Nathan Hale Totally Explained

Everything about Nathan Hale totally explained

Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an officer for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Widely considered America's first spy, he volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission, but was captured by the British. He is best remembered for his speech before being hanged following the Battle of Long Island, in which he reportedly said, "I only regret that I've but one life to give my country." Hale has long been considered an American hero and, in 1985, he was officially designated the state hero of Connecticut.

Background

Hale was born in Coventry, Connecticut in 1755. In 1768, when he was fourteen years old, he was sent with his brother Enoch to Yale College. Nathan was a classmate of fellow patriot spy Benjamin Tallmadge. 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 Queen's 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. Another story was that a Loyalist cousin of Hale's was the one who revealed his true identity.
   British General William Howe had his headquarters in the Beekman House in a rural part of Manhattan, on a rise between 50th and 51st Streets between First and Second Avenues 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.
   According to the standards of the time, spies were hanged as illegal combatants. On September 22, 1776, Hale 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. He was 21 years old. Bill Richmond, a 13 year old former slave and loyalist who later became famous as an African American boxer in Europe, was reportedly one of the hangmen, "his responsibility being that of fastening the rope to a strong tree branch and securing the knot and noose."

The speech

By all accounts, Hale comported himself eloquently before the hanging. Over the years, there has been some speculation as to whether he specifically uttered the famous line:
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 wasn't an eyewitness to Hale's speech, some historians have questioned the reliability of the account. Documents and letters reveal Hale was an informed, practical, detail-oriented man who planned ahead.
Hale has been honored with two particularly famous standing images:

A statue designed by Frederick William MacMonnies was erected in 1890 at City Hall Park, New York. The statue established Hale's modern idealized square-jawed image.

A statue of Hale, sculpted 1908-12 by Bela Lyon Pratt, was cast in 1912 and stands in front of Connecticut Hall where he resided while at Yale. Copies of this sculpture stand at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts; the Nathan Hale Homestead in Coventry; the Connecticut Governor's Mansion in Hartford, Fort Nathan Hale in New Haven, the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.; Tribune Tower in Chicago; and at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, Virginia. There is also a memorial for him located in Huntington, New York where he landed for his fatal spying mission.
Additionally, Hale presides over the reading room of the law library at Tulane University Law School. The statue was a gift of alum Morris Keil, and was presented to Tulane University in 1963.

Famous relatives

Hale was the uncle of orator and statesman Edward Everett (the other speaker at Gettysburg) and the grand-uncle of Edward Everett Hale (quoted above), a Unitarian minister, writer, and activist noted for social causes including abolitionism.

Places named after Hale

The hamlet of Halesite (formerly Huntington Harbor) in Suffolk County, Long Island, is named after Hale. There is a memorial plaque set into a large boulder, which was removed from the beach nearby where Hale is thought to have landed on his fateful mission.

Nathan Hale Army Depot, a U.S. Army installation, is located in Darmstadt, Germany.

Fort Nathan Hale, a Revolutionary War-era fort and historic site in New Haven, Connecticut, is named after him.

The Nathan Hale Inn on the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs, CT, is named after Hale.

High schools named after Hale include Nathan Hale-Ray High School in East Haddam, Connecticut (where he was 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 (the departure point for his final mission), Captain 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 (External Link

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There are elementary schools named after Hale in New London, Connecticut (where he was schoolmaster), as well as Enfield, Connecticut, Manchester, Connecticut, Meriden, Connecticut, Whiting, Indiana; Schaumburg, Illinois; Mesa, Arizona; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Lansing, Illinois,Crestwood, Illinois, and in Chicago, Illinois

Other things named after Hale

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 and includes a division known as Knowlton's Connecticut Rangers.

Captain Nathan Hale Bridger, a main character in the television series seaQuest DSV.

Sgt. Nathan Hale, a main character in the video game Further Information

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