Nathan Hale

Date of Birth

June 6, 1755

Place of Birth

Coventry, Connecticut

Date of Death

September 22, 1776

Place of Death

New York City, New York

American Revolution Service

CT, June 1775, commissioned First Lieutenant, Seventh Ct Regiment, Col. Charles Webb, marched to the blockade of Boston; CT, 1 January 1786, Captain, Col. Charles Webb, 19th Regiment, defense of Boston MA, fortification of New York City

State of Service

Connecticut

Donor

The Connecticut DAR, Daughters

Nathan Hale was born in Coventry, Connecticut, June 6, 1755, to Deacon Richard Hale and Elizabeth Strong Hale, both of well educated, staunch New England Puritan families.

Hale was home schooled until age 14 when he entered Yale in 1769 and graduated with first honors at 18 in 1773. Hale remained in Connecticut, accepting a position as schoolmaster in East Haddam, teaching there through March 1774. He next taught at the prestigious Union School in New London where he also joined the local militia company.

Bust of Nathan Hale and plaque that mark the original site of his school, East Haddam CT. Photo by: Jane Mazzotta.

Signage for Schoolhouse visitor information, East Haddam CT. Photo by: Jane Mazzotta.

Bust of Nathan Hale and plaque that mark the original site of his school, East Haddam CT. Photo by: Jane Mazzotta.

Nathan Hale’s first Schoolhouse, East Haddam CT. Photo by: Jane Mazzotta.

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A letter from Yale friend Benjamin Tallmadge in June 1775 convinced Hale to join the fight for independence.

He accepted a commission as First Lieutenant in the 7th Connecticut Regiment under Colonel Charles Webb of Stamford. His regiment marched from New London on September 23, 1775, to Boston where they were stationed on Winter Hill during the blockade. Hale received a Captain’s commission in Colonel Charles Webb’s 19th Regiment on January 1, 1776. This Regiment soon marched to Manhattan Island to prevent a British invasion there. In September 1776, General Washington formed a new unit under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton called the Rangers to patrol the New York coast line. Nathan Hale commanded one unit charged with forward reconnaissance for the Continental Army.

Knowlton was asked to find a Ranger volunteer to go under cover as a spy to determine the most probable site for a British invasion. Nathan Hale volunteered for this duty. In disguise as a schoolmaster behind enemy lines, he secured intelligence on British movements which he recorded in Latin and hid in his shoes. He was captured while attempting to leave Long Island on September 21, 1776. Hale’s notes were discovered when he was searched. He provided his name and military rank but because he was not in uniform, he was sentenced to hang as a spy without a trial. Nathan Hale lost his life on September 22, 1776. His remains were buried in an unmarked grave in New York.