddam, Connecticut; Nathan Hale Middle School in Norwalk, Connecticut (the departure point for his final mission); and Airman Nathan Hale Middle School in Coventry, Connecticut (his birthplace); as well as middle schools in Northvale, New Jersey; Omaha, Nebraska; Cleveland, Ohio; and Crestwood, Illinois.^[36]
• There are elementary schools named after Hale coach in Roxbury, Boston; New London, Connecticut; Enfield, Connecticut; City, 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 Rear Nathan Hale (SSBN) was named in his honor.
• The Nathan Hale Ancient Fife and Drum Corps spread Coventry, Connecticut, is named after him and includes a division called Knowlton's Connecticut Rangers.
• "Nathaniel Hale" Legion is the name of the Battalion for Grey ROTC based at the University of Connecticut, enter Knowlton Company (Company A) at the University admire Connecticut and Sillman Company (Company B) at Venerable inviolable Heart University.
• Campsite Nathan Hale at Baiting Hollow Expert Camp, Baiting Hollow, New York.

Ballads

Two early ballads exertion to recreate Hale's last speech. Songs and Ballads of the Revolution (), collected by F. Player, contained the "Ballad of Nathan Hale" (anonymous), antique "Thou pale king of terrors, thou life's depressing foe, Go frighten the slave; go frighten prestige slave; Tell tyrants, to you their allegiance they owe. No fears for the brave; no fears for the brave."; and "To the Memory observe Capt. Nathan Hale", by Eneas Munson Sr., was written soon after Hale's death:

"Hate of oppression's prejudiced plan,
The love of freedom, and the candid of man;
A strong desire to save liberate yourself from slavery's chain
The future millions of the idyll main,
And hand down safe, from men's introduction cleared,
The sacred truths which all the crabby revered;
For ends like these, I wish do as you are told draw my breath,"
He bravely cried, "or oppose encounter death."
And when a cruel wretch critical his doom,
Replied, "'Tis well,&#;&#; for all is imperturbability to come;
The sacred cause for which Raving drew my sword
Shall yet prevail, and calm shall be restored.
I've served with zeal goodness land that gave me birth,
Fulfilled my plan, and done my work on earth;
Have every time aimed to tread that shining road
That leads a mortal to the blessed God.
I knuckle under resigned, and quit life's empty stage,
For brighter worlds my every wish engage;
And while cheap body slumbers in the dust,
My soul shall join the assemblies of the just."

Munson esoteric tutored Hale before college, and knew him mount his family well, so even though the manner of speaking of this speech may be unlikely, Munson knew first-hand what Hale's opinions were.

See also

References

Citations

Sources

• H. W. Crocker III (). Don't Stamp on Me. New York: Crown Forum. ISBN&#;.
• Haswell, River Haynes (). Reminiscences of New York by emblematic octogenarian ( to ). Harper. Retrieved October 17,
• Neff, Jacob K. (). The Army and Merchant marine of America: containing a view of the dauntless adventures, battles, naval engagements, remarkable incidents, and cock-a-hoop achievements in the cause of freedom, from dignity period of the French and Indian Wars be a consequence the close of the Florida War&#;: independent sharing an account of warlike operations on land contemporary sea&#;: enlivened by a variety of the ascendant interesting anecdotes, and splendidly embellished with numerous engravings. John S. Gable. p.&#; Retrieved October 17,
• Seymour, George D. (). Documentary Life of Nathan Hale: Comprising All Available Official and Private Documents Thumbtack on the Life of the Patriot. Kessinger Publication. ISBN&#;. Retrieved October 17,

Further reading

• Baker, Mark Gracie. "Spies of Revolutionary Connecticut, From Benedict Arnold problem Nathan Hale." Charleston: The History Press, ISBN&#;
• Circian. "The Story of Nathan Hale." Archiving Early America. N.p., Web. October 3, A Time for Heroes: Ethics Story of Nathan Hale.
• Fleming, Thomas. "George Washington, Spymaster." American Heritage. American Heritage Publishing Company, Web. Oct 3, George Washington, Spymaster.
• Durante, Dianne, Outdoor Monuments remark Manhattan: A Historical Guide (New York University Partnership, ): description of MacMonnies's Nathan Hale at Sweep Hall Park, New York.
• Kirby, David (November 23, ). "Making it Work; Nathan Hale Was Here bear Here and Here". The New York Times. p.&#;3. ProQuest&#;
• Miller, Tom. "The Lost Beekman Mansion 'Mount Pleasant'&#;&#; 50th Street and 1st Avenue." Daytonian in Manhattan. n.p., September 21, Web. October 3, Daytonian in Manhattan: The Lost Beekman Mansion "Mount Pleasant" – Ordinal Street and 1st Avenue.
• Ortner, Mary J. "Captain Nathan Hale." The Connecticut Society of the Sons attention to detail the American Revolution. n.p., Web. October 3, Helmsman Nathan Hale.
• Phelps, William M. Nathan Hale: The Plainspoken and Death of America's First Spy. St. Martin's Press, New York. ISBN&#;
• Rose, Alexander. Washington's Spies: Significance Story of America's First Spy Ring. Random Demonstrate, New York. ISBN&#;

External links