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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/31650-8.txt b/31650-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..185bb10 --- /dev/null +++ b/31650-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4280 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Nathan Hale, by Jean Christie Root + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Nathan Hale + +Author: Jean Christie Root + +Release Date: March 15, 2010 [EBook #31650] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATHAN HALE *** + + + + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreaders at +http://www.fadedpage.com + + + + + + + + + + TRUE STORIES OF GREAT AMERICANS + + NATHAN HALE + + BY + + JEAN CHRISTIE ROOT + + + "O Beautiful! my Country! ..., + What were our lives without thee? + What all our lives to save thee? + We reck not what we gave thee; + We will not dare to doubt thee, + But ask whatever else, and we will dare!" + + _Commemoration Ode_, + JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL + + + THE WORLD SYNDICATE PUBLISHING CO. + Cleveland, O. New York, N. Y. + + PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + + COPYRIGHT, 1915, + + BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. + + Set up and electrotyped. Published May, 1915. Reprinted + August, 1925; March, 1929. + + + + +CONTENTS + + PAGE + + CHAPTER I + NATHAN HALE'S EARLY YEARS 1 + + CHAPTER II + COLLEGE DAYS 12 + + CHAPTER III + A CALL TO TEACH 29 + + CHAPTER IV + A CALL TO ARMS 44 + + CHAPTER V + HALE'S ZEAL AS A SOLDIER 60 + + CHAPTER VI + A PERILOUS SERVICE 71 + + CHAPTER VII + GRIEF FOR THE YOUNG PATRIOT 91 + + CHAPTER VIII + TRIBUTES TO NATHAN HALE 103 + + CHAPTER IX + NATHAN HALE'S FRIENDS 114 + + THE REV. JOSEPH HUNTINGTON, D.D. 114 + ALICE ADAMS 118 + BENJAMIN TALLMADGE 125 + WILLIAM HULL 129 + STEPHEN HEMPSTEAD 133 + ASHER WRIGHT 136 + ELISHA BOSTWICK 137 + EDWARD EVERETT HALE 140 + + CHAPTER X + + ANCESTORS AND DESCENDANTS OF NATHAN HALE'S + + PARENTS 143 + + CHAPTER XI + ASSERTED BETRAYAL OF NATHAN HALE 147 + + CHAPTER XII + CONTRASTS BETWEEN HALE AND ANDRÉ 152 + + + + +CHAPTER I + +NATHAN HALE'S EARLY YEARS + + +It is to-day a recognized fact that no life worthy of our reverence, or +even a life calculated to awaken our fear, is the result of accident. +Whatever may be the character, its basis has been the result of +long-developing causes. This the life of Nathan Hale well illustrates. +He was born at a time and under influences that were sure to develop the +best qualities in him. He was an immediate descendant of the best of the +Puritans on both sides of the sea. His great-grandfather, John Hale, was +the son of Robert Hale, who came to America in 1632. John Hale graduated +from Harvard in 1657 and was the first pastor settled in Beverly, +Massachusetts, remaining there until he died, an aged man. An ardent +patriot, this John Hale, in 1676, gave about one-twelfth of his salary, +some seventy pounds, for defense in King Philip's War. When need arose +in the French War, he went to Canada as a volunteer, for a threefold +purpose,--so that he might accompany a number of his own parishioners, +act as chaplain for one of the regiments, and fight when his aid was +needed. + +Living during the witchcraft trials, he was one of the first to be +convinced of the mistaken course pursued. We are not certain as to his +approval or disapproval of the progress of the excitement in regard to +witchcraft until it became intensely personal to his own family. His +wife was, fortunately as the results proved, accused by some misguided +person of being a witch. The well-known nobility of her life, and her +lovely character, at once convinced all who knew the circumstances that +some terrible mistake had been made by her accuser. And if a mistake had +been made in her case, why not in others? At once the deadly power of +the delusion was broken and, happily, the tide turned back forever. +There was no question after this of the Rev. Mr. Hale's viewpoint as to +witchcraft. + +In the very darkest depths of the witchcraft delusion, some +illustrations of splendid courage and noble unselfishness were +exhibited. Grewsome as it is, we cannot forbear quoting the example of +one Giles Cory, condemned to die as a witch, who knew that if he did not +confess he had bewitched people, his estate, which he wished his wife +and family to inherit, would be forfeited, and that he would be pressed +to death instead of being hanged. + +Being hanged is a comparatively brief experience, while the other way is +prolonged and agonizing. But, for the sake of his family, brave old +Giles Cory calmly faced this terrible, lingering death. He must have won +from some, if not from all, the feeling that a stout-hearted and +generous man had proved his love for his own as no mere words could have +done. + +John Hale appears to have been a worthy ancestor of the youth Nathan +Hale, who, a hundred years later, so freely made a sacrifice of his +life. + +John Hale's son, Samuel, was Nathan's grandfather; he made his home in +Portsmouth, New Hampshire. One of Samuel Hale's sons, bearing his own +name, Samuel, was a Harvard man. Another son, Richard, Nathan's father, +born February 28, 1717, looking about to find the best farming lands for +the support of a future family, moved to Connecticut, and became a +farmer in South Coventry, thirty miles east of Hartford. Distinguished +from the beginning for his success in whatever he undertook in business +affairs, and also as a man of singularly upright character, Deacon +Richard Hale won the warmest regard of all who knew him. His advice and +help were sought, both in political and religious affairs, to the full +limit of the time at his command. + +His farm was among the best in that section. The house that he first +occupied, probably one already on the place, was as comfortable and +convenient as the usual homes of the earlier colonists. Later a larger +house was built, big enough to accommodate a family of a dozen or more, +and many guests as well. The house in which Nathan lived as a boy is +still standing, and has fortunately come down to us with almost no +mutilation. + +Though the forms and the voices of those who dwelt in them have long +since vanished, there still linger about these vacant rooms the most +tender and inspiring memories of the lives once developing there, now +gone forward; nothing wasted or lost, as we will believe, of anything +permanent they strove for or cared for in their dear, earthly home. + +To this home Richard Hale, married May 2, 1746, at the age of +twenty-nine, brought his young bride, Elizabeth Strong. If Richard +Hale's pedigree was a good one, his wife, Elizabeth Strong, came from a +family even more finely endowed. The first of her ancestors who came to +America was Elder John Strong. He was one of the founders of +Dorchester, now a part of Boston; later he helped to found Northampton, +Massachusetts. + +Mrs. Hale's grandfather, Joseph Strong, represented Coventry for +sixty-five sessions in the General Assembly of Connecticut, and when he +was ninety years of age he presided over the town meeting, suggesting by +that deed a man of some vigor, for town meetings were no playdays in +those early years. His descendants, active in whatever their hands found +to do,--in the ministry, the law, business, or politics,--were long +prominent in New England and New York, and doubtless many are to-day +still helping to mold their country's future. + +The son of this Justice Joseph Strong was also named Joseph, and called +Captain Joseph Strong. In 1724 he married his second cousin, Elizabeth +Strong. He, too, was a noted man among the colonists. She, later, became +the "grandmother" to whom Nathan so warmly alludes in one of his last +letters to his brother. Captain Joseph Strong and his wife were the +parents of Elizabeth Strong who, in her nineteenth year, married Richard +Hale. + +To Elizabeth Strong Hale we can give but a passing notice. There is not, +it is believed, one word that she wrote now in existence, nor any record +left of that gracious womanhood, save a name on an obscure gravestone. +But what brave-hearted mother would not count it well worth while to +leave, for the coming years, the impress she left upon her many +children; one of them alone destined to carry to coming generations of +Americans the assurance that such a son could only have been borne by +one of the noblest of mothers. Dying at the age of forty,--April 21, +1767,--after a married life of twenty-one years, she had performed all +the duties then expected from the mistress of a farmer's household in a +section where the principal help that could be secured in any time of +need came from the voluntary kindnesses of neighbors; for, like one +large family, they felt it necessary to "lend a hand" whenever any one +of their number was in need. Mrs. Hale had been the mother of twelve +children when she died. Two of her children, named David and Jonathan, +were twins. One of the twins, Jonathan, died when only a week old. David +lived to be graduated from Yale and to become a minister at Lisbon, +Connecticut. A little daughter, Susanna, lived but a month, but ten of +Mrs. Hale's twelve children grew to maturity. + +Nathan, the sixth child, born June 6, 1755, was the first of the ten to +die, leaving to his surviving brothers and sisters a memory that in +later years must have been an unfailing inspiration. He was delicate at +first, but owing to his mother's care he later became as robust in body +as he was in mind. For an older brother, Enoch, the plan was formed of +sending him to college to prepare for the ministry, a custom then +prevalent among many of the large and prosperous families in New +England. Nathan was at first destined for a business life; but because +of the urgent desire of his mother, heartily seconded by that of his +Grandmother Strong, he was allowed to enter college with his brother +Enoch in 1769, when he was fourteen years old; this was two years after +the death of his mother. Four of Mrs. Hale's immediate relatives were +graduates of Yale,--a fine illustration of the value those progressive +pioneers attached to education. + +As a boy Nathan was to his mother what he later became to all who knew +him; and the bond between such a mother and such a son must have been +very tender and strong. It is a comfort to those who know what such +mothers desire for their children, to remember the gladness and hope +with which this mother, overworked and dying long before her time, +looked forward to the days coming to her children. For Nathan, through +her influence, was to become one of Yale's noblest sons. + +As Nathan's mother died nine years before he did, we understand the full +meaning of the line in Judge Finch's poem, + + "The sad of Earth, the glad of Heaven," + +written many years later in honoring Nathan's splendid sacrifice. The +poem to which the line belongs, read more than sixty years ago on the +one-hundredth anniversary of the Linonian Society, an organization of +Yale College of which Nathan Hale had been an early and an active +member, had much influence in rousing first Yale men, and then other +patriotic Americans, to recognize Nathan Hale as one of America's +bravest martyrs. + +Mrs. Hale died in 1767. About two years later Deacon Hale married again, +bringing to his home this time a widow, Mrs. Abigail Adams, of +Canterbury, who must have been well fitted to take her place as the new +head of the family. No ignoble mother could rear such children as she +had reared, and Deacon Hale's second choice of a wife proved a wise and +happy one. Providence appears to have smiled upon him when he opened his +doors and invited Mrs. Adams and her children to share his home, and +even the affection of some of his sons. It is said that two of Deacon +Hale's sons fell in love with her youngest daughter, Alice Adams, who, +at Deacon Hale's desire, came to live permanently in the family in 1770 +or 1771, while his second son, John, married her eldest daughter, Sarah +Adams, on December 19, 1770. + +The lives of both these women, Sarah and Alice Adams, are sufficient +witnesses to the high character of the new mother added to the Hale +household. To several of his biographers it has seemed quite probable +that Nathan Hale wrote one of his last two letters to this mother. We +grant that it may have been addressed to her, while intended for the +reading of another. Of this, later. + +In regard to the marriage of John Hale and Sarah Adams it may be as well +to state here that, after a married life of thirty-one years, John Hale +died suddenly in December, 1802, his health probably undermined by his +service in the Revolutionary War, where he held the rank of major. His +widow, desiring to carry out what she believed would have been his +wishes, "bequeathed £1000 to trustees as a fund, the income of which was +to be used for the support of young men preparing for missionary +service,"--probably among the Indians, as this was before the support of +foreign missions was undertaken in America--"and in part for founding +and supporting the Hale Library in Coventry, to be used by the ministers +of Coventry and the neighboring towns." Included in the bequest for +founding the still existing so-called "Hale Donation" was a portrait of +the donor's husband, Major John Hale;--well painted, for the period, and +now of great interest. Mrs. John Hale died a few months after her +husband. It is easy to believe that, though born of different parents, +the Hale and Adams families were congenial mentally and morally, and +that Deacon Richard Hale was a wise and fortunate man in his choice of a +second mother for his children. + +According to his mother's and grandmother's wishes, it was early decided +that Nathan should be prepared to enter college. After the fashion of +those times, he and two of his brothers began their preparatory studies +under the direction of the Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D., then pastor of +the church in Nathan's native town. He is said to have been a man noted +for his intellectual power, for his patriotism, and for his courteous +manners. + +It may be well to say here that, in those early days, the New England +ministers usually settled in one pastorate for life, and they were not +only teachers in spiritual things, but were noted for their courteous +and dignified manners; so that even before he entered college Nathan +Hale must have had ample opportunities for the cultivation of the easy +manners and courteous deportment which are said by all who knew him to +have been so marked in him. + +Nathan Hale, as a boy, had one more asset that must have helped to +insure his future success, and that did, as we believe, help him to die +nobly. He was not overindulged; he had always the spur of effort to urge +him forward. It was told of him, many years after his death, by the +woman he had loved and who had known him well all his later years, Mrs. +Alice Adams Lawrence, that whatever he did, even as boy, he did with all +his heart, as if it engrossed his whole mind. Whether it was work, or +study, or play, he gave all his energies to the doing of it. Such a +disposition, together with his fine home training, must have helped to +insure his success in Yale. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +COLLEGE DAYS + + +In September, 1769, accompanied by Enoch, an older brother, Nathan Hale +entered the Freshman class at Yale. His personal traits easily won the +hearts of his classmates, while his quick understanding, his high +scholarship, and his loyalty to the college standards made him as +popular among tutors and professors as among his classmates. It is +pleasant to know that, from the time we first learn of him until we see +him standing beside the fatal tree, he appears to have won all hearts +worth winning. + +But Nathan Hale had yet another gift that would surely endear him to +college students of to-day as much as it doubtless did to his own +classmates. He was a powerful athlete. So great was his skill in this +line that, to successive generations of Yale men, the "broad jump" made +by Nathan Hale remained unequaled. It is said to have taken place on +what is now called "The Green" in New Haven, not far from the Old State +House; and for many years the spot was marked to designate the length +of the jump. Even during the years when his courageous death appeared to +be well-nigh forgotten, "Hale's jump" was vividly remembered. But he not +only "jumped," he excelled in all games then popular in college, besides +being a capital shot with his rifle, as well as a fine swimmer. + +Hale could, it is said, lay one hand on the top of a six-foot fence and +easily vault over it; and, though this astonishing feat is reported as +occurring while he was a teacher, he used to delight his companions by +showing them how to stand in a hogshead with his hands on his hips, leap +over the first hogshead, land in a second, leap from that into a third, +and from that out on to the ground,--all this before he was twenty. + +Imagine the delight of the "other fellows" standing around to watch Hale +go through his various stunts in athletics! It almost makes one feel as +if one had been a student and shared in the cheering when Hale did these +things, so easy to himself, so difficult to the onlookers. Then fancy +the talk at the supper tables, when the candles burned brightly and the +eatables tasted twice as good because "old Hale" had won laurels for +"old Yale" that afternoon by some "splendid" deed, as the boys called +it. Whatever he did, we may be sure that it was done well and with all +his might, and that nobody equaled him. + +This much for the athletic life of Hale in his student days. It was only +natural to such a man that whatever he was--friend, student, teacher, or +soldier--he should carry zest and earnestness to all his work, even as +he carried his manliness, his courtesy, and his unquenchable spirit. + +Let us now turn to the record of his years of successful work at Yale. +It has been said that whatever he did, he did with all his might, and +his brain work was as notable in its results as were the strength and +agility of his body. In those early days the college bell rang for +prayers, as the beginning of the day's work, at half past four in summer +and an hour later in winter; and there are men still living who +remember, in later years and at later hours, the wild rushes +half-dressed students used to make, adjusting what they could of their +hastily donned clothing on their race to morning chapel. + +Hale, however, as well as his companions a hundred and forty years ago, +were accustomed to early rising, and able to fill every hour of their +long days with work or play. The course of study then was much shorter +than it is now, but if lacking in quantity it certainly made up in some +of its qualities. We doubt if Freshmen to-day would outshine their +fellows of that very early time if their declamations on Fridays were +required to be in Latin, Greek, or Hebrew, "no English being allowed +save by special permission." + +Science as we now know it had not entered into the college course, but +the little then known, and the other studies considered essential, +comparatively limited as they must have been, were taught so thoroughly +that the men who carried away a college diploma carried a sure guarantee +that they had been carefully taught whatever was then considered +essential to a college education. + +Although it is true that science was then in comparative infancy, it is +also true that it was deeply absorbing to young Hale. Some of his most +valued books were scientific, and, aside from the studies he was obliged +to pursue, he eagerly absorbed educational theories and the best +literary works then available. As a college student, he stood high; as a +thinker and as one interested in the finest pursuits of his period, he +ranked equally high. Before he was nineteen he had won the permanent +friendship and ardent admiration of a man who was then his tutor, +Timothy Dwight, later the renowned president of Yale College, and to +the end of his long life a lover of his boy-friend, Nathan Hale. + +Another warm friend, a classmate, destined to be notable in future +years, was James Hillhouse, later United States Senator, the first man +to leave the stamp of beauty on his native city, New Haven, in the +wonderful elms of his planting. + +In addition to these two noted men, many of Hale's warmest friendships +were formed at college among the leading men of his own and of other +classes. At least two or three of these were his companions in arms, to +whom we may refer later. Of his scholarship, one sure test remains. At +graduation, of the thirty-six men in his class, he ranked among the +first thirteen. + +In one other important line Nathan Hale made a notable mark in college, +namely, in his intense interest in Linonia. This society had been +founded in 1753 "to promote in addition to the regular course of +academic study, literary stimulus and rhetorical improvement to the +undergraduates," and to create friendly relations among its members. The +organization lived a long and honorable life, and did a most helpful +work among its members. Nathan Hale was the first in his class to become +its Chancellor, later styled President. He was for some time also its +scribe, and many of his entries in the Linonian reports are still +"clear throughout and well-preserved" as is his signature at the end, +after the passing of more than a hundred years. + +During his college course his name occurs in the reports of almost every +meeting of the society. At one time he delivered "a very interesting +narration"; at another, "an eloquent extemporaneous address." On various +occasions he is said to have taken part in some of the plays that were +frequently acted, and to have proposed questions for discussion. + +Besides taking part in the society and college exercises, he enjoyed +frequent correspondence with a number of his classmates on themes of +taste and criticism and of grammar and philology. + +As incoming Chancellor at the end of the college year of 1772, Hale +responded in behalf of Linonia to the parting address from one of the +graduating class. + +Hale's farewell address to the Linonians of the class of 1772 is +preserved to Yale College on the society records. In reading it one must +remember that the speech was made by a boy of seventeen. The dignity of +the address, the assured ease with which he speaks, the sense of the +Yale bond, as strong then as it ever has been, all show the only boyish +thing about the speaker, namely, his sense of the superiority of +Linonia, then nearly twenty years old, to the struggling new society of +"The Brothers," less than eight years old. All this brings before us +very vividly a boy in years, but a man in thoughts and aspirations, +ardent and scholarly, and full of a noble ambition that looked forward, +as do all ambitious students in their college days, to years of generous +life. + +A few paragraphs quoted from various parts of the quaintly courteous +speech will illustrate alike the youth and the maturity of the speaker. +He said: + +"The high opinion we ought to maintain of the ability of these worthy +Gentlemen" [the retiring members of the Society] "as well as the regard +they express for Linonia and her Sons, tends very much to increase our +desire for their longer continuance. Under whatsoever character we +consider them, we have the greatest reason to regret their departure. As +our patrons, we have shared their utmost care and vigilance in +supporting Linonia's cause, and protecting her from the malice of her +insulting foes. As our benefactors, we have partaken of their +liberality, not only in their rich and valuable donations to our +library, but, what is still more, their amiable company and +conversation." + +["This is a fine portrait of Hale painted by himself," says a friend of +Hale to-day.] + +"But as our friends, what inexpressible happiness have we experienced in +their disinterested love and cordial affection! We have lived together +not as fellow students and members of the same college, but as brothers +and children of the same family; not as superiors and inferiors, but +rather as equals and companions. The only thing which hath given them +the preëminence is their superior knowledge in those arts and sciences +which are here cultivated, and their greater skill and prudence in the +management of such important affairs as those which concern the good +order and regularity of this Society. Under the prudent conduct of these +our once worthy patrons, but now parting friends, things have been so +wisely regulated, as that while we have been entertained with all the +pleasures of familiar conversation, we have been no less profited by our +improvements in useful knowledge and literature." + +Hale's direct address to the parting members is as follows: + +"Kind and generous Sirs, it is with the greatest reluctance that we are +now all obliged to bid adieu to you, our dearest friends. Fain would we +ask you longer to tarry--but it is otherwise determined, and we must +comply. Accept then our sincerest thanks, as some poor return for your +disinterested zeal in Linonia's cause, and your unwearied pains to +suppress her opposers.... Be assured that we shall be spirited in +Linonia's cause and with steadiness and resolution strive to make her +shine with unparalleled luster.... Be assured that your memory will +always be very dear to us; that though hundreds of miles should +interfere, you will always be attended with our best wishes. + +"May Providence protect you in all your ways, and may you have +prosperity in all your undertakings! May you live long and happily, and +at last die satisfied with the pleasures of this world, and go hence to +that world where joys shall never cease, and pleasures never end! Dear +Gentlemen, farewell!" + +Not only in speeches but also in deeds Hale proved his love for Linonia. +He is said to have contributed some of his own books to the library of +the Society, and to have coöperated with Timothy Dwight and James +Hillhouse in promoting its growth. In time the library owned more than +thirteen thousand volumes. These three Linonians were always considered +its real founders, and were so honored at the Society's centennial +anniversary on July 27, 1853. + +Timothy Dwight, the first of that name to be president of Yale College, +was, like Nathan Hale, a descendant of Elder Strong who founded +Northampton, Massachusetts. Dwight graduated in 1769, the year Hale +entered college. He then became a tutor and was a personal friend of +Hale's. He was a teacher of extraordinary power and was made president +of Yale in 1795. He was one of the most remarkable men of his time, +molding the moral and religious, as well as intellectual, character of +the college so that his influence extended not only over the whole state +but, to a great degree, over the whole United States. He was a fine +illustration of the great abilities that centered in so many of the +leading families of the colonists. Such connections as this man add even +a higher luster to the genealogy of Elizabeth Strong Hale, and lessen +our wonder that a son of hers, while hardly more than a boy, could face +the duty and calmly accept the responsibility that he felt rested upon +him. + +As may easily be inferred, the Hale boys, Enoch and Nathan, were not +forgotten by their home friends while making honorable records in +college, and forming pleasant friendships outside the college +walls--then the happy lot of all the best men in college--among the +cultured families of what was then a small New England city. + +An instance of the friendships Nathan made in New Haven is shown by the +words of Æneas Munson, M.D., formerly of that city. When an aged man he +spoke in the warmest terms of Hale's fine qualities as he observed them +when he was a boy in his father's house, and he treasured a letter to +his father from Hale in 1774 which will be given farther on. + +Of home letters, happily a few from their father in Coventry to his two +sons in college are still preserved; these prove, as no words of any +stranger could, his constant and practical interest in all that +concerned them. They show us how an upright father tried to influence +his boys' religious characters while distant from them, and at the same +time they show the economies which even well-to-do fathers then had to +exercise in providing for their sons while at college. The first letter +also shows that Nathan must have entered college when fourteen years and +three months old, having been born in June, 1755, and entering college +in September, 1769. We here give the first letter, with all its quaint +old spelling, and after it two others written during successive years. +We may smile at their old-time expressions, but we must own to a sincere +admiration for the kind and thoughtful father, so interested in his +boys, and so solicitous concerning their health "after the measles." + + + DEAR CHILDREN: + + I Rec'd your Letter of the 7th instant and am glad to hear that you + are well suited with Living in College and would let you know that + wee are all well threw the Divine goodness, as I hope these lines + will find you. I hope you will carefully mind your studies that + your time be not Lost and that you will mind all the orders of + College with care.... I intend to send you some money the first + opportunity perhaps by Mr. Sherman when he Returns home from of the + surcit [circuit court] he is now on. If you can hire Horses at New + Haven to come home without too much trouble and cost I don't know + but it is best and should be glad to know how you can hire them and + send me word. If I don't here from you I shall depend upon sending + Horses to you by the 6th of May,--if I should have know opportunity + to send you any money till May and should then come to New Haven + and clear all of it would it not do? If not you will let me know + it. Your friends are all well at Coventry--your mother sends her + Regards to you--from your kind and loving + + Father + RICHD HALE + + COVENTRY Decr. 26th + A.D. 1769. + + + DEAR CHILDREN: + + I have nothing spettial to write but would by all means desire you + to mind your Studies and carefully attend to the orders of Coledge. + Attend not only Prayers in the chapel but Secret Prayr carefully. + Shun all vice especially card Playing. Read your Bibles a chapter + night and morning. I cannot now send you much money but hope when + Sr Strong comes to Coventry to be able to send by him what you + want.... + + from your Loving Father + RICHD HALE + + Coventry, Decr. 17th, 1770 + + + LOVING CHILDREN--by a line would let you know that I with my family + threw the Divine Goodness are well as I hope these lines will find + you. I have heard that you are better of the measles. The Cloath + for your Coat is not Done. But will be Done next week I hope at + furthest. I know of no opportunity we shall have to send it to + Newhaven and have Laid in with Mr. Strong for his Horse which his + son will Ride down to New Haven for one of you to Ride home if you + can get Leave and have your close made at home. I sopose that one + measure will do for both of you. I am told that it is not good to + study hard after the measles--hope you will youse Prudance in that + afare. If you do not one of you come home I dont see but that you + must do with out any New Close till after Commensment. I send you + Eight Pound in cash by Mr. Strong--hope it will do for the + present-- + + Your Loving Father + RICHD HALE + + COVENTRY August 13th, 1771 + + +Some students of to-day in college with elder brothers might protest +vigorously at the idea of new suits provided for two boys of different +sizes being fitted for the larger, though the younger might find some +consolation in the fact that he would have plenty of room in which to +grow! At all events, good Deacon Hale's kindly letters give us a very +friendly feeling toward him, revealing as they do his love for his boys. +The letters also suggest indirectly the happy home-coming of these +college boys, riding thither on horseback over many miles, buoyed up by +high spirits, college news, and the prospect of vacation. + +In their home, as time went by, they found the two new members of the +family, their stepmother's daughters, Nathan to find in Alice Adams, the +youngest, some of the happiest inspirations of his manly young life. It +is pleasant to linger a moment and try to realize the pride Deacon Hale +must have felt in his boys, and their delight in being once more home +with him and with all the family circle. We can fancy them as they sat +around that generous board--none the less generous, we are sure, because +of the home-coming of the "Yale boys." + +Deacon Hale was a man of remarkable energy--"a driver," in other words. +As a rule, in the busiest season of the year he would finish his meal +before the family were half through theirs, rise, return thanks, and be +off to the field, leaving the others to resume their seats around the +table. Alice Adams used to say of him, "I never saw a man work so hard +for both worlds as Deacon Hale." + +One amusing incident was long in circulation and laughed over by many +who did not know the energetic haymaker by name. As it really happened +to Deacon Hale, it is worth telling as an example of the energy that has +characterized his descendants. + +One haying season Deacon Hale hired a tall, brawny countryman, of +uncommon strength, to help him house his crop. While in the field he +took upon himself the task of "packing" the load, the hired man's duty +being to pitch it on to the cart. The man began his work too slowly to +suit Deacon Hale, who soon called out, "More hay!" This call he repeated +three or four times, as cock after cock of hay was still somewhat lazily +pitched up to him. Finally his tardy helper, becoming sensible that his +easy way of working was being rebuked, set himself to work with a will +equal to the Deacon's, and at last pitched the hay up so rapidly that +his employer was unable to "pack" it properly upon the cart. Very soon, +therefore, to the dismay of both men, the whole load slipped off in one +great mass on to the ground, carrying the Deacon along with it! + +"What do you want now, Deacon?" shouted the Hercules by his side with a +satisfied grin. + +"_More hay!_" instantly replied the discomfited Deacon, nimbly +scrambling back to his place on the cart. + +Despite this little accident at the beginning of the afternoon, it is +safe to state that a generous storage of hay took place before sunset. + +But happy as were these college days and home-comings, and rich as were +the harvests gleaned in them, the four years in college halls sped +swiftly, and in 1773 Enoch Hale and Nathan turned their faces toward the +future; the one to a long life and faithful Christian service, the other +toward the briefest of mortal days, but to a service whose memory will +not end till his college walls shall have crumbled, and the names of all +its heroic sons faded from the earth. For even though stones may +crumble, influence lives on. + +It has already been said that at graduation Nathan Hale stood among the +first thirteen in a class of thirty-six. On Commencement Day, September +3, 1773, he took part in a forensic debate on the question, "Whether the +Education of Daughters be not, without any just reason, more neglected +than that of Sons." + +In "Memories of a Hundred Years" Dr. Edward Everett Hale says: "As early +as 1772 there appears at Yale College the first question ever debated +by the Linonian Society. It was, 'Is it right to enslave the Affricans?' +I think, by the way, that this record, bad spelling and all, is made by +my great-uncle, Nathan Hale." These debates show how seriously, even in +the colonial period, men were thinking of the urgent problems of later +days. + +In the debate first mentioned, the others taking part in it were +Benjamin Tallmadge, Ezra Samson, and William Robinson. Some account of +Major Tallmadge's after life is given in later pages. Samson was, for a +time, a clergyman, and then became an editor, first in Hudson, New York, +and then of the _Courant_, at Hartford, Connecticut. + +William Robinson was a direct descendant of Pastor John Robinson of +Leyden. He studied for the ministry and was ordained in 1780 at +Southington, Connecticut. In the winter of that year--which was one of +the coldest and most severe on record--he walked the whole distance from +Windsor to Southington, about thirty miles, on snowshoes, to be +installed as pastor, an office he held for forty-one years. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A CALL TO TEACH + + +College days behind them, Nathan, now eighteen years old, and Enoch +pressed on toward their future. Here, to some extent, we part with +Enoch, catching only occasional glimpses of him in a few straggling +letters to his brother. It is probable that, as he intended to enter the +ministry, he soon began his theological studies. In 1775 he was licensed +to preach. Nathan, however, turned toward teaching as the next step in +his career. + +In the meantime Nathan's love for Alice Adams had not prospered. An +older brother, John, had married Alice Adams's elder sister Sarah, and +the mother and sister of Alice thought that she should not wait four or +five years for Nathan. Perhaps they decided that two intermarriages in +one family were quite enough; anyway, they induced Alice to accept the +offer of a prosperous merchant of Coventry, Mr. Elijah Ripley, and a +short time before Nathan's graduation her marriage had apparently +terminated their personal relations. + +Nathan Hale was at this time an unusually handsome young man, almost +six feet in height, well proportioned, with broad chest, athletic, as we +have seen, and with a handsome, intelligent face, blue eyes, light brown +hair of a rich color, and a winning smile. These, added to a musical +voice and gracious manners, gave him a personal charm that attracted all +who saw him. + +As a teacher he combined unusual tact and manly dignity, making his +discipline in school as effective as it was reasonable. He also proved +to be as skillful in imparting knowledge as he had been in acquiring it, +and his success as a teacher was assured from the outset. + +His first school was in East Haddam, Connecticut. There was then much +wealth and business activity in the town, although, to a man fresh from +college and the city, it appeared to be a very quiet place, as one or +two of his early letters indicate. Yet there too he did with all his +might what his hands found to do, and soon proved that not only his +work, but his social qualities, were endearing him to new friends, some +of whom remembered him with pleasure during their own long lives; one of +them saying of Nathan Hale in her own old age, "Everybody loved him, he +was so sprightly, intelligent, and kind," and, she added withal, "and +_so_ handsome!" He had many correspondents among classmates and +friends. Sometimes he was stimulated to put his thoughts into rhyme by +some poetical epistle he received. One such was from Benjamin Tallmadge, +then in Wethersfield. + +Tallmadge had apologized for his muse and Hale, in pure boyish fun, with +a fine disregard of whether he was invoking the muse or mounting +Pegasus, replied as follows: + + "But here, I think you're wrong, to blame + Your gen'rous muse and call her lame, + For when arriv'd no mark was found + Of weakness, lameness, sprain or wound." + +Then, invoking her himself, he describes her as if she were indeed the +wingèd steed, + + "With me in charge (a grievous load!) + Along the way she lately trode, + In all, she gave no fear or pain, + Unless, at times, to hold the rein." + +At last, on his supposed arrival at Wethersfield, he invites Tallmadge's +judgment on the appearance of the equine muse, thus: + + "Now judge, unless entirely sound + If she could bear me such a round. + It's certain then your muse is heal'd, + Or else, came sound from Weathersfield." + +Before the end of the first term (October, 1773, to mid-March, 1774) in +East Haddam, however, his work had aroused attention elsewhere, and in +May, 1774, he took charge of a school in New London, called the "Union +School,"--a larger school and a more lucrative position than that at +East Haddam. In it Latin, English, arithmetic, and writing were taught. +The salary was seventy pounds a year with a prospect of an increase, and +he was allowed to teach private classes as well. + +It will not surprise those acquainted with human nature that, as we will +allow him to tell in a letter to a relative, he soon had a class of some +twenty young ladies between the unusual hours of five and seven in the +morning! It does not take a very vivid imagination to picture the +vivacity of these twenty young ladies, the becomingness of their simple +but pretty gowns, and the zest with which each studied; nor, on the +other hand, the ill-concealed, bantering interest of the big brothers of +the same,--asking perhaps, now and then, with mock gravity, if mother +thought Patty would be so prompt every morning at five o'clock if old +Parson Browning were the teacher! + +But whatever might have been the dominant interest of the young ladies, +"Master Hale" was quite as practical in his teaching in the early hours +of the day as with the boys in the later classes. An uncle of his, +Samuel Hale, was for many years at the head of the best private school +in New Hampshire, numbering among his pupils some of the leaders in +Revolutionary times. To him, September 24, 1774, Nathan wrote a letter +from which we give the following extracts: + + "My own employment is at present the same that you have spent your + days in. I have a school of thirty-two boys, about half Latin, the + rest English. The salary allowed me is 70 £ per annum. In addition + to this I have kept, during the summer, a morning school, between + the hours of five and seven, of about 20 young ladies for which I + have received 6s [shillings] a scholar, by the quarter. Many of the + people are gentleman of sense and merit. They are desirous that I + would continue and settle in the school, and propose a considerable + increase in wages. I am much at a loss whether to accept their + proposals. Your advice in this matter, coming from an uncle and + from a man who has spent his life in the business, would, I think, + be the best I could possibly receive. A few lines on this subject + and also to acquaint me with the welfare of your family ... will be + much to the satisfaction of + + Your most dutiful Nephew, + NATHAN HALE." + +A letter to Enoch Hale, containing allusions to the excited feeling in +the colony at this time, runs as follows: + + NEW LONDON, Sept. 8th. 1774. + + DEAR BROTHER. + + I have a word to write and a moment to write it in. I received + yours of yesterday this morning. Agreeable to your desire I will + endeavour to get the cloth and carry it on Saturday. I have no + news. No liberty-pole is erected or erecting here; but the people + seem much more spirited than they did before the alarm. Parson + Peters of Hebron, I hear, has had a second visit paid him by the + sons of liberty in Windham. His treatment, and the concessions he + made I have not as yet heard. I have not heard from home since + + I came from there. + + MR. E. HALE. LYME. + + Your loving Brother + NATHAN HALE. + +A letter from Hale to his friend the senior Dr. Æneas Munson, of New +Haven, has been mentioned. It runs as follows: + + NEW LONDON, November 30, 1774 + + SIR: I am very happily situated here. I love my employment; find + many friends among strangers; have time for scientific study; and + seem to fill the place assigned me with satisfaction. I have a + school of more than thirty boys to instruct, about half of them in + Latin; and my salary is satisfactory. During the summer I had a + morning class of young ladies--about a score--from five to seven + o'clock; so you see my time is pretty fully occupied, profitably, I + hope to my pupils and to their teacher. + + Please accept for yourself and Mrs. Munson the grateful thanks of + one who will always remember the kindness he ever experienced + whenever he visited your abode. + + Your friend NATHAN HALE. + +On one occasion, as Hale left his house after paying a visit, Dr. Munson +observed, "That man is a diamond of the first water, calculated to excel +in any station he assumes. He is a gentleman and a scholar, and last, +though not least of his qualifications, a Christian." + +The son of Dr. Munson (who bore his father's name), when an aged man, +said: "I was greatly impressed with Hale's scientific knowledge, evinced +during his conversation with my father. I am sure he was equal to André +in solid acquirements, and his taste for art and talents as an artist +were quite remarkable. His personal appearance was as notable. He was +almost six feet in height, perfectly proportioned, and in figure and +deportment he was the most manly man I have ever met. His chest was +broad; his muscles were firm; his face wore a most benign expression; +his complexion was roseate; his eyes were light blue and beamed with +intelligence; his hair was soft and light brown in color, and his speech +was rather low, sweet, and musical. His personal beauty and grace of +manner were most charming. + +"Why, all the girls in New Haven fell in love with him," continued Dr. +Munson, "and wept tears of real sorrow when they heard of his sad fate. +In dress he was always neat; he was quick to lend a helping hand to a +being in distress, brute or human; was overflowing with good humor, and +was the idol of all his acquaintances." + +Young masters of schools, public or private, unmarried and attractive, +usually rank next in popularity to other professional men,--ministers, +lawyers, or doctors, as the case may be,--and a boy of nineteen, the +object of as much attention as Nathan Hale must have received, might +well be pardoned if his head had been slightly turned, in thus becoming +the admired teacher of a large class of young ladies. One special mark +of stability of character appears to have characterized this young man +in a greater degree than is always the case at the present day. Detached +as he was, as he supposed irrevocably, from the woman he loved, he +appears to have carried himself with almost middle-aged dignity, and, +what is not a little to his credit, even his intimate friends among his +classmates could not, by the most delicate cross-questioning, draw from +him anything suggesting more than a pleasant interest in any of the +young ladies with whom he was thrown in contact. + +A letter that will be given in its proper place shows his courteous and +cordial interest in the little city he left when he entered the army; +yet it is rather a noteworthy fact that one of his classmates, writing +to him during his camp life, had to suggest that, as the young ladies he +had taught were always inquiring when he had heard from "Master," it +would doubtless give them pleasure if he could find time to write some +one of them a note with friendly messages to others, to show that he +still remembered them. + +Many young men would hardly have needed such a suggestion. But Nathan +Hale, so far as we can learn, while given to warm friendships among his +classmates, and to the cultivation, while in New Haven, Haddam, and New +London, of the society of the best families, appears, from the +beginning, to have taken life seriously. Disappointed in the love of the +one woman for whom he cared, he had turned with sincere absorption to +the work to which he felt himself called before entering on the +theological course it is thought that his father had planned for him. + +There is further evidence of Hale's notable gifts as a teacher. Colonel +Samuel Green, who had been a pupil of Hale in New London, said of him, +in oldtime phrase: "Hale was a man peculiarly engaging in his +manners--these were mild and genteel. The scholars, old and young, were +attached to him. They loved him for his tact and amiability. + +"He was wholly without severity and had a wonderful control over boys. +He was sprightly, ardent, and steady--bore a fine moral character and +was respected highly by all his acquaintances. The school in which he +taught was owned by the first gentlemen in New London, all of whom were +exceedingly gratified by Hale's skill and assiduity." + +A lady of New London who was for some time an inmate of the same family +with Hale, adds her testimony: + +"His capacity as a teacher was highly appreciated both by parents and +pupils. His simple and unostentatious manner of imparting right views +and feelings to less cultivated understandings was unsurpassed by any +other person I have ever known." + +He was, as we see, a successful teacher, and, as we learn elsewhere, had +serious thoughts of remaining a teacher. + +Unexpectedly, however, events verified the truth of the old adage, "Man +proposes, God disposes." A great historical drama was to be enacted +before the eyes of the wondering world, and events were ripening that +were to form a great epoch in history. + +America was being led first to protest against the unjust exactions laid +upon its people, and then to resist the oppressions that were being +forced upon it. Gradually the idea prevailed that a taxation which might +have been acceptable, if coupled with representation in Parliament, was +absolutely intolerable without representation, and the Stamp Act in 1765 +struck the first note of intense opposition. Thenceforward the political +clouds grew darker and the warning incidents multiplied. + +And yet, as a people, Americans were walking as if their personal plans +lay easily in their own control. Scores of young men were fitting +themselves for ordinary callings, Nathan Hale among them. His father's +plans combining with his own appeared to be that he was to teach for a +while, and then follow his brother Enoch into the ministry. As it +proved, his days as a teacher were numbered. He was never to enter a +pulpit, though he was to utter one sentence that, graven upon bronze or +granite, will last while America lasts. He was to teach, by his last, +unpremeditated words, and by an example more potent than any other in +American history, what all generations of Americans must venerate--the +sublimity of a complete sacrifice. + +Smoldering discontent on the part of the Americans, waxing stronger and +stronger for a decade, and the aggressive course of action on the part +of the British authorities, finally culminated in a sudden outbreak, as +matches applied to gunpowder; and on the 19th of April, 1775, the first +blood of the American Revolution was shed. Settlement after settlement, +big and little, learned the facts as rapidly as couriers on horseback +could carry them, and the thirteen colonies arrayed themselves against +one of the most powerful monarchies of the world. + +The story is too well known to need recalling here, save as it draws +Nathan Hale toward his doom. Within a few days after the fatal 19th of +April, four thousand Connecticut volunteers were on their way to Boston +to help Massachusetts in its earliest struggle with the English. +Ununiformed, undisciplined, straight from whatever had been their +ordinary vocation, with whatever they owned in the way of arms and +ammunition, they went hurrying toward Boston. Israel Putnam, renowned +veteran of the "Old French War," was plowing in his fields at Pomfret, +Connecticut, when he heard the stirring news. Leaving his plow in the +furrow, he hastened to his house, left a few orders for the management +of his farm and the comfort of his family, and marched at the head of a +body of volunteers toward the camp near Boston. We are told that, in +some households, families sat up all night, the fathers melting their +pewter plates into bullets for ammunition to be used by their sons, and +the mothers and sisters fashioning for them, with all possible speed, +the clothing they could not go without. + + +On the arrival of the news from Boston, the people in New London at once +held a meeting. Hon. Richard Law, District Judge of Connecticut and +Chief Justice of the Superior Court, was chairman. Hale was one of the +speakers. + +At that meeting a company was selected from the already existing militia +and ordered to start for Boston the next morning. This company Nathan +Hale, with his keen sense of duty, could not then join. But, for a few +succeeding weeks, in addition to his regular work in school, he did all +in his power to keep alive the interest of the young men in the town +concerning their duties as Americans. With his enthusiastic nature, and +broad comprehension of what might soon confront the country, it is +probable that his seriousness and his activity were never greater than +during the few weeks intervening between his speech at the political +meeting and his departure from New London to enter the military service +of his country. + +Of course his becoming a soldier would greatly interfere with the plans +that his father had made for him, and he at once wrote home on the +subject, stating that "a sense of duty urged him to sacrifice everything +for his country"; but he added that as soon as the war was ended he +would comply with his father's wishes in regard to a profession. The +father was quite as patriotic as the son. He immediately assented to his +son's desires. In those days, however, correspondence could not be +conducted so swiftly as at present, and some time must have elapsed +before this matter was positively settled between the two. As the war +went on, and doubtless none the less whole-heartedly after the news of +Nathan's death had been received, Mr. Hale did all he could for the +comfort of passing soldiers. It is said of him that many a time he sat +at the door of his hospitable home and watched for passing soldiers that +he might take them in and feed them; and, if necessary, lodge and clothe +them. He often forbade his household "to use the wool raised upon his +farm for home purposes, that it might be woven into blankets for the +army." + +Anxious as had been young Hale to join the army, he appears to have +deferred making any decided plans until he had received the necessary +permission from his father. Having received it, he at once took steps +for securing his dismissal from his school and his admission into the +army. During the weeks of waiting it had become known that he was +anxious to enlist, and a military appointment was waiting his +acceptance. To secure his dismissal, on July 7 he addressed the +following letter to the proprietors of his school,--a letter that for a +young man of twenty is as dignified as it is patriotic: + + GENTLEMEN: Having received information that a place is allotted me + in the army, and being inclined, as I hope for good reasons, to + accept it, I am constrained to ask as a favor that which scarce + anything else would have induced me to, which is, to be excused + from keeping your school any longer. For the purpose of conversing + upon this and of procuring another master, some of your number + think it best there should be a general meeting of the proprietors. + The time talked of for holding it is six o'clock this afternoon, at + the schoolhouse. The year for which I engaged will expire within a + fortnight, so that my quitting a few days sooner, I hope, will + subject you to no great inconvenience. + + School-keeping is a business of which I was always fond, but since + my residence in this town, everything has conspired to render it + more agreeable. I have thought much of never quitting it but with + life, but at present there seems an opportunity for more extended + public service. + + The kindness expressed to me by the people of the place, but + especially the proprietors of the school, will always be very + gratefully remembered by, gentlemen, with respect, your humble + servant, + + NATHAN HALE + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A CALL TO ARMS + + +The place "allotted" to him was that of lieutenant in the third company +of the 7th Connecticut regiment, commanded by Colonel Charles Webb. No +doubt exists that Lieutenant Nathan Hale was the same Nathan Hale who +had won distinction in all his college work, in his subsequent teaching, +and in all the events thus far associated with his early manhood, with +this difference; he was now lifted to a line of service that in his +opinion seemed the highest possible for him to follow, and no one who +studies his subsequent course can question that in this following he +found the loftiest consecration thus far possible to him. Perhaps +unconsciously he was to verify the poet's assertion, + + "So nigh is grandeur to our dust, + So near is God to man, + When Duty whispers low, _Thou must_, + The youth replies, _I can._" + +With no trace of merely personal ambition, but with that splendid power +of absorption in duty as in work, Nathan Hale followed in the steps of +those devoted American patriots whose blood, so freely shed at +Lexington, was calling upon their countrymen to shed theirs as freely, +should duty demand it. + +Dead almost one hundred and forty years, we still are thrilled by proofs +of the splendid manhood henceforth to be so prominent in every remaining +day of Hale's brief life. A few letters to friends, a fairly +comprehensive diary for a few months, his camp-book, and the +recollections of a few of the officers and of his body-servant, give a +moderately complete picture of Nathan Hale for a few brief weeks, during +which time he had been doing all in his power to perfect himself and the +men under him in the duties of soldiers. + +By the middle of September the Connecticut troops, having received +orders from General Washington to proceed to the camp near Boston, the +7th Regiment, containing Lieutenant Hale's company, went to the spot +appointed, remaining there during the winter, and leaving for New York, +again by Washington's orders, in the spring. Of these intervening +months, so momentous to the little army whose many members were +impatient for the close of the war, Nathan Hale himself gives us vivid +pictures; of the work he was trying to do; of the men he was meeting; of +the religious life he was in no sense forgetting, and of his own +deepening patriotism. Letters written to him show the attitude of +friends at home, and their interest both in the affairs of the country +and in him personally. The following letter from Gilbert Saltonstall, a +young Harvard graduate and warm friend of Hale while in New London, +shows how fully the men at home, as well as those in the army, entered +into the anxieties of the times: + + NEW LONDON, Octo. 9th, 1775. + + DEAR SIR: + + By yours of the 5th I see you're Stationd in the Mouth of Danger--I + look upon yr. Situation more Perilous than any other in the + Camp--Should have thought the new Recreuits would have been Posted + at some of the Outworks, & those that have been inured to Service + advanc'd to Defend the most exposed Places--But all Things are + concerted, and ordered with Wisdom no doubt--The affair of Dr. + Church[1] is truly amazing--from the acquaintance I have of his + publick Character I should as soon have suspected Mr. Hancock or + Adams as him. + +[Footnote 1: Of this Dr. Church, John Fiske writes: "In October, 1775, +the American camp was thrown into great consternation by the discovery +that Dr. Benjamin Church, one of the most conspicuous of the Boston +leaders, had engaged in a secret correspondence with the enemy. Dr. +Church was thrown into jail, but as the evidence of treasonable intent +was not absolutely complete, he was set free in the following spring, +and allowed to visit the West Indies for his health. The ship in which +he sailed was never heard from again."] + +(Then follow accounts of an affair on Long Island Sound, and extracts +from a paper two days old just brought from New York, describing army +matters in the North.) + + I have extracted all the material News--should have sent the Paper + but its the only one in Town and every one is Gaping for news. + + Your sincere Friend + GILBERT SALTONSTALL. + +Another, also from Saltonstall, reads in part as follows: + + ESTEEMED FRIEND + + Doctor Church is in close Custody in Norwich Gaol, the windows + boarded up, and he deny'd the use of Pen, Ink, and Paper, to have + no converse with any Person but in presence of the Gaoler, and then + to Converse in no Language but English. ... what a fall ... + + Yr &c + GILBERT SALTONSTALL. + + Novr. 27th 1775 + +A letter already referred to as showing Hale's interest in New London +and its people, also his feeling as to camp life, is here given. +"Betsey" was one of his pupils in his early-morning classes. We note the +little touch of good-natured fun in the last paragraph. + + CAMP WINTER HILL, Octr 19th 1775 + + DEAR BETSEY + + I hope you will excuse my freedom in writing to you, as I cannot + have the pleasure of seeing and conversing with you. What is now a + letter would be a visit were I in New London but this being out of + my power, suffer me to make up the defect in the best manner I can. + I write not to give you any news or any pleasure in reading (though + I would heartily do it if in my power) but from the desire I have + of conversing with you in some form or other. + + I once wanted to come here to see something extraordinary--my + curiosity is satisfied. I have now no more desire for seeing things + here, than for seeing what is in New London, no, nor half so much + neither. Not that I am discontented--so far from it, that in the + present situation of things I would not except a furlough were it + offered me. I would only observe that we often flatter ourselves + with great happiness could we see such and such things; but when we + actually come to the sight of them our solid satisfaction is really + no more than when we only had them in expectation. + + All the news I had I wrote to John Hallam--if it be worth your + hearing he will be able to tell you when he delivers this. It will + therefore not (be) worth while for me to repeat. + + I am a little at a loss how you carry at New London--Jared Starr I + hear is gone--The number of Gentlemen is now so few that I fear how + you will go through the winter but I hope for the best. + + I remain with esteem + Yr Sincere Friend + & Hble Svt. + N. HALE + + TO BETSEY CHRISTOPHERS + At New London + +The next letter refers to the time when, on account of their personal +privations, the Connecticut troops were thinking seriously of +withdrawing from the struggle, and returning to their homes: + + DEAR SIR NEW LONDON Decr-4th 1775 + + The behaviour of our Connecticut Troops makes me Heart-sick--that + they who have stood foremost in the praises and good Wishes of + their Countrymen, as having distinguished themselves for their Zeal + & Public Spirit, should now shamefully desert the Cause; and at a + critical moment too, is really unaccountable--amazing. Those that + do return will meet with real Contempt, with deserv'd Reproach. It + gives great satisfaction that the Officers universally agree to + tarry--that is the Report, is it true or not?--May that God who has + signally appear'd for us since the Commencement of our troubles, + interpose, that no fatal or bad consequence may attend a dastardly + Desertion of his Cause. + + I want much to have a more minute Acct. of the situation of the + Camp than I have been able to obtain. I rely wholly on you for + information. + + Your + G. SALTONSTALL. + +To explain some of Saltonstal's references to the feelings of some of +the Connecticut troops, we quote from Captain Hale's diary of October +23: + + "10 o'clock went to Cambridge with Field commission officers to + General Putman to let him know the state of the Regiment and that + it was through ill usage upon the Score of Provisions that they + would not extend their term of service to the 1st of January 1776." + +Other letters to Hale from New London friends, among them one from an +officer absent on furlough, speak freely of the anxieties of those +watching the progress of the reënlistments, and the home reception that +would be given to any leaving the army. + +Another letter from Saltonstall reads as follows: + + NEW LONDON Decr. 18th 1775 + + DR. SIR.... + + I wholly agree with you in ye. agreables of a Camp Life, and + should have try'd it in some Capacity or other before now, could my + Father carry on his Business without me. I proposed going with + Dudley, who is appointed to Commn. a Twenty-Gun Ship in the + Continental Navy, but my Father is not willing, and I can't + persuade myself to leave him in the eve of Life against his + consent.... + + Yesterday week the Town was in the greatest confusion imaginable; + Women wringing their Hands along Street, Children crying, Carts + loaded 'till nothing more would stick on, posting out of Town, + empty ones driving in, one Person running this way, another that, + some dull, some vex'd, more pleased, some flinging up an + Intrenchment, some at the Fort preparing ye Guns for Action, Drums + beating, Fifes playing; in short as great a Hubbub as at the + confusion of Tongues; all of this occasioned by the appearance of a + Ship and two Sloops off the Harbour, Suppos'd to be part of + Wallace's Fleet,--When they were found to be Friends, Vessels from + New Port with Passengers ye consternation abated.... + +A postscript runs as follows: + + The young girls, B. Coit, S. and P. Belden [Hale's pupils] have + frequently desired their Compliments to Master, but I've never + thought of mentioning it till now. You must write something in your + next by way of P.S. that I may shew it them. + +Favored by copies of these letters by Saltonstall, one must regret all +the more that so few of Hale's own letters have been discovered, ten +being the limit. Within a comparatively short period, however, some +sixty more records--mostly letters written to Hale--have come to light, +preserved, as it is now seen, by the same "orderly care" that marked his +interest in all the correspondence of his friends. + +In them are expressed, in letter after letter, the affectionate interest +and warm admiration of the writers. It is now said that Hale kept these +letters with him down to the date of his tragic mission. We can easily +imagine the glow of satisfaction that must have filled his brotherly +soul in the few spare moments he could devote to these letters. + +Brief extracts are made from his diary, fortunately preserved for +evidence as to his work and growing interest in the duties he had +entered upon. The diary was found in the camp-book brought to his +family by Asher Wright, Hale's attendant in camp before he left New +York. + +In the diary, under date of November 19, 1775, this entry is made: + + " ... Robert Latimer the Majrs Son went to Roxbury to day on his + way home. The Majr who went there to day and ... return'd this + eveng bt acts that the _Asia_ Man of War Station'd at N. York + was taken by a Schooner arm'd with Spear's &c.... This account not + creditted." + +A month after the return from camp mentioned above, Robert Latimer wrote +to Captain Hale, his former teacher, the following interesting and +diverting letter: + + DR SIR, + + As I think myself under the greatest obligations to you for your + care and kindness to me, I should think myself very ungrateful if I + neglected any oppertunity of expressing my gratitude to you for the + same. And I rely on that goodness, I have so often experienc'd to + overlook the deficiencies in my Letter, which I am sensible will be + many as maturity of Judgment is wanting, and tho' I have been so + happy as to be favour'd with your instructions, you can't Sir, + expect a finish'd letter from one who has as yet practis'd but very + little this way, especially with persons of your nice discernment. + + Sir, I have had the pleasure of hearing by the soldiers, which is + come home, that you are in health, tho' likely to be deserted by + all the men you carried down with you, which I am very sorry for, + as I think no man of any spirit would desert a cause in which, we + are all so deeply interested. I am sure was my Mammy willing I + think I should prefer being with you, to all the pleasures which + the company of my Relations Can afford me. + + I am Sir with respect yr Sincere friend + & very H'ble St + ROB'T LATIMER + + Decbr 20th 1775-- + + P. S. My Mammy and aunt Lamb presents Complimts. My Mammy would + have wrote, but being very busy, tho't my writing would be + sufficient--my respects to Capt Hull. Addressed to Capt. Hale. + +Here is a second letter from the same ardent friend of Captain Hale. His +admiration for his former teacher is evident in every line. + + NEW LONDON, March 5th 1776 + + DEAR SIR, + + as my letter meet with such kind reception from you, I still + continue writing & hope that the desire I have of improving, added + to the pleasure, I take in hearing often from so good a friend, + will sufficiently excuse me for writing so often--I Recd your kind + letter Sr pr the post & cant deny but your approbation, of my + writing, gives me the greatest pleasure, & should be afraid of its + raisg my pride; did I not consider that your intention in praising + my poor performance, must be with a design, of raising in me an + ambition, to endeavour to deserve your praise--& I hope that + instructions convey'd in such an agreeable manner, will not, be + thrown away upon me--You write Sr that you have got another Fifer, + & a very good one too, as I hear. Which I am very Glad to hear, + tho' I sincerely wish I was in his Place-- + + Have not any News. + + So will Conclude--I am Sr + with Respect Yr friend & S't, + + ROBERT LATIMER + + P. S. My Mammy & Aunt + Present Compts &c-- + + CAPT. HALE. + +Only one thought dims the pleasure with which we read these two +letters,--the consciousness of the depth of distress that must have +filled that loyal boy's heart to overflowing when he learned of the +tragic death of his hero friend. + +Two notable records from Captain Hale's diary are these: + + November 6. It is of the utmost importance that an officer should + be anxious to know his duty, but of greater that he should + carefully perform what he does know. The present irregular state of + the army is owing to a capital neglect in both of these. + + November 7. Studied ye best method of forming a Reg't for a review, + of arraying the Companies, also of marching round ye reviewing + Officer. A man ought never to lose a moment's time. If he put off a + thing from one minute to the next, his reluctance is but increased. + +Later in November, when the men in his company were unwilling to +reënlist, this notable entry was made, signed with his full name: + + 28, Tuesday. Promised the men if they would tarry another month, + they should have my wages for that time. + + NATHAN HALE. + +These brief quotations, proving as they do Hale's intense devotion to +duty, and his practical efforts to hold his men to their duty, show how +clearly he understood the tremendous responsibility resting upon the +commander-in-chief as given in Washington's own words in letters to +friends and to Congress, soon to be quoted; and that, known or unknown +to Washington, there were men among his officers fully aware of the +condition of the army, and as anxious to serve it as was their +magnificent leader. + +We here quote from Washington's letters; the first one was written to a +friend: + + I know the unhappy predicament in which I stand; I know that much + is expected of me; I know that without men, without arms, without + ammunition, without anything fit for the accommodation of a + soldier, little is to be done, and what is mortifying, I know that + I cannot stand justified to the world without exposing my own + weakness, and injuring the cause, by declaring my wants which I am + determined not to do farther than unavoidable necessity brings + every man acquainted with them. My situation is so irksome to me at + times, that if I did not consult the public good more than my own + tranquillity, I should long ere this have put everything on the + cast of a die. So far from my having an army of twenty thousand + men, well armed, I have been here with less than half that number, + including sick, furloughed, and on command; and those neither armed + nor clothed as they should be. In short, my situation has been + such, that I have been obliged to conceal it from my own officers. + +The second letter was written to Congress: + + To make men well acquainted with the duties of a soldier, requires + time. To bring them under proper discipline and subordination, not + only requires time, but is a work of great difficulty; and in this + army where there is so little distinction between officers and + soldiers, requires an uncommon degree of attention. To expect, + then, the same service from raw and undisciplined recruits, as from + veteran soldiers, is to expect what never did, and perhaps never + will happen. + +On the 23d of December, 1775, Hale began his first and only trip to +Connecticut for the sake of securing additional enlistments. If on this +one visit home he became engaged--as some have believed--to the woman he +had so long loved, now a widow of about nineteen, Alice Adams Ripley, we +may infer that love brightened his embassy even though patriotism +inspired it. No record remains of the glorified hours he may have spent +in Coventry. We have good reason to believe that, if he survived the +war, he expected to marry the woman he had so faithfully loved. After a +few brief days in his home, he left it, never to return, speeding on his +way to serve his country's needs. + +If this new zest entered his life at this time, we can easily imagine as +he fared on, striving to arouse his countrymen to their duty as +patriots, that the happiest hours of his life were urging him forward to +the most perfect service he could render in the present, and to +unlimited hopes and ambitions for the future he might well expect was +awaiting him. Crowned by human love, and with unlimited opportunities to +serve his country, who can tell by what "vision splendid" he was "on his +way attended"? Who can help rejoicing that such days, brief as they +were, and uplifting as they must have been, were given to this man, now +past twenty? + +Details concerning that trip are scanty. We know for a certainty that, +starting from camp December 23, 1775, he returned to it the last week in +January, 1776, having been in New London and other places seeking +recruits, and going back with the recruits he himself had secured, +joined by others coming from the various towns in Connecticut, and all +heading toward the camp around Boston. + +He received his commission as captain in the new army in January, being +still in Colonel Webb's regiment, which now became the Nineteenth of the +Continental Army. For a few weeks he followed the routine of his earlier +months there, doing all that was possible to assist his brother officers +in perfecting the discipline of the raw troops, deepening their +patriotism, and proving himself a soldier as devoid of fear as he was +rich in all manly qualities. Not a word of regret can be found in his +diary. Acknowledging in a letter to a former pupil, Miss Betsey +Christophers of New London, that the novelty and glamour of camp life +had worn off, he asserts, with intense ardor, that nothing would tempt +him to "accept a furlough" or shrink in any manner from any of his +duties as a soldier. And so the weeks passed on. + +During the winter heavy cannon from Fort Ticonderoga had been brought +through the snows over the Green Mountains. The cannon were placed on +Dorchester Heights which commanded the British camp, thus compelling the +British general to choose between attacking the American army and +evacuating the city. In a letter written in April, 1776, to his +half-brother, John Augustine, Washington wrote thus regarding this time: + + The enemy ... apprehending great annoyance from our new works, + resolved upon a retreat, and accordingly, on the 17th (March) + embarked in as much hurry, precipitation and confusion as ever + troops did ... leaving the King's property in Boston to the amount, + as is supposed, of thirty or forty thousand pounds in provisions + and stores. + +Washington's victory in this maneuver, his first great success, +tremendously cheered the hearts of all patriotic Americans. Congress +gave him a vote of thanks, also a gold medal--"the first in the history +of independent America"--in commemoration of the event. Here again we +catch a glimpse of the delight that must have thrilled the hearts of all +his officers, not least among them that of Nathan Hale. But Washington, +proving himself in these earlier events, as he was to, year after year, +through successive discouragements, "the first in war," turned toward +New York as his next base. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +HALE'S ZEAL AS A SOLDIER + + +In the letter just quoted, Washington wrote further: + + "Whither they [the enemy] are now bound,... I know not, but as New + York and Hudson's River are the most important objects they can + have in view ... therefore as soon as they embarked, I detached a + brigade of six regiments to that government and when they sailed + another brigade composed of the same number, and tomorrow another + brigade of five regiments will march. In a day or two more, I shall + follow myself, and be in New York ready to receive all but the + first." + +Uncertain as to his power to hold New York, Washington promptly took the +next step that appeared open to him, carrying in his heart a heavy +weight of care, and realizing, as perhaps no other man did, that only +divine assistance could give him final success. He was bent upon a +desperate mission, but to it, with sublime patience, he gave every +energy of his masterly mind, and the entire consecration of all that he +possessed. + +Well was it for him that the power which controls nations was quietly +working with him. Well, also, that in his army were men ready for any +enterprise of danger, for any sacrifice that duty might demand. + +Washington proceeded to New York, to ultimate victory, to final and +permanent fame. Nathan Hale went also, simply as a captain of a +Connecticut company,--he not to victory, not to immediate fame, but to +something higher in one sense than either victory or fame, and to a +service well worth a man's doing. + +Nathan Hale belonged to the first brigade dispatched to New York--that +of General Heath. After rapid marching, considering the state of the +roads, "Hale found himself" (March 26th) "for the third time" among his +New London friends. The next day they "embarked in high spirits on +fifteen transports and sailed for New York." On March 30th the troops +"disembarked at Turtle Bay, a convenient landing place" near what is now +East 45th Street. Not far from that spot, within six months, Nathan Hale +was to win a victory that time can never dim, even if, for a time, it +appeared to have covered his memory with a pall. But in that landing-day +no shadows were apparent,--only hope, and the zest inevitable in a +soldier's life. + +A minor honor was soon to come to Nathan Hale. Late in 1775 Enoch Hale +was licensed to preach. In the summer of 1776 he attended Commencement +at New Haven, from July 23 to 26. He makes note in his diary of friends +and classmates whom he saw; also that he obtained the degree of Master +of Arts for Nathan and himself. Of the latter his record is, "Write to +brother to tell him I have got him his degree." + +One or two more letters of Hale are extant from which only partial +extracts have been made. One that was written on the 3d of June, 1776, +we give with more fullness, omitting only some unimportant clauses. This +letter has especial value as an illustration of the fact that most of us +now and then have received letters that seemed casual in themselves, but +have, to our surprise and often to our deep sadness, proved to be +farewell letters. + +It is not probable that, in the hurried days that followed, further +messages were sent to his grandmother, to his former pastor and +beloved teacher, Mr. Huntington, and to his sister Rose and her family. +In the late autumn of 1776, after they had learned his fate, and in the +years that followed, one can easily imagine how precious seemed these +appreciative words, embalming as it were the abiding affection of the +man who wrote them. Hale's reference to "the Doctor" also recalls the +fact that, from the immediate family of Deacon Richard Hale, five +men--three sons, one stepson, and one son-in-law (Surgeon Rose)--entered +the Revolutionary Army; one son dying in 1776, one son in 1784, his +health having been ruined while in the service, and one son in 1802, his +life perhaps shortened by his exposures. Whatever else may have been +lacking in that one family, patriotism certainly was not deficient,--the +patriotism that does not count the cost to one's self, but the gain to +one's country. + +The following is the letter referred to, written to his brother Enoch: + + DEAR BROTHER, + NEW YORK June 3d 1776 + + Your Favour of the 9th of May and another written at Norwich I have + received--the first mentioned one the 19th of May ult. + + You complain of my neglecting you--It is not, I acknowledge, wholly + without reason--at the same time I am conscious to have written to + you more than once or twice within this half year. Perhaps my + letters have miscarried. + + Continuance or removal here depends wholly upon the operations of + the war. + + It gives pleasure to every friend of his country to observe the + health which prevails in our army. Dr. Eli (Surgeon of our Regt.) + told me a few days since, there was not a man in our Regt. but + might upon occasion go out with his Firelock. Much the same is said + of other Regiments. + + The army is improving in discipline, and it is hoped will soon be + able to meet the enemy at any kind of play. My company which at + first was small, is now increased to eighty and there is a sergeant + recruiting who, I hope, has got the other ten which completes the + company. We are hardly able to judge as to the numbers the British + army for the Summer is to consist of--undoubtedly sufficient to + cause us too much bloodshed. + + I had written you a complete letter in answer to your last, but + missed the opportunity of sending it. + + This will find you in Coventry--if so remember me to all my + friends--particularly belonging to the Family. Forget not + frequently to visit and strongly to represent my duty to our good + Grandmother Strong. Has she not repeatedly favored us with her + tender, most important advice? The natural Tie is sufficient, but + increased by so much goodness, our gratitude cannot be too + sensible. + + I always with respect remember Mr. Huntington and shall write to + him if time admits. Pay Mr. Wright a visit for me. Tell him Asher + is well--he has for some time lived with me as a waiter.... Asher + this moment told me that our brother Joseph Adams was here + yesterday to see me, when I happened to be out of the way. He is in + Col. Parson's Regt. I intend to see him to-day and if possible by + exchanging get him into my company. + + Yours affectionately. + N. HALE. + + P. S. Sister Rose talked of making me some Linen cloth similar to + Brown Holland for Summer wear. If she has made it, desire her to + keep it for me. My love to her, the Doctor, and little Joseph. + +As Washington had supposed probable, the English decided upon the +occupation of New York. In July and August the largest army ever +collected in one body upon the American continent prior to 1861, an +English army numbering nearly thirty-two thousand men, with a formidable +fleet and large munitions of war, gathered at Staten Island. Washington, +in the meantime, was occupying a portion of Brooklyn and a portion of +the city of New York, fortifying each place and preparing to defend it +to the extent of his ability with his small army, never so well fed nor +so thoroughly disciplined as that of the British. + +Human wisdom would have assumed that the British army would soon succeed +in restoring English control; but the best-laid plans miscarry, and a +power interposes that helps the weaker and hinders the stronger army. + +The English did their best to be ready for the coming conflict, and we +know that Washington spared no pains in preparing for the worst that +might come. + +On August 20, Nathan Hale wrote the following letter to his brother +Enoch--the last letter that he ever wrote, so far as we know, to reach +its destination. It shows that his heart was absorbed in the duties of +the conflict he was sharing, and it also shows how wholly he was +leaving the ultimate issue to a higher power. + + NEW YORK, August 20, 1776. + + DEAR BROTHER. + + I have only time for a hasty letter. Our situation this fortnight + or more has been such as scarce to admit of writing. We have daily + expected an action--by which means, if any one was going and we had + letters written, orders were so strict for our tarrying in camp + that we could rarely get leave to go and deliver them. For about 6 + or 8 days the enemy have been expected hourly, whenever the wind + and tide in the least favored. We keep a particular lookout for + them this morning. The place and manner of our attack time must + determine. The event we leave to Heaven. Thanks to God! We have had + time for completing our works and receiving our reinforcements. The + Militia of Connecticut ordered this way are mostly arrived. Col. + Ward's Regiment has got in. Troops from the southward are daily + coming. We hope under God to give account of the enemy whenever + they choose to make the last appeal. + + Last Friday night, two of our fire vessels (a Sloop and Schooner) + made an attempt upon the shipping up the river. The night was too + dark, the wind too slack for the attempt. The Schooner which was + intended for one of the Ships had got by before she discovered + them; but as Providence would have it, she run athwart a + bomb-catch, which she quickly burned. The Sloop by the light of the + former discovered the _Ph[oe]nix_--but rather too late--however she + made shift to grapple her, but the wind not proving sufficient to + bring her close alongside, or drive the flames immediately on + board, the _Ph[oe]nix_ after much difficulty got her clear by + cutting her own rigging. Sergt. Fosdick, who commanded the above + sloop, and four of his hands were of my company, the remaining two + were of this Regt. The Genl. has been pleased to reward their + bravery with forty Dollars each, except the last man that quitted + the fire-sloop who had fifty. Those on board the Schooner received + the same. + + I must write to some of my other brothers lest you should not be at + home. Remain + + Your friend &c + BROTHER NA. HALE. + + MR. ENOCH HALE. + +Aside from this letter, the following brief quotations from his diary +are all that remain to us in the handwriting of Nathan Hale. Till he +lays down his pen for the last time we see him absorbed in the cares and +duties of the life about him, fearlessly facing whatever remains to him +of life and service. + + Aug. 21st. Heavy storm at Night. Much and heavy Thunder. Capt. Van + Wyke, and a Lieut, and Ens. of Colo. McDougall's Regt. killed by a + Shock. Likewise one man in town, belonging to a Militia Regt. of + Connecticut. The Storm continued for two or three hours, for the + greatest part of which time [there] was a perpetual Lightning, and + the sharpest I ever knew. + + 22d. Thursday. The enemy landed some troops down at the Narrows on + Long Island. + + 23d. Friday. Enemy landed more troops--News that they had marched + up and taken Station near Flatbush, their advce Gds [advance + guards] being on this side near the Woods--that some of our + Rifle-men attacked and drove them back from their post, burnt 2 + stacks of hay, and it was thought killed some of them--this about + 12 O'clock at Night. Our troops attacked them at their station near + Flatb. [Flatbush], routed and drove them back 1-1/2 mile. + +One of the facts most perplexing to General Washington was what appeared +to be Sir William Howe's delay in making an attack. Indeed, to an +outsider unfamiliar with military tactics, Howe's conduct resembles the +cruel pleasure a cat sometimes takes in tormenting a mouse that it knows +cannot escape. The uncertainty as to what the next British move might be +caused much anxiety. Remembering that Howe's force had arrived the last +of June, one sees how leisurely must have been his preparations for +attack, and how assured his hope of victory. + +The expected attack occurred on August 27. The Americans were defeated +and driven within their works, their losses being great, especially in +prisoners. The Nineteenth Regiment was held in reserve, but Captain Hull +wrote that they were near enough to witness the carnage among their +fellow-soldiers. + +The night after the battle the enemy encamped within a few hundred yards +of the defeated Americans. On the 29th Washington decided upon a retreat +to New York, and it was effected that night. If the English had +suspected that the Americans were withdrawing their forces from +Brooklyn, it is easy to imagine the carnage that would have ensued. So +great was Washington's anxiety at this time that he is said not to have +slept during forty-eight hours, and rarely to have dismounted from his +horse. + +One account of the retreat is as follows: "A disadvantageous wind and +rain at first prevented the troops from embarking, and it was feared +that the retreat could not be effected that night. But about eleven +o'clock a favorable breeze sprung up, the tide turned in the right +direction, and about two o'clock in the morning, a thick fog arose which +hung over Long Island, while on the New York side it was clear. During +the night, the whole American army, nine thousand in number, Washington +embarking last of all, with all the artillery, such heavy ordnance as +was of any value, ammunition, provision, cattle, horses, carts, and +everything of importance, passed safely over. + +"All this was effected without the knowledge of the British, although +the enemy were so nigh that they were heard at work with their pickaxes +and shovels. In half an hour after the lines were finally abandoned, the +fog cleared off and the enemy were seen taking possession of the +American works. One boat on the river, ... within reach of the enemy's +fire, was obliged to return; she had only three men in her, who had +loitered behind to plunder." + +That opportune appearance of the fog must have seemed, to more than one +devout heart, as helpful as some of the remarkable interpositions of +Providence described in the old Biblical stories. + +Hale's company, with its many seamen, rendered effective service in this +passage from Long Island. Every student of history, and especially of +military history, can recall certain decisive hours in momentous battles +when some utterly unforeseen event has entirely changed the face of +affairs, and given the victory into unexpected hands; thus, a mistake in +the understanding of a phrase used by his captors made André a prisoner, +and saved the capture of West Point by the English; while Waterloo, +Gettysburg, and many another decisive battle has hinged on seeming +chance,--chance truly, if there is no power working for righteousness +among the affairs of nations. + +The position of the American army, however, now appeared more perilous +than ever. Two war vessels had moved up the East River and were followed +by others. Active movements among the British troops were reported by +all the scouts, but the enemy's designs could not be penetrated. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A PERILOUS SERVICE + + +Writing of these events afterward, Captain Hull said, "It was evident +that the superior force of the British would soon give them possession +of New York. The Commander-in-chief, therefore, took a position at Fort +Washington at the other end of the island. To ascertain the further +object of the enemy was now a subject of anxious inquiry with General +Washington." + +In a letter to General Heath at this crisis Washington wrote as follows: +"As everything in a manner depends upon obtaining intelligence of the +enemy's motions, I do most earnestly entreat you and General Clinton to +exert yourselves to accomplish this most desirable end. Leave no stone +unturned, nor do not stick at expense, to bring this to pass, as I never +was more uneasy than on account of my want of knowledge on this score." + +Johnston, in his valuable "Life of Nathan Hale," says: "If he +[Washington] had been anxious to fathom Howe's plans before the latter +began the campaign from Staten Island, he was infinitely more so now. +It was not enough to keep a ceaseless watch across the East river.... +Like every other commander in history, all through the contest he came +to depend much on intelligence gained through the 'secret service.'" + +Stuart, the earliest reliable biographer of Hale, in writing of spies +says: "The exigency of the American army which we have just described, +would not permit the employment, in the service proposed, of any +ordinary soldier, unpracticed in military observation and without skill +as a draughtsman,--least of all of the common mercenary, to whom, +allured by the hope of a large reward, such tasks are usually assigned. +Accurate estimates of the numbers of the enemy, of their distribution, +of the form and position of their various encampments, of their +marchings and countermarchings, of the concentration at one point or +another, of the instruments of war, but more than all of their plan of +attack, as derived from the open report or the unguarded whispers in +camp of officers or men,--estimates of all these things, requiring a +quick eye, a cool head, a practical pencil, military science, general +intelligence, and pliable address, were to be made. The common soldier +would not answer the purpose, and the mercenary might yield to the +higher seductions of the enemy, and betray his employers." + +During the war with the French and Indians, American officers had +learned the need of trained men who could keep the commanders informed +both of the movements and of the plans of the opposing forces. +Washington had learned this unforgetable lesson in Braddock's campaign, +and, as full commander and wholly responsible not only for the immediate +safety but for the future success of his little army, he realized the +necessity of obtaining the most accurate information possible. + +A corps collected from the best men in the army was organized, and its +command was given to Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton. He had gained +experience as a ranger in the French and Indian War, and was noted for +his coolness, skill, and bravery at Bunker Hill. One hundred and fifty +men and twenty officers were considered sufficient for the work assigned +to this special corps, known as Knowlton's Rangers. They were divided +into four companies. Two of the captains of these men were chosen from +Knowlton's own regiment; the other two--one of them Nathan Hale--were +from other companies. There can be little doubt that Nathan Hale was +proud of his enrollment in this brave corps. + +After Hale's services were ended, one brief record remained of "moneys +due to the Company of Rangers commanded late by Captain Hale." After the +1st of September, about which time this company of Rangers was +organized, it was constantly on duty wherever its services were +required, and one can easily imagine Nathan Hale's enthusiasm in his +enlarged duties. + +Knowlton spoke to some of his officers of the wishes of the commanding +general for some one to enter upon this special secret service,--wishes +that so appealed to Hale that he at once seriously considered offering +himself for the hazardous undertaking. + +Captain Hull, two years his senior in age, and one year in advance of +him in Yale, a close friend while in college and during their subsequent +days, shall describe the personal interview between himself and Captain +Hale in regard to this matter. It is said that many remonstrated with +Hale at his decision, but Hull's statement shows the arguments of a +practical man against which Hale had to contend. + +In his memoirs Captain Hull writes thus of his last interview with +Captain Hale: + +"After his interview with Col. Knowlton, he repaired to my quarters and +informed me of what had passed. He remarked 'I think I owe to my +country the accomplishment of an object so important, and so much +desired by the commander of her armies--and I know of no other mode of +obtaining the information than by assuming a disguise and passing into +the enemy's camp.' + +"He asked my candid opinion. I replied that it was an act which involved +serious consequences, and the propriety of it was doubtful; and though +he viewed the business of a spy as a duty, yet he could not officially +be required to perform it; that such a service was not claimed of the +meanest soldier, though many might be willing, for a pecuniary +compensation, to engage in it; and as for himself, the employment was +not in keeping with his character. His nature was too frank and open for +deceit and disguise, and he was incapable of acting a part equally +foreign to his feelings and habits. Admitting that he was successful, +who would wish success at such a price? Did his country demand the moral +degradation of her sons, to advance her interests? + +"Stratagems are resorted to in war; they are feints and evasions, +performed under no disguise; are familiar to commanders; form a part of +their plans, and, considered in a military view, lawful and +advantageous. The tact with which they are executed exacts admiration +from the enemy. But who respects the character of a spy, assuming the +garb of friendship but to betray? The very death assigned him is +expressive of the estimation in which he is held. As soldiers, let us do +our duty in the field; contend for our legitimate rights, and not stain +our honor by the sacrifice of integrity. And when present events, with +all their deep and exciting interests, shall have passed away, may the +blush of shame never arise, by the remembrance of an unworthy though +successful act, in the performance of which we were deceived by the +belief that it was sanctioned by its object. I ended by saying that, +should he undertake the enterprise, his short, bright career would close +with an ignominious death. + +"He replied, 'I am fully sensible of the consequences of discovery and +capture in such a situation. But for a year I have been attached to the +army, and have not rendered any material service, while receiving a +compensation for which I make no return. Yet,' he continued, 'I am not +influenced by the expectation of promotion or pecuniary reward. I wish +to be useful, and every kind of service necessary for the public good, +becomes honorable by being necessary. If the exigencies of my country +demand a peculiar service, its claims to perform that service are +imperative!' + +"He spoke with warmth and decision. I replied, 'That such are your +wishes cannot be doubted. But is this the most effectual mode of +carrying them into execution? In the progress of the war there will be +ample opportunity to give your talents and your life, should it be so +ordered, to the sacred cause to which we are pledged. You can bestow +upon your country the richest benefits, and win for yourself the highest +honours. Your exertions for her interests will be daily felt, while, by +one fatal act, you crush forever the power and opportunity Heaven offers +for her glory and your happiness.' + +"I urged him for the love of country, for the love of kindred, to +abandon an enterprise which would only end in the sacrifice of the +dearest interests of both. He paused--then affectionately taking my +hand, he said, 'I will reflect, and do nothing but what duty demands.' +He was absent from the army, and I feared he had gone to the British +lines to execute his fatal purpose." + +Just how soon after this conversation Captain Hale left camp on his +perilous mission, cannot now be determined. We only know that it must +have been early in September, during the first week or ten days. He +proceeded with Sergeant Hempstead by the safest route, and reached +Norwalk before finding a place to cross Long Island Sound. + +Sergeant Hempstead alone has furnished the few details of Captain Hale's +final preparations. He had decided to assume civilian's dress, probably +that of an educated man seeking employment as tutor among the Americans +still living in New York. Hempstead says he was dressed in a brown suit +of citizen's clothes, with a round, broad-brimmed hat. On parting he +gave Hempstead his private papers and letters, and his silver +shoebuckles, to take care of for him. + +It is, we think, not an undue inference that the letters and private +papers he left in Hempstead's care were all to be sent to his family. +These doubtless included personal letters to them, for no man such as we +know Nathan Hale to have been would have faced a journey from which he +might never return without some words of explanation, and possible +farewell, to those he loved at home. There is one fact that all who +believe in the sanctity of personal confidences and possible farewells +will be glad to remember,--that not one private word from Nathan Hale to +Alice Adams Ripley, or from her to him, has ever been exploited to +satisfy the curiosity of those who have no right to share it. + +Hempstead left Captain Hale, who, now fully committed to his hazardous +quest, set forth on the armed sloop _Schuyler_ with Captain Pond--one of +the captains in the 19th Regiment--in command, across the Sound to Long +Island. When he landed Captain Hale said farewell to the last American +friend he was to be with, so far as we have any record. + +Assuming that he reached this point on or near the 15th of September, +one or two other facts suggest themselves. It is known that the +Declaration of Independence had been carried to the American camp as +early as possible after its announcement in July, had been read to the +troops assembled for that purpose, and had been received with unbounded +enthusiasm. It is probable that both Colonel Knowlton, later in command +of the Rangers, and Captain Hale, one of its officers, were present at +that reading and joined in the huzzas. Singularly enough, neither one of +these two men was a citizen of the United States for three months. + +Two months later Colonel Knowlton fell in the battle of Harlem Heights, +on September 16th, six days before Nathan Hale's execution. Knowlton's +last words are said to have been, "I do not care for my life, if we do +but win the day." + +From the moment of his leaving New York, the mind of such a man as +Nathan Hale must have had solemn foreshadowings of the possible result, +of the tremendous risk he was facing. Men do not grow old by the passing +of years so much as by the endurance of great experiences, and in the +few brief days that were left to Nathan Hale we know really nothing of +his whereabouts, of what risks he ran, of how often he barely escaped +recognition as a spy, where he slept, of any possible friends whom he +may have encountered, or of any moment when his very life seemed to hang +on the accidental glance of an enemy's eye. + +Finally dawned the 21st of September. Hale had fully accomplished his +mission. + +There are conflicting accounts as to what occurred on the last evening +of Nathan Hale's life, some going into minute details of occurrences +that were assumed to have taken place. One with considerable +plausibility says that, as the time had elapsed which he had expected to +spend among the British (at the end of which time a boat was to be sent +across the Sound for him), Hale, having finished his quest, had entered +a tavern kept by a certain widow Chichester. She was a stanch friend of +the Tories, and her house was the constant resort of Tories and British +men and officers. While Hale was sitting in the tavern, apparently at +his ease among the men there assembled, some one passed him whose face +he thought familiar,--a man who glanced at him sharply and then passed +from the room. Later it was said to have been his own cousin who +betrayed him. Fortunately, there is not a word of truth in the +assertion. + +Although Deacon Hale writes that his son was undoubtedly betrayed by +some one, it appears to have been effectually disproved that he was +betrayed by a relative--a cousin who, it is stated, had never seen him, +and therefore could not have recognized him. A much more probable rumor +is that he was recognized by a loyalist woman who might easily have seen +him before the American army retreated farther north on the island, and +been impressed by his personal appearance and by his prowess in kicking +the football over the trees in the Bowery. This feat Hale is said to +have performed. + +The report goes on to say that a man suddenly entered saying that a boat +was approaching, and that Hale, supposing this boat to have been sent +for him, at once left the room and went to the shore. If there is any +truth in this narrative, it is very possible that here Hale committed +his one indiscretion. In his joy at seeing the friends who had been sent +for him, he may have uttered words of such joyous welcome that the +officer who heard them must have known that this was some one expecting +a boat, and presumably a boat from the opposite shore. At all events, it +is stated that Hale, seeing his mistake when several marines presented +their guns, turned to fly, stopping only when told by the officer to +stand or be shot. These events are said to have taken place at +Huntington, Long Island, about forty miles from New York. + +But more than a century after Hale's death a British Orderly Book was +found, containing the statement, dated September 22d, 1776, that +follows: + +[Illustration: See footnote [2]] + +[Footnote 2: A spy fm the Enemy (by his own full Confession) Apprehended +Last night, was this day Executed at 11 o'clock in front of the Artilery +Park. + +From an Orderly Book of the British Guard. Reproduced from the original +in possession of the New York Historical Society.] + +This, with other knowledge obtained about the position of the ship by +whose crew he was said to have been taken, gives reason for believing +that the arrest was not made at Huntington by the crew of that ship, +but in the city of New York. The order proves also that, once +apprehended, he made not the slightest attempt at concealment, nor any +effort to escape his doom. The information gained by Hale's brother +Enoch in New York supports this belief as to his capture. + +All that we actually know is, that he was captured while attempting to +make his way back to his friends, and that this must have been the +sharpest moment in his experience. Before it, he had hopes of escape; +after his capture he knew that his doom was certain, and his splendid +soul adapted itself quietly and bravely to the inevitable. + +That fatal night--the night of the 21st of September--was in many +respects the most terrible that New York has ever passed through. A fire +had broken out near the docks at two in the morning, and was spreading +with fearful rapidity toward the upper part of the city, the blaze +carried northward by a strong breeze. It looked at one time as if +nothing could stop the conflagration, and that the whole city would be +destroyed. + +For a time the enemy believed that the Americans had deliberately set +fire to their own city in order to expel the hated British. Later this +was found to be untrue, as the fire proved to have started in a low +drinking house where several coarse fellows were carousing. The fire +swept on, destroying more than five hundred houses, one fifth of all the +buildings then in the city, and was stopped only near Barclay Street by +a sudden sharp change in the wind, which blew the fire southward toward +the already burning district. + +Report says that the provost marshal was given authority by Howe to +dispose summarily, without the delay of a trial, of any Americans found +rushing about the burning buildings, assuming, of course, that they were +intent on the destruction of more buildings, rather than on the natural +desire of saving what they could of their own property; and that as a +result of this authority, more than one hapless householder was thrown +into his own burning home. + +Up to this point, the early or late evening of the 21st, there is more +or less of unsolvable mystery in regard to Nathan Hale's movements; but +from the memoirs of Captain William Hull, Nathan Hale's college friend +and companion in arms, we have what appears to be unimpeachable evidence +as to Hale's arrest and being brought to General Howe's headquarters. We +quote from Captain Hull the information he received from an English +officer through a flag of truce: + +"I learned the melancholy particulars from this officer, who was present +at Hale's execution and seemed touched by the circumstances attending +it. He said that Captain Hale had passed through their army, both of +Long Island and [New] York Island. That he had procured sketches of the +fortifications, and made memoranda of their number and different +positions. When apprehended, he was taken before Sir William Howe, and +these papers, found concealed about his person, betrayed his intentions. +He at once declared his name, his rank in the American army, and his +object in coming within the British lines. + +"Sir William Howe, without the form of a trial, gave orders for his +execution the following morning. He was placed in the custody of the +provost marshal. Captain Hale asked for a clergyman to attend him. His +request was refused. He then asked for a Bible; that too was refused. + +"'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. 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 summoned to the gallows. But a few persons were around +him.'" + +He was condemned to die in the early morning of the 22d, but in the +confusion prevailing throughout the city on account of the spreading +fire, at one time threatening the whole town, Provost Marshal Cunningham +must have been that morning very fully occupied, and it was late in the +forenoon before he completed his preparations for Hale's execution. + +At eleven o'clock Cunningham was ready, and, as it proved, Nathan Hale +was ready also. Quietly standing among the few who had gathered to see +him die, and it is said in response to a taunt from Cunningham that if +he had any confession to make now was the time to make it, Hale +responded, glancing briefly at Cunningham and then calmly at the faces +about him, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my +country." + +For once in his life Cunningham must have been astounded. With no plea +for mercy, no shrinking from the worst that Cunningham could do, this +man, still almost a boy in years, had shown himself utterly beyond his +power--had lifted himself forever from the doom of a victim to the grand +estate of a victor. One sharp, brief struggle and Nathan Hale was +free--dead, but victorious! + +Indefinite as are most of the details, there are some unwritten points +that may confidently be assumed. + +That 22d of September was a Sabbath day, a day associated in Nathan +Hale's mind with religious observances; prayers at the family altar, +readings of the Bible, and gatherings of his friends within church +walls. Whether or not his family knew the dangerous quest on which he +had ventured, he knew that he was not absent from their memories, and +that the family were bearing him in their thoughts that Sabbath morning. +No other day could have made that assurance so real to him, and this +thought was probably one of his strongest earthly consolations and +inspirations while he was awaiting the slow but relentless preparations +for his death. + +No wonder that he bore himself "calmly and with dignity," as Captain +Montressor said of him. No wonder that he died bravely--seemingly +without a tremor of soul. In his last words Nathan Hale, true and +faithful in every relation and every act of his brief life, gave to his +country more than his life, more than all the hopes he was relinquishing +so freely for her sake. In one short, indomitable breath of patriotism, +he uttered words that will be forgotten only when American history +ceases to be read. + +William Cunningham, Provost Marshal of the English forces in America, +murderer and inhuman jailer, would have laughed to scorn the idea that +any being, human or divine, could preserve Nathan Hale's last words for +the inspiration of coming generations, yet a kindly British officer, +Captain John Montressor, carried them to Hale's friends. + +Cunningham has left a record of brutality unsurpassed in American +history. He is himself said to have boasted that he had caused the death +of two thousand American soldiers. We know that any reference to the +prison ships in New York Harbor sets Cunningham before us as a cowardly +murderer, starving men to death by depriving them of rations which the +English supplied for them, and which he sold, pocketing the proceeds. He +stands alone on a pedestal of infamy. + +The letters that Hale had written and left, as he hoped, to be delivered +to his friends, Cunningham ruthlessly destroyed, giving as his reason +that "the rebels should not know that they had a man in their army who +could die with so much firmness." Though Hale's letters were destroyed, +the English officer, John Montressor, aide to General Howe--a gentleman +in whose presence we may safely assume that Cunningham, cowardly as all +brutal men are, had not dared to maltreat Nathan Hale as he was known +to maltreat other prisoners--that very Sunday evening spoke of Hale's +death to General Putnam and Captain Alexander Hamilton at the American +outposts where he had been sent with a flag of truce by General Howe to +arrange for an exchange of prisoners. More was learned when a flag of +truce was sent two days later to the British lines by General +Washington, in answer to the one on September 22. Two friends of Hale, +Captain Hull and Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Webb, were among those who +went with the flag. + +Through these flags of truce--and perhaps others--were obtained all the +positive knowledge that Hale's friends were ever able to secure; but the +unvarnished story, told by Captain Montressor, gave all that was +essential to reveal to his friends his manly attitude when in the +presence of General Howe, and his calmness and dignity when he was +awaiting execution; while his last unpremeditated but immortal words, in +reply to Cunningham's taunt, proved to all his friends that he had died +as he had lived--a Christian patriot, and a hero. + +We may suppose that Nathan Hale himself had not the remotest idea that +anything concerning his death would ever be made known to his friends +save that, detected as a spy, he had died as the penalty he had known +would follow capture. The words spoken by Nathan Hale, as his last +earthly thought, seem to prove that the thought, breathed from the +depths of his fearless soul, shall live as long as pure patriotism +thrills the souls of mortal men. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +GRIEF FOR THE YOUNG PATRIOT + + +From Enoch Hale's diary, parts of which were first published by his +famous grandson, Edward Everett Hale, we learn how the news reached the +Hale family. Enoch writes as follows: + + "September 30. Afternoon. Ride to Rev. Strong's [his uncle] Salmon + Brook [Connecticut]. Hear a rumor that Capt. Hale, belonging to the + east side of Connecticut River near Colchester, who was educated at + College, was sentenced to hang in the enemy's lines at New York, + being taken as a spy, or reconnoitering their camp. Hope it is + without foundation. Something troubled at it. Sleep not very + well.... October 15. Get a pass to ride to New York.... Accounts + from my brother Captain are indeed melancholy! That about the + second week of September, he went to Stamford, crossed to Long + Island (Dr. Waldo writes) and had finished his plans, but before he + could get off, was betrayed, taken, and hanged without ceremony.... + Some entertain hopes that all this is not true, but it is a gloomy, + dejected hope. Time may determine. Conclude to go to the camp next + week." + +He afterwards wrote that Webb, one of Washington's staff, brought word +to Washington that Nathan Hale, "being suspected by his movements that +he wanted to get out of New York, was taken up and examined by the +general [Howe] and some minutes being found upon him, orders were +immediately given that he should be hanged. When at the gallows, he +spoke and told that he was a Capt. in the Continental army, by name +Nathan Hale." + +To those who have experienced the long weeks of distressing anxiety that +often fall to the lot of those whose friends are in battle, or carried +prisoners to unknown camps, no words are needed to depict the anxiety +among Nathan Hale's family until particulars of his noble death were +finally learned. + +It is a solemn but perhaps a comforting fact, that the deepest human +distress seems, after a few generations have passed, to have been "writ +in water." Bitter as must have been those early sorrowful hours, the +only later reminder of the tears that then flowed is given in the +statement that one who had loved him could not speak of him fifty years +later without tears in her eyes. + +Of how many wept for him we can form no conception. Indeed, we should +have pitied any warmhearted girl or young man who knew him, and had +shared his joyous young life, who could have heard of his tragic death +without tears almost as bitter as for one intensely loved. + +Duly Enoch Hale and his family learned all that ever will be known of +the last days of their beloved, and now honored, dead. + +The following letter of Deacon Richard Hale's--good man and uncertain +speller that he was!--was written to his brother Samuel at Portsmouth, +New Hampshire, a few months after Nathan's death had become known: + + DEAR BROTHER + + I Recd your favor of the 17th of February Last and rejoce to + hear that you and your Famley ware well your obversation as to the + Diffulty of the times is very just. so gloomey a day wee niver saw + before but I trust our Cause is Just and for our Consolation in the + times of greatest destress we have this to sopert us that their is + a God that Jugeth in the earth if we can but take the comfort of + it. as to our being far advanced in life if it do but serve to wean + us from this presint troublesom world and stur us up to prepare for + a world of peace and Rest it is well. the calls in Providance are + loud to prepare to meet our God and O that he would prepare us. you + desired me to inform you about my son Nathan you have doutless seen + the Newberry Port paper that gives the acount of the conduct of our + kinsman Samll Hale toard him in New York as to our kinsman being + here in his way to York it is a mistake but as to his conduct tord + my son at York Mr. Cleveland of Capepan first reported it near us I + sopose when on his way from the Armey where he had been Chapling + home as was Probley true betraie'd he doubtless was by somebody. he + was executed about the 22nd of September last by the aconts we + have had. a child I sot much by but he is gone I think the second + trial I ever met with. my 3rd son Joseph is in the armey over in + the Jarsyes and was well the last we heard from him my other son + that was in the service belonged to the melishey and is now at + home. my son Enoch is gone to take the small pox by enoculation. + Brother Robinson and famley are well we are all threw the Divine + goodness well my wife joins in love to you and Mrs Hale and your + children + + Your loving Brother + COVENTRY March 28th 1777 + RICHARD HALE + +For a while after Nathan Hale's death, in the crowding events of the +Revolution, his personal friends appear to have been his chief mourners. +One lady is said to have told Professor Kingsley of New Haven that she +had never seen greater anguish than that experienced by Deacon Hale and +his family when they heard of Nathan's death. + +What the news meant to his "good grandmother Strong" we are not told. +For her, so faithful and unselfish in her loving, we can but be glad +that if she went home all the earlier for this blow, she must have gone +all the more serenely; assured that if the earth was the poorer, heaven +was the richer, because the grandson she had loved so truly was there +awaiting her. + +Mrs. Abbot, daughter of Deacon Richard Hale's son, Joseph Hale, lived +at her grandfather's from 1784 till her marriage in 1799. Many years ago +she wrote to her cousin, "From my earliest recollection I have felt a +deep interest in that unfortunate uncle. When his death or the manner of +it was spoken of, my grief would come forth in tears. Living in the old +homestead I frequently heard allusions to him by the neighbors and +persons that worked in the family, much more so than by near relatives. +It seemed the anguish they felt did not allow them to make it the +subject of conversation. Was it not so with your mother?" + +Rev. Edward Everett Hale refers in a historical address to the fact that +in his own early days the name of Nathan Hale was seldom mentioned in +his presence. We of to-day can but wish that somewhat of the luster from +the radiant halo that was to encircle his memory and to grow brighter as +the years pass on, might have comforted them. Yet each one of that +sorrowing family has long since learned to rejoice that, as nobly as any +martyr has ever died for his country, their lad went forth into the +eternities. + +The poem which follows was published in "Songs and Ballads of the +Revolution," collected by Mr. Frank Moore. It is not known when these +verses first appeared, but they are among the earliest tributes to Hale +after his death. It is thought possible, by some students of +Revolutionary history, that the lines may yet prove valuable in throwing +light upon the manner of Hale's capture and death, as they are probably +based on accounts current at that time of which records have not yet +appeared. + + +CAPTURE AND DEATH OF NATHAN HALE + +(By an unknown poet of 1776) + + The breezes went steadily thro' the tall pines, + A-saying "oh! hu-sh!" a-saying "oh! hu-sh!" + As stilly stole by a bold legion of horse, + For Hale in the bush, for Hale in the bush. + + "Keep still!" said the thrush as she nestled her young, + In a nest by the road; in a nest by the road; + "For the tyrants are near, and with them appear, + What bodes us no good, what bodes us no good." + + The brave captain heard it, and thought of his home, + In a cot by the brook; in a cot by the brook. + With mother and sister and memories dear, + He so gaily forsook; he so gaily forsook. + + Cooling shades of the night were coming apace, + The tattoo had beat; the tattoo had beat. + The noble one sprang from his dark lurking place + To make his retreat; to make his retreat. + + He warily trod on the dry rustling leaves, + As he pass'd thro' the wood; as he pass'd thro' the wood; + And silently gain'd his rude launch on the shore, + As she play'd with the flood; as she play'd with the flood. + + The guards of the camp, on that dark, dreary night, + Had a murderous will; had a murderous will. + They took him and bore him afar from the shore, + To a hut on the hill; to a hut on the hill. + + No mother was there, nor a friend who could cheer, + In that little stone cell; in that little stone cell. + But he trusted in love from his father above, + In his heart all was well; in his heart all was well. + + An ominous owl with his solemn bass voice + Sat moaning hard by; sat moaning hard by. + "The tyrant's proud minions most gladly rejoice, + For he must soon die; for he must soon die." + + The brave fellow told them, no thing he restrained, + The cruel gen'ral; the cruel gen'ral; + His errand from camp, of the ends to be gained, + And said that was all; and said that was all. + + They took him and bound him and bore him away, + Down the hill's grassy side; down the hill's grassy side. + 'Twas there the base hirelings, in royal array, + His cause did deride; his cause did deride. + + Five minutes were given, short moments, no more, + For him to repent; for him to repent; + He pray'd for his mother, he ask'd not another; + To Heaven he went; to Heaven he went. + + The faith of a martyr, the tragedy shew'd, + As he trod the last stage; as he trod the last stage. + And Britons will shudder at gallant Hale's blood, + As his words do presage; as his words do presage. + + "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." + +The body of the Martyr Spy was never found. For many years there appears +to have been some interest, but little knowledge, as to the place of +Nathan Hale's execution. During the last one hundred and thirty-eight +years, writer after writer has described his life and all the events +connected with it as they are believed to have occurred; and, as was +inevitable under the circumstances, some things have been written that +the critical historian cannot indorse. + +Until near the end of the nineteenth century no reliable information, +even as to the place of his execution, had been gained. The late Mr. +William Kelby, Librarian of the New York Historical Society, "an +accepted authority on all subjects of this and kindred nature," is said +to have undertaken to locate the exact spot where it occurred, and met +with at least partial success. + +Writing on the subject in 1893 he says in substance: When the British +took possession of New York in September, 1776, after the battle of Long +Island, General Howe occupied the Beekman house on Fifty-first Street +and First Avenue as his headquarters, while the army extended across the +island to the north of him. The corps of Royal Artillery occupied part +of the high ground between Sixty-sixth and Seventy-second Streets, where +they parked their guns and formed a camp. + +Close to the camp were the old "five-mile stone" on the way to +Kingsbridge, and a tavern long known as "The Sign of the Dove." The +exact location of this tavern is shown from a survey of 1783 as being +west of the post road on Third Avenue between Sixty-sixth and +Sixty-seventh streets. It belonged, with four acres of land attached, to +the City Corporation. + +The extract already shown on page 82 is from an Orderly Book (discovered +by Mr. Kelby) kept by an officer of the British Foot-Guards. Other +entries read as follows: + +"October 6. The effects of the late Lieutenant Lovell to be sold at the +house near the Artillery Park. + +"October 11. Majors of Brigade to attend at the Artillery Park near the +Dove at five this afternoon." + +The story of Hale's confinement in the Beekman greenhouse at Fifty-first +Street and First Avenue on the night of September 21, 1776, is generally +accepted. Former stories of the place of execution are disproved by the +first extract from the Orderly Book, while the others indicate the +location of the Artillery Park. It therefore appears that Hale was +executed upon some part of this common land of the Corporation of the +City of New York, and it is probable that his body was buried there. + +The tract is now covered mainly by buildings devoted to educational and +philanthropic uses. Possibly the dust of the Martyr Spy may lie in the +grounds of the Normal, or Hunter, College. + +Other materials, found since Mr. Kelby wrote, confirm his conclusions +and make Third Avenue, not far north of Sixty-sixth Street, the most +probable spot of Nathan Hale's death. The noblest educational +institutions in New York City could have no more appropriate foundations +than those laid above the bodies of patriots who have died, not only for +the freedom of the city, but for that of the whole land. + +For a time, as was inevitable, a pall seemed thrown over the memory of +Nathan Hale, and at first only the love of his own family strove to +commemorate his life and death. A stone was erected to his memory in +the cemetery at South Coventry, near the spot where his father expected +to be buried. It still stands there and has been declared to be one of +the best examples of the lettering of the times. It bears this +inscription: + +"Durable stone preserve the monumental record. Nathan Hale Esq. a Capt. +in the army of the United States, who was born June 6th, 1755, and +received the first honors of Yale College, Sept. 1773, resigned his life +a sacrifice to his country's liberty at New York, Sept. 22d, 1776, +Etatis 22d." + +One by one were placed near his, his father's stone (his father died at +eighty-five), and those of other members of his family. These graves are +in a common burial lot near the Congregational Church in South Coventry +where the family had worshiped. + +In November, 1837, the Hale Monument Association was formed for the +purpose of erecting at Coventry a fitting memorial of the +martyr-soldier. Congress was applied to for several years, but was slow +in appropriating money to honor the dead,--strangely unlike England in +honoring her martyrs, as will be seen later. + +Appeals were made to the State legislature, and Stuart, Hale's earliest +biographer and sincere admirer, used his influence as a legislator in +securing an appropriation of twelve hundred and fifty dollars. The +women of Coventry redoubled their zeal, and by fairs, teas, etc., raised +a sufficient sum, added to the grant from the legislature and +contributions from some prominent men of the country, to pay for the +cenotaph. It is a pyramidal shaft, resting on a base of steps, with a +shelving projection one-third of the way up the pedestal. The material +is of hewn Quincy granite. It was designed by Henry Austin of New Haven. +It is fourteen feet square at the base and forty-five feet high. It was +completed under the superintendence of Solomon Willard, architect of +Bunker Hill Monument, at a cost of about four thousand dollars. + +The inscription on the north side is, "Captain Nathan Hale, 1776"; on +the west, "Born at Coventry, June 6, 1755"; on the east, "Died at New +York, Sept. 22, 1776"; on the south, "I only regret that I have but one +life to lose for my country." + +The monument stands on elevated ground. "Its site is particularly +fine;... on the north it overlooks a beautiful lake, while on the east +it looks through a captivating natural vista to greet the sun." + +With the planning of this monument began the revival of interest in +Nathan Hale's short but splendid career that is still gathering strength +and will eventually establish his name among those of the bravest +American patriots. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +TRIBUTES TO NATHAN HALE + + +When Captain Montressor told Hale's dismayed friends of the terrible +doom that had befallen their comrade, it must have seemed as if all the +influence Hale might have had in a prolonged life, all that could come +to such a man, had been sacrificed. We must not blame them if the +question involuntarily rose in their hearts, "Why such waste? Why was +such an influence so permanently destroyed?" Curiously enough, many +years passed with little special notice by the public of Hale's death. +But the leaven of patriotism works, even though slowly, and step by step +Hale was coming to his own. Little by little the memory of his sacrifice +for his country, and the fact that he had left words that should glow +with increasing splendor, took possession of those who had ears to hear +and hearts to remember. + +Old Linonia in Yale did not forget the splendid boy, once its +Chancellor, who died as he had lived. Linonia's records still bear, in +clear and perfect lines, reports his hand had written when he was its +most assiduous member. Others might have forgotten him; Linonia had not. + +On its one-hundredth anniversary, July 27, 1853,--Commencement +Week,--the poet of the occasion was Francis Miles Finch, Yale, 1846, +later Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. As poet, Mr. Finch of +course recalled many former members of the society. He ended with a poem +on Nathan Hale in which he held his listeners spellbound as stanza after +stanza, magnetic in proportion to their truthful beauty, fell from his +lips. + +There has been a further service to his country by Judge Finch. His own +character has been graven into two different poems,--the one just +referred to, and one that he wrote later. The latter poem had, +undoubtedly, a powerful influence in causing our national Decoration Day +to be celebrated throughout the United States. + +The story of this poem is interesting. In a town in Mississippi certain +Southern women went on a spring day, soon after the close of the Civil +War, to cover with flowers the graves of their beloved dead. The +gracious and tender thought must have come to them that in the graves of +aliens buried among them lay those as deeply mourned in Northern homes +as were those they themselves had loved. + +Certainly no sweeter suggestion could have been more tenderly carried +out than that which led these bereaved women to spread flowers over the +graves of those who were once their enemies. Mr. Finch was told of this +incident, and the lines he wrote show his appreciation of the "generous +deed." The poem, "The Blue and the Gray," did much to heal the wounds in +both North and South. + +The two poems by Judge Francis Miles Finch are quoted here, the first +with the drum-beat pulsing through it; the second in musical, flowing +lines that carry in them sorrow, loyalty, and the community of a common +bereavement. + + +HALE'S FATE AND FAME + + And one there was--his name immortal now-- + Who dies not to the ring of rattling steel, + Or battle-march of spirit-stirring drum, + But, far from comrades and from friendly camp, + Alone upon the scaffold. + + To drum-beat and heart-beat + A soldier marches by; + There is color in his cheek, + There is courage in his eye, + Yet to drum-beat and heart-beat + In a moment he must die. + + By starlight and moonlight + He seeks the Briton's camp, + He hears the rustling flag, + And the armèd sentry's tramp. + And the starlight and moonlight + His silent wanderings lamp. + + With slow tread and still tread + He scans the tented line, + And he counts the battery guns + By the gaunt and shadowy pine, + And his slow tread and still tread + Give no warning sign. + + The dark wave, the plumed wave! + It meets his eager glance; + And it sparkles 'neath the stars + Like the glimmer of a lance: + A dark wave, a plumed wave, + On an emerald expanse. + + A sharp clang, a steel clang! + And terror in the sound; + For the sentry, falcon-eyed, + In the camp a spy hath found; + With a sharp clang, a steel clang, + The patriot is bound. + + With calm brow, steady brow, + He listens to his doom; + In his look there is no fear + Nor a shadow trace of gloom; + But with calm brow and steady brow + He robes him for the tomb. + + In the long night, the still night, + He kneels upon the sod; + And the brutal guards withhold + E'en the solemn Word of God! + In the long night, the still night, + He walks where Christ hath trod. + + 'Neath the blue morn, the sunny morn, + He dies upon the tree; + And he mourns that he can lose + But one life for Liberty; + And in the blue morn, the sunny morn, + His spirit-wings are free. + + His last words, his message words, + They burn, lest friendly eye + Should read how proud and calm + A patriot could die, + With his last words, his dying words, + A soldier's battle-cry! + + From Fame-leaf and Angel-leaf, + From monument and urn, + The sad of Earth, the glad of Heaven, + His tragic fate shall learn; + And on Fame-leaf and Angel-leaf, + The name of HALE shall burn! + + +THE BLUE AND THE GRAY + + By the flow of the inland river, + Whence the fleets of iron had fled, + Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, + Asleep are the ranks of the dead: + Under the sod and the dew; + Waiting the judgment-day; + Under the one the Blue; + Under the other, the Gray. + + These in the robings of glory, + Those in the gloom of defeat, + All with the battle-blood gory, + In the dusk of eternity meet: + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Under the laurel, the Blue; + Under the willow, the Gray. + + From the silence of sorrowful hours + The desolate mourners go, + Lovingly laden with flowers, + Alike for the friend and the foe: + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Under the roses, the Blue, + Under the lilies, the Gray. + + So, with an equal splendor, + The morning sun-rays fall, + With a touch impartially tender, + On the blossoms blooming for all: + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Broidered with gold, the Blue; + Mellowed with gold, the Gray. + + So, when the summer calleth + On forest and field of grain, + With an equal murmur falleth + The cooling drip of the rain: + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Wet with the rain, the Blue, + Wet with the rain, the Gray. + + Sadly, but not with upbraiding, + The generous deed was done, + In the storm of the years that are fading + No braver battle was won: + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Under the blossoms, the Blue, + Under the garlands, the Gray. + + No more shall the war cry sever, + Or the winding rivers be red; + They banish our anger forever + When they laurel the graves of our dead! + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Love and tears for the Blue; + Tears and love for the Gray. + +On the one hundred and tenth anniversary of the evacuation of New York +by the British--November 25, 1893--a bronze statue of Nathan Hale was +presented to the city of New York. It was given by the New York Society +of the "Sons of the American Revolution," a society founded in 1876 to +perpetuate the memory and deeds of the war for American independence. +The presentation was made by the president of the society, Mr. Frederic +Samuel Tallmadge, the grandson of Major Tallmadge, Hale's classmate and +fellow-captain. The statue is of bronze and is by Frederick Macmonnies +of Paris. It represents Hale bareheaded, bound about his arms and his +ankles, ready for his death. It was placed in City Hall Park where Hale +was, for a time, supposed to have been executed. On the pedestal are +graven his last wonderful words. + +During the exercises at the unveiling of this statue Dr. Edward Everett +Hale said: "The occasion, I suppose, is without a parallel in history. +Certainly, I know of no other instance where, more than a century after +the death of a boy of twenty-one, his countrymen assembled in such +numbers as are here to do honor to his memory and to dedicate the statue +which preserves it. + +"He died near this spot, saying, 'I am sorry that I have but one life to +give for my country.' And because that boy said those words, and because +he died, thousands of other young men have given their lives to his +country; have served her as she bade them serve her, even though they +died as she bade them die." + +The day's celebration was concluded by a dinner of the Society. Dr. Hale +spoke on this occasion also. He said in part: + +"Let us never forget that this is the monument of a young man--that he +is the young man's hero. Let us never forget how the country then +trusted young men and how worthy they were of the trust. It was at the +very time of which I spoke that Washington first knew Hamilton and asked +him to his tent. Hamilton had already won the confidence of Greene. +Hamilton was, I think, in his nineteenth year. Knox, who commanded +Hamilton's regiment, was, I think, twenty-four. Webb, who commanded +Hale's regiment, was twenty-two. When, the next year, Washington +welcomed Lafayette, whom Congress appointed major-general, he +[Lafayette] was not twenty. And Washington himself, before whom others +stood abashed, had only attained the venerable age of forty-four. The +country needed her young men. She called for them and she had them. It +is one of those young men who, dying at twenty-one, leaves as his only +word of regret that he has but one life to give to her." + +Although it is now known that Hale was not executed near City Hall Park, +in some respects there could be no more fitting location for a monument +to him than this, perhaps the busiest conflux of human beings that +anywhere crowd this great city. Thousands pass this statue, learning +from it their first lessons in American history. Hundreds have stopped, +seeing this bareheaded, dauntless man, evidently doomed to die, to try +to learn whence he came and why he stands there, appealing to the +noblest patriotism--patriotism that must touch the heart of any man who +knows the love of country. + +Since this statue was placed, memorials of various kinds to Nathan Hale +have been erected in several parts of the country. The schoolhouses in +which he taught, although not occupying their original sites, have been +restored, and are in possession of patriotic societies. + +To-day Yale, endowed with buildings costing millions, is learning that +stone and mortar, in edifices however beautiful, do not enshrine their +noblest memories. + +Through a few friends of Yale, a statue of Nathan Hale by Bela Lyon +Pratt has recently been placed near the oldest college building, +Connecticut Hall. This building has been restored to the appearance it +bore when Nathan Hale dwelt therein. Who shall say that the statue of +the bound boy, facing death so manfully, will not prove one of Yale's +noblest endowments? + +Still another beautiful statue of Nathan Hale by William Ordway +Partridge may be seen in the city of St. Paul, Minn. + +Happily, Nathan Hale's ability to die for his country is but one side of +a Yale shield from which gleam the names of hundreds of her sons, who, +doubtless as ready to die for their country as he, had they been in his +place, have proved their power to live for God and for their native +land. Everywhere, in all quarters of the world, the Nathan Hale spirit +of unselfish devotion has inspired the sons of Yale to the noblest +service they could render; and every man, young or old, who passes the +statue of Nathan Hale will realize that hosts have lived lives inspired +by the same splendid spirit. + +Nathan Hale himself went forth from his alma mater filled with the +joyous hopes and ambitions that have filled the souls of many other men, +all unconscious of the fact that the finest heroism and the highest +self-sacrifice lay just before him, but conscious that he meant to be +ready for the best that life could give him. He was ready; and the best +of life for him was the power to die as he died. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +NATHAN HALE'S FRIENDS + + +(1) _Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D._ + +A somewhat full description of the Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D., is well +worth placing among the friends of Nathan Hale. It was impossible for +such a boy as Nathan to have been under the care of such a man as Dr. +Huntington, first as pastor and then as his private teacher in his +preparation for college, without having been strongly influenced by him. +Indeed, scanning these old records of a parish of a hundred and fifty +years ago, we cannot help feeling a strong personal attraction toward +the Rev. Joseph Huntington. + +Few men more fully prove the claim that many of the early New England +pastors were eminently fitted to lead their people heavenward and also +in the practical development of their daily lives. + +Dr. Huntington lived a life evidently inspired by the finest ideals, and +also by shrewd common sense, always so dear to the heart of a New +Englander. It is a pleasure to recall the story of this man's useful +life, and realize that besides the reverence almost invariably accorded +to "the minister" in those days, he must have held the everyday +affection and wholesome trust of his people. Year by year he proved +himself not only their pastor, but a friend full of all kindly +sympathies, never above a hearty laugh when mirth was rampant, or a +sympathetic tear for hearts wrung with anguish. + +He was born in Windham, Connecticut, in 1735. His ancestors came from +England about 1640 and the family ultimately settled in Windham. His +father, a man of somewhat arbitrary character, had determined that +Joseph should be a clothier, and forced him to remain in that business +until he was twenty-one. His intellectual ability was thought to be +somewhat remarkable, and his moral character so good that his pastor +advised him to begin a course of study for the ministry. He completed +his preparation for Yale College in an unusually short time, and was +graduated there in the year 1762. + +His call to be settled over the First Church in Coventry was received so +soon after his graduation that we are forced to believe that his +theological course must have been brief. The parish in Coventry had +been greatly reduced in numbers. The meeting-house had been allowed to +go to decay, and the religious life of the parish was in a corresponding +state of depression. His ordination services were held out of +doors,--whether because the assemblage was too large for the church, or +because the building was too dilapidated, does not appear. The first +thing Mr. Huntington did after his settlement was to urge upon his +people the project of building a new meeting-house. They responded so +heartily that in a short time they had built the best church in the +whole region, having expended for it about five thousand dollars--a +large sum in those days. + +Dr. Huntington does not appear to have been a laborious student. He had +few books of his own, largely depending upon borrowing. But he had a +remarkable memory and the power of so making his own whatever he read +that his scholarship and his originality appear never to have been +questioned. The Rev. Daniel Waldo says of him that he was rather above +the middle height, slender and graceful in form, and that he seemed to +have had an instinctive desire to make everybody around him happy. This, +added to his uniform politeness, caused him to be very popular in +general society. + +The Rev. Mr. Waldo adds that Dr. Huntington was fond of pleasantry and +gives this instance: + +A very dull preacher who had studied theology with him was invited by +his people to resign, and they paid him for his services chiefly in +copper coin. On telling Dr. Huntington how he had been paid, he was +advised to go back and preach a farewell sermon from the text, +"Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil." Many such anecdotes and +repartees of Dr. Huntington were current in Coventry for years after his +death. + +This brief summary of Dr. Joseph Huntington's life shows that the men to +whom Richard Hale intrusted the preparation of his three sons for +entering Yale was not only a Christian, but a gentleman of the finest +culture. He was able not only to impart to Enoch, Nathan and David Hale +the rudiments of scholarship requisite for entering Yale, but to inspire +such boys with the keenest appreciation of courtesy, broad mental +endowments, and a wholesome zeal for high public service. + +The correspondence concerning the Union School in New London shows that +Dr. Huntington gave Nathan Hale the necessary recommendation for the +place. It is on record in Hale's diary that on December 27, 1775, the +day after his arrival home from Camp Winter Hill, he visited Dr. +Huntington; and in one of his New York letters he wrote, "I always with +respect remember Mr. Huntington and shall write to him if time permits." + +Admitting that Nathan Hale's father and mother were his most important +early friends, we believe that Dr. Huntington, as pastor, tutor, and +friend during the six years before Nathan entered college, may have +stood not far behind the parents in deep influence upon his +character--that splendid character, destined to be one of the beacon +lights of our country's history. + + +(2) _Alice Adams_ + +Studying the lives of the founders of our republic, we are interested in +noting the early marriages that so often occurred, and which seem to +have been justified by the early mental maturity of the young men and +women in the eighteenth century. + +With early marriage, large families were the rule and not the exception; +and eulogize the forefathers of New England as much as one may, no one +at all familiar with the lives of the mothers of those generations can +question the share that the foremothers had in broadening the lives +and inspiring the characters of the husbands and sons in that early +period. Nathan Hale showed the power of heredity, and Alice Adams, the +woman he is said to have loved, proved well that she too had come of no +unworthy stock. + +It has been given few women to be so worthily loved as was Alice Adams, +from the time we catch our first glimpse of her till the last, in her +eighty-ninth year. She was born in June, 1757. Her mother married Deacon +Hale when Alice was in her thirteenth year. We do not know when Alice +first met Nathan Hale; but we do know that while both were very young +they found out that they loved each other, and proceeded to engage +themselves without consulting their elders. Nathan had several years of +work preparatory to his profession still before him, and, acting as they +supposed in the best interests of both the boy and the girl, the mother +and elder sister Sarah promptly discouraged the engagement and it was +broken. + +In February, 1773, while Nathan was still at Yale and before she was +sixteen, Alice was married to Elijah Ripley, a prosperous merchant at +Coventry. Within two years Mr. Ripley died, aged twenty-eight, leaving +behind him a little son, also named Elijah, who died in his second year. + +After Mr. Ripley's death, Mrs. Ripley with her baby boy returned to +Deacon Hale's home almost as an adopted daughter, comfortably provided +for by the estate of her late husband. A member of the Hale family, she +must have seen that whatever was true of Nathan Hale in the days when +they were boy and girl together, he, now a Yale graduate and a man among +men, first as teacher and then as soldier, was even more worthy of her +love than in their early days. It is probable that they corresponded +more or less, though happily none of the letters of either are preserved +for the curious to delight in. All we know is that in December, 1775, a +year after her husband's death, Nathan Hale stopped in Coventry while +absent from camp on army business, and the broken engagement has been +said to have been then renewed, this time without opposition. + +Having been married and widowed, and having lost her little son, Alice +Adams Ripley was now free to listen to the claims of the first love that +had entered her heart. What the few brief months that remained to Nathan +Hale must have meant to Alice Ripley, believing in him and caring for +him, only the noblest women can comprehend. + +In regard to the letters written by Nathan Hale on the morning of his +execution, one of these letters is said to have been written to his +mother. One or two of his biographers have inferred that this must be an +error, and that it was written to his father or to a brother. With the +natural delicacy always so conspicuous in him, a letter to his +"mother," so called, in reality the mother of one whom we believe to +have been his betrothed wife, Alice Adams Ripley, who would show it to +Alice and undoubtedly give it to her, was probably what he would have +written. The others would know what he had written, but Alice Adams +would doubtless possess the letter. + +Alice Adams was to live many, many years, to become one of the most +notable women in the city in which she dwelt; so honored that a copy of +her portrait has long hung in the Athenæum, Hartford's finest shrine for +such portraits. + +It was said of her that for several years after Nathan's death she had +no intention of marrying, but, after a widowhood of ten years, +events--some say changed circumstances--led her to accept an offer of +marriage from William Lawrence, of Hartford, which was thenceforth her +home. For many years she was naturally associated with the social life +of that city. + +Whatever letters may have passed between Nathan Hale and Alice Adams +Ripley, no trace of them remains to-day. For this we can only be +grateful that, unlike other unfortunate lovers,--Robert Browning and +Elizabeth Barrett Browing, for instance,--not one word remains of their +correspondence. That belonged to him and to her alone. It is fortunate +that no mere curiosity hunter can feast his eyes or gossip over the +words these two people wrote to each other. + +To Alice's husband Nathan's father gave the powder horn she once spoke +of as having seen Nathan working upon in his customary intense fashion, +"doing that one thing as if there was nothing else to be thought of at +that time." Its being given to Mr. Lawrence by Nathan's father, to whom +it must have been dear, proves that Mr. Lawrence, as well as his wife, +was a welcome addition to the Hale family. Mr. Lawrence in turn gave it +to his son William, and it is now treasured by the Connecticut +Historical Society. + +Mrs. Lawrence lived well into the nineteenth century, dying in 1845, in +her eighty-ninth year. She was thoroughly appreciated in Hartford, but +it is from the pen of a granddaughter, in a note written to the Hon. I. +W. Stuart, that the best description of Mrs. Lawrence is given. Speaking +of her grandmother she said: "In person she was rather below the middle +height, with full, round figure, rather petite. She possessed a mild, +amiable countenance in which was reflected that intelligent superiority +which distinguished her even in the days of Dwight, Hopkins, and Barlow +in Hartford--men who could appreciate her, who delighted in her wit and +work, and who, with a coterie of others of that period who are still in +remembrance, considered her one of the brightest ornaments of their +society. + +"A fair, fresh complexion ... bright, intelligent, hazel eyes, and hair +of a jetty blackness, will give you some idea of her looks--the crowning +glory of which was the forehead that surpassed in beauty any I ever saw, +and was the admiration of my mature years. I portray her, with the +exception of the hair, as she appeared to me in her eighty-eighth year. +I never tired of gazing on her youthful complexion--upon her eyes which +retained their youthful luster unimpaired, and enabled her to read +without any artificial aid; and upon her hand and arm, which, though +shrunken much from age, must in her younger days have been fit study for +a sculptor. + +"Her character was everything that was lovely. A lady who had known her +many years, writing to me after her death, says, 'Never shall I forget +her unceasing kindness to me, and her noble and generous disposition. +From my first acquaintance with her, and amid all the varied trials +through which she was called to pass, I had ever occasion to admire the +calm and christian spirit she uniformly exhibited. To _you_ I will say +it, I never knew so faultless a character--so gentle, so kind. That +meek expression, that affectionate eye, are as present to my +recollection now as though I had seen them but yesterday.' + +"Such is the language of one who had known her long and well and whose +testimony would be considered more impartial than that of one who like +myself had been the constant recipient of her unceasing kindness and +affection." + +When she died, the story of the early home of the Hales found its +completion. Shall we pity them or congratulate them that in those long +ago days so many sorrows came to them?--testing their strength, +developing their faith, and fitting them, as their days went by, for +life and service beyond. + +The following chivalric poem was written by Nathan Hale--perhaps in +camp. It expresses his mental as well as emotional appreciation of Alice +Adams. It is here given exactly as it appears in the original +manuscript, with almost no punctuation marks. It is probable that this +is a first rough draft, intended to be improved at some future time. +There are marks on the margin of the paper which show that the writer +had possible alterations in mind. + + +TO ALICIA + + Alicia, born with every striking charm + The eye to ravish or the heart to warm + Fair in thy form, still fairer in thy mind + With beauty wisdom sense with sweetness join'd + Great without pride, & lovely without Art + Your looks good nature words good sense impart + Thus formed to charm Oh deign to hear my song + Whose best whose sweetest strains to you belong. + + Let others toil amidst the lofty air + By fancy led through every cloud above + Let empty Follies build her castles there + My thoughts are settled on the friend I love. + Oh friend sincere of soul divinely great + Shedest thou for me a wretch the sorrowed tear + What thanks can I in this unhappy state + Return to you but Gratitude sincere + T'is friendship pure that now demand my lays + A theme sincere that Aid my feeble song + Raised by that theme I do not fear to praise + Since your the subject where due praise belong + Ah dearest girl in whom the gods have join'd + The real blessings, which themselves approve + Can mortals frown at such an heavenly mind + When Gods propitious shine on you they love + Far from the seat of pleasure now I roam + The pleasing landscape now no more I see + Yet absence ne'er shall take my thoughts from home + Nor time efface my due regards for thee. + + +(3) _Benjamin Tallmadge_ + +Benjamin Tallmadge, one year older than Nathan Hale, was Hale's +classmate and one of his correspondents. Like Hale he became a teacher +for a time, and then, entering the army, served with distinction +throughout the war. He was intrusted by Washington with important +services. In October, 1780, he was stationed with Col. Jameson at North +Castle. He had been out on active service against the enemy and returned +on the evening of the day when Major André had been brought there and +had been started back to Arnold for explanations. This was four years +after the death of Hale. + +Listening to the account of the capture, and the pass from Arnold, +Tallmadge at once surmised the importance of retaining André and +insisted upon his being brought back. + +When André was once more in American hands, Tallmadge is said to have +been the first to suspect, from the prisoner's deportment as he walked +to and fro and turned sharply upon his heel to retrace his steps, that +he was bred to arms and was an important British officer. Major +Tallmadge was charged with his custody, and was almost constantly with +him until his execution. Tallmadge writes: "Major André became very +inquisitive to know my opinion as to the result of his capture. In other +words, he wished me to give him candidly my opinion as to the light in +which he would be viewed by General Washington and a military tribunal +if one should be ordered. + +"This was the most unpleasant question that had been propounded to me, +and I endeavored to evade it, unwilling to give him a true answer. When +I could no longer evade his importunity and put off a full reply, I +remarked to him as follows: 'I had a much loved classmate in Yale +College, by the name of Nathan Hale, who entered the army in the year +1775. Immediately after the battle of Long Island, General Washington +wanted information respecting the strength, position, and probable +movements of the enemy. + +"'Captain Hale tendered his services, went over to Brooklyn, and was +taken just as he was passing the outposts of the enemy on his return.' +Said I with emphasis, + +"'Do you remember the sequel of this story?' + +"'Yes,' said André, 'he was hanged as a spy. But you surely do not +consider his case and mine alike?' + +"I replied, 'Yes, precisely similar, and similar will be your fate.' + +"He endeavored to answer my remarks, but it was manifest he was more +troubled in spirit than I had ever seen him before." + +Major Tallmadge walked with André from the Stone House where he had +been confined to the place of execution, and parted with him under the +gallows, "overwhelmed with grief," he says, "that so gallant an officer +and so accomplished a gentleman should come to such an ignominious end." + +What would have occurred if André had not been recalled, but had reached +Arnold--whether both could have escaped by boat to the _Vulture_ as did +Arnold; whether Arnold, leaving André to his fate, could have escaped +alone under these suspicious circumstances; or whether Hamilton and the +others, who were dining with Arnold when the news of André's capture +reached him, could have managed to hold both until Washington's arrival, +cannot now be surmised. We only know that to Major Tallmadge belongs the +credit of the recall and retention of André as a prisoner, thereby +preventing the loss of West Point. + +Major Tallmadge remained in the army and was greatly trusted by +Washington, rendering important assistance in the secret service. He +took part in many battles and in time became a colonel. For sixteen +years he was in Congress. He died at the age of eighty, leaving sons and +grandsons who won honored names in various callings. + + +(4) _William Hull_ + +When Captain William Hull, impelled by a strong natural caution, spoke +as forcibly as he could of the disastrous results that might follow +Nathan Hale's acceptance of the office of a spy in his country's +service, he described not only the result of the failure which seemed +almost inevitable, and which would result in a disgraceful death, but +also the contempt that would be felt among his fellow-officers should he +be successful. Hale, as we have seen, deliberately chose these dangers +that appeared so appalling, and lost his life in the manner predicted by +Hull. + +Could Captain Hull, on that September day in 1776, have looked forward +to other days in 1812, when, because of his surrender of Detroit, he +himself would stand as the most disgraced man in the American army, he +would have wondered what disastrous set of causes could have doomed him +to lower depths of discredit than he had imagined possible for his +friend Hale. + +This is the story of Captain Hull as told by his grandson, the Rev. +James Freeman Clarke, a Unitarian clergyman, and an author of high +repute. + +After remaining in the army throughout the Revolutionary War, where he +distinguished himself on repeated occasions, constantly rising in rank, +he settled in Massachusetts, practicing law, becoming prominent as a +legislator, and finally as one of the Massachusetts judges. In 1805, as +General Hull, he was appointed governor of the territory of Michigan by +President Jefferson, and removed thither, stipulating that in case of +war he should not be required to serve both as general and governor, as +he did not believe the duties of both could be successfully administered +by the same person. + +The outbreak of the war of 1812, which occurred while Madison was +President, found what was then the northern frontier of America wholly +unprepared for hostilities. The country was new, with dense forests and +few roads. There were no adequate means of land defense, and no adequate +navy to patrol the lakes. + +The British, as usual, had all the vessels needed, well-drilled +soldiers, and, more terrible than all, more than a thousand Indians, +ready to commit any atrocities upon defenseless white settlers. As Hull +had insisted, another officer was appointed to command the troops, such +as they were, but this officer became ill and Governor Hull was forced +to take command. + +In the meantime, no amount of urgent entreaties could induce the +authorities at Washington to send reënforcements to the assistance of +the defenseless settlers. The American troops were unprepared to +maintain their own position, and absolutely unable to conquer and annex +Canada, as the government expected them to do. General Hull found +himself with some eight hundred men facing more than fifteen hundred +British regulars, and threatened in the rear by a thousand Indians. + +What President Madison or any of his officers would have done, we cannot +say. They appear to have thought that it was General Hull's duty to +annihilate the British army, effectually dispose of the Indians, and +present Canada to the American government. + +General Hull, however, was a practical soldier. He knew the fate that +would await the women and children in his territory, to say nothing of +his small army, if he risked a battle and was defeated, as he surely +would be; so he did what seemed to him the only possible thing to save +the people of Michigan. He surrendered. Canada remained unannexed; the +white settlers of Michigan were not delivered to the tender mercies of +the Indians, and General Hull paid the penalty of the independent stand +he had taken. + +He probably foresaw that he must face a terrible ordeal. The whole +country appeared to be roused against him, and Hull at once became the +best-hated man in America. A court-martial was appointed. + +At first it was hoped that he would be convicted of treason, but the +evidence showed that this charge could not be sustained. He was tried +for cowardice in face of the enemy, found guilty, and sentenced to be +shot. The latter part of the sentence President Madison remitted, in +consideration of his past eminent services in the army. So, stamped with +indelible disgrace by all who did not know the facts, a ruined and +dishonored man, in his sixty-first year General Hull went back to the +farm in Newton that had come to him through his wife. Here, surrounded +by the most devoted affection, he passed his few remaining years. + +A ruined and discredited man he truly was,--the reputation and the honor +due him from his countrymen irrevocably lost and by no fault of his own. +Yet his grandson, the Rev. James Freeman Clarke, asserts that he was not +once heard to say an unkind word about the government that had treated +him so cruelly. + +After his death, in 1825, one of his daughters wrote the story of his +life from his own writings, and the Rev. James Freeman Clarke sketched +for the world an outline of his grandfather's services in Michigan. +This shows that the man who, in his youth, tried to dissuade his friend +Nathan Hale from accepting the rôle of martyr, himself, in his old age, +bravely and gently endured a martyrdom compared to which the ostracism +he predicted for Hale, even if he succeeded in his mission, was but a +passing dream. + + +(5) _Stephen Hempstead_ + +To Stephen Hempstead, a sergeant in Nathan Hale's company in 1776, we +are indebted for the most reliable account that is known of Hale's +movements after he left New York in the service from which he was not to +return. Sergeant Hempstead removed to Missouri after the war, and this +account was first published in the _Missouri Republican_ in 1827. His +own words describing his last days with Hale are these: + +"Captain Hale was one of the most accomplished officers, of his grade +and age, in the army. He was a native of the town of Coventry, state of +Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale College--young, brave, +honorable--and at the time of his death a Captain in Col. Webb's +Regiment of Continental Troops. Having never seen a circumstantial +account of his untimely and melancholy end, I will give it. I was +attached to his company and in his confidence. After the retreat of our +army from Long Island, he informed me, he was sent for to Head Quarters, +and was solicited to go over to Long Island to discover the disposition +of the enemy's camps, &c., expecting them to attack New York, but that +he was too unwell to go, not having recovered from a recent illness; +that upon a second application he had consented to go, and said I must +go as far with him as I could, with safety, and wait for his return. + +"Accordingly, we left our Camp on Harlem Heights, with the intention of +crossing over the first opportunity; but none offered until we arrived +at Norwalk, fifty miles from New York. In that harbor there was an armed +sloop and one or two row galleys. Capt. Hale had a general order to all +armed vessels, to take him to any place he should designate: he was set +across the Sound, in the sloop, at Huntington (Long Island) by Capt. +Pond, who commanded the vessel. Capt. Hale had changed his uniform for a +plain suit of citizen's brown clothes, with a round broad-brimmed hat, +assuming the character of a Dutch schoolmaster, leaving all his other +clothes, commission, public and private papers, with me, and also his +silver shoebuckles, saying they would not comport with his character of +schoolmaster, and retaining nothing but his College diploma, as an +introduction to his assumed calling. Thus equipped, we parted for the +last time in life. He went on his mission, and I returned back again to +Norwalk, with orders to stop there until he should return, or hear from +him, as he expected to return back again to cross the sound, if he +succeeded in his object." + +So far as there is any other evidence, it tends to confirm this part of +Sergeant Hempstead's report, and he is to-day considered one of the most +valuable authorities on Hale's last intercourse with brother soldiers. + +Of the details of his captain's arrest and execution, which are told in +the last part of the account, and of which Hempstead had no personal +knowledge, he declares that he was "authentically informed" and did +"most religiously believe" them. Some of the incidents he gives appear +to have been proved since to have no basis in fact; others that vary +from reports now accepted may yet, with more light gained, be found to +be true. + +The second letter sent by Sergeant Hempstead to the _Republican_ deals +with his experience in the army in 1781, when he was one of the victims +of the brutalities inflicted upon the hapless prisoners of war at Fort +Griswold, Groton, Connecticut. The injuries he received there were, as +he tells us, so severe that his own wife, having searched for his body +in the fort among the dead, scanned carefully the face of every wounded +soldier sheltered by pitying neighbors, passing him twice without +recognizing him--he too ill to make any sign--and then resuming her +search among the dead. + +Later she found him, and after a time he regained sufficient strength to +be carried to his home. He was, however, incapacitated by his injuries +for service in the field, and was thenceforth able to perform only +duties calling for honest watchfulness rather than personal labor. After +the removal to Missouri the whole family prospered greatly. He settled +on a farm near the city of St. Louis, where he lived many years, +respected by all who knew him. He died in 1831. + + +(6) _Asher Wright_ + +Near the place where the Hale family lie buried is another grave +covering the dust of Asher Wright, once Nathan Hale's attendant. He was +so strongly attached to Hale that his tragic death is thought to have +unsettled his mind so that he never was quite himself again, and never +able to earn his own living. For several years after Nathan Hale's death +Wright was not heard of in his early home. Then he came back to +Coventry, bringing with him some of Nathan Hale's effects that he had +doubtless carried with him in his wandering, giving them, on his return, +to Deacon Hale's family. + +Asher Wright died in his ninetieth year, having lived all his later days +in his house not far from the Hale home. His pension of ninety-six +dollars a year was so supplemented by the Hale family, and by David Hale +of New York, editor of the _Journal of Commerce_, that his last days +were very comfortable. His grave is marked by a marble headstone giving +his name, age, and former connection with Nathan Hale. + +His farm adjoined that of the Hale homestead and has now become a part +of it. + + +(7) _Elisha Bostwick_ + +One letter concerning Nathan Hale comes to us with a curious and +interesting history. + +Not long ago, while in the city of Washington, a loyal friend and warm +admirer of Nathan Hale, George Dudley Seymour, Esq., of New Haven, had +his attention called to a remarkable tribute to Hale. It proved to have +been written by a fellow-soldier in the Revolutionary War, Captain +Elisha Bostwick. This remarkable document was found in the musty records +of a very old pension list, and the portion relating to Nathan Hale is +here given. It came to light a hundred and thirty-five years after +Hale's execution. We give this valuable record of Captain Bostwick's as +it appeared in the _Hartford Courant_ of December 15th, 1914: + +"I will now make some observations upon the amiable & unfortunate Capt. +Nathan Hale whose fate is so well known; for I was with him in the same +Regt. both at Boston & New York & until the day of his tragical death; & +although of inferior grade in office was always in the habits of +friendship & intimacy with him: & my remembrance of his person, manners +& character is so perfect that I feel inclined to make some remarks upon +them: for 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, & he +was undoubtedly Pious; for it was remarked that when any of the soldiers +of his company were sick he always visited them & usually prayed for & +with them in their sickness.--A little anecdote I will relate; one day +he accidentally came across some of his men in a bye place playing +cards--he spoke--what are you doing--this won't do,--give me your cards, +they did so, & he chopd them to pieces, & it was done in such a manner +that the men were rather pleased than otherwise--his activity on all +occasions was wonderful--he would make a pen the quickest & best of any +man-- + +"Innumerable instances of occurrences which took place in the Army I +could relate, but who would care for them: Perhaps it may be thought by +some that I have already been at the expense of Prolixity. Nobody in +these days feels as I do, left here alone, & they cannot if they would, +but to me it is a melancholy pleasure to go back to those Scenes of fear +& anguish & after the laps of 50 years (1826 was in my 78th year) to +rumenate upon them which I think I can do with as bright a recollection +as though they were present--One more reflection I will make--why is it +that the delicious Capt. Hale should be left & lost in an unknown grave +& forgotten!-- + +"The foregoing Statements were made from Memory & recollection & from +documents & Memorandoms which I kept.--ELISHA BOSTWICK." + + +(8) _Edward Everett Hale_ + +Of the subsequent records of the Hale family no trace remains that is +not honorable. Nathan's brother Enoch was settled at Westhampton, +Massachusetts, in 1777, where he remained a useful and beloved pastor +for sixty years. Enoch's eldest son, Nathan, graduated at Williams +College in 1804. He was editor-in-chief of the _Boston Daily Advertiser_ +for more than forty years. Nathan's son, Nathan, a Havard graduate, +became associate editor of the _Boston Advertiser_. + +Lucretia Peabody Hale, a well-known writer in her day, whose delightful +and amusing "Peterkin Papers" are still read and remembered, was a +granddaughter of the Rev. Enoch Hale. + +Edward Everett Hale, a man beloved by every one who knew him, was the +son of "a great journalist," Nathan, grandson of Enoch, and therefore +grandnephew of Captain Nathan Hale. He, too, had a son Nathan who died +in his early manhood. Edward Everett Hale was one of the most commanding +and admired of men, with rare endowments as clergyman, author, editor, +and patriot. + +Those interested in the study of his granduncle, Nathan, owe to him the +preservation of many records of the Hale family, and an arrangement of +the genealogy of the Hale family, made while he was a Unitarian minister +in Worcester, Massachusetts, and kindly lent to the Hon. I. W. Stuart, +one of Hale's early biographers. + +It will be long before some of Edward Everett Hale's vital words are +forgotten; longer still before his marvelous story, "The Man Without a +Country," shall cease to thrill its readers. + +The impassioned sentences in which he cites its unhappy hero as speaking +to a boy--a midshipman--while under heavy stress, read, "For your +country, boy, and for your flag, never dream a dream but of serving her +as she bids you, though the service carry you through a thousand hells. +No matter what happens to you, no matter who flatters you or who abuses +you, never look at another flag, never let a night pass but you pray God +to bless that flag. Remember, boy, that behind all these men you have to +do with, behind officers, and government, and people even, there is the +Country Herself, your Country, and that you belong to Her as you belong +to your own mother." + +No one justly comprehending the bed rock of Edward Everett Hale's +boundless patriotism can doubt that if the same call of duty had come +to him that came in bygone days to his relative, young Nathan Hale, he +would have done exactly as Nathan Hale did. That call did not come, but +to the end of his days Edward Everett Hale lived for his country as +nobly as Nathan Hale died for it. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +ANCESTORS AND DESCENDANTS OF NATHAN HALE'S PARENTS + + +Robert Hale arrived in Massachusetts in 1632. He was one of those sent +from the first church in Boston to form the first church in Charlestown +in 1632, and was a deacon of this church. He was a blacksmith by trade. +He also had a gift for practical mathematics, being regularly employed +by the General Court of Massachusetts as a surveyor of new plantations. +His son John, of whom mention has been made in connection with the +witchcraft delusion, was a graduate of Harvard in 1657. Samuel, the +fourth son of John, was the father of Richard, father of Nathan Hale. + +Elizabeth Strong, wife of Deacon Richard Hale and mother of Nathan, came +from a family more notable than that of her husband. Her grandfather, +Joseph Strong, represented Coventry in the General Assembly of +Connecticut for sixty-five sessions and presided over town-meeting in +his ninetieth year. + +Mrs. Hale had four immediate relatives who were graduates of Yale +college. Three of the sons of Deacon Richard Hale and Elizabeth Strong +Hale graduated from Yale,--Enoch, the fourth son, Nathan, the sixth +child, and David, the eighth son. Three of the sons were officers in the +Revolutionary army, and the husband of a daughter was a surgeon there. +John was a major; Joseph, who died as the result of the privations +endured there, was a lieutenant; and Nathan was a captain. Elizabeth, +daughter of Joseph, married Rev. Abiel Abbot, for many years minister in +Coventry. Three of their sons were college graduates--two of Yale and +one of Dartmouth. Rebekah, another daughter of Joseph, married Ezra +Abbot of Wilton, N.H. Three sons were graduates of Bowdoin. One son, the +Rev. Abiel Abbot, was settled in East Wilton. + +Two daughters also married clergymen. Another daughter of Joseph, Mary, +married the Rev. Levi Nelson. For a man who died at the age of +thirty-four, Lieutenant Joseph Hale appears to have been well +represented by his descendants. + +Surgeon Rose of the Revolutionary army, and Elizabeth Hale, daughter of +Deacon Richard Hale, were the grandparents of the distinguished lawyer +and statesman, Washington Hunt, and of Lieutenant Edward Hunt, U.S.A., +first husband of the celebrated author, Helen Hunt. + +Enoch Hale, Deacon Richard Hale's fourth son, graduated in the same +class with his brother Nathan, became a minister, and spent a long life +in his first and only pastorate. One of his sons, Enoch, was educated at +Yale and Harvard and became a noted physician. A son, Nathan, was a +graduate of Williams College, and editor of the _Boston Advertiser_ for +more than forty years. His son Nathan, a Harvard man, became coeditor +with him. One of Enoch's granddaughters married a minister named +Montague. + +David, another son of Deacon Richard Hale, graduated at Yale, and was +settled in the ministry at Lisbon, Connecticut. Joanna, the second +daughter of Richard Hale, married Dr. Nathan Howard. + +One of Enoch Hale's grandsons was president of the Continental Bank in +New York City. The most noted of Enoch Hale's descendants was the Rev. +Edward Everett Hale, clergyman, editor, and author, and a graduate of +Harvard. The writer, Lucretia Peabody Hale, was one of Enoch Hale's +grandchildren. David Hale, a grandson of Richard Hale, was long in +control of the _Journal of Commerce_ in New York City and noted for his +charities. Alexander and Charles, grandsons of Enoch, were graduates of +Harvard. + +As this list of college graduates and professional men is not extended +beyond the year 1850, a little past the limit of a century after the +marriage of Richard Hale and Elizabeth Strong, one is inclined to wonder +whether any other farmer's family within that, or any other, period in +American history, can show a more remarkable record. + +One is impressed, too, most profoundly, by the realization that, +although Elizabeth Strong Hale died so early, as lives are now +measured,--she was only forty,--to few women in any land who have +reached the appointed limit of human life have been given the remarkable +power of leaving to so many descendants such warmth of feeling and such +nobility of nature as passed through that century of her descendants. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +ASSERTED BETRAYAL OF NATHAN HALE + + +For some time after the death of Nathan Hale a report was circulated, +and apparently substantiated, that he had been betrayed into the hands +of the British by a Tory cousin. Ultimately this report was printed in a +Newburyport (Massachusetts) newspaper of the day, and read by Mr. Samuel +Hale of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This Mr. Hale was a prominent teacher +and a strong friend of the American cause, and uncle both to Nathan Hale +and to Samuel Hale, the cousin who was said to have betrayed Nathan. + +Mr. Samuel Hale never for a moment believed the report, and set himself +at once to disprove it. This appears to have been done in the most +effectual way by the combined efforts of Mr. Samuel Hale and Deacon +Hale, who furnished proof that the supposed betrayer of Nathan Hale had +never visited in Deacon Hale's family, and, not being in his uncle's +house when Nathan visited there, had never so much as seen Nathan Hale. + +There were, of course, at the time, strong animosities existing between +those who supported the British cause among the Americans, and the +Americans who were opposing England. As at all such times, some members +of each party were not only unjust but cruel to the other party; and in +some respects this nephew of the teacher, Samuel Hale, and asserted +betrayer of Nathan, paid very heavily for his loyalty to the English +cause. We will let him tell his own story, only adding that when +hostilities broke out he was a young and successful barrister practicing +in Portsmouth, was married, and had one child. + +Unswerving in his loyalty to the English cause, he was soon obliged to +leave New Hampshire, and eventually to go into English territory. He +wrote to his uncle Samuel, in whose family he had been reared, and later +to his wife; neither letter is dated, but it is probable that when the +latter was written he was in Nova Scotia. His letter to his uncle runs +in part as follows: + +"My affections as well as my allegiance are due to another nation. I +love the British government with filial fondness. I have never been +actuated by any political rancor towards the Americans. My conduct has +always been fair, explicit, and open, and I may add, _some of your +people have found it humane_ at a time when affairs on our side wore +the most flattering appearances. My veneration is as high, my friendship +as warm, and my attachment as great as ever it was for many characters +among you, though I have differed much from them in politics. In the +justness of the reasoning which led to the principles that have guided +me through life, I can suppose myself mistaken. The same thing may have +been the case with my opponents. Our powers are so limited, our means of +information so inadequate to the end, that common decency requires we +should forgive each other when we have every reason to think that each +has acted honestly. + +"Sure I am, this is the case with me and I hope it is the same with some +of you. My conduct during this unhappy contest has been invariably +uniform. I can in no sense be called a traitor to your state. I never +owed it any allegiance, because I left it before it had assumed the form +or even the name of an independent state, and when I neither saw or felt +any oppression. I must have been mad as well as wicked to have acted any +other part than I did upon the principles I held. If I have been +mistaken I am sorry for the error, and if it be error I still continue +in it." + +This letter is certainly a good illustration of the truth that, in all +great contests, perfectly honorable and consistent men are forced to +take opposite sides, even at the cost of suffering heavy injustice. The +letter to his wife is here given in full. + + MY DEAR GIRL,-- + + This you will get by Mr. Hart's flag of Truce, who is coming to + Boston for his family. I know the disposition of the Leaders at + Boston so well, that I doubt not of his success. I would have come + for you and the boy, but I thought you would leave your father with + reluctance, nor am I sure that I could have obtained leave for you + to come away, if you were disposed. I fear the resentment of the + people against me may have injured you, but I hope not. I am sorry + such a prejudice has arisen. + + Depend upon it, there never was the least truth in that infamous + newspaper publication charging me with ingratitude, etc. I am happy + that they have had [to have] recourse to falsehood to vilify my + character. Attachment to the old Constitution of my country is my + only crime with them--for which I have still the disposition of the + primitive martyr. + + I hope and believe you want no pecuniary assistance. If you should + you may apply to some of my friends or your relations. You may then + use my name with confidence that they shall be amply satisfied. I + believe I shall have the power, I am sure I shall have the will, to + recompense them again. + + I somewhat expect to see you in a few months--perhaps not before I + have seen England. In the meanwhile, my dear Girl, take care of + your own and the Boy's health. He may live to be serviceable to his + country in some distant period. Respect, Love, Duty, etc., await + all my inquiring and real friends. + + I am, etc. + S. HALE. + + TO MRS HALE + +These letters sufficiently attest the character of the man, and we can +hope that in later days he was enabled to return to his family, and to +prove that political differences of opinion had not changed the +integrity of his life. + +Knowing nothing of his later days, we may rejoice that the base +assertion that this own cousin had betrayed Nathan Hale was wholly +without foundation; and that in him, also, the Hale trait of loyalty to +honest opinions enabled him to make sacrifices as great in their way as +those made by many of his kindred. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +CONTRASTS BETWEEN HALE AND ANDRÉ + + +If Nathan Hale was in many respects the most notable American martyr, +another man, in the English army, four years later met a doom that to +the English appears to have exalted him to a rank corresponding to +Nathan Hale's. For a long time there was a glamour about André that +lifted him above the place to which, in the minds of many, he rightfully +belonged, and comparisons have often been made between him and Hale, as +if in reality their services and their characters justified such +comparison. + +It has been our aim to describe Hale as accurately as possible. He has +been presented as an educated, high-minded patriot, wholly intent upon +serving his country to the full extent of his ability, ready to run any +risk in her service, and fully comprehending, in his last supreme effort +to serve her, that he was risking his life and facing the possibility of +a dishonorable death. He expected no reward if he succeeded, save the +consciousness of having done his duty. But fail he did, and we have seen +how simply and bravely he accepted his doom. His grave is unknown to +this day, and his country, as a country, has made no recognition +whatever of his supreme sacrifice. + +In regard to André, we know that he was of foreign parentage, his father +a Genevan Swiss, and his mother French. He had not inherited a drop of +English blood. Born, however, after his parents removed to London, he +was, in ordinary acceptance, English. + +His parents were able to educate him thoroughly, and to fit him for what +they supposed would be a successful commercial career. A disappointment +in love, however, led him to seek a change of scene, and he entered the +English army. + +Personally he was most attractive, charming in his manners beyond the +average man, a fine linguist, and a brave man. He soon attracted +attention among the English officers engaged in the war against America, +and was eventually made adjutant general of the English army. So far as +can now be judged, his life as a soldier had been most agreeable, and he +had made friends with all his associates. While Arnold was perfecting +his designs to betray West Point into the hands of the English, and +thus in effect terminate the war, André was appointed to act as the +intermediary between Arnold and Sir Henry Clinton. + +André may have looked upon himself as an envoy from his own commander to +an American commander, and he well knew that, if successful, high honor +and a desirable command in the British army would be awarded him by the +English government. He does not appear to have considered the fact that +he was risking his life in the service of the English. Indeed, none of +the English officers appear to have thought it possible that the +Americans would dare to treat as a spy an English adjutant general who +had been invited to his headquarters by General Arnold, and by him +provided with safeguards for his return. So sure were they of André's +safety that it is said the British officers treated with derision the +suggestion that he was in danger, even after his capture. + +Once captured, they should not have been so sure of his safety. But +neither they nor he had any idea that he would be captured. Indeed, we +can hardly see how he could have been captured had he followed the +instructions of Sir Henry Clinton, who strictly enjoined him not to go +within the American lines, not to assume any disguise, and not to carry +a scrap of writing. + +At first André had supposed that Arnold would meet him on the _Vulture_, +and that all their negotiations would be completed there. But Arnold, +too crafty to run any personal risk, or arouse any suspicion in his own +officers, insisted upon André's landing and conferring with him at some +little distance from his own headquarters. Disregarding, through +Arnold's persuasions, Clinton's first order to remain upon the +_Vulture_, André's other failures in obedience appear to have been +inevitable, and taking the risks as they came, he went forward to his +doom, to his death, to Arnold's ruin as an American citizen, and to the +preservation of the infant republic. + +For the third time, Providence appears to have thwarted the shrewdest +plans of the enemies of America. First came the fog in New York Bay, +enabling Washington to withdraw his troops from Brooklyn without the +knowledge of the British; second, the knowledge of Hale's fate and the +preservation of his last words by a humane English officer, despite the +malice of Provost Marshal Cunningham; third, and apparently most +important of all, the capture of André, involving the defeat of Arnold's +traitorous plans to ruin his country's cause. + +From the moment André fell into the hands of the Americans, he was +treated with the utmost courtesy. Every possible opportunity for him to +prove his innocence was given him, and an offer to exchange him for +Arnold, who had fled to the British camp, was made to the commanders of +the English. This, however, could not be done honorably by Sir Henry +Clinton, and André had to face a fate he had not for a moment thought +possible. + +He bore himself bravely, and he certainly won the hearts of those who +held him prisoner. When he came to die in Tappan--not, as he had hoped, +as a soldier, shot to death, but hanged as a spy--he seemed for a moment +greatly affected. Then recovering himself before the fatal drop he said, +"Gentlemen, I beg you all to bear witness that I die as a brave man." + +Self-pity, the desire to be honored despite the manner of his death, +marked André's exit from the world. Hale had gone hence without one +personal expression of regret save that he could not add to his service +for his country. + +André had died pitied and lamented even by loyal Americans. England, +remembering what he had done to serve her, and that he had died in her +service, rendered his memory the highest honor. She conferred knighthood +on his brother, and a pension of three hundred guineas a year on his +mother and sisters, already well provided for. + +Forty years later she sent one of her war vessels to America to bring +his body back to England; and then the doors of stately Westminster +Abbey, in which lie buried the dust of those she most delights to honor, +were opened to receive his remains; there they will lie till the old +Abbey crumbles. + +Thus England honors the men who try to serve her in any line of heroic +service, proving that if she "expects every man to do his duty," she, in +her turn, expects to honor those who serve her, be they her own sons or +the sons of strangers born "within her gates." + +October 2, 1879, the ninety-ninth anniversary of the execution of André, +a monument, prepared by order of Cyrus W. Field and placed over the spot +of André's execution, was unveiled. There were present members of +historical societies, of the United States Army, of the newspapers, and +various other persons. At noon, the hour of André's execution, the +memorial was unveiled. There were no ceremonies on the occasion. The +epitaph had been prepared by the Rev. Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, the +beloved and honored Dean of Westminster, at whose suggestion Mr. Field +had erected the memorial. It is inscribed as follows: + + Here died, October 2, 1780 + Major John André of the British Army, + Who, entering the American lines + On a secret mission to Benedict Arnold, + For the surrender of West Point, + Was taken prisoner, tried and condemned as a spy. + His death + Though according to the stern rule of war, + Moved even his enemies to pity; + And both armies mourned the fate + Of one so young and so brave. + In 1821 his remains were removed to Westminster Abbey. + A hundred years after the execution + This stone was placed above the spot where he lay, + By a citizen of the United States against which he fought, + Not to perpetuate the record of strife, + But in token of those friendly feelings + Which have since united two nations, + One in race, in language, and in religion, + With the hope that this friendly union + Will never be broken. + +On the other side are these words of Washington: + + "He was more unfortunate than criminal." + "An accomplished man and gallant officer." + + --GEORGE WASHINGTON + +The first of the two lines was from a letter of Washington to Count de +Rochambeau, dated October 10, 1780. The second is from a letter written +by Washington to Colonel John Laurens on October 13 of the same year. + +In the year 1853 some Americans who believe that all historic spots in +our land should be marked by permanent memorials, erected a monument at +Tarrytown, New York, in honor of the captors of André. Hon. Henry J. +Raymond made the address at its dedication. Mr. Raymond was born in 1820 +and was graduated from the University of Vermont in 1840. He assisted +Horace Greeley in the conduct of the _Tribune_ and other newspapers. He +founded the _New York Times_ in 1851 and died in 1869. + +In the address just mentioned, Mr. Raymond, contrasting the halo that +surrounded André's name with the oblivion then seemingly the fate of +Nathan Hale, closed with these impassioned words: + +"Where sleeps the Americanism of Americans, that their hearts are not +stirred to solemn rapture at thought of the sublime love of country +which buoyed him [Hale] not alone above 'the fear of death,' but far +beyond all thought of himself, of his fate, and his fame, or of anything +less than his country, and which shaped his dying breath into the sacred +sentence which trembled at the last upon his unquivering lip?" + +With this tribute we close, believing that the tardy justice accorded to +our martyr-hero is destined to become a nation-wide loyalty; that the +day will yet come when our nation, as a nation, will recognize the +nobility of nature displayed, and will assign a high place to the brave +lad who so sublimely relinquished all that life held, and all that +coming years might bring, to die for his country,--_our country_,--the +high-souled Nathan Hale. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Nathan Hale, by Jean Christie Root + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATHAN HALE *** + +***** This file should be named 31650-8.txt or 31650-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/6/5/31650/ + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreaders at +http://www.fadedpage.com + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Nathan Hale + +Author: Jean Christie Root + +Release Date: March 15, 2010 [EBook #31650] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATHAN HALE *** + + + + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreaders at +http://www.fadedpage.com + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + + + + +<h2>TRUE STORIES OF GREAT AMERICANS</h2> + +<h1>NATHAN HALE</h1> + + <h4>BY</h4> + <h2>JEAN CHRISTIE ROOT</h2> + +<div class="centerbox"> +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O Beautiful! my Country! ...,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">What were our lives without thee?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">What all our lives to save thee?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">We reck not what we gave thee;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">We will not dare to doubt thee,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But ask whatever else, and we will dare!"</span><br /> + +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;"><i>Commemoration Ode</i>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL</span><br /> +</p></div> + +<p class="center"> +THE WORLD SYNDICATE PUBLISHING CO.<br /> +Cleveland, O. New York, N. Y.<br /> +</p> + +<p class="center"> +PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1915,</span><br /> + +<span class="smcap">By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.</span><br /> +<br /> +Set up and electrotyped. Published May, 1915. Reprinted<br /> +August, 1925; March, 1929.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> + + + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" width="50%" cellspacing="0" summary="CONTENTS"> +<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right">PAGE</td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER I</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Nathan Hale's Early Years</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER II</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">College Days</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_12'>12</a></td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER III</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Call to Teach</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_29'>29</a></td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER IV</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Call to Arms</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_44'>44</a></td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER V</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Hale's Zeal as a Soldier</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_60'>60</a></td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER VI</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Perilous Service</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_71'>71</a></td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER VII</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Grief for the Young Patriot</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_91'>91</a></td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER VIII</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Tributes to Nathan Hale</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_103'>103</a></td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER IX</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Nathan Hale's Friends</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_114'>114</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">The Rev. Joseph Huntington</span></span>, D.D.</td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_114'>114</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Alice Adams</span></span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_118'>118</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Benjamin Tallmadge</span></span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_125'>125</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">William Hull</span></span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_129'>129</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Stephen Hempstead</span></span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_133'>133</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Asher Wright</span></span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_136'>136</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Elisha Bostwick</span></span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_137'>137</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Edward Everett Hale</span></span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_140'>140</a></td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER X</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Ancestors and Descendants of Nathan Hale's Parents</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_143'>143</a></td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER XI</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Asserted Betrayal of Nathan Hale</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_147'>147</a></td></tr> +<tr><th align="center">CHAPTER XII</th></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Contrasts Between Hale and André</span></td><td align="right"><a href='#Page_152'>152</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Nathan Hale's Early Years</span></h3> + + +<p>It is to-day a recognized fact that no life worthy of our reverence, or +even a life calculated to awaken our fear, is the result of accident. +Whatever may be the character, its basis has been the result of +long-developing causes. This the life of Nathan Hale well illustrates. +He was born at a time and under influences that were sure to develop the +best qualities in him. He was an immediate descendant of the best of the +Puritans on both sides of the sea. His great-grandfather, John Hale, was +the son of Robert Hale, who came to America in 1632. John Hale graduated +from Harvard in 1657 and was the first pastor settled in Beverly, +Massachusetts, remaining there until he died, an aged man. An ardent +patriot, this John Hale, in 1676, gave about one-twelfth of his salary, +some seventy pounds, for defense in King Philip's War. When need arose +in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> the French War, he went to Canada as a volunteer, for a threefold +purpose,—so that he might accompany a number of his own parishioners, +act as chaplain for one of the regiments, and fight when his aid was +needed.</p> + +<p>Living during the witchcraft trials, he was one of the first to be +convinced of the mistaken course pursued. We are not certain as to his +approval or disapproval of the progress of the excitement in regard to +witchcraft until it became intensely personal to his own family. His +wife was, fortunately as the results proved, accused by some misguided +person of being a witch. The well-known nobility of her life, and her +lovely character, at once convinced all who knew the circumstances that +some terrible mistake had been made by her accuser. And if a mistake had +been made in her case, why not in others? At once the deadly power of +the delusion was broken and, happily, the tide turned back forever. +There was no question after this of the Rev. Mr. Hale's viewpoint as to +witchcraft.</p> + +<p>In the very darkest depths of the witchcraft delusion, some +illustrations of splendid courage and noble unselfishness were +exhibited. Grewsome as it is, we cannot forbear quoting the example of +one Giles Cory, condemned to die as a witch, who knew that if he did not +confess he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> bewitched people, his estate, which he wished his wife +and family to inherit, would be forfeited, and that he would be pressed +to death instead of being hanged.</p> + +<p>Being hanged is a comparatively brief experience, while the other way is +prolonged and agonizing. But, for the sake of his family, brave old +Giles Cory calmly faced this terrible, lingering death. He must have won +from some, if not from all, the feeling that a stout-hearted and +generous man had proved his love for his own as no mere words could have +done.</p> + +<p>John Hale appears to have been a worthy ancestor of the youth Nathan +Hale, who, a hundred years later, so freely made a sacrifice of his +life.</p> + +<p>John Hale's son, Samuel, was Nathan's grandfather; he made his home in +Portsmouth, New Hampshire. One of Samuel Hale's sons, bearing his own +name, Samuel, was a Harvard man. Another son, Richard, Nathan's father, +born February 28, 1717, looking about to find the best farming lands for +the support of a future family, moved to Connecticut, and became a +farmer in South Coventry, thirty miles east of Hartford. Distinguished +from the beginning for his success in whatever he undertook in business +affairs, and also as a man of singularly upright character,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> Deacon +Richard Hale won the warmest regard of all who knew him. His advice and +help were sought, both in political and religious affairs, to the full +limit of the time at his command.</p> + +<p>His farm was among the best in that section. The house that he first +occupied, probably one already on the place, was as comfortable and +convenient as the usual homes of the earlier colonists. Later a larger +house was built, big enough to accommodate a family of a dozen or more, +and many guests as well. The house in which Nathan lived as a boy is +still standing, and has fortunately come down to us with almost no +mutilation.</p> + +<p>Though the forms and the voices of those who dwelt in them have long +since vanished, there still linger about these vacant rooms the most +tender and inspiring memories of the lives once developing there, now +gone forward; nothing wasted or lost, as we will believe, of anything +permanent they strove for or cared for in their dear, earthly home.</p> + +<p>To this home Richard Hale, married May 2, 1746, at the age of +twenty-nine, brought his young bride, Elizabeth Strong. If Richard +Hale's pedigree was a good one, his wife, Elizabeth Strong, came from a +family even more finely endowed. The first of her ancestors who came to +America was Elder John Strong. He was one of the found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>ers of +Dorchester, now a part of Boston; later he helped to found Northampton, +Massachusetts.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Hale's grandfather, Joseph Strong, represented Coventry for +sixty-five sessions in the General Assembly of Connecticut, and when he +was ninety years of age he presided over the town meeting, suggesting by +that deed a man of some vigor, for town meetings were no playdays in +those early years. His descendants, active in whatever their hands found +to do,—in the ministry, the law, business, or politics,—were long +prominent in New England and New York, and doubtless many are to-day +still helping to mold their country's future.</p> + +<p>The son of this Justice Joseph Strong was also named Joseph, and called +Captain Joseph Strong. In 1724 he married his second cousin, Elizabeth +Strong. He, too, was a noted man among the colonists. She, later, became +the "grandmother" to whom Nathan so warmly alludes in one of his last +letters to his brother. Captain Joseph Strong and his wife were the +parents of Elizabeth Strong who, in her nineteenth year, married Richard +Hale.</p> + +<p>To Elizabeth Strong Hale we can give but a passing notice. There is not, +it is believed, one word that she wrote now in existence, nor any record +left of that gracious womanhood, save a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> name on an obscure gravestone. +But what brave-hearted mother would not count it well worth while to +leave, for the coming years, the impress she left upon her many +children; one of them alone destined to carry to coming generations of +Americans the assurance that such a son could only have been borne by +one of the noblest of mothers. Dying at the age of forty,—April 21, +1767,—after a married life of twenty-one years, she had performed all +the duties then expected from the mistress of a farmer's household in a +section where the principal help that could be secured in any time of +need came from the voluntary kindnesses of neighbors; for, like one +large family, they felt it necessary to "lend a hand" whenever any one +of their number was in need. Mrs. Hale had been the mother of twelve +children when she died. Two of her children, named David and Jonathan, +were twins. One of the twins, Jonathan, died when only a week old. David +lived to be graduated from Yale and to become a minister at Lisbon, +Connecticut. A little daughter, Susanna, lived but a month, but ten of +Mrs. Hale's twelve children grew to maturity.</p> + +<p>Nathan, the sixth child, born June 6, 1755, was the first of the ten to +die, leaving to his surviving brothers and sisters a memory that in +later<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> years must have been an unfailing inspiration. He was delicate at +first, but owing to his mother's care he later became as robust in body +as he was in mind. For an older brother, Enoch, the plan was formed of +sending him to college to prepare for the ministry, a custom then +prevalent among many of the large and prosperous families in New +England. Nathan was at first destined for a business life; but because +of the urgent desire of his mother, heartily seconded by that of his +Grandmother Strong, he was allowed to enter college with his brother +Enoch in 1769, when he was fourteen years old; this was two years after +the death of his mother. Four of Mrs. Hale's immediate relatives were +graduates of Yale,—a fine illustration of the value those progressive +pioneers attached to education.</p> + +<p>As a boy Nathan was to his mother what he later became to all who knew +him; and the bond between such a mother and such a son must have been +very tender and strong. It is a comfort to those who know what such +mothers desire for their children, to remember the gladness and hope +with which this mother, overworked and dying long before her time, +looked forward to the days coming to her children. For Nathan, through +her influence, was to become one of Yale's noblest sons.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> + +<p>As Nathan's mother died nine years before he did, we understand the full +meaning of the line in Judge Finch's poem,</p> + +<p class="center"> +"The sad of Earth, the glad of Heaven," +</p> + +<p>written many years later in honoring Nathan's splendid sacrifice. The +poem to which the line belongs, read more than sixty years ago on the +one-hundredth anniversary of the Linonian Society, an organization of +Yale College of which Nathan Hale had been an early and an active +member, had much influence in rousing first Yale men, and then other +patriotic Americans, to recognize Nathan Hale as one of America's +bravest martyrs.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Hale died in 1767. About two years later Deacon Hale married again, +bringing to his home this time a widow, Mrs. Abigail Adams, of +Canterbury, who must have been well fitted to take her place as the new +head of the family. No ignoble mother could rear such children as she +had reared, and Deacon Hale's second choice of a wife proved a wise and +happy one. Providence appears to have smiled upon him when he opened his +doors and invited Mrs. Adams and her children to share his home, and +even the affection of some of his sons. It is said that two of Deacon +Hale's sons fell in love with her youngest daughter, Alice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> Adams, who, +at Deacon Hale's desire, came to live permanently in the family in 1770 +or 1771, while his second son, John, married her eldest daughter, Sarah +Adams, on December 19, 1770.</p> + +<p>The lives of both these women, Sarah and Alice Adams, are sufficient +witnesses to the high character of the new mother added to the Hale +household. To several of his biographers it has seemed quite probable +that Nathan Hale wrote one of his last two letters to this mother. We +grant that it may have been addressed to her, while intended for the +reading of another. Of this, later.</p> + +<p>In regard to the marriage of John Hale and Sarah Adams it may be as well +to state here that, after a married life of thirty-one years, John Hale +died suddenly in December, 1802, his health probably undermined by his +service in the Revolutionary War, where he held the rank of major. His +widow, desiring to carry out what she believed would have been his +wishes, "bequeathed £1000 to trustees as a fund, the income of which was +to be used for the support of young men preparing for missionary +service,"—probably among the Indians, as this was before the support of +foreign missions was undertaken in America—"and in part for founding +and supporting the Hale Library in Coventry, to be used by the ministers +of Coventry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> and the neighboring towns." Included in the bequest for +founding the still existing so-called "Hale Donation" was a portrait of +the donor's husband, Major John Hale;—well painted, for the period, and +now of great interest. Mrs. John Hale died a few months after her +husband. It is easy to believe that, though born of different parents, +the Hale and Adams families were congenial mentally and morally, and +that Deacon Richard Hale was a wise and fortunate man in his choice of a +second mother for his children.</p> + +<p>According to his mother's and grandmother's wishes, it was early decided +that Nathan should be prepared to enter college. After the fashion of +those times, he and two of his brothers began their preparatory studies +under the direction of the Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D., then pastor of +the church in Nathan's native town. He is said to have been a man noted +for his intellectual power, for his patriotism, and for his courteous +manners.</p> + +<p>It may be well to say here that, in those early days, the New England +ministers usually settled in one pastorate for life, and they were not +only teachers in spiritual things, but were noted for their courteous +and dignified manners; so that even before he entered college Nathan +Hale must have had ample opportunities for the cultivation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> of the easy +manners and courteous deportment which are said by all who knew him to +have been so marked in him.</p> + +<p>Nathan Hale, as a boy, had one more asset that must have helped to +insure his future success, and that did, as we believe, help him to die +nobly. He was not overindulged; he had always the spur of effort to urge +him forward. It was told of him, many years after his death, by the +woman he had loved and who had known him well all his later years, Mrs. +Alice Adams Lawrence, that whatever he did, even as boy, he did with all +his heart, as if it engrossed his whole mind. Whether it was work, or +study, or play, he gave all his energies to the doing of it. Such a +disposition, together with his fine home training, must have helped to +insure his success in Yale.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">College Days</span></h3> + + +<p>In September, 1769, accompanied by Enoch, an older brother, Nathan Hale +entered the Freshman class at Yale. His personal traits easily won the +hearts of his classmates, while his quick understanding, his high +scholarship, and his loyalty to the college standards made him as +popular among tutors and professors as among his classmates. It is +pleasant to know that, from the time we first learn of him until we see +him standing beside the fatal tree, he appears to have won all hearts +worth winning.</p> + +<p>But Nathan Hale had yet another gift that would surely endear him to +college students of to-day as much as it doubtless did to his own +classmates. He was a powerful athlete. So great was his skill in this +line that, to successive generations of Yale men, the "broad jump" made +by Nathan Hale remained unequaled. It is said to have taken place on +what is now called "The Green" in New Haven, not far from the Old State +House;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> and for many years the spot was marked to designate the length +of the jump. Even during the years when his courageous death appeared to +be well-nigh forgotten, "Hale's jump" was vividly remembered. But he not +only "jumped," he excelled in all games then popular in college, besides +being a capital shot with his rifle, as well as a fine swimmer.</p> + +<p>Hale could, it is said, lay one hand on the top of a six-foot fence and +easily vault over it; and, though this astonishing feat is reported as +occurring while he was a teacher, he used to delight his companions by +showing them how to stand in a hogshead with his hands on his hips, leap +over the first hogshead, land in a second, leap from that into a third, +and from that out on to the ground,—all this before he was twenty.</p> + +<p>Imagine the delight of the "other fellows" standing around to watch Hale +go through his various stunts in athletics! It almost makes one feel as +if one had been a student and shared in the cheering when Hale did these +things, so easy to himself, so difficult to the onlookers. Then fancy +the talk at the supper tables, when the candles burned brightly and the +eatables tasted twice as good because "old Hale" had won laurels for +"old Yale" that afternoon by some "splendid" deed, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> the boys called +it. Whatever he did, we may be sure that it was done well and with all +his might, and that nobody equaled him.</p> + +<p>This much for the athletic life of Hale in his student days. It was only +natural to such a man that whatever he was—friend, student, teacher, or +soldier—he should carry zest and earnestness to all his work, even as +he carried his manliness, his courtesy, and his unquenchable spirit.</p> + +<p>Let us now turn to the record of his years of successful work at Yale. +It has been said that whatever he did, he did with all his might, and +his brain work was as notable in its results as were the strength and +agility of his body. In those early days the college bell rang for +prayers, as the beginning of the day's work, at half past four in summer +and an hour later in winter; and there are men still living who +remember, in later years and at later hours, the wild rushes +half-dressed students used to make, adjusting what they could of their +hastily donned clothing on their race to morning chapel.</p> + +<p>Hale, however, as well as his companions a hundred and forty years ago, +were accustomed to early rising, and able to fill every hour of their +long days with work or play. The course of study then was much shorter +than it is now, but if lack<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>ing in quantity it certainly made up in some +of its qualities. We doubt if Freshmen to-day would outshine their +fellows of that very early time if their declamations on Fridays were +required to be in Latin, Greek, or Hebrew, "no English being allowed +save by special permission."</p> + +<p>Science as we now know it had not entered into the college course, but +the little then known, and the other studies considered essential, +comparatively limited as they must have been, were taught so thoroughly +that the men who carried away a college diploma carried a sure guarantee +that they had been carefully taught whatever was then considered +essential to a college education.</p> + +<p>Although it is true that science was then in comparative infancy, it is +also true that it was deeply absorbing to young Hale. Some of his most +valued books were scientific, and, aside from the studies he was obliged +to pursue, he eagerly absorbed educational theories and the best +literary works then available. As a college student, he stood high; as a +thinker and as one interested in the finest pursuits of his period, he +ranked equally high. Before he was nineteen he had won the permanent +friendship and ardent admiration of a man who was then his tutor, +Timothy Dwight, later the renowned president of Yale College, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> to +the end of his long life a lover of his boy-friend, Nathan Hale.</p> + +<p>Another warm friend, a classmate, destined to be notable in future +years, was James Hillhouse, later United States Senator, the first man +to leave the stamp of beauty on his native city, New Haven, in the +wonderful elms of his planting.</p> + +<p>In addition to these two noted men, many of Hale's warmest friendships +were formed at college among the leading men of his own and of other +classes. At least two or three of these were his companions in arms, to +whom we may refer later. Of his scholarship, one sure test remains. At +graduation, of the thirty-six men in his class, he ranked among the +first thirteen.</p> + +<p>In one other important line Nathan Hale made a notable mark in college, +namely, in his intense interest in Linonia. This society had been +founded in 1753 "to promote in addition to the regular course of +academic study, literary stimulus and rhetorical improvement to the +undergraduates," and to create friendly relations among its members. The +organization lived a long and honorable life, and did a most helpful +work among its members. Nathan Hale was the first in his class to become +its Chancellor, later styled President. He was for some time also its +scribe, and many of his entries<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> in the Linonian reports are still +"clear throughout and well-preserved" as is his signature at the end, +after the passing of more than a hundred years.</p> + +<p>During his college course his name occurs in the reports of almost every +meeting of the society. At one time he delivered "a very interesting +narration"; at another, "an eloquent extemporaneous address." On various +occasions he is said to have taken part in some of the plays that were +frequently acted, and to have proposed questions for discussion.</p> + +<p>Besides taking part in the society and college exercises, he enjoyed +frequent correspondence with a number of his classmates on themes of +taste and criticism and of grammar and philology.</p> + +<p>As incoming Chancellor at the end of the college year of 1772, Hale +responded in behalf of Linonia to the parting address from one of the +graduating class.</p> + +<p>Hale's farewell address to the Linonians of the class of 1772 is +preserved to Yale College on the society records. In reading it one must +remember that the speech was made by a boy of seventeen. The dignity of +the address, the assured ease with which he speaks, the sense of the +Yale bond, as strong then as it ever has been, all show the only boyish +thing about the speaker, namely, his sense<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> of the superiority of +Linonia, then nearly twenty years old, to the struggling new society of +"The Brothers," less than eight years old. All this brings before us +very vividly a boy in years, but a man in thoughts and aspirations, +ardent and scholarly, and full of a noble ambition that looked forward, +as do all ambitious students in their college days, to years of generous +life.</p> + +<p>A few paragraphs quoted from various parts of the quaintly courteous +speech will illustrate alike the youth and the maturity of the speaker. +He said:</p> + +<p>"The high opinion we ought to maintain of the ability of these worthy +Gentlemen" [the retiring members of the Society] "as well as the regard +they express for Linonia and her Sons, tends very much to increase our +desire for their longer continuance. Under whatsoever character we +consider them, we have the greatest reason to regret their departure. As +our patrons, we have shared their utmost care and vigilance in +supporting Linonia's cause, and protecting her from the malice of her +insulting foes. As our benefactors, we have partaken of their +liberality, not only in their rich and valuable donations to our +library, but, what is still more, their amiable company and +conversation."</p> + +<p>["This is a fine portrait of Hale painted by himself," says a friend of +Hale to-day.]<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> + +<p>"But as our friends, what inexpressible happiness have we experienced in +their disinterested love and cordial affection! We have lived together +not as fellow students and members of the same college, but as brothers +and children of the same family; not as superiors and inferiors, but +rather as equals and companions. The only thing which hath given them +the preëminence is their superior knowledge in those arts and sciences +which are here cultivated, and their greater skill and prudence in the +management of such important affairs as those which concern the good +order and regularity of this Society. Under the prudent conduct of these +our once worthy patrons, but now parting friends, things have been so +wisely regulated, as that while we have been entertained with all the +pleasures of familiar conversation, we have been no less profited by our +improvements in useful knowledge and literature."</p> + +<p>Hale's direct address to the parting members is as follows:</p> + +<p>"Kind and generous Sirs, it is with the greatest reluctance that we are +now all obliged to bid adieu to you, our dearest friends. Fain would we +ask you longer to tarry—but it is otherwise determined, and we must +comply. Accept then our sincerest thanks, as some poor return for your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +disinterested zeal in Linonia's cause, and your unwearied pains to +suppress her opposers.... Be assured that we shall be spirited in +Linonia's cause and with steadiness and resolution strive to make her +shine with unparalleled luster.... Be assured that your memory will +always be very dear to us; that though hundreds of miles should +interfere, you will always be attended with our best wishes.</p> + +<p>"May Providence protect you in all your ways, and may you have +prosperity in all your undertakings! May you live long and happily, and +at last die satisfied with the pleasures of this world, and go hence to +that world where joys shall never cease, and pleasures never end! Dear +Gentlemen, farewell!"</p> + +<p>Not only in speeches but also in deeds Hale proved his love for Linonia. +He is said to have contributed some of his own books to the library of +the Society, and to have coöperated with Timothy Dwight and James +Hillhouse in promoting its growth. In time the library owned more than +thirteen thousand volumes. These three Linonians were always considered +its real founders, and were so honored at the Society's centennial +anniversary on July 27, 1853.</p> + +<p>Timothy Dwight, the first of that name to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> president of Yale College, +was, like Nathan Hale, a descendant of Elder Strong who founded +Northampton, Massachusetts. Dwight graduated in 1769, the year Hale +entered college. He then became a tutor and was a personal friend of +Hale's. He was a teacher of extraordinary power and was made president +of Yale in 1795. He was one of the most remarkable men of his time, +molding the moral and religious, as well as intellectual, character of +the college so that his influence extended not only over the whole state +but, to a great degree, over the whole United States. He was a fine +illustration of the great abilities that centered in so many of the +leading families of the colonists. Such connections as this man add even +a higher luster to the genealogy of Elizabeth Strong Hale, and lessen +our wonder that a son of hers, while hardly more than a boy, could face +the duty and calmly accept the responsibility that he felt rested upon +him.</p> + +<p>As may easily be inferred, the Hale boys, Enoch and Nathan, were not +forgotten by their home friends while making honorable records in +college, and forming pleasant friendships outside the college +walls—then the happy lot of all the best men in college—among the +cultured families of what was then a small New England city.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> + +<p>An instance of the friendships Nathan made in New Haven is shown by the +words of Æneas Munson, M.D., formerly of that city. When an aged man he +spoke in the warmest terms of Hale's fine qualities as he observed them +when he was a boy in his father's house, and he treasured a letter to +his father from Hale in 1774 which will be given farther on.</p> + +<p>Of home letters, happily a few from their father in Coventry to his two +sons in college are still preserved; these prove, as no words of any +stranger could, his constant and practical interest in all that +concerned them. They show us how an upright father tried to influence +his boys' religious characters while distant from them, and at the same +time they show the economies which even well-to-do fathers then had to +exercise in providing for their sons while at college. The first letter +also shows that Nathan must have entered college when fourteen years and +three months old, having been born in June, 1755, and entering college +in September, 1769. We here give the first letter, with all its quaint +old spelling, and after it two others written during successive years. +We may smile at their old-time expressions, but we must own to a sincere +admiration for the kind and thoughtful father, so interested in his +boys, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> so solicitous concerning their health "after the measles."</p> + +<blockquote> +<p> +<span class="smcap">Dear Children:</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>I Rec'd your Letter of the 7th instant and am glad to hear that you +are well suited with Living in College and would let you know that +wee are all well threw the Divine goodness, as I hope these lines +will find you. I hope you will carefully mind your studies that +your time be not Lost and that you will mind all the orders of +College with care.... I intend to send you some money the first +opportunity perhaps by Mr. Sherman when he Returns home from of the +surcit [circuit court] he is now on. If you can hire Horses at New +Haven to come home without too much trouble and cost I don't know +but it is best and should be glad to know how you can hire them and +send me word. If I don't here from you I shall depend upon sending +Horses to you by the 6th of May,—if I should have know opportunity +to send you any money till May and should then come to New Haven +and clear all of it would it not do? If not you will let me know +it. Your friends are all well at Coventry—your mother sends her +Regards to you—from your kind and loving</p> + +<p class="author"> +Father<br /> +<span class="smcap">Rich<sup>d</sup> Hale</span><br /> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">Coventry</span> Dec<sup>r</sup>. 26th<br /> +A.D. 1769.<br /> +</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote> +<p> +<span class="smcap">Dear Children:</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>I have nothing spettial to write but would by all means desire you +to mind your Studies and carefully attend to the orders of Coledge. +Attend not only Prayers in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> chapel but Secret Prayr carefully. +Shun all vice especially card Playing. Read your Bibles a chapter +night and morning. I cannot now send you much money but hope when +S<sup>r</sup> Strong comes to Coventry to be able to send by him what you +want....</p> + +<p class="author"> +from your Loving Father<br /> +<span class="smcap">Rich<sup>d</sup> Hale</span> +</p> + +<p> +Coventry, Dec<sup>r.</sup> 17th, 1770<br /> + + +</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Loving Children</span>—by a line would let you know that I with my family +threw the Divine Goodness are well as I hope these lines will find +you. I have heard that you are better of the measles. The Cloath +for your Coat is not Done. But will be Done next week I hope at +furthest. I know of no opportunity we shall have to send it to +Newhaven and have Laid in with Mr. Strong for his Horse which his +son will Ride down to New Haven for one of you to Ride home if you +can get Leave and have your close made at home. I sopose that one +measure will do for both of you. I am told that it is not good to +study hard after the measles—hope you will youse Prudance in that +afare. If you do not one of you come home I dont see but that you +must do with out any New Close till after Commensment. I send you +Eight Pound in cash by Mr. Strong—hope it will do for the +present—</p> + +<p class="author"> +Your Loving Father<br /> +<span class="smcap">Rich<sup>d</sup> Hale</span> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">Coventry</span> August 13th, 1771<br /> +</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p>Some students of to-day in college with elder brothers might protest +vigorously at the idea of new suits provided for two boys of different +sizes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> being fitted for the larger, though the younger might find some +consolation in the fact that he would have plenty of room in which to +grow! At all events, good Deacon Hale's kindly letters give us a very +friendly feeling toward him, revealing as they do his love for his boys. +The letters also suggest indirectly the happy home-coming of these +college boys, riding thither on horseback over many miles, buoyed up by +high spirits, college news, and the prospect of vacation.</p> + +<p>In their home, as time went by, they found the two new members of the +family, their stepmother's daughters, Nathan to find in Alice Adams, the +youngest, some of the happiest inspirations of his manly young life. It +is pleasant to linger a moment and try to realize the pride Deacon Hale +must have felt in his boys, and their delight in being once more home +with him and with all the family circle. We can fancy them as they sat +around that generous board—none the less generous, we are sure, because +of the home-coming of the "Yale boys."</p> + +<p>Deacon Hale was a man of remarkable energy—"a driver," in other words. +As a rule, in the busiest season of the year he would finish his meal +before the family were half through theirs, rise, return thanks, and be +off to the field, leaving the others to resume their seats around the +table. Alice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> Adams used to say of him, "I never saw a man work so hard +for both worlds as Deacon Hale."</p> + +<p>One amusing incident was long in circulation and laughed over by many +who did not know the energetic haymaker by name. As it really happened +to Deacon Hale, it is worth telling as an example of the energy that has +characterized his descendants.</p> + +<p>One haying season Deacon Hale hired a tall, brawny countryman, of +uncommon strength, to help him house his crop. While in the field he +took upon himself the task of "packing" the load, the hired man's duty +being to pitch it on to the cart. The man began his work too slowly to +suit Deacon Hale, who soon called out, "More hay!" This call he repeated +three or four times, as cock after cock of hay was still somewhat lazily +pitched up to him. Finally his tardy helper, becoming sensible that his +easy way of working was being rebuked, set himself to work with a will +equal to the Deacon's, and at last pitched the hay up so rapidly that +his employer was unable to "pack" it properly upon the cart. Very soon, +therefore, to the dismay of both men, the whole load slipped off in one +great mass on to the ground, carrying the Deacon along with it!</p> + +<p>"What do you want now, Deacon?" shouted the Hercules by his side with a +satisfied grin.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p> + +<p>"<i>More hay!</i>" instantly replied the discomfited Deacon, nimbly +scrambling back to his place on the cart.</p> + +<p>Despite this little accident at the beginning of the afternoon, it is +safe to state that a generous storage of hay took place before sunset.</p> + +<p>But happy as were these college days and home-comings, and rich as were +the harvests gleaned in them, the four years in college halls sped +swiftly, and in 1773 Enoch Hale and Nathan turned their faces toward the +future; the one to a long life and faithful Christian service, the other +toward the briefest of mortal days, but to a service whose memory will +not end till his college walls shall have crumbled, and the names of all +its heroic sons faded from the earth. For even though stones may +crumble, influence lives on.</p> + +<p>It has already been said that at graduation Nathan Hale stood among the +first thirteen in a class of thirty-six. On Commencement Day, September +3, 1773, he took part in a forensic debate on the question, "Whether the +Education of Daughters be not, without any just reason, more neglected +than that of Sons."</p> + +<p>In "Memories of a Hundred Years" Dr. Edward Everett Hale says: "As early +as 1772 there appears at Yale College the first question ever de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>bated +by the Linonian Society. It was, 'Is it right to enslave the Affricans?' +I think, by the way, that this record, bad spelling and all, is made by +my great-uncle, Nathan Hale." These debates show how seriously, even in +the colonial period, men were thinking of the urgent problems of later +days.</p> + +<p>In the debate first mentioned, the others taking part in it were +Benjamin Tallmadge, Ezra Samson, and William Robinson. Some account of +Major Tallmadge's after life is given in later pages. Samson was, for a +time, a clergyman, and then became an editor, first in Hudson, New York, +and then of the <i>Courant</i>, at Hartford, Connecticut.</p> + +<p>William Robinson was a direct descendant of Pastor John Robinson of +Leyden. He studied for the ministry and was ordained in 1780 at +Southington, Connecticut. In the winter of that year—which was one of +the coldest and most severe on record—he walked the whole distance from +Windsor to Southington, about thirty miles, on snowshoes, to be +installed as pastor, an office he held for forty-one years.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">A Call to Teach</span></h3> + + +<p>College days behind them, Nathan, now eighteen years old, and Enoch +pressed on toward their future. Here, to some extent, we part with +Enoch, catching only occasional glimpses of him in a few straggling +letters to his brother. It is probable that, as he intended to enter the +ministry, he soon began his theological studies. In 1775 he was licensed +to preach. Nathan, however, turned toward teaching as the next step in +his career.</p> + +<p>In the meantime Nathan's love for Alice Adams had not prospered. An +older brother, John, had married Alice Adams's elder sister Sarah, and +the mother and sister of Alice thought that she should not wait four or +five years for Nathan. Perhaps they decided that two intermarriages in +one family were quite enough; anyway, they induced Alice to accept the +offer of a prosperous merchant of Coventry, Mr. Elijah Ripley, and a +short time before Nathan's graduation her marriage had apparently +terminated their personal relations.</p> + +<p>Nathan Hale was at this time an unusually hand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>some young man, almost +six feet in height, well proportioned, with broad chest, athletic, as we +have seen, and with a handsome, intelligent face, blue eyes, light brown +hair of a rich color, and a winning smile. These, added to a musical +voice and gracious manners, gave him a personal charm that attracted all +who saw him.</p> + +<p>As a teacher he combined unusual tact and manly dignity, making his +discipline in school as effective as it was reasonable. He also proved +to be as skillful in imparting knowledge as he had been in acquiring it, +and his success as a teacher was assured from the outset.</p> + +<p>His first school was in East Haddam, Connecticut. There was then much +wealth and business activity in the town, although, to a man fresh from +college and the city, it appeared to be a very quiet place, as one or +two of his early letters indicate. Yet there too he did with all his +might what his hands found to do, and soon proved that not only his +work, but his social qualities, were endearing him to new friends, some +of whom remembered him with pleasure during their own long lives; one of +them saying of Nathan Hale in her own old age, "Everybody loved him, he +was so sprightly, intelligent, and kind," and, she added withal, "and +<i>so</i> handsome!"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> He had many correspondents among classmates and +friends. Sometimes he was stimulated to put his thoughts into rhyme by +some poetical epistle he received. One such was from Benjamin Tallmadge, +then in Wethersfield.</p> + +<p>Tallmadge had apologized for his muse and Hale, in pure boyish fun, with +a fine disregard of whether he was invoking the muse or mounting +Pegasus, replied as follows:</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But here, I think you're wrong, to blame</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Your gen'rous muse and call her lame,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For when arriv'd no mark was found</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of weakness, lameness, sprain or wound."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Then, invoking her himself, he describes her as if she were indeed the +wingèd steed,</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"With me in charge (a grievous load!)</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Along the way she lately trode,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In all, she gave no fear or pain,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Unless, at times, to hold the rein."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>At last, on his supposed arrival at Wethersfield, he invites Tallmadge's +judgment on the appearance of the equine muse, thus:</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now judge, unless entirely sound</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">If she could bear me such a round.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It's certain then your muse is heal'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or else, came sound from Weathersfield."</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> + +<p>Before the end of the first term (October, 1773, to mid-March, 1774) in +East Haddam, however, his work had aroused attention elsewhere, and in +May, 1774, he took charge of a school in New London, called the "Union +School,"—a larger school and a more lucrative position than that at +East Haddam. In it Latin, English, arithmetic, and writing were taught. +The salary was seventy pounds a year with a prospect of an increase, and +he was allowed to teach private classes as well.</p> + +<p>It will not surprise those acquainted with human nature that, as we will +allow him to tell in a letter to a relative, he soon had a class of some +twenty young ladies between the unusual hours of five and seven in the +morning! It does not take a very vivid imagination to picture the +vivacity of these twenty young ladies, the becomingness of their simple +but pretty gowns, and the zest with which each studied; nor, on the +other hand, the ill-concealed, bantering interest of the big brothers of +the same,—asking perhaps, now and then, with mock gravity, if mother +thought Patty would be so prompt every morning at five o'clock if old +Parson Browning were the teacher!</p> + +<p>But whatever might have been the dominant interest of the young ladies, +"Master Hale" was quite as practical in his teaching in the early hours<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> +of the day as with the boys in the later classes. An uncle of his, +Samuel Hale, was for many years at the head of the best private school +in New Hampshire, numbering among his pupils some of the leaders in +Revolutionary times. To him, September 24, 1774, Nathan wrote a letter +from which we give the following extracts:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"My own employment is at present the same that you have spent your +days in. I have a school of thirty-two boys, about half Latin, the +rest English. The salary allowed me is 70 £ per annum. In addition +to this I have kept, during the summer, a morning school, between +the hours of five and seven, of about 20 young ladies for which I +have received 6s [shillings] a scholar, by the quarter. Many of the +people are gentleman of sense and merit. They are desirous that I +would continue and settle in the school, and propose a considerable +increase in wages. I am much at a loss whether to accept their +proposals. Your advice in this matter, coming from an uncle and +from a man who has spent his life in the business, would, I think, +be the best I could possibly receive. A few lines on this subject +and also to acquaint me with the welfare of your family ... will be +much to the satisfaction of</p> + +<p class="author"> +Your most dutiful Nephew,<br /> +<span class="smcap">Nathan Hale."</span><br /> +</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p>A letter to Enoch Hale, containing allusions to the excited feeling in +the colony at this time, runs as follows:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">New London</span>, Sept. <sup>8th.</sup> 1774.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">Dear Brother.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>I have a word to write and a moment to write it in. I received +yours of yesterday this morning. Agreeable to your desire I will +endeavour to get the cloth and carry it on Saturday. I have no +news. No liberty-pole is erected or erecting here; but the people +seem much more spirited than they did before the alarm. Parson +Peters of Hebron, I hear, has had a second visit paid him by the +sons of liberty in Windham. His treatment, and the concessions he +made I have not as yet heard. I have not heard from home since</p> + +<p>I came from there.</p> + +<p class="author"> +Your loving Brother<br /> +<span class="smcap">Nathan Hale.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">M<sup>r.</sup> E. Hale. Lyme.</span><br /> +</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p>A letter from Hale to his friend the senior Dr. Æneas Munson, of New +Haven, has been mentioned. It runs as follows:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">New London</span>, November 30, 1774<br /> +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir:</span> I am very happily situated here. I love my employment; find +many friends among strangers; have time for scientific study; and +seem to fill the place assigned me with satisfaction. I have a +school of more than thirty boys to instruct, about half of them in +Latin; and my salary is satisfactory. During the summer I had a +morning class of young ladies—about a score—from five to seven +o'clock; so you see my time is pretty fully occupied, profitably, I +hope to my pupils and to their teacher.</p> + +<p>Please accept for yourself and Mrs. Munson the grateful thanks of +one who will always remember the kindness he ever experienced +whenever he visited your abode.</p> + +<p class="author"> +Your friend<br /><span class="smcap">Nathan Hale.</span><br /> +</p> + +</blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p> + +<p>On one occasion, as Hale left his house after paying a visit, Dr. Munson +observed, "That man is a diamond of the first water, calculated to excel +in any station he assumes. He is a gentleman and a scholar, and last, +though not least of his qualifications, a Christian."</p> + +<p>The son of Dr. Munson (who bore his father's name), when an aged man, +said: "I was greatly impressed with Hale's scientific knowledge, evinced +during his conversation with my father. I am sure he was equal to André +in solid acquirements, and his taste for art and talents as an artist +were quite remarkable. His personal appearance was as notable. He was +almost six feet in height, perfectly proportioned, and in figure and +deportment he was the most manly man I have ever met. His chest was +broad; his muscles were firm; his face wore a most benign expression; +his complexion was roseate; his eyes were light blue and beamed with +intelligence; his hair was soft and light brown in color, and his speech +was rather low, sweet, and musical. His personal beauty and grace of +manner were most charming.</p> + +<p>"Why, all the girls in New Haven fell in love with him," continued Dr. +Munson, "and wept tears of real sorrow when they heard of his sad fate. +In dress he was always neat; he was quick to lend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> a helping hand to a +being in distress, brute or human; was overflowing with good humor, and +was the idol of all his acquaintances."</p> + +<p>Young masters of schools, public or private, unmarried and attractive, +usually rank next in popularity to other professional men,—ministers, +lawyers, or doctors, as the case may be,—and a boy of nineteen, the +object of as much attention as Nathan Hale must have received, might +well be pardoned if his head had been slightly turned, in thus becoming +the admired teacher of a large class of young ladies. One special mark +of stability of character appears to have characterized this young man +in a greater degree than is always the case at the present day. Detached +as he was, as he supposed irrevocably, from the woman he loved, he +appears to have carried himself with almost middle-aged dignity, and, +what is not a little to his credit, even his intimate friends among his +classmates could not, by the most delicate cross-questioning, draw from +him anything suggesting more than a pleasant interest in any of the +young ladies with whom he was thrown in contact.</p> + +<p>A letter that will be given in its proper place shows his courteous and +cordial interest in the little city he left when he entered the army; +yet it is rather a noteworthy fact that one of his class<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>mates, writing +to him during his camp life, had to suggest that, as the young ladies he +had taught were always inquiring when he had heard from "Master," it +would doubtless give them pleasure if he could find time to write some +one of them a note with friendly messages to others, to show that he +still remembered them.</p> + +<p>Many young men would hardly have needed such a suggestion. But Nathan +Hale, so far as we can learn, while given to warm friendships among his +classmates, and to the cultivation, while in New Haven, Haddam, and New +London, of the society of the best families, appears, from the +beginning, to have taken life seriously. Disappointed in the love of the +one woman for whom he cared, he had turned with sincere absorption to +the work to which he felt himself called before entering on the +theological course it is thought that his father had planned for him.</p> + +<p>There is further evidence of Hale's notable gifts as a teacher. Colonel +Samuel Green, who had been a pupil of Hale in New London, said of him, +in oldtime phrase: "Hale was a man peculiarly engaging in his +manners—these were mild and genteel. The scholars, old and young, were +attached to him. They loved him for his tact and amiability.</p> + +<p>"He was wholly without severity and had a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> wonderful control over boys. +He was sprightly, ardent, and steady—bore a fine moral character and +was respected highly by all his acquaintances. The school in which he +taught was owned by the first gentlemen in New London, all of whom were +exceedingly gratified by Hale's skill and assiduity."</p> + +<p>A lady of New London who was for some time an inmate of the same family +with Hale, adds her testimony:</p> + +<p>"His capacity as a teacher was highly appreciated both by parents and +pupils. His simple and unostentatious manner of imparting right views +and feelings to less cultivated understandings was unsurpassed by any +other person I have ever known."</p> + +<p>He was, as we see, a successful teacher, and, as we learn elsewhere, had +serious thoughts of remaining a teacher.</p> + +<p>Unexpectedly, however, events verified the truth of the old adage, "Man +proposes, God disposes." A great historical drama was to be enacted +before the eyes of the wondering world, and events were ripening that +were to form a great epoch in history.</p> + +<p>America was being led first to protest against the unjust exactions laid +upon its people, and then to resist the oppressions that were being +forced upon it. Gradually the idea prevailed that a taxation which might +have been acceptable, if coupled with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> representation in Parliament, was +absolutely intolerable without representation, and the Stamp Act in 1765 +struck the first note of intense opposition. Thenceforward the political +clouds grew darker and the warning incidents multiplied.</p> + +<p>And yet, as a people, Americans were walking as if their personal plans +lay easily in their own control. Scores of young men were fitting +themselves for ordinary callings, Nathan Hale among them. His father's +plans combining with his own appeared to be that he was to teach for a +while, and then follow his brother Enoch into the ministry. As it +proved, his days as a teacher were numbered. He was never to enter a +pulpit, though he was to utter one sentence that, graven upon bronze or +granite, will last while America lasts. He was to teach, by his last, +unpremeditated words, and by an example more potent than any other in +American history, what all generations of Americans must venerate—the +sublimity of a complete sacrifice.</p> + +<p>Smoldering discontent on the part of the Americans, waxing stronger and +stronger for a decade, and the aggressive course of action on the part +of the British authorities, finally culminated in a sudden outbreak, as +matches applied to gunpowder; and on the 19th of April, 1775, the first +blood of the American Revolution was shed. Settlement after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> settlement, +big and little, learned the facts as rapidly as couriers on horseback +could carry them, and the thirteen colonies arrayed themselves against +one of the most powerful monarchies of the world.</p> + +<p>The story is too well known to need recalling here, save as it draws +Nathan Hale toward his doom. Within a few days after the fatal 19th of +April, four thousand Connecticut volunteers were on their way to Boston +to help Massachusetts in its earliest struggle with the English. +Ununiformed, undisciplined, straight from whatever had been their +ordinary vocation, with whatever they owned in the way of arms and +ammunition, they went hurrying toward Boston. Israel Putnam, renowned +veteran of the "Old French War," was plowing in his fields at Pomfret, +Connecticut, when he heard the stirring news. Leaving his plow in the +furrow, he hastened to his house, left a few orders for the management +of his farm and the comfort of his family, and marched at the head of a +body of volunteers toward the camp near Boston. We are told that, in +some households, families sat up all night, the fathers melting their +pewter plates into bullets for ammunition to be used by their sons, and +the mothers and sisters fashioning for them, with all possible speed, +the clothing they could not go without.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> + + +<p>On the arrival of the news from Boston, the people in New London at once +held a meeting. Hon. Richard Law, District Judge of Connecticut and +Chief Justice of the Superior Court, was chairman. Hale was one of the +speakers.</p> + +<p>At that meeting a company was selected from the already existing militia +and ordered to start for Boston the next morning. This company Nathan +Hale, with his keen sense of duty, could not then join. But, for a few +succeeding weeks, in addition to his regular work in school, he did all +in his power to keep alive the interest of the young men in the town +concerning their duties as Americans. With his enthusiastic nature, and +broad comprehension of what might soon confront the country, it is +probable that his seriousness and his activity were never greater than +during the few weeks intervening between his speech at the political +meeting and his departure from New London to enter the military service +of his country.</p> + +<p>Of course his becoming a soldier would greatly interfere with the plans +that his father had made for him, and he at once wrote home on the +subject, stating that "a sense of duty urged him to sacrifice everything +for his country"; but he added that as soon as the war was ended he +would comply with his father's wishes in regard to a profession.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> The +father was quite as patriotic as the son. He immediately assented to his +son's desires. In those days, however, correspondence could not be +conducted so swiftly as at present, and some time must have elapsed +before this matter was positively settled between the two. As the war +went on, and doubtless none the less whole-heartedly after the news of +Nathan's death had been received, Mr. Hale did all he could for the +comfort of passing soldiers. It is said of him that many a time he sat +at the door of his hospitable home and watched for passing soldiers that +he might take them in and feed them; and, if necessary, lodge and clothe +them. He often forbade his household "to use the wool raised upon his +farm for home purposes, that it might be woven into blankets for the +army."</p> + +<p>Anxious as had been young Hale to join the army, he appears to have +deferred making any decided plans until he had received the necessary +permission from his father. Having received it, he at once took steps +for securing his dismissal from his school and his admission into the +army. During the weeks of waiting it had become known that he was +anxious to enlist, and a military appointment was waiting his +acceptance. To secure his dismissal, on July 7 he addressed the +following letter to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> proprietors of his school,—a letter that for a +young man of twenty is as dignified as it is patriotic:</p> + +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Gentlemen:</span> Having received information that a place is allotted me +in the army, and being inclined, as I hope for good reasons, to +accept it, I am constrained to ask as a favor that which scarce +anything else would have induced me to, which is, to be excused +from keeping your school any longer. For the purpose of conversing +upon this and of procuring another master, some of your number +think it best there should be a general meeting of the proprietors. +The time talked of for holding it is six o'clock this afternoon, at +the schoolhouse. The year for which I engaged will expire within a +fortnight, so that my quitting a few days sooner, I hope, will +subject you to no great inconvenience.</p> + +<p>School-keeping is a business of which I was always fond, but since +my residence in this town, everything has conspired to render it +more agreeable. I have thought much of never quitting it but with +life, but at present there seems an opportunity for more extended +public service.</p> + +<p>The kindness expressed to me by the people of the place, but +especially the proprietors of the school, will always be very +gratefully remembered by, gentlemen, with respect, your humble +servant,</p> + +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">Nathan Hale</span><br /> +</p> + +</blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">A Call to Arms</span></h3> + + +<p>The place "allotted" to him was that of lieutenant in the third company +of the 7th Connecticut regiment, commanded by Colonel Charles Webb. No +doubt exists that Lieutenant Nathan Hale was the same Nathan Hale who +had won distinction in all his college work, in his subsequent teaching, +and in all the events thus far associated with his early manhood, with +this difference; he was now lifted to a line of service that in his +opinion seemed the highest possible for him to follow, and no one who +studies his subsequent course can question that in this following he +found the loftiest consecration thus far possible to him. Perhaps +unconsciously he was to verify the poet's assertion,</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"So nigh is grandeur to our dust,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">So near is God to man,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When Duty whispers low, <i>Thou must</i>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The youth replies, <i>I can.</i>"</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>With no trace of merely personal ambition, but with that splendid power +of absorption in duty as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> in work, Nathan Hale followed in the steps of +those devoted American patriots whose blood, so freely shed at +Lexington, was calling upon their countrymen to shed theirs as freely, +should duty demand it.</p> + +<p>Dead almost one hundred and forty years, we still are thrilled by proofs +of the splendid manhood henceforth to be so prominent in every remaining +day of Hale's brief life. A few letters to friends, a fairly +comprehensive diary for a few months, his camp-book, and the +recollections of a few of the officers and of his body-servant, give a +moderately complete picture of Nathan Hale for a few brief weeks, during +which time he had been doing all in his power to perfect himself and the +men under him in the duties of soldiers.</p> + +<p>By the middle of September the Connecticut troops, having received +orders from General Washington to proceed to the camp near Boston, the +7th Regiment, containing Lieutenant Hale's company, went to the spot +appointed, remaining there during the winter, and leaving for New York, +again by Washington's orders, in the spring. Of these intervening +months, so momentous to the little army whose many members were +impatient for the close of the war, Nathan Hale himself gives us vivid +pictures; of the work he was trying to do; of the men he was meeting; of +the religious life<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> he was in no sense forgetting, and of his own +deepening patriotism. Letters written to him show the attitude of +friends at home, and their interest both in the affairs of the country +and in him personally. The following letter from Gilbert Saltonstall, a +young Harvard graduate and warm friend of Hale while in New London, +shows how fully the men at home, as well as those in the army, entered +into the anxieties of the times:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">New London</span>, Octo. 9th, 1775.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">Dear Sir:</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>By yours of the 5th I see you're Stationd in the Mouth of Danger—I +look upon yr. Situation more Perilous than any other in the +Camp—Should have thought the new Recreuits would have been Posted +at some of the Outworks, & those that have been inured to Service +advanc'd to Defend the most exposed Places—But all Things are +concerted, and ordered with Wisdom no doubt—The affair of Dr. +Church<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> is truly amazing—from the acquaintance I have of his +publick Character I should as soon have suspected Mr. Hancock or +Adams as him.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Of this Dr. Church, John Fiske writes: "In October, 1775, +the American camp was thrown into great consternation by the discovery +that Dr. Benjamin Church, one of the most conspicuous of the Boston +leaders, had engaged in a secret correspondence with the enemy. Dr. +Church was thrown into jail, but as the evidence of treasonable intent +was not absolutely complete, he was set free in the following spring, +and allowed to visit the West Indies for his health. The ship in which +he sailed was never heard from again."</p></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p> + +<p>(Then follow accounts of an affair on Long Island Sound, and extracts +from a paper two days old just brought from New York, describing army +matters in the North.)</p> + +<blockquote><p>I have extracted all the material News—should have sent the Paper +but its the only one in Town and every one is Gaping for news.</p> + +<p class="author"> +Your sincere Friend<br /> +<span class="smcap">Gilbert Saltonstall.</span><br /> +</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p>Another, also from Saltonstall, reads in part as follows:</p> + +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Esteemed Friend</span></p> + +<p>Doctor Church is in close Custody in Norwich Gaol, the windows +boarded up, and he deny'd the use of Pen, Ink, and Paper, to have +no converse with any Person but in presence of the Gaoler, and then +to Converse in no Language but English. ... what a fall ...</p> + +<p class="author"> +Yr &c<br /> +<span class="smcap">Gilbert Saltonstall.</span></p> + +<p> +Novr. 27th 1775<br /> +</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p>A letter already referred to as showing Hale's interest in New London +and its people, also his feeling as to camp life, is here given. +"Betsey" was one of his pupils in his early-morning classes. We note the +little touch of good-natured fun in the last paragraph.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">Camp Winter Hill</span>, Oct<sup>r</sup> 19th 1775</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">Dear Betsey</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>I hope you will excuse my freedom in writing to you, as I cannot +have the pleasure of seeing and conversing with you. What is now a +letter would be a visit were I in New London but this being out of +my power, suffer me to make up the defect in the best manner I can. +I write not to give you any news or any pleasure in reading (though +I would heartily do it if in my power) but from the desire I have +of conversing with you in some form or other.</p> + +<p>I once wanted to come here to see something extraordinary—my +curiosity is satisfied. I have now no more desire for seeing things +here, than for seeing what is in New London, no, nor half so much +neither. Not that I am discontented—so far from it, that in the +present situation of things I would not except a furlough were it +offered me. I would only observe that we often flatter ourselves +with great happiness could we see such and such things; but when we +actually come to the sight of them our solid satisfaction is really +no more than when we only had them in expectation.</p> + +<p>All the news I had I wrote to John Hallam—if it be worth your +hearing he will be able to tell you when he delivers this. It will +therefore not (be) worth while for me to repeat.</p> + +<p>I am a little at a loss how you carry at New London—Jared Starr I +hear is gone—The number of Gentlemen is now so few that I fear how +you will go through the winter but I hope for the best.</p> + +<p class="author"> +I remain with esteem<br /> +Y<sup>r</sup> Sincere Friend<br /> +& Hble Svt.<br /> +<span class="smcap">N. Hale</span><br /> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">To Betsey Christophers</span><br /> +At New London<br /> +</p> + +</blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p> + +<p>The next letter refers to the time when, on account of their personal +privations, the Connecticut troops were thinking seriously of +withdrawing from the struggle, and returning to their homes:</p> + +<blockquote> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">New London</span> Decr-4th 1775</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span></p> + + +<p>The behaviour of our Connecticut Troops makes me Heart-sick—that +they who have stood foremost in the praises and good Wishes of +their Countrymen, as having distinguished themselves for their Zeal +& Public Spirit, should now shamefully desert the Cause; and at a +critical moment too, is really unaccountable—amazing. Those that +do return will meet with real Contempt, with deserv'd Reproach. It +gives great satisfaction that the Officers universally agree to +tarry—that is the Report, is it true or not?—May that God who has +signally appear'd for us since the Commencement of our troubles, +interpose, that no fatal or bad consequence may attend a dastardly +Desertion of his Cause.</p> + +<p>I want much to have a more minute Acct. of the situation of the +Camp than I have been able to obtain. I rely wholly on you for +information.</p> + +<p class="author"> +Your <br /> +<span class="smcap">G. Saltonstall.</span><br /> +</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p>To explain some of Saltonstal's references to the feelings of some of +the Connecticut troops, we quote from Captain Hale's diary of October +23:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"10 o'clock went to Cambridge with Field commission officers to +General Putman to let him know the state of the Regiment and that +it was through ill usage upon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> Score of Provisions that they +would not extend their term of service to the 1st of January 1776."</p></blockquote> + +<p>Other letters to Hale from New London friends, among them one from an +officer absent on furlough, speak freely of the anxieties of those +watching the progress of the reënlistments, and the home reception that +would be given to any leaving the army.</p> + +<p>Another letter from Saltonstall reads as follows:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">New London</span> Decr. 18th 1775</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">Dr.</span> <span class="smcap">Sir</span>....<br /> +</p> + +<p>I wholly agree with you in y<sup>e.</sup> agreables of a Camp Life, and +should have try'd it in some Capacity or other before now, could my +Father carry on his Business without me. I proposed going with +Dudley, who is appointed to Commn. a Twenty-Gun Ship in the +Continental Navy, but my Father is not willing, and I can't +persuade myself to leave him in the eve of Life against his +consent....</p> + +<p>Yesterday week the Town was in the greatest confusion imaginable; +Women wringing their Hands along Street, Children crying, Carts +loaded 'till nothing more would stick on, posting out of Town, +empty ones driving in, one Person running this way, another that, +some dull, some vex'd, more pleased, some flinging up an +Intrenchment, some at the Fort preparing ye Guns for Action, Drums +beating, Fifes playing; in short as great a Hubbub as at the +confusion of Tongues; all of this occasioned by the appearance of a +Ship and two Sloops off the Harbour, Suppos'd to be part of +Wallace's Fleet,—When they were found to be Friends, Vessels from +New Port with Passengers ye consternation abated....</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p> + +<p>A postscript runs as follows:</p> + +<blockquote><p>The young girls, B. Coit, S. and P. Belden [Hale's pupils] have +frequently desired their Compliments to Master, but I've never +thought of mentioning it till now. You must write something in your +next by way of P.S. that I may shew it them.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Favored by copies of these letters by Saltonstall, one must regret all +the more that so few of Hale's own letters have been discovered, ten +being the limit. Within a comparatively short period, however, some +sixty more records—mostly letters written to Hale—have come to light, +preserved, as it is now seen, by the same "orderly care" that marked his +interest in all the correspondence of his friends.</p> + +<p>In them are expressed, in letter after letter, the affectionate interest +and warm admiration of the writers. It is now said that Hale kept these +letters with him down to the date of his tragic mission. We can easily +imagine the glow of satisfaction that must have filled his brotherly +soul in the few spare moments he could devote to these letters.</p> + +<p>Brief extracts are made from his diary, fortunately preserved for +evidence as to his work and growing interest in the duties he had +entered upon. The diary was found in the camp-book brought to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> his +family by Asher Wright, Hale's attendant in camp before he left New +York.</p> + +<p>In the diary, under date of November 19, 1775, this entry is made:</p> + +<blockquote><p>" ... Robert Latimer the Maj<sup>rs</sup> Son went to Roxbury to day on his +way home. The Maj<sup>r</sup> who went there to day and ... return'd this +even<sup>g</sup> b<sup>t</sup> ac<sup>ts</sup> that the <i>Asia</i> Man of War Station'd at N. York +was taken by a Schooner arm'd with Spear's &c.... This account not +creditted."</p></blockquote> + +<p>A month after the return from camp mentioned above, Robert Latimer wrote +to Captain Hale, his former teacher, the following interesting and +diverting letter:</p> + +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Dr Sir</span>,</p> + +<p>As I think myself under the greatest obligations to you for your +care and kindness to me, I should think myself very ungrateful if I +neglected any oppertunity of expressing my gratitude to you for the +same. And I rely on that goodness, I have so often experienc'd to +overlook the deficiencies in my Letter, which I am sensible will be +many as maturity of Judgment is wanting, and tho' I have been so +happy as to be favour'd with your instructions, you can't Sir, +expect a finish'd letter from one who has as yet practis'd but very +little this way, especially with persons of your nice discernment.</p> + +<p>Sir, I have had the pleasure of hearing by the soldiers, which is +come home, that you are in health, tho' likely to be deserted by +all the men you carried down with you,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> which I am very sorry for, +as I think no man of any spirit would desert a cause in which, we +are all so deeply interested. I am sure was my Mammy willing I +think I should prefer being with you, to all the pleasures which +the company of my Relations Can afford me.</p> + +<p class="author"> +I am Sir with respect y<sup>r</sup> Sincere friend<br /> +& very H'ble S<sup>t</sup><br /> +<span class="smcap">Rob't Latimer</span></p> + +<p> +Dec<sup>br</sup> 20th 1775—<br /> +</p> + +<p style="margin-top: -1em;">P. S. My Mammy and aunt Lamb presents Complim<sup>ts</sup>. My Mammy would +have wrote, but being very busy, tho't my writing would be +sufficient—my respects to Cap<sup>t</sup> Hull. Addressed to Capt. Hale.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Here is a second letter from the same ardent friend of Captain Hale. His +admiration for his former teacher is evident in every line.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">New London</span>, March 5th 1776</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>,<br /> +</p> + +<p>as my letter meet with such kind reception from you, I still +continue writing & hope that the desire I have of improving, added +to the pleasure, I take in hearing often from so good a friend, +will sufficiently excuse me for writing so often—I Rec<sup>d</sup> your kind +letter S<sup>r</sup> pr the post & cant deny but your approbation, of my +writing, gives me the greatest pleasure, & should be afraid of its +rais<sup>g</sup> my pride; did I not consider that your intention in praising +my poor performance, must be with a design, of raising in me an +ambition, to endeavour to deserve your praise—& I hope that +instructions convey'd in such an agreeable manner, will not, be +thrown away upon me—You write S<sup>r</sup> that you have got another Fifer, +& a very good one too, as I hear.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> Which I am very Glad to hear, +tho' I sincerely wish I was in his Place—</p> + +<p>Have not any News.</p> + +<p> +So will Conclude—I am S<sup>r</sup><br /> +with Respect Y<sup>r</sup> friend & S't,</p> + +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">Robert Latimer</span><br /> +</p> + +<p> +P. S. My Mammy & Aunt<br /> +Present Comp<sup>ts</sup> &c—<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smcap">Capt. Hale.</span><br /> +</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p>Only one thought dims the pleasure with which we read these two +letters,—the consciousness of the depth of distress that must have +filled that loyal boy's heart to overflowing when he learned of the +tragic death of his hero friend.</p> + +<p>Two notable records from Captain Hale's diary are these:</p> + +<blockquote><p>November 6. It is of the utmost importance that an officer should +be anxious to know his duty, but of greater that he should +carefully perform what he does know. The present irregular state of +the army is owing to a capital neglect in both of these.</p> + +<p>November 7. Studied ye best method of forming a Reg't for a review, +of arraying the Companies, also of marching round ye reviewing +Officer. A man ought never to lose a moment's time. If he put off a +thing from one minute to the next, his reluctance is but increased.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Later in November, when the men in his company were unwilling to +reënlist, this notable entry was made, signed with his full name:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote><p>28, Tuesday. Promised the men if they would tarry another month, +they should have my wages for that time.</p> + +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">Nathan Hale.</span><br /> +</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p>These brief quotations, proving as they do Hale's intense devotion to +duty, and his practical efforts to hold his men to their duty, show how +clearly he understood the tremendous responsibility resting upon the +commander-in-chief as given in Washington's own words in letters to +friends and to Congress, soon to be quoted; and that, known or unknown +to Washington, there were men among his officers fully aware of the +condition of the army, and as anxious to serve it as was their +magnificent leader.</p> + +<p>We here quote from Washington's letters; the first one was written to a +friend:</p> + +<blockquote><p>I know the unhappy predicament in which I stand; I know that much +is expected of me; I know that without men, without arms, without +ammunition, without anything fit for the accommodation of a +soldier, little is to be done, and what is mortifying, I know that +I cannot stand justified to the world without exposing my own +weakness, and injuring the cause, by declaring my wants which I am +determined not to do farther than unavoidable necessity brings +every man acquainted with them. My situation is so irksome to me at +times, that if I did not consult the public good more than my own +tranquillity, I should long ere this have put everything on the +cast of a die. So far<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> from my having an army of twenty thousand +men, well armed, I have been here with less than half that number, +including sick, furloughed, and on command; and those neither armed +nor clothed as they should be. In short, my situation has been +such, that I have been obliged to conceal it from my own officers.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The second letter was written to Congress:</p> + +<blockquote><p>To make men well acquainted with the duties of a soldier, requires +time. To bring them under proper discipline and subordination, not +only requires time, but is a work of great difficulty; and in this +army where there is so little distinction between officers and +soldiers, requires an uncommon degree of attention. To expect, +then, the same service from raw and undisciplined recruits, as from +veteran soldiers, is to expect what never did, and perhaps never +will happen.</p></blockquote> + +<p>On the 23d of December, 1775, Hale began his first and only trip to +Connecticut for the sake of securing additional enlistments. If on this +one visit home he became engaged—as some have believed—to the woman he +had so long loved, now a widow of about nineteen, Alice Adams Ripley, we +may infer that love brightened his embassy even though patriotism +inspired it. No record remains of the glorified hours he may have spent +in Coventry. We have good reason to believe that, if he survived the +war, he expected to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> marry the woman he had so faithfully loved. After a +few brief days in his home, he left it, never to return, speeding on his +way to serve his country's needs.</p> + +<p>If this new zest entered his life at this time, we can easily imagine as +he fared on, striving to arouse his countrymen to their duty as +patriots, that the happiest hours of his life were urging him forward to +the most perfect service he could render in the present, and to +unlimited hopes and ambitions for the future he might well expect was +awaiting him. Crowned by human love, and with unlimited opportunities to +serve his country, who can tell by what "vision splendid" he was "on his +way attended"? Who can help rejoicing that such days, brief as they +were, and uplifting as they must have been, were given to this man, now +past twenty?</p> + +<p>Details concerning that trip are scanty. We know for a certainty that, +starting from camp December 23, 1775, he returned to it the last week in +January, 1776, having been in New London and other places seeking +recruits, and going back with the recruits he himself had secured, +joined by others coming from the various towns in Connecticut, and all +heading toward the camp around Boston.</p> + +<p>He received his commission as captain in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> new army in January, being +still in Colonel Webb's regiment, which now became the Nineteenth of the +Continental Army. For a few weeks he followed the routine of his earlier +months there, doing all that was possible to assist his brother officers +in perfecting the discipline of the raw troops, deepening their +patriotism, and proving himself a soldier as devoid of fear as he was +rich in all manly qualities. Not a word of regret can be found in his +diary. Acknowledging in a letter to a former pupil, Miss Betsey +Christophers of New London, that the novelty and glamour of camp life +had worn off, he asserts, with intense ardor, that nothing would tempt +him to "accept a furlough" or shrink in any manner from any of his +duties as a soldier. And so the weeks passed on.</p> + +<p>During the winter heavy cannon from Fort Ticonderoga had been brought +through the snows over the Green Mountains. The cannon were placed on +Dorchester Heights which commanded the British camp, thus compelling the +British general to choose between attacking the American army and +evacuating the city. In a letter written in April, 1776, to his +half-brother, John Augustine, Washington wrote thus regarding this time:</p> + +<blockquote><p>The enemy ... apprehending great annoyance from our new works, +resolved upon a retreat, and accordingly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> on the 17th (March) +embarked in as much hurry, precipitation and confusion as ever +troops did ... leaving the King's property in Boston to the amount, +as is supposed, of thirty or forty thousand pounds in provisions +and stores.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Washington's victory in this maneuver, his first great success, +tremendously cheered the hearts of all patriotic Americans. Congress +gave him a vote of thanks, also a gold medal—"the first in the history +of independent America"—in commemoration of the event. Here again we +catch a glimpse of the delight that must have thrilled the hearts of all +his officers, not least among them that of Nathan Hale. But Washington, +proving himself in these earlier events, as he was to, year after year, +through successive discouragements, "the first in war," turned toward +New York as his next base.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Hale's Zeal as a Soldier</span></h3> + + +<p>In the letter just quoted, Washington wrote further:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"Whither they [the enemy] are now bound,... I know not, but as New +York and Hudson's River are the most important objects they can +have in view ... therefore as soon as they embarked, I detached a +brigade of six regiments to that government and when they sailed +another brigade composed of the same number, and tomorrow another +brigade of five regiments will march. In a day or two more, I shall +follow myself, and be in New York ready to receive all but the +first."</p></blockquote> + +<p>Uncertain as to his power to hold New York, Washington promptly took the +next step that appeared open to him, carrying in his heart a heavy +weight of care, and realizing, as perhaps no other man did, that only +divine assistance could give him final success. He was bent upon a +desperate mission, but to it, with sublime patience, he gave every +energy of his masterly mind, and the entire consecration of all that he +possessed.</p> + +<p>Well was it for him that the power which con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>trols nations was quietly +working with him. Well, also, that in his army were men ready for any +enterprise of danger, for any sacrifice that duty might demand.</p> + +<p>Washington proceeded to New York, to ultimate victory, to final and +permanent fame. Nathan Hale went also, simply as a captain of a +Connecticut company,—he not to victory, not to immediate fame, but to +something higher in one sense than either victory or fame, and to a +service well worth a man's doing.</p> + +<p>Nathan Hale belonged to the first brigade dispatched to New York—that +of General Heath. After rapid marching, considering the state of the +roads, "Hale found himself" (March 26th) "for the third time" among his +New London friends. The next day they "embarked in high spirits on +fifteen transports and sailed for New York." On March 30th the troops +"disembarked at Turtle Bay, a convenient landing place" near what is now +East 45th Street. Not far from that spot, within six months, Nathan Hale +was to win a victory that time can never dim, even if, for a time, it +appeared to have covered his memory with a pall. But in that landing-day +no shadows were apparent,—only hope, and the zest inevitable in a +soldier's life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> + +<p>A minor honor was soon to come to Nathan Hale. Late in 1775 Enoch Hale +was licensed to preach. In the summer of 1776 he attended Commencement +at New Haven, from July 23 to 26. He makes note in his diary of friends +and classmates whom he saw; also that he obtained the degree of Master +of Arts for Nathan and himself. Of the latter his record is, "Write to +brother to tell him I have got him his degree."</p> + +<p>One or two more letters of Hale are extant from which only partial +extracts have been made. One that was written on the 3d of June, 1776, +we give with more fullness, omitting only some unimportant clauses. This +letter has especial value as an illustration of the fact that most of us +now and then have received letters that seemed casual in themselves, but +have, to our surprise and often to our deep sadness, proved to be +farewell letters.</p> + +<p>It is not probable that, in the hurried days that followed, further +messages were sent to his grandmother, to his former pastor and +beloved teacher, Mr. Huntington, and to his sister Rose and her family. +In the late autumn of 1776, after they had learned his fate, and in the +years that followed, one can easily imagine how precious seemed these +appreciative words, embalming as it were the abiding affection of the +man who wrote them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> Hale's reference to "the Doctor" also recalls the +fact that, from the immediate family of Deacon Richard Hale, five +men—three sons, one stepson, and one son-in-law (Surgeon Rose)—entered +the Revolutionary Army; one son dying in 1776, one son in 1784, his +health having been ruined while in the service, and one son in 1802, his +life perhaps shortened by his exposures. Whatever else may have been +lacking in that one family, patriotism certainly was not deficient,—the +patriotism that does not count the cost to one's self, but the gain to +one's country.</p> + +<p>The following is the letter referred to, written to his brother Enoch:</p> + +<blockquote><p> +<span class="smcap">Dear Brother</span>,</p> +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">New York</span> June 3d 1776<br /> +</p> + +<p>Your Favour of the 9th of May and another written at Norwich I have +received—the first mentioned one the 19th of May ult.</p> + +<p>You complain of my neglecting you—It is not, I acknowledge, wholly +without reason—at the same time I am conscious to have written to +you more than once or twice within this half year. Perhaps my +letters have miscarried.</p> + +<p>Continuance or removal here depends wholly upon the operations of +the war.</p> + +<p>It gives pleasure to every friend of his country to observe the +health which prevails in our army. Dr. Eli (Surgeon of our Regt.) +told me a few days since, there was not a man in our Regt. but +might upon occasion go out with his Firelock. Much the same is said +of other Regiments.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> + +<p>The army is improving in discipline, and it is hoped will soon be +able to meet the enemy at any kind of play. My company which at +first was small, is now increased to eighty and there is a sergeant +recruiting who, I hope, has got the other ten which completes the +company. We are hardly able to judge as to the numbers the British +army for the Summer is to consist of—undoubtedly sufficient to +cause us too much bloodshed.</p> + +<p>I had written you a complete letter in answer to your last, but +missed the opportunity of sending it.</p> + +<p>This will find you in Coventry—if so remember me to all my +friends—particularly belonging to the Family. Forget not +frequently to visit and strongly to represent my duty to our good +Grandmother Strong. Has she not repeatedly favored us with her +tender, most important advice? The natural Tie is sufficient, but +increased by so much goodness, our gratitude cannot be too +sensible.</p> + +<p>I always with respect remember Mr. Huntington and shall write to +him if time admits. Pay Mr. Wright a visit for me. Tell him Asher +is well—he has for some time lived with me as a waiter.... Asher +this moment told me that our brother Joseph Adams was here +yesterday to see me, when I happened to be out of the way. He is in +Col. Parson's Regt. I intend to see him to-day and if possible by +exchanging get him into my company.</p> + +<p class="author"> +Yours affectionately.<br /> +<span class="smcap">N. Hale.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>P. S. Sister Rose talked of making me some Linen cloth similar to +Brown Holland for Summer wear. If she has made it, desire her to +keep it for me. My love to her, the Doctor, and little Joseph.</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p> + +<p>As Washington had supposed probable, the English decided upon the +occupation of New York. In July and August the largest army ever +collected in one body upon the American continent prior to 1861, an +English army numbering nearly thirty-two thousand men, with a formidable +fleet and large munitions of war, gathered at Staten Island. Washington, +in the meantime, was occupying a portion of Brooklyn and a portion of +the city of New York, fortifying each place and preparing to defend it +to the extent of his ability with his small army, never so well fed nor +so thoroughly disciplined as that of the British.</p> + +<p>Human wisdom would have assumed that the British army would soon succeed +in restoring English control; but the best-laid plans miscarry, and a +power interposes that helps the weaker and hinders the stronger army.</p> + +<p>The English did their best to be ready for the coming conflict, and we +know that Washington spared no pains in preparing for the worst that +might come.</p> + +<p>On August 20, Nathan Hale wrote the following letter to his brother +Enoch—the last letter that he ever wrote, so far as we know, to reach +its destination. It shows that his heart was absorbed in the duties of +the conflict he was sharing, and it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> also shows how wholly he was +leaving the ultimate issue to a higher power.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">New York</span>, August 20, 1776.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">Dear Brother.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>I have only time for a hasty letter. Our situation this fortnight +or more has been such as scarce to admit of writing. We have daily +expected an action—by which means, if any one was going and we had +letters written, orders were so strict for our tarrying in camp +that we could rarely get leave to go and deliver them. For about 6 +or 8 days the enemy have been expected hourly, whenever the wind +and tide in the least favored. We keep a particular lookout for +them this morning. The place and manner of our attack time must +determine. The event we leave to Heaven. Thanks to God! We have had +time for completing our works and receiving our reinforcements. The +Militia of Connecticut ordered this way are mostly arrived. Col. +Ward's Regiment has got in. Troops from the southward are daily +coming. We hope under God to give account of the enemy whenever +they choose to make the last appeal.</p> + +<p>Last Friday night, two of our fire vessels (a Sloop and Schooner) +made an attempt upon the shipping up the river. The night was too +dark, the wind too slack for the attempt. The Schooner which was +intended for one of the Ships had got by before she discovered +them; but as Providence would have it, she run athwart a +bomb-catch, which she quickly burned. The Sloop by the light of the +former discovered the <i>Ph[oe]nix</i>—but rather too late—however she +made shift to grapple her, but the wind not proving sufficient to +bring her close alongside, or drive the flames immediately on +board, the <i>Ph[oe]nix</i> after much difficulty got her clear by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> +cutting her own rigging. Sergt. Fosdick, who commanded the above +sloop, and four of his hands were of my company, the remaining two +were of this Regt. The Genl. has been pleased to reward their +bravery with forty Dollars each, except the last man that quitted +the fire-sloop who had fifty. Those on board the Schooner received +the same.</p> + +<p>I must write to some of my other brothers lest you should not be at +home. Remain</p> + +<p class="author"> +Your friend &c<br /> +<span class="smcap">Brother Na. Hale.</span></p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">Mr. Enoch Hale.</span><br /> +</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p>Aside from this letter, the following brief quotations from his diary +are all that remain to us in the handwriting of Nathan Hale. Till he +lays down his pen for the last time we see him absorbed in the cares and +duties of the life about him, fearlessly facing whatever remains to him +of life and service.</p> + +<blockquote><p>Aug. 21st. Heavy storm at Night. Much and heavy Thunder. Capt. Van +Wyke, and a Lieut, and Ens. of Colo. McDougall's Regt. killed by a +Shock. Likewise one man in town, belonging to a Militia Regt. of +Connecticut. The Storm continued for two or three hours, for the +greatest part of which time [there] was a perpetual Lightning, and +the sharpest I ever knew.</p> + +<p>22d. Thursday. The enemy landed some troops down at the Narrows on +Long Island.</p> + +<p>23d. Friday. Enemy landed more troops—News that they had marched +up and taken Station near Flatbush, their advce Gds [advance +guards] being on this side near the Woods—that some of our +Rifle-men attacked and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> drove them back from their post, burnt 2 +stacks of hay, and it was thought killed some of them—this about +12 O'clock at Night. Our troops attacked them at their station near +Flatb. [Flatbush], routed and drove them back 1½ mile.</p></blockquote> + +<p>One of the facts most perplexing to General Washington was what appeared +to be Sir William Howe's delay in making an attack. Indeed, to an +outsider unfamiliar with military tactics, Howe's conduct resembles the +cruel pleasure a cat sometimes takes in tormenting a mouse that it knows +cannot escape. The uncertainty as to what the next British move might be +caused much anxiety. Remembering that Howe's force had arrived the last +of June, one sees how leisurely must have been his preparations for +attack, and how assured his hope of victory.</p> + +<p>The expected attack occurred on August 27. The Americans were defeated +and driven within their works, their losses being great, especially in +prisoners. The Nineteenth Regiment was held in reserve, but Captain Hull +wrote that they were near enough to witness the carnage among their +fellow-soldiers.</p> + +<p>The night after the battle the enemy encamped within a few hundred yards +of the defeated Americans. On the 29th Washington decided upon a retreat +to New York, and it was effected that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> night. If the English had +suspected that the Americans were withdrawing their forces from +Brooklyn, it is easy to imagine the carnage that would have ensued. So +great was Washington's anxiety at this time that he is said not to have +slept during forty-eight hours, and rarely to have dismounted from his +horse.</p> + +<p>One account of the retreat is as follows: "A disadvantageous wind and +rain at first prevented the troops from embarking, and it was feared +that the retreat could not be effected that night. But about eleven +o'clock a favorable breeze sprung up, the tide turned in the right +direction, and about two o'clock in the morning, a thick fog arose which +hung over Long Island, while on the New York side it was clear. During +the night, the whole American army, nine thousand in number, Washington +embarking last of all, with all the artillery, such heavy ordnance as +was of any value, ammunition, provision, cattle, horses, carts, and +everything of importance, passed safely over.</p> + +<p>"All this was effected without the knowledge of the British, although +the enemy were so nigh that they were heard at work with their pickaxes +and shovels. In half an hour after the lines were finally abandoned, the +fog cleared off and the enemy were seen taking possession of the +American works. One<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> boat on the river, ... within reach of the enemy's +fire, was obliged to return; she had only three men in her, who had +loitered behind to plunder."</p> + +<p>That opportune appearance of the fog must have seemed, to more than one +devout heart, as helpful as some of the remarkable interpositions of +Providence described in the old Biblical stories.</p> + +<p>Hale's company, with its many seamen, rendered effective service in this +passage from Long Island. Every student of history, and especially of +military history, can recall certain decisive hours in momentous battles +when some utterly unforeseen event has entirely changed the face of +affairs, and given the victory into unexpected hands; thus, a mistake in +the understanding of a phrase used by his captors made André a prisoner, +and saved the capture of West Point by the English; while Waterloo, +Gettysburg, and many another decisive battle has hinged on seeming +chance,—chance truly, if there is no power working for righteousness +among the affairs of nations.</p> + +<p>The position of the American army, however, now appeared more perilous +than ever. Two war vessels had moved up the East River and were followed +by others. Active movements among the British troops were reported by +all the scouts, but the enemy's designs could not be penetrated.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">A Perilous Service</span></h3> + + +<p>Writing of these events afterward, Captain Hull said, "It was evident +that the superior force of the British would soon give them possession +of New York. The Commander-in-chief, therefore, took a position at Fort +Washington at the other end of the island. To ascertain the further +object of the enemy was now a subject of anxious inquiry with General +Washington."</p> + +<p>In a letter to General Heath at this crisis Washington wrote as follows: +"As everything in a manner depends upon obtaining intelligence of the +enemy's motions, I do most earnestly entreat you and General Clinton to +exert yourselves to accomplish this most desirable end. Leave no stone +unturned, nor do not stick at expense, to bring this to pass, as I never +was more uneasy than on account of my want of knowledge on this score."</p> + +<p>Johnston, in his valuable "Life of Nathan Hale," says: "If he +[Washington] had been anxious to fathom Howe's plans before the latter +began the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> campaign from Staten Island, he was infinitely more so now. +It was not enough to keep a ceaseless watch across the East river.... +Like every other commander in history, all through the contest he came +to depend much on intelligence gained through the 'secret service.'"</p> + +<p>Stuart, the earliest reliable biographer of Hale, in writing of spies +says: "The exigency of the American army which we have just described, +would not permit the employment, in the service proposed, of any +ordinary soldier, unpracticed in military observation and without skill +as a draughtsman,—least of all of the common mercenary, to whom, +allured by the hope of a large reward, such tasks are usually assigned. +Accurate estimates of the numbers of the enemy, of their distribution, +of the form and position of their various encampments, of their +marchings and countermarchings, of the concentration at one point or +another, of the instruments of war, but more than all of their plan of +attack, as derived from the open report or the unguarded whispers in +camp of officers or men,—estimates of all these things, requiring a +quick eye, a cool head, a practical pencil, military science, general +intelligence, and pliable address, were to be made. The common soldier +would not answer the purpose, and the mercenary might yield to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +higher seductions of the enemy, and betray his employers."</p> + +<p>During the war with the French and Indians, American officers had +learned the need of trained men who could keep the commanders informed +both of the movements and of the plans of the opposing forces. +Washington had learned this unforgetable lesson in Braddock's campaign, +and, as full commander and wholly responsible not only for the immediate +safety but for the future success of his little army, he realized the +necessity of obtaining the most accurate information possible.</p> + +<p>A corps collected from the best men in the army was organized, and its +command was given to Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton. He had gained +experience as a ranger in the French and Indian War, and was noted for +his coolness, skill, and bravery at Bunker Hill. One hundred and fifty +men and twenty officers were considered sufficient for the work assigned +to this special corps, known as Knowlton's Rangers. They were divided +into four companies. Two of the captains of these men were chosen from +Knowlton's own regiment; the other two—one of them Nathan Hale—were +from other companies. There can be little doubt that Nathan Hale was +proud of his enrollment in this brave corps.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p> + +<p>After Hale's services were ended, one brief record remained of "moneys +due to the Company of Rangers commanded late by Captain Hale." After the +1st of September, about which time this company of Rangers was +organized, it was constantly on duty wherever its services were +required, and one can easily imagine Nathan Hale's enthusiasm in his +enlarged duties.</p> + +<p>Knowlton spoke to some of his officers of the wishes of the commanding +general for some one to enter upon this special secret service,—wishes +that so appealed to Hale that he at once seriously considered offering +himself for the hazardous undertaking.</p> + +<p>Captain Hull, two years his senior in age, and one year in advance of +him in Yale, a close friend while in college and during their subsequent +days, shall describe the personal interview between himself and Captain +Hale in regard to this matter. It is said that many remonstrated with +Hale at his decision, but Hull's statement shows the arguments of a +practical man against which Hale had to contend.</p> + +<p>In his memoirs Captain Hull writes thus of his last interview with +Captain Hale:</p> + +<p>"After his interview with Col. Knowlton, he repaired to my quarters and +informed me of what had passed. He remarked 'I think I owe to my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +country the accomplishment of an object so important, and so much +desired by the commander of her armies—and I know of no other mode of +obtaining the information than by assuming a disguise and passing into +the enemy's camp.'</p> + +<p>"He asked my candid opinion. I replied that it was an act which involved +serious consequences, and the propriety of it was doubtful; and though +he viewed the business of a spy as a duty, yet he could not officially +be required to perform it; that such a service was not claimed of the +meanest soldier, though many might be willing, for a pecuniary +compensation, to engage in it; and as for himself, the employment was +not in keeping with his character. His nature was too frank and open for +deceit and disguise, and he was incapable of acting a part equally +foreign to his feelings and habits. Admitting that he was successful, +who would wish success at such a price? Did his country demand the moral +degradation of her sons, to advance her interests?</p> + +<p>"Stratagems are resorted to in war; they are feints and evasions, +performed under no disguise; are familiar to commanders; form a part of +their plans, and, considered in a military view, lawful and +advantageous. The tact with which they are executed exacts admiration +from the enemy. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> who respects the character of a spy, assuming the +garb of friendship but to betray? The very death assigned him is +expressive of the estimation in which he is held. As soldiers, let us do +our duty in the field; contend for our legitimate rights, and not stain +our honor by the sacrifice of integrity. And when present events, with +all their deep and exciting interests, shall have passed away, may the +blush of shame never arise, by the remembrance of an unworthy though +successful act, in the performance of which we were deceived by the +belief that it was sanctioned by its object. I ended by saying that, +should he undertake the enterprise, his short, bright career would close +with an ignominious death.</p> + +<p>"He replied, 'I am fully sensible of the consequences of discovery and +capture in such a situation. But for a year I have been attached to the +army, and have not rendered any material service, while receiving a +compensation for which I make no return. Yet,' he continued, 'I am not +influenced by the expectation of promotion or pecuniary reward. I wish +to be useful, and every kind of service necessary for the public good, +becomes honorable by being necessary. If the exigencies of my country +demand a peculiar service, its claims to perform that service are +imperative!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p> + +<p>"He spoke with warmth and decision. I replied, 'That such are your +wishes cannot be doubted. But is this the most effectual mode of +carrying them into execution? In the progress of the war there will be +ample opportunity to give your talents and your life, should it be so +ordered, to the sacred cause to which we are pledged. You can bestow +upon your country the richest benefits, and win for yourself the highest +honours. Your exertions for her interests will be daily felt, while, by +one fatal act, you crush forever the power and opportunity Heaven offers +for her glory and your happiness.'</p> + +<p>"I urged him for the love of country, for the love of kindred, to +abandon an enterprise which would only end in the sacrifice of the +dearest interests of both. He paused—then affectionately taking my +hand, he said, 'I will reflect, and do nothing but what duty demands.' +He was absent from the army, and I feared he had gone to the British +lines to execute his fatal purpose."</p> + +<p>Just how soon after this conversation Captain Hale left camp on his +perilous mission, cannot now be determined. We only know that it must +have been early in September, during the first week or ten days. He +proceeded with Sergeant Hempstead by the safest route, and reached +Nor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>walk before finding a place to cross Long Island Sound.</p> + +<p>Sergeant Hempstead alone has furnished the few details of Captain Hale's +final preparations. He had decided to assume civilian's dress, probably +that of an educated man seeking employment as tutor among the Americans +still living in New York. Hempstead says he was dressed in a brown suit +of citizen's clothes, with a round, broad-brimmed hat. On parting he +gave Hempstead his private papers and letters, and his silver +shoebuckles, to take care of for him.</p> + +<p>It is, we think, not an undue inference that the letters and private +papers he left in Hempstead's care were all to be sent to his family. +These doubtless included personal letters to them, for no man such as we +know Nathan Hale to have been would have faced a journey from which he +might never return without some words of explanation, and possible +farewell, to those he loved at home. There is one fact that all who +believe in the sanctity of personal confidences and possible farewells +will be glad to remember,—that not one private word from Nathan Hale to +Alice Adams Ripley, or from her to him, has ever been exploited to +satisfy the curiosity of those who have no right to share it.</p> + +<p>Hempstead left Captain Hale, who, now fully<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> committed to his hazardous +quest, set forth on the armed sloop <i>Schuyler</i> with Captain Pond—one of +the captains in the 19th Regiment—in command, across the Sound to Long +Island. When he landed Captain Hale said farewell to the last American +friend he was to be with, so far as we have any record.</p> + +<p>Assuming that he reached this point on or near the 15th of September, +one or two other facts suggest themselves. It is known that the +Declaration of Independence had been carried to the American camp as +early as possible after its announcement in July, had been read to the +troops assembled for that purpose, and had been received with unbounded +enthusiasm. It is probable that both Colonel Knowlton, later in command +of the Rangers, and Captain Hale, one of its officers, were present at +that reading and joined in the huzzas. Singularly enough, neither one of +these two men was a citizen of the United States for three months.</p> + +<p>Two months later Colonel Knowlton fell in the battle of Harlem Heights, +on September 16th, six days before Nathan Hale's execution. Knowlton's +last words are said to have been, "I do not care for my life, if we do +but win the day."</p> + +<p>From the moment of his leaving New York, the mind of such a man as +Nathan Hale must have had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> solemn foreshadowings of the possible result, +of the tremendous risk he was facing. Men do not grow old by the passing +of years so much as by the endurance of great experiences, and in the +few brief days that were left to Nathan Hale we know really nothing of +his whereabouts, of what risks he ran, of how often he barely escaped +recognition as a spy, where he slept, of any possible friends whom he +may have encountered, or of any moment when his very life seemed to hang +on the accidental glance of an enemy's eye.</p> + +<p>Finally dawned the 21st of September. Hale had fully accomplished his +mission.</p> + +<p>There are conflicting accounts as to what occurred on the last evening +of Nathan Hale's life, some going into minute details of occurrences +that were assumed to have taken place. One with considerable +plausibility says that, as the time had elapsed which he had expected to +spend among the British (at the end of which time a boat was to be sent +across the Sound for him), Hale, having finished his quest, had entered +a tavern kept by a certain widow Chichester. She was a stanch friend of +the Tories, and her house was the constant resort of Tories and British +men and officers. While Hale was sitting in the tavern, apparently at +his ease among the men there assembled, some one passed him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> whose face +he thought familiar,—a man who glanced at him sharply and then passed +from the room. Later it was said to have been his own cousin who +betrayed him. Fortunately, there is not a word of truth in the +assertion.</p> + +<p>Although Deacon Hale writes that his son was undoubtedly betrayed by +some one, it appears to have been effectually disproved that he was +betrayed by a relative—a cousin who, it is stated, had never seen him, +and therefore could not have recognized him. A much more probable rumor +is that he was recognized by a loyalist woman who might easily have seen +him before the American army retreated farther north on the island, and +been impressed by his personal appearance and by his prowess in kicking +the football over the trees in the Bowery. This feat Hale is said to +have performed.</p> + +<p>The report goes on to say that a man suddenly entered saying that a boat +was approaching, and that Hale, supposing this boat to have been sent +for him, at once left the room and went to the shore. If there is any +truth in this narrative, it is very possible that here Hale committed +his one indiscretion. In his joy at seeing the friends who had been sent +for him, he may have uttered words of such joyous welcome that the +officer who heard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> them must have known that this was some one expecting +a boat, and presumably a boat from the opposite shore. At all events, it +is stated that Hale, seeing his mistake when several marines presented +their guns, turned to fly, stopping only when told by the officer to +stand or be shot. These events are said to have taken place at +Huntington, Long Island, about forty miles from New York.</p> + +<p>But more than a century after Hale's death a British Orderly Book was +found, containing the statement, dated September 22d, 1776, that +follows:</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;"> +<img src="images/illus-082.jpg" width="650" height="246" alt="" title="See footnote 1" /> + +</div> + + +<blockquote><p><b>Footnote [1]</b> A spy fm the Enemy (by his own full Confession) Apprehended +Last night, was this day Executed at 11 o'clock in front of the Artilery +Park. +</p><p> +From an Orderly Book of the British Guard. Reproduced from the original +in possession of the New York Historical Society.</p></blockquote> + +<p>This, with other knowledge obtained about the position of the ship by +whose crew he was said to have been taken, gives reason for believing +that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> the arrest was not made at Huntington by the crew of that ship, +but in the city of New York. The order proves also that, once +apprehended, he made not the slightest attempt at concealment, nor any +effort to escape his doom. The information gained by Hale's brother +Enoch in New York supports this belief as to his capture.</p> + +<p>All that we actually know is, that he was captured while attempting to +make his way back to his friends, and that this must have been the +sharpest moment in his experience. Before it, he had hopes of escape; +after his capture he knew that his doom was certain, and his splendid +soul adapted itself quietly and bravely to the inevitable.</p> + +<p>That fatal night—the night of the 21st of September—was in many +respects the most terrible that New York has ever passed through. A fire +had broken out near the docks at two in the morning, and was spreading +with fearful rapidity toward the upper part of the city, the blaze +carried northward by a strong breeze. It looked at one time as if +nothing could stop the conflagration, and that the whole city would be +destroyed.</p> + +<p>For a time the enemy believed that the Americans had deliberately set +fire to their own city in order to expel the hated British. Later this +was found to be untrue, as the fire proved to have started in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> low +drinking house where several coarse fellows were carousing. The fire +swept on, destroying more than five hundred houses, one fifth of all the +buildings then in the city, and was stopped only near Barclay Street by +a sudden sharp change in the wind, which blew the fire southward toward +the already burning district.</p> + +<p>Report says that the provost marshal was given authority by Howe to +dispose summarily, without the delay of a trial, of any Americans found +rushing about the burning buildings, assuming, of course, that they were +intent on the destruction of more buildings, rather than on the natural +desire of saving what they could of their own property; and that as a +result of this authority, more than one hapless householder was thrown +into his own burning home.</p> + +<p>Up to this point, the early or late evening of the 21st, there is more +or less of unsolvable mystery in regard to Nathan Hale's movements; but +from the memoirs of Captain William Hull, Nathan Hale's college friend +and companion in arms, we have what appears to be unimpeachable evidence +as to Hale's arrest and being brought to General Howe's headquarters. We +quote from Captain Hull the information he received from an English +officer through a flag of truce:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I learned the melancholy particulars from this officer, who was present +at Hale's execution and seemed touched by the circumstances attending +it. He said that Captain Hale had passed through their army, both of +Long Island and [New] York Island. That he had procured sketches of the +fortifications, and made memoranda of their number and different +positions. When apprehended, he was taken before Sir William Howe, and +these papers, found concealed about his person, betrayed his intentions. +He at once declared his name, his rank in the American army, and his +object in coming within the British lines.</p> + +<p>"Sir William Howe, without the form of a trial, gave orders for his +execution the following morning. He was placed in the custody of the +provost marshal. Captain Hale asked for a clergyman to attend him. His +request was refused. He then asked for a Bible; that too was refused.</p> + +<p>"'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. He asked for writing materials, which I furnished him; +he wrote two letters, one to his mother and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> one to a brother officer. +He was shortly summoned to the gallows. But a few persons were around +him.'"</p> + +<p>He was condemned to die in the early morning of the 22d, but in the +confusion prevailing throughout the city on account of the spreading +fire, at one time threatening the whole town, Provost Marshal Cunningham +must have been that morning very fully occupied, and it was late in the +forenoon before he completed his preparations for Hale's execution.</p> + +<p>At eleven o'clock Cunningham was ready, and, as it proved, Nathan Hale +was ready also. Quietly standing among the few who had gathered to see +him die, and it is said in response to a taunt from Cunningham that if +he had any confession to make now was the time to make it, Hale +responded, glancing briefly at Cunningham and then calmly at the faces +about him, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my +country."</p> + +<p>For once in his life Cunningham must have been astounded. With no plea +for mercy, no shrinking from the worst that Cunningham could do, this +man, still almost a boy in years, had shown himself utterly beyond his +power—had lifted himself forever from the doom of a victim to the grand +estate of a victor. One sharp, brief struggle and Nathan Hale was +free—dead, but victorious!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p> + +<p>Indefinite as are most of the details, there are some unwritten points +that may confidently be assumed.</p> + +<p>That 22d of September was a Sabbath day, a day associated in Nathan +Hale's mind with religious observances; prayers at the family altar, +readings of the Bible, and gatherings of his friends within church +walls. Whether or not his family knew the dangerous quest on which he +had ventured, he knew that he was not absent from their memories, and +that the family were bearing him in their thoughts that Sabbath morning. +No other day could have made that assurance so real to him, and this +thought was probably one of his strongest earthly consolations and +inspirations while he was awaiting the slow but relentless preparations +for his death.</p> + +<p>No wonder that he bore himself "calmly and with dignity," as Captain +Montressor said of him. No wonder that he died bravely—seemingly +without a tremor of soul. In his last words Nathan Hale, true and +faithful in every relation and every act of his brief life, gave to his +country more than his life, more than all the hopes he was relinquishing +so freely for her sake. In one short, indomitable breath of patriotism, +he uttered words that will be forgotten only when American history +ceases to be read.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p> + +<p>William Cunningham, Provost Marshal of the English forces in America, +murderer and inhuman jailer, would have laughed to scorn the idea that +any being, human or divine, could preserve Nathan Hale's last words for +the inspiration of coming generations, yet a kindly British officer, +Captain John Montressor, carried them to Hale's friends.</p> + +<p>Cunningham has left a record of brutality unsurpassed in American +history. He is himself said to have boasted that he had caused the death +of two thousand American soldiers. We know that any reference to the +prison ships in New York Harbor sets Cunningham before us as a cowardly +murderer, starving men to death by depriving them of rations which the +English supplied for them, and which he sold, pocketing the proceeds. He +stands alone on a pedestal of infamy.</p> + +<p>The letters that Hale had written and left, as he hoped, to be delivered +to his friends, Cunningham ruthlessly destroyed, giving as his reason +that "the rebels should not know that they had a man in their army who +could die with so much firmness." Though Hale's letters were destroyed, +the English officer, John Montressor, aide to General Howe—a gentleman +in whose presence we may safely assume that Cunningham, cowardly as all +brutal men are, had not dared to maltreat Nathan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> Hale as he was known +to maltreat other prisoners—that very Sunday evening spoke of Hale's +death to General Putnam and Captain Alexander Hamilton at the American +outposts where he had been sent with a flag of truce by General Howe to +arrange for an exchange of prisoners. More was learned when a flag of +truce was sent two days later to the British lines by General +Washington, in answer to the one on September 22. Two friends of Hale, +Captain Hull and Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Webb, were among those who +went with the flag.</p> + +<p>Through these flags of truce—and perhaps others—were obtained all the +positive knowledge that Hale's friends were ever able to secure; but the +unvarnished story, told by Captain Montressor, gave all that was +essential to reveal to his friends his manly attitude when in the +presence of General Howe, and his calmness and dignity when he was +awaiting execution; while his last unpremeditated but immortal words, in +reply to Cunningham's taunt, proved to all his friends that he had died +as he had lived—a Christian patriot, and a hero.</p> + +<p>We may suppose that Nathan Hale himself had not the remotest idea that +anything concerning his death would ever be made known to his friends +save that, detected as a spy, he had died<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> as the penalty he had known +would follow capture. The words spoken by Nathan Hale, as his last +earthly thought, seem to prove that the thought, breathed from the +depths of his fearless soul, shall live as long as pure patriotism +thrills the souls of mortal men.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Grief for the Young Patriot</span></h3> + + +<p>From Enoch Hale's diary, parts of which were first published by his +famous grandson, Edward Everett Hale, we learn how the news reached the +Hale family. Enoch writes as follows:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"September 30. Afternoon. Ride to Rev. Strong's [his uncle] Salmon +Brook [Connecticut]. Hear a rumor that Capt. Hale, belonging to the +east side of Connecticut River near Colchester, who was educated at +College, was sentenced to hang in the enemy's lines at New York, +being taken as a spy, or reconnoitering their camp. Hope it is +without foundation. Something troubled at it. Sleep not very +well.... October 15. Get a pass to ride to New York.... Accounts +from my brother Captain are indeed melancholy! That about the +second week of September, he went to Stamford, crossed to Long +Island (Dr. Waldo writes) and had finished his plans, but before he +could get off, was betrayed, taken, and hanged without ceremony.... +Some entertain hopes that all this is not true, but it is a gloomy, +dejected hope. Time may determine. Conclude to go to the camp next +week."</p></blockquote> + +<p>He afterwards wrote that Webb, one of Washington's staff, brought word +to Washington that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> Nathan Hale, "being suspected by his movements that +he wanted to get out of New York, was taken up and examined by the +general [Howe] and some minutes being found upon him, orders were +immediately given that he should be hanged. When at the gallows, he +spoke and told that he was a Capt. in the Continental army, by name +Nathan Hale."</p> + +<p>To those who have experienced the long weeks of distressing anxiety that +often fall to the lot of those whose friends are in battle, or carried +prisoners to unknown camps, no words are needed to depict the anxiety +among Nathan Hale's family until particulars of his noble death were +finally learned.</p> + +<p>It is a solemn but perhaps a comforting fact, that the deepest human +distress seems, after a few generations have passed, to have been "writ +in water." Bitter as must have been those early sorrowful hours, the +only later reminder of the tears that then flowed is given in the +statement that one who had loved him could not speak of him fifty years +later without tears in her eyes.</p> + +<p>Of how many wept for him we can form no conception. Indeed, we should +have pitied any warmhearted girl or young man who knew him, and had +shared his joyous young life, who could have heard of his tragic death +without tears almost as bitter as for one intensely loved.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> + +<p>Duly Enoch Hale and his family learned all that ever will be known of +the last days of their beloved, and now honored, dead.</p> + +<p>The following letter of Deacon Richard Hale's—good man and uncertain +speller that he was!—was written to his brother Samuel at Portsmouth, +New Hampshire, a few months after Nathan's death had become known:</p> + +<blockquote><p> +<span class="smcap">Dear Brother</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>I Rec<sup>d</sup> your favor of the 17<sup>th</sup> of February Last and rejoce to +hear that you and your Famley ware well your obversation as to the +Diffulty of the times is very just. so gloomey a day wee niver saw +before but I trust our Cause is Just and for our Consolation in the +times of greatest destress we have this to sopert us that their is +a God that Jugeth in the earth if we can but take the comfort of +it. as to our being far advanced in life if it do but serve to wean +us from this presint troublesom world and stur us up to prepare for +a world of peace and Rest it is well. the calls in Providance are +loud to prepare to meet our God and O that he would prepare us. you +desired me to inform you about my son Nathan you have doutless seen +the Newberry Port paper that gives the acount of the conduct of our +kinsman Sam<sup>ll</sup> Hale toard him in New York as to our kinsman being +here in his way to York it is a mistake but as to his conduct tord +my son at York Mr. Cleveland of Capepan first reported it near us I +sopose when on his way from the Armey where he had been Chapling +home as was Probley true betraie'd he doubtless was by somebody. he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>was executed about the 22<sup>nd</sup> of September last by the aconts we +have had. a child I sot much by but he is gone I think the second +trial I ever met with. my 3<sup>rd</sup> son Joseph is in the armey over in +the Jarsyes and was well the last we heard from him my other son +that was in the service belonged to the melishey and is now at +home. my son Enoch is gone to take the small pox by enoculation. +Brother Robinson and famley are well we are all threw the Divine +goodness well my wife joins in love to you and Mrs Hale and your +children</p> + +<p class="author"> +Your loving Brother<br /> +<span class="smcap">Richard Hale</span><br /> +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Coventry</span> March 28th 1777</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>For a while after Nathan Hale's death, in the crowding events of the +Revolution, his personal friends appear to have been his chief mourners. +One lady is said to have told Professor Kingsley of New Haven that she +had never seen greater anguish than that experienced by Deacon Hale and +his family when they heard of Nathan's death.</p> + +<p>What the news meant to his "good grandmother Strong" we are not told. +For her, so faithful and unselfish in her loving, we can but be glad +that if she went home all the earlier for this blow, she must have gone +all the more serenely; assured that if the earth was the poorer, heaven +was the richer, because the grandson she had loved so truly was there +awaiting her.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Abbot, daughter of Deacon Richard Hale's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> son, Joseph Hale, lived +at her grandfather's from 1784 till her marriage in 1799. Many years ago +she wrote to her cousin, "From my earliest recollection I have felt a +deep interest in that unfortunate uncle. When his death or the manner of +it was spoken of, my grief would come forth in tears. Living in the old +homestead I frequently heard allusions to him by the neighbors and +persons that worked in the family, much more so than by near relatives. +It seemed the anguish they felt did not allow them to make it the +subject of conversation. Was it not so with your mother?"</p> + +<p>Rev. Edward Everett Hale refers in a historical address to the fact that +in his own early days the name of Nathan Hale was seldom mentioned in +his presence. We of to-day can but wish that somewhat of the luster from +the radiant halo that was to encircle his memory and to grow brighter as +the years pass on, might have comforted them. Yet each one of that +sorrowing family has long since learned to rejoice that, as nobly as any +martyr has ever died for his country, their lad went forth into the +eternities.</p> + +<p>The poem which follows was published in "Songs and Ballads of the +Revolution," collected by Mr. Frank Moore. It is not known when these +verses first appeared, but they are among the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> earliest tributes to Hale +after his death. It is thought possible, by some students of +Revolutionary history, that the lines may yet prove valuable in throwing +light upon the manner of Hale's capture and death, as they are probably +based on accounts current at that time of which records have not yet +appeared.</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Capture and Death of Nathan Hale</span></h4> + +<p class="center">(By an unknown poet of 1776)</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The breezes went steadily thro' the tall pines,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A-saying "oh! hu-sh!" a-saying "oh! hu-sh!"</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As stilly stole by a bold legion of horse,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For Hale in the bush, for Hale in the bush.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Keep still!" said the thrush as she nestled her young,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In a nest by the road; in a nest by the road;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For the tyrants are near, and with them appear,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">What bodes us no good, what bodes us no good."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The brave captain heard it, and thought of his home,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In a cot by the brook; in a cot by the brook.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With mother and sister and memories dear,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He so gaily forsook; he so gaily forsook.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cooling shades of the night were coming apace,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The tattoo had beat; the tattoo had beat.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The noble one sprang from his dark lurking place</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">To make his retreat; to make his retreat.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He warily trod on the dry rustling leaves,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As he pass'd thro' the wood; as he pass'd thro' the wood;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And silently gain'd his rude launch on the shore,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As she play'd with the flood; as she play'd with the flood.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The guards of the camp, on that dark, dreary night,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Had a murderous will; had a murderous will.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They took him and bore him afar from the shore,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To a hut on the hill; to a hut on the hill.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No mother was there, nor a friend who could cheer,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In that little stone cell; in that little stone cell.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But he trusted in love from his father above,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In his heart all was well; in his heart all was well.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An ominous owl with his solemn bass voice</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sat moaning hard by; sat moaning hard by.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The tyrant's proud minions most gladly rejoice,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For he must soon die; for he must soon die."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The brave fellow told them, no thing he restrained,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The cruel gen'ral; the cruel gen'ral;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His errand from camp, of the ends to be gained,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And said that was all; and said that was all.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They took him and bound him and bore him away,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Down the hill's grassy side; down the hill's grassy side.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Twas there the base hirelings, in royal array,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His cause did deride; his cause did deride.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Five minutes were given, short moments, no more,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For him to repent; for him to repent;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He pray'd for his mother, he ask'd not another;</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">To Heaven he went; to Heaven he went.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The faith of a martyr, the tragedy shew'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As he trod the last stage; as he trod the last stage.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Britons will shudder at gallant Hale's blood,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As his words do presage; as his words do presage.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thou pale king of terrors, thou life's gloomy foe,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Go frighten the slave; go frighten the slave;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tell tyrants to you their allegiance they owe.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No fears for the brave; no fears for the brave."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>The body of the Martyr Spy was never found. For many years there appears +to have been some interest, but little knowledge, as to the place of +Nathan Hale's execution. During the last one hundred and thirty-eight +years, writer after writer has described his life and all the events +connected with it as they are believed to have occurred; and, as was +inevitable under the circumstances, some things have been written that +the critical historian cannot indorse.</p> + +<p>Until near the end of the nineteenth century no reliable information, +even as to the place of his execution, had been gained. The late Mr. +William Kelby, Librarian of the New York Historical Society, "an +accepted authority on all subjects of this and kindred nature," is said +to have undertaken to locate the exact spot where it occurred, and met +with at least partial success.</p> + +<p>Writing on the subject in 1893 he says in sub<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>stance: When the British +took possession of New York in September, 1776, after the battle of Long +Island, General Howe occupied the Beekman house on Fifty-first Street +and First Avenue as his headquarters, while the army extended across the +island to the north of him. The corps of Royal Artillery occupied part +of the high ground between Sixty-sixth and Seventy-second Streets, where +they parked their guns and formed a camp.</p> + +<p>Close to the camp were the old "five-mile stone" on the way to +Kingsbridge, and a tavern long known as "The Sign of the Dove." The +exact location of this tavern is shown from a survey of 1783 as being +west of the post road on Third Avenue between Sixty-sixth and +Sixty-seventh streets. It belonged, with four acres of land attached, to +the City Corporation.</p> + +<p>The extract already shown on page 82 is from an Orderly Book (discovered +by Mr. Kelby) kept by an officer of the British Foot-Guards. Other +entries read as follows:</p> + +<p>"October 6. The effects of the late Lieutenant Lovell to be sold at the +house near the Artillery Park.</p> + +<p>"October 11. Majors of Brigade to attend at the Artillery Park near the +Dove at five this afternoon."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> + +<p>The story of Hale's confinement in the Beekman greenhouse at Fifty-first +Street and First Avenue on the night of September 21, 1776, is generally +accepted. Former stories of the place of execution are disproved by the +first extract from the Orderly Book, while the others indicate the +location of the Artillery Park. It therefore appears that Hale was +executed upon some part of this common land of the Corporation of the +City of New York, and it is probable that his body was buried there.</p> + +<p>The tract is now covered mainly by buildings devoted to educational and +philanthropic uses. Possibly the dust of the Martyr Spy may lie in the +grounds of the Normal, or Hunter, College.</p> + +<p>Other materials, found since Mr. Kelby wrote, confirm his conclusions +and make Third Avenue, not far north of Sixty-sixth Street, the most +probable spot of Nathan Hale's death. The noblest educational +institutions in New York City could have no more appropriate foundations +than those laid above the bodies of patriots who have died, not only for +the freedom of the city, but for that of the whole land.</p> + +<p>For a time, as was inevitable, a pall seemed thrown over the memory of +Nathan Hale, and at first only the love of his own family strove to +commemorate his life and death. A stone was erected<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> to his memory in +the cemetery at South Coventry, near the spot where his father expected +to be buried. It still stands there and has been declared to be one of +the best examples of the lettering of the times. It bears this +inscription:</p> + +<p>"Durable stone preserve the monumental record. Nathan Hale Esq. a Capt. +in the army of the United States, who was born June 6th, 1755, and +received the first honors of Yale College, Sept. 1773, resigned his life +a sacrifice to his country's liberty at New York, Sept. 22d, 1776, +Etatis 22d."</p> + +<p>One by one were placed near his, his father's stone (his father died at +eighty-five), and those of other members of his family. These graves are +in a common burial lot near the Congregational Church in South Coventry +where the family had worshiped.</p> + +<p>In November, 1837, the Hale Monument Association was formed for the +purpose of erecting at Coventry a fitting memorial of the +martyr-soldier. Congress was applied to for several years, but was slow +in appropriating money to honor the dead,—strangely unlike England in +honoring her martyrs, as will be seen later.</p> + +<p>Appeals were made to the State legislature, and Stuart, Hale's earliest +biographer and sincere admirer, used his influence as a legislator in +securing an appropriation of twelve hundred and fifty dol<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>lars. The +women of Coventry redoubled their zeal, and by fairs, teas, etc., raised +a sufficient sum, added to the grant from the legislature and +contributions from some prominent men of the country, to pay for the +cenotaph. It is a pyramidal shaft, resting on a base of steps, with a +shelving projection one-third of the way up the pedestal. The material +is of hewn Quincy granite. It was designed by Henry Austin of New Haven. +It is fourteen feet square at the base and forty-five feet high. It was +completed under the superintendence of Solomon Willard, architect of +Bunker Hill Monument, at a cost of about four thousand dollars.</p> + +<p>The inscription on the north side is, "Captain Nathan Hale, 1776"; on +the west, "Born at Coventry, June 6, 1755"; on the east, "Died at New +York, Sept. 22, 1776"; on the south, "I only regret that I have but one +life to lose for my country."</p> + +<p>The monument stands on elevated ground. "Its site is particularly +fine;... on the north it overlooks a beautiful lake, while on the east +it looks through a captivating natural vista to greet the sun."</p> + +<p>With the planning of this monument began the revival of interest in +Nathan Hale's short but splendid career that is still gathering strength +and will eventually establish his name among those of the bravest +American patriots.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Tributes to Nathan Hale</span></h3> + + +<p>When Captain Montressor told Hale's dismayed friends of the terrible +doom that had befallen their comrade, it must have seemed as if all the +influence Hale might have had in a prolonged life, all that could come +to such a man, had been sacrificed. We must not blame them if the +question involuntarily rose in their hearts, "Why such waste? Why was +such an influence so permanently destroyed?" Curiously enough, many +years passed with little special notice by the public of Hale's death. +But the leaven of patriotism works, even though slowly, and step by step +Hale was coming to his own. Little by little the memory of his sacrifice +for his country, and the fact that he had left words that should glow +with increasing splendor, took possession of those who had ears to hear +and hearts to remember.</p> + +<p>Old Linonia in Yale did not forget the splendid boy, once its +Chancellor, who died as he had lived. Linonia's records still bear, in +clear and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> perfect lines, reports his hand had written when he was its +most assiduous member. Others might have forgotten him; Linonia had not.</p> + +<p>On its one-hundredth anniversary, July 27, 1853,—Commencement +Week,—the poet of the occasion was Francis Miles Finch, Yale, 1846, +later Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. As poet, Mr. Finch of +course recalled many former members of the society. He ended with a poem +on Nathan Hale in which he held his listeners spellbound as stanza after +stanza, magnetic in proportion to their truthful beauty, fell from his +lips.</p> + +<p>There has been a further service to his country by Judge Finch. His own +character has been graven into two different poems,—the one just +referred to, and one that he wrote later. The latter poem had, +undoubtedly, a powerful influence in causing our national Decoration Day +to be celebrated throughout the United States.</p> + +<p>The story of this poem is interesting. In a town in Mississippi certain +Southern women went on a spring day, soon after the close of the Civil +War, to cover with flowers the graves of their beloved dead. The +gracious and tender thought must have come to them that in the graves of +aliens buried among them lay those as deeply mourned in North<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>ern homes +as were those they themselves had loved.</p> + +<p>Certainly no sweeter suggestion could have been more tenderly carried +out than that which led these bereaved women to spread flowers over the +graves of those who were once their enemies. Mr. Finch was told of this +incident, and the lines he wrote show his appreciation of the "generous +deed." The poem, "The Blue and the Gray," did much to heal the wounds in +both North and South.</p> + +<p>The two poems by Judge Francis Miles Finch are quoted here, the first +with the drum-beat pulsing through it; the second in musical, flowing +lines that carry in them sorrow, loyalty, and the community of a common +bereavement.</p> + +<h4><span class="smcap">Hale's Fate and Fame</span></h4> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And one there was—his name immortal now—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who dies not to the ring of rattling steel,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or battle-march of spirit-stirring drum,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, far from comrades and from friendly camp,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Alone upon the scaffold.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">To drum-beat and heart-beat</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">A soldier marches by;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">There is color in his cheek,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">There is courage in his eye,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Yet to drum-beat and heart-beat</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 4em;">In a moment he must die.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">By starlight and moonlight</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">He seeks the Briton's camp,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">He hears the rustling flag,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">And the armèd sentry's tramp.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">And the starlight and moonlight</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">His silent wanderings lamp.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">With slow tread and still tread</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">He scans the tented line,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">And he counts the battery guns</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">By the gaunt and shadowy pine,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">And his slow tread and still tread</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Give no warning sign.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">The dark wave, the plumed wave!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">It meets his eager glance;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">And it sparkles 'neath the stars</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Like the glimmer of a lance:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">A dark wave, a plumed wave,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">On an emerald expanse.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">A sharp clang, a steel clang!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">And terror in the sound;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">For the sentry, falcon-eyed,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">In the camp a spy hath found;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">With a sharp clang, a steel clang,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">The patriot is bound.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">With calm brow, steady brow,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">He listens to his doom;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">In his look there is no fear</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Nor a shadow trace of gloom;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">But with calm brow and steady brow</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 4em;">He robes him for the tomb.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">In the long night, the still night,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">He kneels upon the sod;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">And the brutal guards withhold</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">E'en the solemn Word of God!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">In the long night, the still night,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">He walks where Christ hath trod.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">'Neath the blue morn, the sunny morn,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">He dies upon the tree;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">And he mourns that he can lose</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">But one life for Liberty;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">And in the blue morn, the sunny morn,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">His spirit-wings are free.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">His last words, his message words,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">They burn, lest friendly eye</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Should read how proud and calm</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">A patriot could die,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">With his last words, his dying words,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">A soldier's battle-cry!</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">From Fame-leaf and Angel-leaf,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">From monument and urn,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">The sad of Earth, the glad of Heaven,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">His tragic fate shall learn;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">And on Fame-leaf and Angel-leaf,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">The name of <span class="smcap">Hale</span> shall burn!</span><br /> +</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">The Blue and the Gray</span></h4> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">By the flow of the inland river,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Whence the fleets of iron had fled,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Asleep are the ranks of the dead:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Under the sod and the dew;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Waiting the judgment-day;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Under the one the Blue;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Under the other, the Gray.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">These in the robings of glory,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Those in the gloom of defeat,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All with the battle-blood gory,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">In the dusk of eternity meet:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Under the sod and the dew,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Waiting the judgment-day;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Under the laurel, the Blue;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Under the willow, the Gray.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From the silence of sorrowful hours</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The desolate mourners go,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lovingly laden with flowers,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Alike for the friend and the foe:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Under the sod and the dew,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Waiting the judgment-day;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Under the roses, the Blue,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Under the lilies, the Gray.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So, with an equal splendor,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The morning sun-rays fall,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With a touch impartially tender,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">On the blossoms blooming for all:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Under the sod and the dew,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Waiting the judgment-day;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Broidered with gold, the Blue;</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 4em;">Mellowed with gold, the Gray.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So, when the summer calleth</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">On forest and field of grain,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With an equal murmur falleth</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The cooling drip of the rain:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Under the sod and the dew,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Waiting the judgment-day;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Wet with the rain, the Blue,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Wet with the rain, the Gray.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sadly, but not with upbraiding,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The generous deed was done,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In the storm of the years that are fading</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">No braver battle was won:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Under the sod and the dew,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Waiting the judgment-day;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Under the blossoms, the Blue,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Under the garlands, the Gray.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No more shall the war cry sever,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Or the winding rivers be red;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They banish our anger forever</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">When they laurel the graves of our dead!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Under the sod and the dew,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Waiting the judgment-day;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Love and tears for the Blue;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Tears and love for the Gray.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>On the one hundred and tenth anniversary of the evacuation of New York +by the British—November 25, 1893—a bronze statue of Nathan Hale was +presented to the city of New York. It was given by the New York Society +of the "Sons of the American Rev<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>olution," a society founded in 1876 to +perpetuate the memory and deeds of the war for American independence. +The presentation was made by the president of the society, Mr. Frederic +Samuel Tallmadge, the grandson of Major Tallmadge, Hale's classmate and +fellow-captain. The statue is of bronze and is by Frederick Macmonnies +of Paris. It represents Hale bareheaded, bound about his arms and his +ankles, ready for his death. It was placed in City Hall Park where Hale +was, for a time, supposed to have been executed. On the pedestal are +graven his last wonderful words.</p> + +<p>During the exercises at the unveiling of this statue Dr. Edward Everett +Hale said: "The occasion, I suppose, is without a parallel in history. +Certainly, I know of no other instance where, more than a century after +the death of a boy of twenty-one, his countrymen assembled in such +numbers as are here to do honor to his memory and to dedicate the statue +which preserves it.</p> + +<p>"He died near this spot, saying, 'I am sorry that I have but one life to +give for my country.' And because that boy said those words, and because +he died, thousands of other young men have given their lives to his +country; have served her as she bade them serve her, even though they +died as she bade them die."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p> + +<p>The day's celebration was concluded by a dinner of the Society. Dr. Hale +spoke on this occasion also. He said in part:</p> + +<p>"Let us never forget that this is the monument of a young man—that he +is the young man's hero. Let us never forget how the country then +trusted young men and how worthy they were of the trust. It was at the +very time of which I spoke that Washington first knew Hamilton and asked +him to his tent. Hamilton had already won the confidence of Greene. +Hamilton was, I think, in his nineteenth year. Knox, who commanded +Hamilton's regiment, was, I think, twenty-four. Webb, who commanded +Hale's regiment, was twenty-two. When, the next year, Washington +welcomed Lafayette, whom Congress appointed major-general, he +[Lafayette] was not twenty. And Washington himself, before whom others +stood abashed, had only attained the venerable age of forty-four. The +country needed her young men. She called for them and she had them. It +is one of those young men who, dying at twenty-one, leaves as his only +word of regret that he has but one life to give to her."</p> + +<p>Although it is now known that Hale was not executed near City Hall Park, +in some respects there could be no more fitting location for a monument +to him than this, perhaps the busiest con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>flux of human beings that +anywhere crowd this great city. Thousands pass this statue, learning +from it their first lessons in American history. Hundreds have stopped, +seeing this bareheaded, dauntless man, evidently doomed to die, to try +to learn whence he came and why he stands there, appealing to the +noblest patriotism—patriotism that must touch the heart of any man who +knows the love of country.</p> + +<p>Since this statue was placed, memorials of various kinds to Nathan Hale +have been erected in several parts of the country. The schoolhouses in +which he taught, although not occupying their original sites, have been +restored, and are in possession of patriotic societies.</p> + +<p>To-day Yale, endowed with buildings costing millions, is learning that +stone and mortar, in edifices however beautiful, do not enshrine their +noblest memories.</p> + +<p>Through a few friends of Yale, a statue of Nathan Hale by Bela Lyon +Pratt has recently been placed near the oldest college building, +Connecticut Hall. This building has been restored to the appearance it +bore when Nathan Hale dwelt therein. Who shall say that the statue of +the bound boy, facing death so manfully, will not prove one of Yale's +noblest endowments?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> + +<p>Still another beautiful statue of Nathan Hale by William Ordway +Partridge may be seen in the city of St. Paul, Minn.</p> + +<p>Happily, Nathan Hale's ability to die for his country is but one side of +a Yale shield from which gleam the names of hundreds of her sons, who, +doubtless as ready to die for their country as he, had they been in his +place, have proved their power to live for God and for their native +land. Everywhere, in all quarters of the world, the Nathan Hale spirit +of unselfish devotion has inspired the sons of Yale to the noblest +service they could render; and every man, young or old, who passes the +statue of Nathan Hale will realize that hosts have lived lives inspired +by the same splendid spirit.</p> + +<p>Nathan Hale himself went forth from his alma mater filled with the +joyous hopes and ambitions that have filled the souls of many other men, +all unconscious of the fact that the finest heroism and the highest +self-sacrifice lay just before him, but conscious that he meant to be +ready for the best that life could give him. He was ready; and the best +of life for him was the power to die as he died.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Nathan Hale's Friends</span></h3> + + +<p class="center">(1) <i>Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D.</i></p> + +<p>A somewhat full description of the Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D., is well +worth placing among the friends of Nathan Hale. It was impossible for +such a boy as Nathan to have been under the care of such a man as Dr. +Huntington, first as pastor and then as his private teacher in his +preparation for college, without having been strongly influenced by him. +Indeed, scanning these old records of a parish of a hundred and fifty +years ago, we cannot help feeling a strong personal attraction toward +the Rev. Joseph Huntington.</p> + +<p>Few men more fully prove the claim that many of the early New England +pastors were eminently fitted to lead their people heavenward and also +in the practical development of their daily lives.</p> + +<p>Dr. Huntington lived a life evidently inspired by the finest ideals, and +also by shrewd common sense, always so dear to the heart of a New<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> +Englander. It is a pleasure to recall the story of this man's useful +life, and realize that besides the reverence almost invariably accorded +to "the minister" in those days, he must have held the everyday +affection and wholesome trust of his people. Year by year he proved +himself not only their pastor, but a friend full of all kindly +sympathies, never above a hearty laugh when mirth was rampant, or a +sympathetic tear for hearts wrung with anguish.</p> + +<p>He was born in Windham, Connecticut, in 1735. His ancestors came from +England about 1640 and the family ultimately settled in Windham. His +father, a man of somewhat arbitrary character, had determined that +Joseph should be a clothier, and forced him to remain in that business +until he was twenty-one. His intellectual ability was thought to be +somewhat remarkable, and his moral character so good that his pastor +advised him to begin a course of study for the ministry. He completed +his preparation for Yale College in an unusually short time, and was +graduated there in the year 1762.</p> + +<p>His call to be settled over the First Church in Coventry was received so +soon after his graduation that we are forced to believe that his +theological course must have been brief. The parish in Coven<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>try had +been greatly reduced in numbers. The meeting-house had been allowed to +go to decay, and the religious life of the parish was in a corresponding +state of depression. His ordination services were held out of +doors,—whether because the assemblage was too large for the church, or +because the building was too dilapidated, does not appear. The first +thing Mr. Huntington did after his settlement was to urge upon his +people the project of building a new meeting-house. They responded so +heartily that in a short time they had built the best church in the +whole region, having expended for it about five thousand dollars—a +large sum in those days.</p> + +<p>Dr. Huntington does not appear to have been a laborious student. He had +few books of his own, largely depending upon borrowing. But he had a +remarkable memory and the power of so making his own whatever he read +that his scholarship and his originality appear never to have been +questioned. The Rev. Daniel Waldo says of him that he was rather above +the middle height, slender and graceful in form, and that he seemed to +have had an instinctive desire to make everybody around him happy. This, +added to his uniform politeness, caused him to be very popular in +general society.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p> + +<p>The Rev. Mr. Waldo adds that Dr. Huntington was fond of pleasantry and +gives this instance:</p> + +<p>A very dull preacher who had studied theology with him was invited by +his people to resign, and they paid him for his services chiefly in +copper coin. On telling Dr. Huntington how he had been paid, he was +advised to go back and preach a farewell sermon from the text, +"Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil." Many such anecdotes and +repartees of Dr. Huntington were current in Coventry for years after his +death.</p> + +<p>This brief summary of Dr. Joseph Huntington's life shows that the men to +whom Richard Hale intrusted the preparation of his three sons for +entering Yale was not only a Christian, but a gentleman of the finest +culture. He was able not only to impart to Enoch, Nathan and David Hale +the rudiments of scholarship requisite for entering Yale, but to inspire +such boys with the keenest appreciation of courtesy, broad mental +endowments, and a wholesome zeal for high public service.</p> + +<p>The correspondence concerning the Union School in New London shows that +Dr. Huntington gave Nathan Hale the necessary recommendation for the +place. It is on record in Hale's diary that on December 27, 1775, the +day after his arrival home from Camp Winter Hill, he visited Dr. +Huntington;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> and in one of his New York letters he wrote, "I always with +respect remember Mr. Huntington and shall write to him if time permits."</p> + +<p>Admitting that Nathan Hale's father and mother were his most important +early friends, we believe that Dr. Huntington, as pastor, tutor, and +friend during the six years before Nathan entered college, may have +stood not far behind the parents in deep influence upon his +character—that splendid character, destined to be one of the beacon +lights of our country's history.</p> + + +<p class="center">(2) <i>Alice Adams</i></p> + +<p>Studying the lives of the founders of our republic, we are interested in +noting the early marriages that so often occurred, and which seem to +have been justified by the early mental maturity of the young men and +women in the eighteenth century.</p> + +<p>With early marriage, large families were the rule and not the exception; +and eulogize the forefathers of New England as much as one may, no one +at all familiar with the lives of the mothers of those generations can +question the share that the foremothers had in broadening the lives +and inspiring the characters of the husbands and sons in that early +period. Nathan Hale showed the power of heredity, and Alice Adams, the +woman he is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> said to have loved, proved well that she too had come of no +unworthy stock.</p> + +<p>It has been given few women to be so worthily loved as was Alice Adams, +from the time we catch our first glimpse of her till the last, in her +eighty-ninth year. She was born in June, 1757. Her mother married Deacon +Hale when Alice was in her thirteenth year. We do not know when Alice +first met Nathan Hale; but we do know that while both were very young +they found out that they loved each other, and proceeded to engage +themselves without consulting their elders. Nathan had several years of +work preparatory to his profession still before him, and, acting as they +supposed in the best interests of both the boy and the girl, the mother +and elder sister Sarah promptly discouraged the engagement and it was +broken.</p> + +<p>In February, 1773, while Nathan was still at Yale and before she was +sixteen, Alice was married to Elijah Ripley, a prosperous merchant at +Coventry. Within two years Mr. Ripley died, aged twenty-eight, leaving +behind him a little son, also named Elijah, who died in his second year.</p> + +<p>After Mr. Ripley's death, Mrs. Ripley with her baby boy returned to +Deacon Hale's home almost as an adopted daughter, comfortably provided +for by the estate of her late husband. A member of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> the Hale family, she +must have seen that whatever was true of Nathan Hale in the days when +they were boy and girl together, he, now a Yale graduate and a man among +men, first as teacher and then as soldier, was even more worthy of her +love than in their early days. It is probable that they corresponded +more or less, though happily none of the letters of either are preserved +for the curious to delight in. All we know is that in December, 1775, a +year after her husband's death, Nathan Hale stopped in Coventry while +absent from camp on army business, and the broken engagement has been +said to have been then renewed, this time without opposition.</p> + +<p>Having been married and widowed, and having lost her little son, Alice +Adams Ripley was now free to listen to the claims of the first love that +had entered her heart. What the few brief months that remained to Nathan +Hale must have meant to Alice Ripley, believing in him and caring for +him, only the noblest women can comprehend.</p> + +<p>In regard to the letters written by Nathan Hale on the morning of his +execution, one of these letters is said to have been written to his +mother. One or two of his biographers have inferred that this must be an +error, and that it was written to his father or to a brother. With the +natural delicacy always so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> conspicuous in him, a letter to his +"mother," so called, in reality the mother of one whom we believe to +have been his betrothed wife, Alice Adams Ripley, who would show it to +Alice and undoubtedly give it to her, was probably what he would have +written. The others would know what he had written, but Alice Adams +would doubtless possess the letter.</p> + +<p>Alice Adams was to live many, many years, to become one of the most +notable women in the city in which she dwelt; so honored that a copy of +her portrait has long hung in the Athenæum, Hartford's finest shrine for +such portraits.</p> + +<p>It was said of her that for several years after Nathan's death she had +no intention of marrying, but, after a widowhood of ten years, +events—some say changed circumstances—led her to accept an offer of +marriage from William Lawrence, of Hartford, which was thenceforth her +home. For many years she was naturally associated with the social life +of that city.</p> + +<p>Whatever letters may have passed between Nathan Hale and Alice Adams +Ripley, no trace of them remains to-day. For this we can only be +grateful that, unlike other unfortunate lovers,—Robert Browning and +Elizabeth Barrett Browing, for instance,—not one word remains of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> +correspondence. That belonged to him and to her alone. It is fortunate +that no mere curiosity hunter can feast his eyes or gossip over the +words these two people wrote to each other.</p> + +<p>To Alice's husband Nathan's father gave the powder horn she once spoke +of as having seen Nathan working upon in his customary intense fashion, +"doing that one thing as if there was nothing else to be thought of at +that time." Its being given to Mr. Lawrence by Nathan's father, to whom +it must have been dear, proves that Mr. Lawrence, as well as his wife, +was a welcome addition to the Hale family. Mr. Lawrence in turn gave it +to his son William, and it is now treasured by the Connecticut +Historical Society.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Lawrence lived well into the nineteenth century, dying in 1845, in +her eighty-ninth year. She was thoroughly appreciated in Hartford, but +it is from the pen of a granddaughter, in a note written to the Hon. I. +W. Stuart, that the best description of Mrs. Lawrence is given. Speaking +of her grandmother she said: "In person she was rather below the middle +height, with full, round figure, rather petite. She possessed a mild, +amiable countenance in which was reflected that intelligent superiority +which distinguished her even in the days of Dwight, Hopkins, and Barlow +in Hartford—men who could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> appreciate her, who delighted in her wit and +work, and who, with a coterie of others of that period who are still in +remembrance, considered her one of the brightest ornaments of their +society.</p> + +<p>"A fair, fresh complexion ... bright, intelligent, hazel eyes, and hair +of a jetty blackness, will give you some idea of her looks—the crowning +glory of which was the forehead that surpassed in beauty any I ever saw, +and was the admiration of my mature years. I portray her, with the +exception of the hair, as she appeared to me in her eighty-eighth year. +I never tired of gazing on her youthful complexion—upon her eyes which +retained their youthful luster unimpaired, and enabled her to read +without any artificial aid; and upon her hand and arm, which, though +shrunken much from age, must in her younger days have been fit study for +a sculptor.</p> + +<p>"Her character was everything that was lovely. A lady who had known her +many years, writing to me after her death, says, 'Never shall I forget +her unceasing kindness to me, and her noble and generous disposition. +From my first acquaintance with her, and amid all the varied trials +through which she was called to pass, I had ever occasion to admire the +calm and christian spirit she uniformly exhibited. To <i>you</i> I will say +it, I never knew so faultless a character—so gentle, so kind. That<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> +meek expression, that affectionate eye, are as present to my +recollection now as though I had seen them but yesterday.'</p> + +<p>"Such is the language of one who had known her long and well and whose +testimony would be considered more impartial than that of one who like +myself had been the constant recipient of her unceasing kindness and +affection."</p> + +<p>When she died, the story of the early home of the Hales found its +completion. Shall we pity them or congratulate them that in those long +ago days so many sorrows came to them?—testing their strength, +developing their faith, and fitting them, as their days went by, for +life and service beyond.</p> + +<p>The following chivalric poem was written by Nathan Hale—perhaps in +camp. It expresses his mental as well as emotional appreciation of Alice +Adams. It is here given exactly as it appears in the original +manuscript, with almost no punctuation marks. It is probable that this +is a first rough draft, intended to be improved at some future time. +There are marks on the margin of the paper which show that the writer +had possible alterations in mind.</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">To Alicia</span></h4> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Alicia, born with every striking charm</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">The eye to ravish or the heart to warm</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair in thy form, still fairer in thy mind</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With beauty wisdom sense with sweetness join'd</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Great without pride, & lovely without Art</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Your looks good nature words good sense impart</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus formed to charm Oh deign to hear my song</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whose best whose sweetest strains to you belong.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Let others toil amidst the lofty air</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">By fancy led through every cloud above</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Let empty Follies build her castles there</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My thoughts are settled on the friend I love.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Oh friend sincere of soul divinely great</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shedest thou for me a wretch the sorrowed tear</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">What thanks can I in this unhappy state</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Return to you but Gratitude sincere</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">T'is friendship pure that now demand my lays</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A theme sincere that Aid my feeble song</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Raised by that theme I do not fear to praise</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Since your the subject where due praise belong</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ah dearest girl in whom the gods have join'd</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The real blessings, which themselves approve</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Can mortals frown at such an heavenly mind</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When Gods propitious shine on you they love</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Far from the seat of pleasure now I roam</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The pleasing landscape now no more I see</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet absence ne'er shall take my thoughts from home</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor time efface my due regards for thee.</span><br /> +</p> + + +<p class="center">(3) <i>Benjamin Tallmadge</i></p> + +<p>Benjamin Tallmadge, one year older than Nathan Hale, was Hale's +classmate and one of his cor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>respondents. Like Hale he became a teacher +for a time, and then, entering the army, served with distinction +throughout the war. He was intrusted by Washington with important +services. In October, 1780, he was stationed with Col. Jameson at North +Castle. He had been out on active service against the enemy and returned +on the evening of the day when Major André had been brought there and +had been started back to Arnold for explanations. This was four years +after the death of Hale.</p> + +<p>Listening to the account of the capture, and the pass from Arnold, +Tallmadge at once surmised the importance of retaining André and +insisted upon his being brought back.</p> + +<p>When André was once more in American hands, Tallmadge is said to have +been the first to suspect, from the prisoner's deportment as he walked +to and fro and turned sharply upon his heel to retrace his steps, that +he was bred to arms and was an important British officer. Major +Tallmadge was charged with his custody, and was almost constantly with +him until his execution. Tallmadge writes: "Major André became very +inquisitive to know my opinion as to the result of his capture. In other +words, he wished me to give him candidly my opinion as to the light in +which he would be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> viewed by General Washington and a military tribunal +if one should be ordered.</p> + +<p>"This was the most unpleasant question that had been propounded to me, +and I endeavored to evade it, unwilling to give him a true answer. When +I could no longer evade his importunity and put off a full reply, I +remarked to him as follows: 'I had a much loved classmate in Yale +College, by the name of Nathan Hale, who entered the army in the year +1775. Immediately after the battle of Long Island, General Washington +wanted information respecting the strength, position, and probable +movements of the enemy.</p> + +<p>"'Captain Hale tendered his services, went over to Brooklyn, and was +taken just as he was passing the outposts of the enemy on his return.' +Said I with emphasis,</p> + +<p>"'Do you remember the sequel of this story?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes,' said André, 'he was hanged as a spy. But you surely do not +consider his case and mine alike?'</p> + +<p>"I replied, 'Yes, precisely similar, and similar will be your fate.'</p> + +<p>"He endeavored to answer my remarks, but it was manifest he was more +troubled in spirit than I had ever seen him before."</p> + +<p>Major Tallmadge walked with André from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> Stone House where he had +been confined to the place of execution, and parted with him under the +gallows, "overwhelmed with grief," he says, "that so gallant an officer +and so accomplished a gentleman should come to such an ignominious end."</p> + +<p>What would have occurred if André had not been recalled, but had reached +Arnold—whether both could have escaped by boat to the <i>Vulture</i> as did +Arnold; whether Arnold, leaving André to his fate, could have escaped +alone under these suspicious circumstances; or whether Hamilton and the +others, who were dining with Arnold when the news of André's capture +reached him, could have managed to hold both until Washington's arrival, +cannot now be surmised. We only know that to Major Tallmadge belongs the +credit of the recall and retention of André as a prisoner, thereby +preventing the loss of West Point.</p> + +<p>Major Tallmadge remained in the army and was greatly trusted by +Washington, rendering important assistance in the secret service. He +took part in many battles and in time became a colonel. For sixteen +years he was in Congress. He died at the age of eighty, leaving sons and +grandsons who won honored names in various callings.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p> + + +<p class="center">(4) <i>William Hull</i></p> + +<p>When Captain William Hull, impelled by a strong natural caution, spoke +as forcibly as he could of the disastrous results that might follow +Nathan Hale's acceptance of the office of a spy in his country's +service, he described not only the result of the failure which seemed +almost inevitable, and which would result in a disgraceful death, but +also the contempt that would be felt among his fellow-officers should he +be successful. Hale, as we have seen, deliberately chose these dangers +that appeared so appalling, and lost his life in the manner predicted by +Hull.</p> + +<p>Could Captain Hull, on that September day in 1776, have looked forward +to other days in 1812, when, because of his surrender of Detroit, he +himself would stand as the most disgraced man in the American army, he +would have wondered what disastrous set of causes could have doomed him +to lower depths of discredit than he had imagined possible for his +friend Hale.</p> + +<p>This is the story of Captain Hull as told by his grandson, the Rev. +James Freeman Clarke, a Unitarian clergyman, and an author of high +repute.</p> + +<p>After remaining in the army throughout the Revolutionary War, where he +distinguished him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>self on repeated occasions, constantly rising in rank, +he settled in Massachusetts, practicing law, becoming prominent as a +legislator, and finally as one of the Massachusetts judges. In 1805, as +General Hull, he was appointed governor of the territory of Michigan by +President Jefferson, and removed thither, stipulating that in case of +war he should not be required to serve both as general and governor, as +he did not believe the duties of both could be successfully administered +by the same person.</p> + +<p>The outbreak of the war of 1812, which occurred while Madison was +President, found what was then the northern frontier of America wholly +unprepared for hostilities. The country was new, with dense forests and +few roads. There were no adequate means of land defense, and no adequate +navy to patrol the lakes.</p> + +<p>The British, as usual, had all the vessels needed, well-drilled +soldiers, and, more terrible than all, more than a thousand Indians, +ready to commit any atrocities upon defenseless white settlers. As Hull +had insisted, another officer was appointed to command the troops, such +as they were, but this officer became ill and Governor Hull was forced +to take command.</p> + +<p>In the meantime, no amount of urgent entreaties<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> could induce the +authorities at Washington to send reënforcements to the assistance of +the defenseless settlers. The American troops were unprepared to +maintain their own position, and absolutely unable to conquer and annex +Canada, as the government expected them to do. General Hull found +himself with some eight hundred men facing more than fifteen hundred +British regulars, and threatened in the rear by a thousand Indians.</p> + +<p>What President Madison or any of his officers would have done, we cannot +say. They appear to have thought that it was General Hull's duty to +annihilate the British army, effectually dispose of the Indians, and +present Canada to the American government.</p> + +<p>General Hull, however, was a practical soldier. He knew the fate that +would await the women and children in his territory, to say nothing of +his small army, if he risked a battle and was defeated, as he surely +would be; so he did what seemed to him the only possible thing to save +the people of Michigan. He surrendered. Canada remained unannexed; the +white settlers of Michigan were not delivered to the tender mercies of +the Indians, and General Hull paid the penalty of the independent stand +he had taken.</p> + +<p>He probably foresaw that he must face a terrible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> ordeal. The whole +country appeared to be roused against him, and Hull at once became the +best-hated man in America. A court-martial was appointed.</p> + +<p>At first it was hoped that he would be convicted of treason, but the +evidence showed that this charge could not be sustained. He was tried +for cowardice in face of the enemy, found guilty, and sentenced to be +shot. The latter part of the sentence President Madison remitted, in +consideration of his past eminent services in the army. So, stamped with +indelible disgrace by all who did not know the facts, a ruined and +dishonored man, in his sixty-first year General Hull went back to the +farm in Newton that had come to him through his wife. Here, surrounded +by the most devoted affection, he passed his few remaining years.</p> + +<p>A ruined and discredited man he truly was,—the reputation and the honor +due him from his countrymen irrevocably lost and by no fault of his own. +Yet his grandson, the Rev. James Freeman Clarke, asserts that he was not +once heard to say an unkind word about the government that had treated +him so cruelly.</p> + +<p>After his death, in 1825, one of his daughters wrote the story of his +life from his own writings, and the Rev. James Freeman Clarke sketched +for the world an outline of his grandfather's services in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> Michigan. +This shows that the man who, in his youth, tried to dissuade his friend +Nathan Hale from accepting the rôle of martyr, himself, in his old age, +bravely and gently endured a martyrdom compared to which the ostracism +he predicted for Hale, even if he succeeded in his mission, was but a +passing dream.</p> + + +<p class="center">(5) <i>Stephen Hempstead</i></p> + +<p>To Stephen Hempstead, a sergeant in Nathan Hale's company in 1776, we +are indebted for the most reliable account that is known of Hale's +movements after he left New York in the service from which he was not to +return. Sergeant Hempstead removed to Missouri after the war, and this +account was first published in the <i>Missouri Republican</i> in 1827. His +own words describing his last days with Hale are these:</p> + +<p>"Captain Hale was one of the most accomplished officers, of his grade +and age, in the army. He was a native of the town of Coventry, state of +Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale College—young, brave, +honorable—and at the time of his death a Captain in Col. Webb's +Regiment of Continental Troops. Having never seen a circumstantial +account of his untimely and melancholy end, I will give it. I was +attached to his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> company and in his confidence. After the retreat of our +army from Long Island, he informed me, he was sent for to Head Quarters, +and was solicited to go over to Long Island to discover the disposition +of the enemy's camps, &c., expecting them to attack New York, but that +he was too unwell to go, not having recovered from a recent illness; +that upon a second application he had consented to go, and said I must +go as far with him as I could, with safety, and wait for his return.</p> + +<p>"Accordingly, we left our Camp on Harlem Heights, with the intention of +crossing over the first opportunity; but none offered until we arrived +at Norwalk, fifty miles from New York. In that harbor there was an armed +sloop and one or two row galleys. Capt. Hale had a general order to all +armed vessels, to take him to any place he should designate: he was set +across the Sound, in the sloop, at Huntington (Long Island) by Capt. +Pond, who commanded the vessel. Capt. Hale had changed his uniform for a +plain suit of citizen's brown clothes, with a round broad-brimmed hat, +assuming the character of a Dutch schoolmaster, leaving all his other +clothes, commission, public and private papers, with me, and also his +silver shoebuckles, saying they would not comport with his character of +schoolmaster, and retaining noth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>ing but his College diploma, as an +introduction to his assumed calling. Thus equipped, we parted for the +last time in life. He went on his mission, and I returned back again to +Norwalk, with orders to stop there until he should return, or hear from +him, as he expected to return back again to cross the sound, if he +succeeded in his object."</p> + +<p>So far as there is any other evidence, it tends to confirm this part of +Sergeant Hempstead's report, and he is to-day considered one of the most +valuable authorities on Hale's last intercourse with brother soldiers.</p> + +<p>Of the details of his captain's arrest and execution, which are told in +the last part of the account, and of which Hempstead had no personal +knowledge, he declares that he was "authentically informed" and did +"most religiously believe" them. Some of the incidents he gives appear +to have been proved since to have no basis in fact; others that vary +from reports now accepted may yet, with more light gained, be found to +be true.</p> + +<p>The second letter sent by Sergeant Hempstead to the <i>Republican</i> deals +with his experience in the army in 1781, when he was one of the victims +of the brutalities inflicted upon the hapless prisoners of war at Fort +Griswold, Groton, Connecticut. The injuries he received there were, as +he tells<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> us, so severe that his own wife, having searched for his body +in the fort among the dead, scanned carefully the face of every wounded +soldier sheltered by pitying neighbors, passing him twice without +recognizing him—he too ill to make any sign—and then resuming her +search among the dead.</p> + +<p>Later she found him, and after a time he regained sufficient strength to +be carried to his home. He was, however, incapacitated by his injuries +for service in the field, and was thenceforth able to perform only +duties calling for honest watchfulness rather than personal labor. After +the removal to Missouri the whole family prospered greatly. He settled +on a farm near the city of St. Louis, where he lived many years, +respected by all who knew him. He died in 1831.</p> + + +<p class="center">(6) <i>Asher Wright</i></p> + +<p>Near the place where the Hale family lie buried is another grave +covering the dust of Asher Wright, once Nathan Hale's attendant. He was +so strongly attached to Hale that his tragic death is thought to have +unsettled his mind so that he never was quite himself again, and never +able to earn his own living. For several years after Nathan Hale's death +Wright was not heard of in his early home. Then he came back to +Coventry, bringing with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> him some of Nathan Hale's effects that he had +doubtless carried with him in his wandering, giving them, on his return, +to Deacon Hale's family.</p> + +<p>Asher Wright died in his ninetieth year, having lived all his later days +in his house not far from the Hale home. His pension of ninety-six +dollars a year was so supplemented by the Hale family, and by David Hale +of New York, editor of the <i>Journal of Commerce</i>, that his last days +were very comfortable. His grave is marked by a marble headstone giving +his name, age, and former connection with Nathan Hale.</p> + +<p>His farm adjoined that of the Hale homestead and has now become a part +of it.</p> + + +<p class="center">(7) <i>Elisha Bostwick</i></p> + +<p>One letter concerning Nathan Hale comes to us with a curious and +interesting history.</p> + +<p>Not long ago, while in the city of Washington, a loyal friend and warm +admirer of Nathan Hale, George Dudley Seymour, Esq., of New Haven, had +his attention called to a remarkable tribute to Hale. It proved to have +been written by a fellow-soldier in the Revolutionary War, Captain +Elisha Bostwick. This remarkable document was found in the musty records +of a very old pension list,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> and the portion relating to Nathan Hale is +here given. It came to light a hundred and thirty-five years after +Hale's execution. We give this valuable record of Captain Bostwick's as +it appeared in the <i>Hartford Courant</i> of December 15th, 1914:</p> + +<p>"I will now make some observations upon the amiable & unfortunate Capt. +Nathan Hale whose fate is so well known; for I was with him in the same +Regt. both at Boston & New York & until the day of his tragical death; & +although of inferior grade in office was always in the habits of +friendship & intimacy with him: & my remembrance of his person, manners +& character is so perfect that I feel inclined to make some remarks upon +them: for 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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> sedate and sober cast, & he +was undoubtedly Pious; for it was remarked that when any of the soldiers +of his company were sick he always visited them & usually prayed for & +with them in their sickness.—A little anecdote I will relate; one day +he accidentally came across some of his men in a bye place playing +cards—he spoke—what are you doing—this won't do,—give me your cards, +they did so, & he chopd them to pieces, & it was done in such a manner +that the men were rather pleased than otherwise—his activity on all +occasions was wonderful—he would make a pen the quickest & best of any +man—</p> + +<p>"Innumerable instances of occurrences which took place in the Army I +could relate, but who would care for them: Perhaps it may be thought by +some that I have already been at the expense of Prolixity. Nobody in +these days feels as I do, left here alone, & they cannot if they would, +but to me it is a melancholy pleasure to go back to those Scenes of fear +& anguish & after the laps of 50 years (1826 was in my 78th year) to +rumenate upon them which I think I can do with as bright a recollection +as though they were present—One more reflection I will make—why is it +that the delicious Capt. Hale should be left & lost in an unknown grave +& forgotten!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>—</p> + +<p>"The foregoing Statements were made from Memory & recollection & from +documents & Memorandoms which I kept.—<span class="smcap">Elisha Bostwick</span>."</p> + + +<p class="center">(8) <i>Edward Everett Hale</i></p> + +<p>Of the subsequent records of the Hale family no trace remains that is +not honorable. Nathan's brother Enoch was settled at Westhampton, +Massachusetts, in 1777, where he remained a useful and beloved pastor +for sixty years. Enoch's eldest son, Nathan, graduated at Williams +College in 1804. He was editor-in-chief of the <i>Boston Daily Advertiser</i> +for more than forty years. Nathan's son, Nathan, a Havard graduate, +became associate editor of the <i>Boston Advertiser</i>.</p> + +<p>Lucretia Peabody Hale, a well-known writer in her day, whose delightful +and amusing "Peterkin Papers" are still read and remembered, was a +granddaughter of the Rev. Enoch Hale.</p> + +<p>Edward Everett Hale, a man beloved by every one who knew him, was the +son of "a great journalist," Nathan, grandson of Enoch, and therefore +grandnephew of Captain Nathan Hale. He, too, had a son Nathan who died +in his early manhood. Edward Everett Hale was one of the most commanding +and admired of men, with rare endowments as clergyman, author, editor, +and patriot.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> + +<p>Those interested in the study of his granduncle, Nathan, owe to him the +preservation of many records of the Hale family, and an arrangement of +the genealogy of the Hale family, made while he was a Unitarian minister +in Worcester, Massachusetts, and kindly lent to the Hon. I. W. Stuart, +one of Hale's early biographers.</p> + +<p>It will be long before some of Edward Everett Hale's vital words are +forgotten; longer still before his marvelous story, "The Man Without a +Country," shall cease to thrill its readers.</p> + +<p>The impassioned sentences in which he cites its unhappy hero as speaking +to a boy—a midshipman—while under heavy stress, read, "For your +country, boy, and for your flag, never dream a dream but of serving her +as she bids you, though the service carry you through a thousand hells. +No matter what happens to you, no matter who flatters you or who abuses +you, never look at another flag, never let a night pass but you pray God +to bless that flag. Remember, boy, that behind all these men you have to +do with, behind officers, and government, and people even, there is the +Country Herself, your Country, and that you belong to Her as you belong +to your own mother."</p> + +<p>No one justly comprehending the bed rock of Edward Everett Hale's +boundless patriotism can<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> doubt that if the same call of duty had come +to him that came in bygone days to his relative, young Nathan Hale, he +would have done exactly as Nathan Hale did. That call did not come, but +to the end of his days Edward Everett Hale lived for his country as +nobly as Nathan Hale died for it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Ancestors and Descendants of Nathan Hale's Parents</span></h3> + + +<p>Robert Hale arrived in Massachusetts in 1632. He was one of those sent +from the first church in Boston to form the first church in Charlestown +in 1632, and was a deacon of this church. He was a blacksmith by trade. +He also had a gift for practical mathematics, being regularly employed +by the General Court of Massachusetts as a surveyor of new plantations. +His son John, of whom mention has been made in connection with the +witchcraft delusion, was a graduate of Harvard in 1657. Samuel, the +fourth son of John, was the father of Richard, father of Nathan Hale.</p> + +<p>Elizabeth Strong, wife of Deacon Richard Hale and mother of Nathan, came +from a family more notable than that of her husband. Her grandfather, +Joseph Strong, represented Coventry in the General Assembly of +Connecticut for sixty-five sessions and presided over town-meeting in +his ninetieth year.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p> + +<p>Mrs. Hale had four immediate relatives who were graduates of Yale +college. Three of the sons of Deacon Richard Hale and Elizabeth Strong +Hale graduated from Yale,—Enoch, the fourth son, Nathan, the sixth +child, and David, the eighth son. Three of the sons were officers in the +Revolutionary army, and the husband of a daughter was a surgeon there. +John was a major; Joseph, who died as the result of the privations +endured there, was a lieutenant; and Nathan was a captain. Elizabeth, +daughter of Joseph, married Rev. Abiel Abbot, for many years minister in +Coventry. Three of their sons were college graduates—two of Yale and +one of Dartmouth. Rebekah, another daughter of Joseph, married Ezra +Abbot of Wilton, N.H. Three sons were graduates of Bowdoin. One son, the +Rev. Abiel Abbot, was settled in East Wilton.</p> + +<p>Two daughters also married clergymen. Another daughter of Joseph, Mary, +married the Rev. Levi Nelson. For a man who died at the age of +thirty-four, Lieutenant Joseph Hale appears to have been well +represented by his descendants.</p> + +<p>Surgeon Rose of the Revolutionary army, and Elizabeth Hale, daughter of +Deacon Richard Hale, were the grandparents of the distinguished lawyer +and statesman, Washington Hunt, and of Lieuten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>ant Edward Hunt, U.S.A., +first husband of the celebrated author, Helen Hunt.</p> + +<p>Enoch Hale, Deacon Richard Hale's fourth son, graduated in the same +class with his brother Nathan, became a minister, and spent a long life +in his first and only pastorate. One of his sons, Enoch, was educated at +Yale and Harvard and became a noted physician. A son, Nathan, was a +graduate of Williams College, and editor of the <i>Boston Advertiser</i> for +more than forty years. His son Nathan, a Harvard man, became coeditor +with him. One of Enoch's granddaughters married a minister named +Montague.</p> + +<p>David, another son of Deacon Richard Hale, graduated at Yale, and was +settled in the ministry at Lisbon, Connecticut. Joanna, the second +daughter of Richard Hale, married Dr. Nathan Howard.</p> + +<p>One of Enoch Hale's grandsons was president of the Continental Bank in +New York City. The most noted of Enoch Hale's descendants was the Rev. +Edward Everett Hale, clergyman, editor, and author, and a graduate of +Harvard. The writer, Lucretia Peabody Hale, was one of Enoch Hale's +grandchildren. David Hale, a grandson of Richard Hale, was long in +control of the <i>Journal of Commerce</i> in New York City and noted for his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +charities. Alexander and Charles, grandsons of Enoch, were graduates of +Harvard.</p> + +<p>As this list of college graduates and professional men is not extended +beyond the year 1850, a little past the limit of a century after the +marriage of Richard Hale and Elizabeth Strong, one is inclined to wonder +whether any other farmer's family within that, or any other, period in +American history, can show a more remarkable record.</p> + +<p>One is impressed, too, most profoundly, by the realization that, +although Elizabeth Strong Hale died so early, as lives are now +measured,—she was only forty,—to few women in any land who have +reached the appointed limit of human life have been given the remarkable +power of leaving to so many descendants such warmth of feeling and such +nobility of nature as passed through that century of her descendants.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Asserted Betrayal of Nathan Hale</span></h3> + + +<p>For some time after the death of Nathan Hale a report was circulated, +and apparently substantiated, that he had been betrayed into the hands +of the British by a Tory cousin. Ultimately this report was printed in a +Newburyport (Massachusetts) newspaper of the day, and read by Mr. Samuel +Hale of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This Mr. Hale was a prominent teacher +and a strong friend of the American cause, and uncle both to Nathan Hale +and to Samuel Hale, the cousin who was said to have betrayed Nathan.</p> + +<p>Mr. Samuel Hale never for a moment believed the report, and set himself +at once to disprove it. This appears to have been done in the most +effectual way by the combined efforts of Mr. Samuel Hale and Deacon +Hale, who furnished proof that the supposed betrayer of Nathan Hale had +never visited in Deacon Hale's family, and, not being in his uncle's +house when Nathan visited there, had never so much as seen Nathan Hale.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p> + +<p>There were, of course, at the time, strong animosities existing between +those who supported the British cause among the Americans, and the +Americans who were opposing England. As at all such times, some members +of each party were not only unjust but cruel to the other party; and in +some respects this nephew of the teacher, Samuel Hale, and asserted +betrayer of Nathan, paid very heavily for his loyalty to the English +cause. We will let him tell his own story, only adding that when +hostilities broke out he was a young and successful barrister practicing +in Portsmouth, was married, and had one child.</p> + +<p>Unswerving in his loyalty to the English cause, he was soon obliged to +leave New Hampshire, and eventually to go into English territory. He +wrote to his uncle Samuel, in whose family he had been reared, and later +to his wife; neither letter is dated, but it is probable that when the +latter was written he was in Nova Scotia. His letter to his uncle runs +in part as follows:</p> + +<p>"My affections as well as my allegiance are due to another nation. I +love the British government with filial fondness. I have never been +actuated by any political rancor towards the Americans. My conduct has +always been fair, explicit, and open, and I may add, <i>some of your +people have found it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> humane</i> at a time when affairs on our side wore +the most flattering appearances. My veneration is as high, my friendship +as warm, and my attachment as great as ever it was for many characters +among you, though I have differed much from them in politics. In the +justness of the reasoning which led to the principles that have guided +me through life, I can suppose myself mistaken. The same thing may have +been the case with my opponents. Our powers are so limited, our means of +information so inadequate to the end, that common decency requires we +should forgive each other when we have every reason to think that each +has acted honestly.</p> + +<p>"Sure I am, this is the case with me and I hope it is the same with some +of you. My conduct during this unhappy contest has been invariably +uniform. I can in no sense be called a traitor to your state. I never +owed it any allegiance, because I left it before it had assumed the form +or even the name of an independent state, and when I neither saw or felt +any oppression. I must have been mad as well as wicked to have acted any +other part than I did upon the principles I held. If I have been +mistaken I am sorry for the error, and if it be error I still continue +in it."</p> + +<p>This letter is certainly a good illustration of the truth that, in all +great contests, perfectly honorable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> and consistent men are forced to +take opposite sides, even at the cost of suffering heavy injustice. The +letter to his wife is here given in full.</p> + +<blockquote><p> +<span class="smcap">My Dear Girl</span>,—<br /> +</p> + +<p>This you will get by Mr. Hart's flag of Truce, who is coming to +Boston for his family. I know the disposition of the Leaders at +Boston so well, that I doubt not of his success. I would have come +for you and the boy, but I thought you would leave your father with +reluctance, nor am I sure that I could have obtained leave for you +to come away, if you were disposed. I fear the resentment of the +people against me may have injured you, but I hope not. I am sorry +such a prejudice has arisen.</p> + +<p>Depend upon it, there never was the least truth in that infamous +newspaper publication charging me with ingratitude, etc. I am happy +that they have had [to have] recourse to falsehood to vilify my +character. Attachment to the old Constitution of my country is my +only crime with them—for which I have still the disposition of the +primitive martyr.</p> + +<p>I hope and believe you want no pecuniary assistance. If you should +you may apply to some of my friends or your relations. You may then +use my name with confidence that they shall be amply satisfied. I +believe I shall have the power, I am sure I shall have the will, to +recompense them again.</p> + +<p>I somewhat expect to see you in a few months—perhaps not before I +have seen England. In the meanwhile, my dear Girl, take care of +your own and the Boy's health. He may live to be serviceable to his +country in some distant period.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> Respect, Love, Duty, etc., await +all my inquiring and real friends.</p> + +<p class="author"> +I am, etc.<br /> +<span class="smcap">S. Hale.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">To Mrs Hale</span><br /> +</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p>These letters sufficiently attest the character of the man, and we can +hope that in later days he was enabled to return to his family, and to +prove that political differences of opinion had not changed the +integrity of his life.</p> + +<p>Knowing nothing of his later days, we may rejoice that the base +assertion that this own cousin had betrayed Nathan Hale was wholly +without foundation; and that in him, also, the Hale trait of loyalty to +honest opinions enabled him to make sacrifices as great in their way as +those made by many of his kindred.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Contrasts Between Hale and André</span></h3> + + +<p>If Nathan Hale was in many respects the most notable American martyr, +another man, in the English army, four years later met a doom that to +the English appears to have exalted him to a rank corresponding to +Nathan Hale's. For a long time there was a glamour about André that +lifted him above the place to which, in the minds of many, he rightfully +belonged, and comparisons have often been made between him and Hale, as +if in reality their services and their characters justified such +comparison.</p> + +<p>It has been our aim to describe Hale as accurately as possible. He has +been presented as an educated, high-minded patriot, wholly intent upon +serving his country to the full extent of his ability, ready to run any +risk in her service, and fully comprehending, in his last supreme effort +to serve her, that he was risking his life and facing the possibility of +a dishonorable death. He expected no reward if he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> succeeded, save the +consciousness of having done his duty. But fail he did, and we have seen +how simply and bravely he accepted his doom. His grave is unknown to +this day, and his country, as a country, has made no recognition +whatever of his supreme sacrifice.</p> + +<p>In regard to André, we know that he was of foreign parentage, his father +a Genevan Swiss, and his mother French. He had not inherited a drop of +English blood. Born, however, after his parents removed to London, he +was, in ordinary acceptance, English.</p> + +<p>His parents were able to educate him thoroughly, and to fit him for what +they supposed would be a successful commercial career. A disappointment +in love, however, led him to seek a change of scene, and he entered the +English army.</p> + +<p>Personally he was most attractive, charming in his manners beyond the +average man, a fine linguist, and a brave man. He soon attracted +attention among the English officers engaged in the war against America, +and was eventually made adjutant general of the English army. So far as +can now be judged, his life as a soldier had been most agreeable, and he +had made friends with all his associates. While Arnold was perfecting +his designs to betray West Point into the hands of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> English, and +thus in effect terminate the war, André was appointed to act as the +intermediary between Arnold and Sir Henry Clinton.</p> + +<p>André may have looked upon himself as an envoy from his own commander to +an American commander, and he well knew that, if successful, high honor +and a desirable command in the British army would be awarded him by the +English government. He does not appear to have considered the fact that +he was risking his life in the service of the English. Indeed, none of +the English officers appear to have thought it possible that the +Americans would dare to treat as a spy an English adjutant general who +had been invited to his headquarters by General Arnold, and by him +provided with safeguards for his return. So sure were they of André's +safety that it is said the British officers treated with derision the +suggestion that he was in danger, even after his capture.</p> + +<p>Once captured, they should not have been so sure of his safety. But +neither they nor he had any idea that he would be captured. Indeed, we +can hardly see how he could have been captured had he followed the +instructions of Sir Henry Clinton, who strictly enjoined him not to go +within the American lines, not to assume any disguise, and not to carry +a scrap of writing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> + +<p>At first André had supposed that Arnold would meet him on the <i>Vulture</i>, +and that all their negotiations would be completed there. But Arnold, +too crafty to run any personal risk, or arouse any suspicion in his own +officers, insisted upon André's landing and conferring with him at some +little distance from his own headquarters. Disregarding, through +Arnold's persuasions, Clinton's first order to remain upon the +<i>Vulture</i>, André's other failures in obedience appear to have been +inevitable, and taking the risks as they came, he went forward to his +doom, to his death, to Arnold's ruin as an American citizen, and to the +preservation of the infant republic.</p> + +<p>For the third time, Providence appears to have thwarted the shrewdest +plans of the enemies of America. First came the fog in New York Bay, +enabling Washington to withdraw his troops from Brooklyn without the +knowledge of the British; second, the knowledge of Hale's fate and the +preservation of his last words by a humane English officer, despite the +malice of Provost Marshal Cunningham; third, and apparently most +important of all, the capture of André, involving the defeat of Arnold's +traitorous plans to ruin his country's cause.</p> + +<p>From the moment André fell into the hands of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> the Americans, he was +treated with the utmost courtesy. Every possible opportunity for him to +prove his innocence was given him, and an offer to exchange him for +Arnold, who had fled to the British camp, was made to the commanders of +the English. This, however, could not be done honorably by Sir Henry +Clinton, and André had to face a fate he had not for a moment thought +possible.</p> + +<p>He bore himself bravely, and he certainly won the hearts of those who +held him prisoner. When he came to die in Tappan—not, as he had hoped, +as a soldier, shot to death, but hanged as a spy—he seemed for a moment +greatly affected. Then recovering himself before the fatal drop he said, +"Gentlemen, I beg you all to bear witness that I die as a brave man."</p> + +<p>Self-pity, the desire to be honored despite the manner of his death, +marked André's exit from the world. Hale had gone hence without one +personal expression of regret save that he could not add to his service +for his country.</p> + +<p>André had died pitied and lamented even by loyal Americans. England, +remembering what he had done to serve her, and that he had died in her +service, rendered his memory the highest honor. She conferred knighthood +on his brother, and a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> pension of three hundred guineas a year on his +mother and sisters, already well provided for.</p> + +<p>Forty years later she sent one of her war vessels to America to bring +his body back to England; and then the doors of stately Westminster +Abbey, in which lie buried the dust of those she most delights to honor, +were opened to receive his remains; there they will lie till the old +Abbey crumbles.</p> + +<p>Thus England honors the men who try to serve her in any line of heroic +service, proving that if she "expects every man to do his duty," she, in +her turn, expects to honor those who serve her, be they her own sons or +the sons of strangers born "within her gates."</p> + +<p>October 2, 1879, the ninety-ninth anniversary of the execution of André, +a monument, prepared by order of Cyrus W. Field and placed over the spot +of André's execution, was unveiled. There were present members of +historical societies, of the United States Army, of the newspapers, and +various other persons. At noon, the hour of André's execution, the +memorial was unveiled. There were no ceremonies on the occasion. The +epitaph had been prepared by the Rev. Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, the +beloved and honored Dean of Westminster, at whose suggestion Mr. Field +had erected the memorial. It is inscribed as follows:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Here died, October 2, 1780</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Major John André of the British Army,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Who, entering the American lines</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">On a secret mission to Benedict Arnold,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">For the surrender of West Point,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Was taken prisoner, tried and condemned as a spy.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">His death</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Though according to the stern rule of war,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Moved even his enemies to pity;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And both armies mourned the fate</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Of one so young and so brave.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In 1821 his remains were removed to Westminster Abbey.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">A hundred years after the execution</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">This stone was placed above the spot where he lay,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By a citizen of the United States against which he fought,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Not to perpetuate the record of strife,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">But in token of those friendly feelings</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Which have since united two nations,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">One in race, in language, and in religion,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">With the hope that this friendly union</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Will never be broken.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>On the other side are these words of Washington:</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"He was more unfortunate than criminal."</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"An accomplished man and gallant officer."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">—<span class="smcap">George Washington</span></span><br /> +</p> + +<p>The first of the two lines was from a letter of Washington to Count de +Rochambeau, dated October 10, 1780. The second is from a letter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> written +by Washington to Colonel John Laurens on October 13 of the same year.</p> + +<p>In the year 1853 some Americans who believe that all historic spots in +our land should be marked by permanent memorials, erected a monument at +Tarrytown, New York, in honor of the captors of André. Hon. Henry J. +Raymond made the address at its dedication. Mr. Raymond was born in 1820 +and was graduated from the University of Vermont in 1840. He assisted +Horace Greeley in the conduct of the <i>Tribune</i> and other newspapers. He +founded the <i>New York Times</i> in 1851 and died in 1869.</p> + +<p>In the address just mentioned, Mr. Raymond, contrasting the halo that +surrounded André's name with the oblivion then seemingly the fate of +Nathan Hale, closed with these impassioned words:</p> + +<p>"Where sleeps the Americanism of Americans, that their hearts are not +stirred to solemn rapture at thought of the sublime love of country +which buoyed him [Hale] not alone above 'the fear of death,' but far +beyond all thought of himself, of his fate, and his fame, or of anything +less than his country, and which shaped his dying breath into the sacred +sentence which trembled at the last upon his unquivering lip?"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p> + +<p>With this tribute we close, believing that the tardy justice accorded to +our martyr-hero is destined to become a nation-wide loyalty; that the +day will yet come when our nation, as a nation, will recognize the +nobility of nature displayed, and will assign a high place to the brave +lad who so sublimely relinquished all that life held, and all that +coming years might bring, to die for his country,—<i>our country</i>,—the +high-souled Nathan Hale.</p> + + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Nathan Hale, by Jean Christie Root + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATHAN HALE *** + +***** This file should be named 31650-h.htm or 31650-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/6/5/31650/ + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreaders at +http://www.fadedpage.com + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + +</body> +</html> diff --git a/31650-h/images/illus-082.jpg b/31650-h/images/illus-082.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f87bd28 --- /dev/null +++ b/31650-h/images/illus-082.jpg diff --git a/31650.txt b/31650.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b4e61a9 --- /dev/null +++ b/31650.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4280 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Nathan Hale, by Jean Christie Root + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Nathan Hale + +Author: Jean Christie Root + +Release Date: March 15, 2010 [EBook #31650] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATHAN HALE *** + + + + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreaders at +http://www.fadedpage.com + + + + + + + + + + TRUE STORIES OF GREAT AMERICANS + + NATHAN HALE + + BY + + JEAN CHRISTIE ROOT + + + "O Beautiful! my Country! ..., + What were our lives without thee? + What all our lives to save thee? + We reck not what we gave thee; + We will not dare to doubt thee, + But ask whatever else, and we will dare!" + + _Commemoration Ode_, + JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL + + + THE WORLD SYNDICATE PUBLISHING CO. + Cleveland, O. New York, N. Y. + + PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + + COPYRIGHT, 1915, + + BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. + + Set up and electrotyped. Published May, 1915. Reprinted + August, 1925; March, 1929. + + + + +CONTENTS + + PAGE + + CHAPTER I + NATHAN HALE'S EARLY YEARS 1 + + CHAPTER II + COLLEGE DAYS 12 + + CHAPTER III + A CALL TO TEACH 29 + + CHAPTER IV + A CALL TO ARMS 44 + + CHAPTER V + HALE'S ZEAL AS A SOLDIER 60 + + CHAPTER VI + A PERILOUS SERVICE 71 + + CHAPTER VII + GRIEF FOR THE YOUNG PATRIOT 91 + + CHAPTER VIII + TRIBUTES TO NATHAN HALE 103 + + CHAPTER IX + NATHAN HALE'S FRIENDS 114 + + THE REV. JOSEPH HUNTINGTON, D.D. 114 + ALICE ADAMS 118 + BENJAMIN TALLMADGE 125 + WILLIAM HULL 129 + STEPHEN HEMPSTEAD 133 + ASHER WRIGHT 136 + ELISHA BOSTWICK 137 + EDWARD EVERETT HALE 140 + + CHAPTER X + + ANCESTORS AND DESCENDANTS OF NATHAN HALE'S + + PARENTS 143 + + CHAPTER XI + ASSERTED BETRAYAL OF NATHAN HALE 147 + + CHAPTER XII + CONTRASTS BETWEEN HALE AND ANDRE 152 + + + + +CHAPTER I + +NATHAN HALE'S EARLY YEARS + + +It is to-day a recognized fact that no life worthy of our reverence, or +even a life calculated to awaken our fear, is the result of accident. +Whatever may be the character, its basis has been the result of +long-developing causes. This the life of Nathan Hale well illustrates. +He was born at a time and under influences that were sure to develop the +best qualities in him. He was an immediate descendant of the best of the +Puritans on both sides of the sea. His great-grandfather, John Hale, was +the son of Robert Hale, who came to America in 1632. John Hale graduated +from Harvard in 1657 and was the first pastor settled in Beverly, +Massachusetts, remaining there until he died, an aged man. An ardent +patriot, this John Hale, in 1676, gave about one-twelfth of his salary, +some seventy pounds, for defense in King Philip's War. When need arose +in the French War, he went to Canada as a volunteer, for a threefold +purpose,--so that he might accompany a number of his own parishioners, +act as chaplain for one of the regiments, and fight when his aid was +needed. + +Living during the witchcraft trials, he was one of the first to be +convinced of the mistaken course pursued. We are not certain as to his +approval or disapproval of the progress of the excitement in regard to +witchcraft until it became intensely personal to his own family. His +wife was, fortunately as the results proved, accused by some misguided +person of being a witch. The well-known nobility of her life, and her +lovely character, at once convinced all who knew the circumstances that +some terrible mistake had been made by her accuser. And if a mistake had +been made in her case, why not in others? At once the deadly power of +the delusion was broken and, happily, the tide turned back forever. +There was no question after this of the Rev. Mr. Hale's viewpoint as to +witchcraft. + +In the very darkest depths of the witchcraft delusion, some +illustrations of splendid courage and noble unselfishness were +exhibited. Grewsome as it is, we cannot forbear quoting the example of +one Giles Cory, condemned to die as a witch, who knew that if he did not +confess he had bewitched people, his estate, which he wished his wife +and family to inherit, would be forfeited, and that he would be pressed +to death instead of being hanged. + +Being hanged is a comparatively brief experience, while the other way is +prolonged and agonizing. But, for the sake of his family, brave old +Giles Cory calmly faced this terrible, lingering death. He must have won +from some, if not from all, the feeling that a stout-hearted and +generous man had proved his love for his own as no mere words could have +done. + +John Hale appears to have been a worthy ancestor of the youth Nathan +Hale, who, a hundred years later, so freely made a sacrifice of his +life. + +John Hale's son, Samuel, was Nathan's grandfather; he made his home in +Portsmouth, New Hampshire. One of Samuel Hale's sons, bearing his own +name, Samuel, was a Harvard man. Another son, Richard, Nathan's father, +born February 28, 1717, looking about to find the best farming lands for +the support of a future family, moved to Connecticut, and became a +farmer in South Coventry, thirty miles east of Hartford. Distinguished +from the beginning for his success in whatever he undertook in business +affairs, and also as a man of singularly upright character, Deacon +Richard Hale won the warmest regard of all who knew him. His advice and +help were sought, both in political and religious affairs, to the full +limit of the time at his command. + +His farm was among the best in that section. The house that he first +occupied, probably one already on the place, was as comfortable and +convenient as the usual homes of the earlier colonists. Later a larger +house was built, big enough to accommodate a family of a dozen or more, +and many guests as well. The house in which Nathan lived as a boy is +still standing, and has fortunately come down to us with almost no +mutilation. + +Though the forms and the voices of those who dwelt in them have long +since vanished, there still linger about these vacant rooms the most +tender and inspiring memories of the lives once developing there, now +gone forward; nothing wasted or lost, as we will believe, of anything +permanent they strove for or cared for in their dear, earthly home. + +To this home Richard Hale, married May 2, 1746, at the age of +twenty-nine, brought his young bride, Elizabeth Strong. If Richard +Hale's pedigree was a good one, his wife, Elizabeth Strong, came from a +family even more finely endowed. The first of her ancestors who came to +America was Elder John Strong. He was one of the founders of +Dorchester, now a part of Boston; later he helped to found Northampton, +Massachusetts. + +Mrs. Hale's grandfather, Joseph Strong, represented Coventry for +sixty-five sessions in the General Assembly of Connecticut, and when he +was ninety years of age he presided over the town meeting, suggesting by +that deed a man of some vigor, for town meetings were no playdays in +those early years. His descendants, active in whatever their hands found +to do,--in the ministry, the law, business, or politics,--were long +prominent in New England and New York, and doubtless many are to-day +still helping to mold their country's future. + +The son of this Justice Joseph Strong was also named Joseph, and called +Captain Joseph Strong. In 1724 he married his second cousin, Elizabeth +Strong. He, too, was a noted man among the colonists. She, later, became +the "grandmother" to whom Nathan so warmly alludes in one of his last +letters to his brother. Captain Joseph Strong and his wife were the +parents of Elizabeth Strong who, in her nineteenth year, married Richard +Hale. + +To Elizabeth Strong Hale we can give but a passing notice. There is not, +it is believed, one word that she wrote now in existence, nor any record +left of that gracious womanhood, save a name on an obscure gravestone. +But what brave-hearted mother would not count it well worth while to +leave, for the coming years, the impress she left upon her many +children; one of them alone destined to carry to coming generations of +Americans the assurance that such a son could only have been borne by +one of the noblest of mothers. Dying at the age of forty,--April 21, +1767,--after a married life of twenty-one years, she had performed all +the duties then expected from the mistress of a farmer's household in a +section where the principal help that could be secured in any time of +need came from the voluntary kindnesses of neighbors; for, like one +large family, they felt it necessary to "lend a hand" whenever any one +of their number was in need. Mrs. Hale had been the mother of twelve +children when she died. Two of her children, named David and Jonathan, +were twins. One of the twins, Jonathan, died when only a week old. David +lived to be graduated from Yale and to become a minister at Lisbon, +Connecticut. A little daughter, Susanna, lived but a month, but ten of +Mrs. Hale's twelve children grew to maturity. + +Nathan, the sixth child, born June 6, 1755, was the first of the ten to +die, leaving to his surviving brothers and sisters a memory that in +later years must have been an unfailing inspiration. He was delicate at +first, but owing to his mother's care he later became as robust in body +as he was in mind. For an older brother, Enoch, the plan was formed of +sending him to college to prepare for the ministry, a custom then +prevalent among many of the large and prosperous families in New +England. Nathan was at first destined for a business life; but because +of the urgent desire of his mother, heartily seconded by that of his +Grandmother Strong, he was allowed to enter college with his brother +Enoch in 1769, when he was fourteen years old; this was two years after +the death of his mother. Four of Mrs. Hale's immediate relatives were +graduates of Yale,--a fine illustration of the value those progressive +pioneers attached to education. + +As a boy Nathan was to his mother what he later became to all who knew +him; and the bond between such a mother and such a son must have been +very tender and strong. It is a comfort to those who know what such +mothers desire for their children, to remember the gladness and hope +with which this mother, overworked and dying long before her time, +looked forward to the days coming to her children. For Nathan, through +her influence, was to become one of Yale's noblest sons. + +As Nathan's mother died nine years before he did, we understand the full +meaning of the line in Judge Finch's poem, + + "The sad of Earth, the glad of Heaven," + +written many years later in honoring Nathan's splendid sacrifice. The +poem to which the line belongs, read more than sixty years ago on the +one-hundredth anniversary of the Linonian Society, an organization of +Yale College of which Nathan Hale had been an early and an active +member, had much influence in rousing first Yale men, and then other +patriotic Americans, to recognize Nathan Hale as one of America's +bravest martyrs. + +Mrs. Hale died in 1767. About two years later Deacon Hale married again, +bringing to his home this time a widow, Mrs. Abigail Adams, of +Canterbury, who must have been well fitted to take her place as the new +head of the family. No ignoble mother could rear such children as she +had reared, and Deacon Hale's second choice of a wife proved a wise and +happy one. Providence appears to have smiled upon him when he opened his +doors and invited Mrs. Adams and her children to share his home, and +even the affection of some of his sons. It is said that two of Deacon +Hale's sons fell in love with her youngest daughter, Alice Adams, who, +at Deacon Hale's desire, came to live permanently in the family in 1770 +or 1771, while his second son, John, married her eldest daughter, Sarah +Adams, on December 19, 1770. + +The lives of both these women, Sarah and Alice Adams, are sufficient +witnesses to the high character of the new mother added to the Hale +household. To several of his biographers it has seemed quite probable +that Nathan Hale wrote one of his last two letters to this mother. We +grant that it may have been addressed to her, while intended for the +reading of another. Of this, later. + +In regard to the marriage of John Hale and Sarah Adams it may be as well +to state here that, after a married life of thirty-one years, John Hale +died suddenly in December, 1802, his health probably undermined by his +service in the Revolutionary War, where he held the rank of major. His +widow, desiring to carry out what she believed would have been his +wishes, "bequeathed L1000 to trustees as a fund, the income of which was +to be used for the support of young men preparing for missionary +service,"--probably among the Indians, as this was before the support of +foreign missions was undertaken in America--"and in part for founding +and supporting the Hale Library in Coventry, to be used by the ministers +of Coventry and the neighboring towns." Included in the bequest for +founding the still existing so-called "Hale Donation" was a portrait of +the donor's husband, Major John Hale;--well painted, for the period, and +now of great interest. Mrs. John Hale died a few months after her +husband. It is easy to believe that, though born of different parents, +the Hale and Adams families were congenial mentally and morally, and +that Deacon Richard Hale was a wise and fortunate man in his choice of a +second mother for his children. + +According to his mother's and grandmother's wishes, it was early decided +that Nathan should be prepared to enter college. After the fashion of +those times, he and two of his brothers began their preparatory studies +under the direction of the Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D., then pastor of +the church in Nathan's native town. He is said to have been a man noted +for his intellectual power, for his patriotism, and for his courteous +manners. + +It may be well to say here that, in those early days, the New England +ministers usually settled in one pastorate for life, and they were not +only teachers in spiritual things, but were noted for their courteous +and dignified manners; so that even before he entered college Nathan +Hale must have had ample opportunities for the cultivation of the easy +manners and courteous deportment which are said by all who knew him to +have been so marked in him. + +Nathan Hale, as a boy, had one more asset that must have helped to +insure his future success, and that did, as we believe, help him to die +nobly. He was not overindulged; he had always the spur of effort to urge +him forward. It was told of him, many years after his death, by the +woman he had loved and who had known him well all his later years, Mrs. +Alice Adams Lawrence, that whatever he did, even as boy, he did with all +his heart, as if it engrossed his whole mind. Whether it was work, or +study, or play, he gave all his energies to the doing of it. Such a +disposition, together with his fine home training, must have helped to +insure his success in Yale. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +COLLEGE DAYS + + +In September, 1769, accompanied by Enoch, an older brother, Nathan Hale +entered the Freshman class at Yale. His personal traits easily won the +hearts of his classmates, while his quick understanding, his high +scholarship, and his loyalty to the college standards made him as +popular among tutors and professors as among his classmates. It is +pleasant to know that, from the time we first learn of him until we see +him standing beside the fatal tree, he appears to have won all hearts +worth winning. + +But Nathan Hale had yet another gift that would surely endear him to +college students of to-day as much as it doubtless did to his own +classmates. He was a powerful athlete. So great was his skill in this +line that, to successive generations of Yale men, the "broad jump" made +by Nathan Hale remained unequaled. It is said to have taken place on +what is now called "The Green" in New Haven, not far from the Old State +House; and for many years the spot was marked to designate the length +of the jump. Even during the years when his courageous death appeared to +be well-nigh forgotten, "Hale's jump" was vividly remembered. But he not +only "jumped," he excelled in all games then popular in college, besides +being a capital shot with his rifle, as well as a fine swimmer. + +Hale could, it is said, lay one hand on the top of a six-foot fence and +easily vault over it; and, though this astonishing feat is reported as +occurring while he was a teacher, he used to delight his companions by +showing them how to stand in a hogshead with his hands on his hips, leap +over the first hogshead, land in a second, leap from that into a third, +and from that out on to the ground,--all this before he was twenty. + +Imagine the delight of the "other fellows" standing around to watch Hale +go through his various stunts in athletics! It almost makes one feel as +if one had been a student and shared in the cheering when Hale did these +things, so easy to himself, so difficult to the onlookers. Then fancy +the talk at the supper tables, when the candles burned brightly and the +eatables tasted twice as good because "old Hale" had won laurels for +"old Yale" that afternoon by some "splendid" deed, as the boys called +it. Whatever he did, we may be sure that it was done well and with all +his might, and that nobody equaled him. + +This much for the athletic life of Hale in his student days. It was only +natural to such a man that whatever he was--friend, student, teacher, or +soldier--he should carry zest and earnestness to all his work, even as +he carried his manliness, his courtesy, and his unquenchable spirit. + +Let us now turn to the record of his years of successful work at Yale. +It has been said that whatever he did, he did with all his might, and +his brain work was as notable in its results as were the strength and +agility of his body. In those early days the college bell rang for +prayers, as the beginning of the day's work, at half past four in summer +and an hour later in winter; and there are men still living who +remember, in later years and at later hours, the wild rushes +half-dressed students used to make, adjusting what they could of their +hastily donned clothing on their race to morning chapel. + +Hale, however, as well as his companions a hundred and forty years ago, +were accustomed to early rising, and able to fill every hour of their +long days with work or play. The course of study then was much shorter +than it is now, but if lacking in quantity it certainly made up in some +of its qualities. We doubt if Freshmen to-day would outshine their +fellows of that very early time if their declamations on Fridays were +required to be in Latin, Greek, or Hebrew, "no English being allowed +save by special permission." + +Science as we now know it had not entered into the college course, but +the little then known, and the other studies considered essential, +comparatively limited as they must have been, were taught so thoroughly +that the men who carried away a college diploma carried a sure guarantee +that they had been carefully taught whatever was then considered +essential to a college education. + +Although it is true that science was then in comparative infancy, it is +also true that it was deeply absorbing to young Hale. Some of his most +valued books were scientific, and, aside from the studies he was obliged +to pursue, he eagerly absorbed educational theories and the best +literary works then available. As a college student, he stood high; as a +thinker and as one interested in the finest pursuits of his period, he +ranked equally high. Before he was nineteen he had won the permanent +friendship and ardent admiration of a man who was then his tutor, +Timothy Dwight, later the renowned president of Yale College, and to +the end of his long life a lover of his boy-friend, Nathan Hale. + +Another warm friend, a classmate, destined to be notable in future +years, was James Hillhouse, later United States Senator, the first man +to leave the stamp of beauty on his native city, New Haven, in the +wonderful elms of his planting. + +In addition to these two noted men, many of Hale's warmest friendships +were formed at college among the leading men of his own and of other +classes. At least two or three of these were his companions in arms, to +whom we may refer later. Of his scholarship, one sure test remains. At +graduation, of the thirty-six men in his class, he ranked among the +first thirteen. + +In one other important line Nathan Hale made a notable mark in college, +namely, in his intense interest in Linonia. This society had been +founded in 1753 "to promote in addition to the regular course of +academic study, literary stimulus and rhetorical improvement to the +undergraduates," and to create friendly relations among its members. The +organization lived a long and honorable life, and did a most helpful +work among its members. Nathan Hale was the first in his class to become +its Chancellor, later styled President. He was for some time also its +scribe, and many of his entries in the Linonian reports are still +"clear throughout and well-preserved" as is his signature at the end, +after the passing of more than a hundred years. + +During his college course his name occurs in the reports of almost every +meeting of the society. At one time he delivered "a very interesting +narration"; at another, "an eloquent extemporaneous address." On various +occasions he is said to have taken part in some of the plays that were +frequently acted, and to have proposed questions for discussion. + +Besides taking part in the society and college exercises, he enjoyed +frequent correspondence with a number of his classmates on themes of +taste and criticism and of grammar and philology. + +As incoming Chancellor at the end of the college year of 1772, Hale +responded in behalf of Linonia to the parting address from one of the +graduating class. + +Hale's farewell address to the Linonians of the class of 1772 is +preserved to Yale College on the society records. In reading it one must +remember that the speech was made by a boy of seventeen. The dignity of +the address, the assured ease with which he speaks, the sense of the +Yale bond, as strong then as it ever has been, all show the only boyish +thing about the speaker, namely, his sense of the superiority of +Linonia, then nearly twenty years old, to the struggling new society of +"The Brothers," less than eight years old. All this brings before us +very vividly a boy in years, but a man in thoughts and aspirations, +ardent and scholarly, and full of a noble ambition that looked forward, +as do all ambitious students in their college days, to years of generous +life. + +A few paragraphs quoted from various parts of the quaintly courteous +speech will illustrate alike the youth and the maturity of the speaker. +He said: + +"The high opinion we ought to maintain of the ability of these worthy +Gentlemen" [the retiring members of the Society] "as well as the regard +they express for Linonia and her Sons, tends very much to increase our +desire for their longer continuance. Under whatsoever character we +consider them, we have the greatest reason to regret their departure. As +our patrons, we have shared their utmost care and vigilance in +supporting Linonia's cause, and protecting her from the malice of her +insulting foes. As our benefactors, we have partaken of their +liberality, not only in their rich and valuable donations to our +library, but, what is still more, their amiable company and +conversation." + +["This is a fine portrait of Hale painted by himself," says a friend of +Hale to-day.] + +"But as our friends, what inexpressible happiness have we experienced in +their disinterested love and cordial affection! We have lived together +not as fellow students and members of the same college, but as brothers +and children of the same family; not as superiors and inferiors, but +rather as equals and companions. The only thing which hath given them +the preeminence is their superior knowledge in those arts and sciences +which are here cultivated, and their greater skill and prudence in the +management of such important affairs as those which concern the good +order and regularity of this Society. Under the prudent conduct of these +our once worthy patrons, but now parting friends, things have been so +wisely regulated, as that while we have been entertained with all the +pleasures of familiar conversation, we have been no less profited by our +improvements in useful knowledge and literature." + +Hale's direct address to the parting members is as follows: + +"Kind and generous Sirs, it is with the greatest reluctance that we are +now all obliged to bid adieu to you, our dearest friends. Fain would we +ask you longer to tarry--but it is otherwise determined, and we must +comply. Accept then our sincerest thanks, as some poor return for your +disinterested zeal in Linonia's cause, and your unwearied pains to +suppress her opposers.... Be assured that we shall be spirited in +Linonia's cause and with steadiness and resolution strive to make her +shine with unparalleled luster.... Be assured that your memory will +always be very dear to us; that though hundreds of miles should +interfere, you will always be attended with our best wishes. + +"May Providence protect you in all your ways, and may you have +prosperity in all your undertakings! May you live long and happily, and +at last die satisfied with the pleasures of this world, and go hence to +that world where joys shall never cease, and pleasures never end! Dear +Gentlemen, farewell!" + +Not only in speeches but also in deeds Hale proved his love for Linonia. +He is said to have contributed some of his own books to the library of +the Society, and to have cooeperated with Timothy Dwight and James +Hillhouse in promoting its growth. In time the library owned more than +thirteen thousand volumes. These three Linonians were always considered +its real founders, and were so honored at the Society's centennial +anniversary on July 27, 1853. + +Timothy Dwight, the first of that name to be president of Yale College, +was, like Nathan Hale, a descendant of Elder Strong who founded +Northampton, Massachusetts. Dwight graduated in 1769, the year Hale +entered college. He then became a tutor and was a personal friend of +Hale's. He was a teacher of extraordinary power and was made president +of Yale in 1795. He was one of the most remarkable men of his time, +molding the moral and religious, as well as intellectual, character of +the college so that his influence extended not only over the whole state +but, to a great degree, over the whole United States. He was a fine +illustration of the great abilities that centered in so many of the +leading families of the colonists. Such connections as this man add even +a higher luster to the genealogy of Elizabeth Strong Hale, and lessen +our wonder that a son of hers, while hardly more than a boy, could face +the duty and calmly accept the responsibility that he felt rested upon +him. + +As may easily be inferred, the Hale boys, Enoch and Nathan, were not +forgotten by their home friends while making honorable records in +college, and forming pleasant friendships outside the college +walls--then the happy lot of all the best men in college--among the +cultured families of what was then a small New England city. + +An instance of the friendships Nathan made in New Haven is shown by the +words of AEneas Munson, M.D., formerly of that city. When an aged man he +spoke in the warmest terms of Hale's fine qualities as he observed them +when he was a boy in his father's house, and he treasured a letter to +his father from Hale in 1774 which will be given farther on. + +Of home letters, happily a few from their father in Coventry to his two +sons in college are still preserved; these prove, as no words of any +stranger could, his constant and practical interest in all that +concerned them. They show us how an upright father tried to influence +his boys' religious characters while distant from them, and at the same +time they show the economies which even well-to-do fathers then had to +exercise in providing for their sons while at college. The first letter +also shows that Nathan must have entered college when fourteen years and +three months old, having been born in June, 1755, and entering college +in September, 1769. We here give the first letter, with all its quaint +old spelling, and after it two others written during successive years. +We may smile at their old-time expressions, but we must own to a sincere +admiration for the kind and thoughtful father, so interested in his +boys, and so solicitous concerning their health "after the measles." + + + DEAR CHILDREN: + + I Rec'd your Letter of the 7th instant and am glad to hear that you + are well suited with Living in College and would let you know that + wee are all well threw the Divine goodness, as I hope these lines + will find you. I hope you will carefully mind your studies that + your time be not Lost and that you will mind all the orders of + College with care.... I intend to send you some money the first + opportunity perhaps by Mr. Sherman when he Returns home from of the + surcit [circuit court] he is now on. If you can hire Horses at New + Haven to come home without too much trouble and cost I don't know + but it is best and should be glad to know how you can hire them and + send me word. If I don't here from you I shall depend upon sending + Horses to you by the 6th of May,--if I should have know opportunity + to send you any money till May and should then come to New Haven + and clear all of it would it not do? If not you will let me know + it. Your friends are all well at Coventry--your mother sends her + Regards to you--from your kind and loving + + Father + RICHD HALE + + COVENTRY Decr. 26th + A.D. 1769. + + + DEAR CHILDREN: + + I have nothing spettial to write but would by all means desire you + to mind your Studies and carefully attend to the orders of Coledge. + Attend not only Prayers in the chapel but Secret Prayr carefully. + Shun all vice especially card Playing. Read your Bibles a chapter + night and morning. I cannot now send you much money but hope when + Sr Strong comes to Coventry to be able to send by him what you + want.... + + from your Loving Father + RICHD HALE + + Coventry, Decr. 17th, 1770 + + + LOVING CHILDREN--by a line would let you know that I with my family + threw the Divine Goodness are well as I hope these lines will find + you. I have heard that you are better of the measles. The Cloath + for your Coat is not Done. But will be Done next week I hope at + furthest. I know of no opportunity we shall have to send it to + Newhaven and have Laid in with Mr. Strong for his Horse which his + son will Ride down to New Haven for one of you to Ride home if you + can get Leave and have your close made at home. I sopose that one + measure will do for both of you. I am told that it is not good to + study hard after the measles--hope you will youse Prudance in that + afare. If you do not one of you come home I dont see but that you + must do with out any New Close till after Commensment. I send you + Eight Pound in cash by Mr. Strong--hope it will do for the + present-- + + Your Loving Father + RICHD HALE + + COVENTRY August 13th, 1771 + + +Some students of to-day in college with elder brothers might protest +vigorously at the idea of new suits provided for two boys of different +sizes being fitted for the larger, though the younger might find some +consolation in the fact that he would have plenty of room in which to +grow! At all events, good Deacon Hale's kindly letters give us a very +friendly feeling toward him, revealing as they do his love for his boys. +The letters also suggest indirectly the happy home-coming of these +college boys, riding thither on horseback over many miles, buoyed up by +high spirits, college news, and the prospect of vacation. + +In their home, as time went by, they found the two new members of the +family, their stepmother's daughters, Nathan to find in Alice Adams, the +youngest, some of the happiest inspirations of his manly young life. It +is pleasant to linger a moment and try to realize the pride Deacon Hale +must have felt in his boys, and their delight in being once more home +with him and with all the family circle. We can fancy them as they sat +around that generous board--none the less generous, we are sure, because +of the home-coming of the "Yale boys." + +Deacon Hale was a man of remarkable energy--"a driver," in other words. +As a rule, in the busiest season of the year he would finish his meal +before the family were half through theirs, rise, return thanks, and be +off to the field, leaving the others to resume their seats around the +table. Alice Adams used to say of him, "I never saw a man work so hard +for both worlds as Deacon Hale." + +One amusing incident was long in circulation and laughed over by many +who did not know the energetic haymaker by name. As it really happened +to Deacon Hale, it is worth telling as an example of the energy that has +characterized his descendants. + +One haying season Deacon Hale hired a tall, brawny countryman, of +uncommon strength, to help him house his crop. While in the field he +took upon himself the task of "packing" the load, the hired man's duty +being to pitch it on to the cart. The man began his work too slowly to +suit Deacon Hale, who soon called out, "More hay!" This call he repeated +three or four times, as cock after cock of hay was still somewhat lazily +pitched up to him. Finally his tardy helper, becoming sensible that his +easy way of working was being rebuked, set himself to work with a will +equal to the Deacon's, and at last pitched the hay up so rapidly that +his employer was unable to "pack" it properly upon the cart. Very soon, +therefore, to the dismay of both men, the whole load slipped off in one +great mass on to the ground, carrying the Deacon along with it! + +"What do you want now, Deacon?" shouted the Hercules by his side with a +satisfied grin. + +"_More hay!_" instantly replied the discomfited Deacon, nimbly +scrambling back to his place on the cart. + +Despite this little accident at the beginning of the afternoon, it is +safe to state that a generous storage of hay took place before sunset. + +But happy as were these college days and home-comings, and rich as were +the harvests gleaned in them, the four years in college halls sped +swiftly, and in 1773 Enoch Hale and Nathan turned their faces toward the +future; the one to a long life and faithful Christian service, the other +toward the briefest of mortal days, but to a service whose memory will +not end till his college walls shall have crumbled, and the names of all +its heroic sons faded from the earth. For even though stones may +crumble, influence lives on. + +It has already been said that at graduation Nathan Hale stood among the +first thirteen in a class of thirty-six. On Commencement Day, September +3, 1773, he took part in a forensic debate on the question, "Whether the +Education of Daughters be not, without any just reason, more neglected +than that of Sons." + +In "Memories of a Hundred Years" Dr. Edward Everett Hale says: "As early +as 1772 there appears at Yale College the first question ever debated +by the Linonian Society. It was, 'Is it right to enslave the Affricans?' +I think, by the way, that this record, bad spelling and all, is made by +my great-uncle, Nathan Hale." These debates show how seriously, even in +the colonial period, men were thinking of the urgent problems of later +days. + +In the debate first mentioned, the others taking part in it were +Benjamin Tallmadge, Ezra Samson, and William Robinson. Some account of +Major Tallmadge's after life is given in later pages. Samson was, for a +time, a clergyman, and then became an editor, first in Hudson, New York, +and then of the _Courant_, at Hartford, Connecticut. + +William Robinson was a direct descendant of Pastor John Robinson of +Leyden. He studied for the ministry and was ordained in 1780 at +Southington, Connecticut. In the winter of that year--which was one of +the coldest and most severe on record--he walked the whole distance from +Windsor to Southington, about thirty miles, on snowshoes, to be +installed as pastor, an office he held for forty-one years. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A CALL TO TEACH + + +College days behind them, Nathan, now eighteen years old, and Enoch +pressed on toward their future. Here, to some extent, we part with +Enoch, catching only occasional glimpses of him in a few straggling +letters to his brother. It is probable that, as he intended to enter the +ministry, he soon began his theological studies. In 1775 he was licensed +to preach. Nathan, however, turned toward teaching as the next step in +his career. + +In the meantime Nathan's love for Alice Adams had not prospered. An +older brother, John, had married Alice Adams's elder sister Sarah, and +the mother and sister of Alice thought that she should not wait four or +five years for Nathan. Perhaps they decided that two intermarriages in +one family were quite enough; anyway, they induced Alice to accept the +offer of a prosperous merchant of Coventry, Mr. Elijah Ripley, and a +short time before Nathan's graduation her marriage had apparently +terminated their personal relations. + +Nathan Hale was at this time an unusually handsome young man, almost +six feet in height, well proportioned, with broad chest, athletic, as we +have seen, and with a handsome, intelligent face, blue eyes, light brown +hair of a rich color, and a winning smile. These, added to a musical +voice and gracious manners, gave him a personal charm that attracted all +who saw him. + +As a teacher he combined unusual tact and manly dignity, making his +discipline in school as effective as it was reasonable. He also proved +to be as skillful in imparting knowledge as he had been in acquiring it, +and his success as a teacher was assured from the outset. + +His first school was in East Haddam, Connecticut. There was then much +wealth and business activity in the town, although, to a man fresh from +college and the city, it appeared to be a very quiet place, as one or +two of his early letters indicate. Yet there too he did with all his +might what his hands found to do, and soon proved that not only his +work, but his social qualities, were endearing him to new friends, some +of whom remembered him with pleasure during their own long lives; one of +them saying of Nathan Hale in her own old age, "Everybody loved him, he +was so sprightly, intelligent, and kind," and, she added withal, "and +_so_ handsome!" He had many correspondents among classmates and +friends. Sometimes he was stimulated to put his thoughts into rhyme by +some poetical epistle he received. One such was from Benjamin Tallmadge, +then in Wethersfield. + +Tallmadge had apologized for his muse and Hale, in pure boyish fun, with +a fine disregard of whether he was invoking the muse or mounting +Pegasus, replied as follows: + + "But here, I think you're wrong, to blame + Your gen'rous muse and call her lame, + For when arriv'd no mark was found + Of weakness, lameness, sprain or wound." + +Then, invoking her himself, he describes her as if she were indeed the +winged steed, + + "With me in charge (a grievous load!) + Along the way she lately trode, + In all, she gave no fear or pain, + Unless, at times, to hold the rein." + +At last, on his supposed arrival at Wethersfield, he invites Tallmadge's +judgment on the appearance of the equine muse, thus: + + "Now judge, unless entirely sound + If she could bear me such a round. + It's certain then your muse is heal'd, + Or else, came sound from Weathersfield." + +Before the end of the first term (October, 1773, to mid-March, 1774) in +East Haddam, however, his work had aroused attention elsewhere, and in +May, 1774, he took charge of a school in New London, called the "Union +School,"--a larger school and a more lucrative position than that at +East Haddam. In it Latin, English, arithmetic, and writing were taught. +The salary was seventy pounds a year with a prospect of an increase, and +he was allowed to teach private classes as well. + +It will not surprise those acquainted with human nature that, as we will +allow him to tell in a letter to a relative, he soon had a class of some +twenty young ladies between the unusual hours of five and seven in the +morning! It does not take a very vivid imagination to picture the +vivacity of these twenty young ladies, the becomingness of their simple +but pretty gowns, and the zest with which each studied; nor, on the +other hand, the ill-concealed, bantering interest of the big brothers of +the same,--asking perhaps, now and then, with mock gravity, if mother +thought Patty would be so prompt every morning at five o'clock if old +Parson Browning were the teacher! + +But whatever might have been the dominant interest of the young ladies, +"Master Hale" was quite as practical in his teaching in the early hours +of the day as with the boys in the later classes. An uncle of his, +Samuel Hale, was for many years at the head of the best private school +in New Hampshire, numbering among his pupils some of the leaders in +Revolutionary times. To him, September 24, 1774, Nathan wrote a letter +from which we give the following extracts: + + "My own employment is at present the same that you have spent your + days in. I have a school of thirty-two boys, about half Latin, the + rest English. The salary allowed me is 70 L per annum. In addition + to this I have kept, during the summer, a morning school, between + the hours of five and seven, of about 20 young ladies for which I + have received 6s [shillings] a scholar, by the quarter. Many of the + people are gentleman of sense and merit. They are desirous that I + would continue and settle in the school, and propose a considerable + increase in wages. I am much at a loss whether to accept their + proposals. Your advice in this matter, coming from an uncle and + from a man who has spent his life in the business, would, I think, + be the best I could possibly receive. A few lines on this subject + and also to acquaint me with the welfare of your family ... will be + much to the satisfaction of + + Your most dutiful Nephew, + NATHAN HALE." + +A letter to Enoch Hale, containing allusions to the excited feeling in +the colony at this time, runs as follows: + + NEW LONDON, Sept. 8th. 1774. + + DEAR BROTHER. + + I have a word to write and a moment to write it in. I received + yours of yesterday this morning. Agreeable to your desire I will + endeavour to get the cloth and carry it on Saturday. I have no + news. No liberty-pole is erected or erecting here; but the people + seem much more spirited than they did before the alarm. Parson + Peters of Hebron, I hear, has had a second visit paid him by the + sons of liberty in Windham. His treatment, and the concessions he + made I have not as yet heard. I have not heard from home since + + I came from there. + + MR. E. HALE. LYME. + + Your loving Brother + NATHAN HALE. + +A letter from Hale to his friend the senior Dr. AEneas Munson, of New +Haven, has been mentioned. It runs as follows: + + NEW LONDON, November 30, 1774 + + SIR: I am very happily situated here. I love my employment; find + many friends among strangers; have time for scientific study; and + seem to fill the place assigned me with satisfaction. I have a + school of more than thirty boys to instruct, about half of them in + Latin; and my salary is satisfactory. During the summer I had a + morning class of young ladies--about a score--from five to seven + o'clock; so you see my time is pretty fully occupied, profitably, I + hope to my pupils and to their teacher. + + Please accept for yourself and Mrs. Munson the grateful thanks of + one who will always remember the kindness he ever experienced + whenever he visited your abode. + + Your friend NATHAN HALE. + +On one occasion, as Hale left his house after paying a visit, Dr. Munson +observed, "That man is a diamond of the first water, calculated to excel +in any station he assumes. He is a gentleman and a scholar, and last, +though not least of his qualifications, a Christian." + +The son of Dr. Munson (who bore his father's name), when an aged man, +said: "I was greatly impressed with Hale's scientific knowledge, evinced +during his conversation with my father. I am sure he was equal to Andre +in solid acquirements, and his taste for art and talents as an artist +were quite remarkable. His personal appearance was as notable. He was +almost six feet in height, perfectly proportioned, and in figure and +deportment he was the most manly man I have ever met. His chest was +broad; his muscles were firm; his face wore a most benign expression; +his complexion was roseate; his eyes were light blue and beamed with +intelligence; his hair was soft and light brown in color, and his speech +was rather low, sweet, and musical. His personal beauty and grace of +manner were most charming. + +"Why, all the girls in New Haven fell in love with him," continued Dr. +Munson, "and wept tears of real sorrow when they heard of his sad fate. +In dress he was always neat; he was quick to lend a helping hand to a +being in distress, brute or human; was overflowing with good humor, and +was the idol of all his acquaintances." + +Young masters of schools, public or private, unmarried and attractive, +usually rank next in popularity to other professional men,--ministers, +lawyers, or doctors, as the case may be,--and a boy of nineteen, the +object of as much attention as Nathan Hale must have received, might +well be pardoned if his head had been slightly turned, in thus becoming +the admired teacher of a large class of young ladies. One special mark +of stability of character appears to have characterized this young man +in a greater degree than is always the case at the present day. Detached +as he was, as he supposed irrevocably, from the woman he loved, he +appears to have carried himself with almost middle-aged dignity, and, +what is not a little to his credit, even his intimate friends among his +classmates could not, by the most delicate cross-questioning, draw from +him anything suggesting more than a pleasant interest in any of the +young ladies with whom he was thrown in contact. + +A letter that will be given in its proper place shows his courteous and +cordial interest in the little city he left when he entered the army; +yet it is rather a noteworthy fact that one of his classmates, writing +to him during his camp life, had to suggest that, as the young ladies he +had taught were always inquiring when he had heard from "Master," it +would doubtless give them pleasure if he could find time to write some +one of them a note with friendly messages to others, to show that he +still remembered them. + +Many young men would hardly have needed such a suggestion. But Nathan +Hale, so far as we can learn, while given to warm friendships among his +classmates, and to the cultivation, while in New Haven, Haddam, and New +London, of the society of the best families, appears, from the +beginning, to have taken life seriously. Disappointed in the love of the +one woman for whom he cared, he had turned with sincere absorption to +the work to which he felt himself called before entering on the +theological course it is thought that his father had planned for him. + +There is further evidence of Hale's notable gifts as a teacher. Colonel +Samuel Green, who had been a pupil of Hale in New London, said of him, +in oldtime phrase: "Hale was a man peculiarly engaging in his +manners--these were mild and genteel. The scholars, old and young, were +attached to him. They loved him for his tact and amiability. + +"He was wholly without severity and had a wonderful control over boys. +He was sprightly, ardent, and steady--bore a fine moral character and +was respected highly by all his acquaintances. The school in which he +taught was owned by the first gentlemen in New London, all of whom were +exceedingly gratified by Hale's skill and assiduity." + +A lady of New London who was for some time an inmate of the same family +with Hale, adds her testimony: + +"His capacity as a teacher was highly appreciated both by parents and +pupils. His simple and unostentatious manner of imparting right views +and feelings to less cultivated understandings was unsurpassed by any +other person I have ever known." + +He was, as we see, a successful teacher, and, as we learn elsewhere, had +serious thoughts of remaining a teacher. + +Unexpectedly, however, events verified the truth of the old adage, "Man +proposes, God disposes." A great historical drama was to be enacted +before the eyes of the wondering world, and events were ripening that +were to form a great epoch in history. + +America was being led first to protest against the unjust exactions laid +upon its people, and then to resist the oppressions that were being +forced upon it. Gradually the idea prevailed that a taxation which might +have been acceptable, if coupled with representation in Parliament, was +absolutely intolerable without representation, and the Stamp Act in 1765 +struck the first note of intense opposition. Thenceforward the political +clouds grew darker and the warning incidents multiplied. + +And yet, as a people, Americans were walking as if their personal plans +lay easily in their own control. Scores of young men were fitting +themselves for ordinary callings, Nathan Hale among them. His father's +plans combining with his own appeared to be that he was to teach for a +while, and then follow his brother Enoch into the ministry. As it +proved, his days as a teacher were numbered. He was never to enter a +pulpit, though he was to utter one sentence that, graven upon bronze or +granite, will last while America lasts. He was to teach, by his last, +unpremeditated words, and by an example more potent than any other in +American history, what all generations of Americans must venerate--the +sublimity of a complete sacrifice. + +Smoldering discontent on the part of the Americans, waxing stronger and +stronger for a decade, and the aggressive course of action on the part +of the British authorities, finally culminated in a sudden outbreak, as +matches applied to gunpowder; and on the 19th of April, 1775, the first +blood of the American Revolution was shed. Settlement after settlement, +big and little, learned the facts as rapidly as couriers on horseback +could carry them, and the thirteen colonies arrayed themselves against +one of the most powerful monarchies of the world. + +The story is too well known to need recalling here, save as it draws +Nathan Hale toward his doom. Within a few days after the fatal 19th of +April, four thousand Connecticut volunteers were on their way to Boston +to help Massachusetts in its earliest struggle with the English. +Ununiformed, undisciplined, straight from whatever had been their +ordinary vocation, with whatever they owned in the way of arms and +ammunition, they went hurrying toward Boston. Israel Putnam, renowned +veteran of the "Old French War," was plowing in his fields at Pomfret, +Connecticut, when he heard the stirring news. Leaving his plow in the +furrow, he hastened to his house, left a few orders for the management +of his farm and the comfort of his family, and marched at the head of a +body of volunteers toward the camp near Boston. We are told that, in +some households, families sat up all night, the fathers melting their +pewter plates into bullets for ammunition to be used by their sons, and +the mothers and sisters fashioning for them, with all possible speed, +the clothing they could not go without. + + +On the arrival of the news from Boston, the people in New London at once +held a meeting. Hon. Richard Law, District Judge of Connecticut and +Chief Justice of the Superior Court, was chairman. Hale was one of the +speakers. + +At that meeting a company was selected from the already existing militia +and ordered to start for Boston the next morning. This company Nathan +Hale, with his keen sense of duty, could not then join. But, for a few +succeeding weeks, in addition to his regular work in school, he did all +in his power to keep alive the interest of the young men in the town +concerning their duties as Americans. With his enthusiastic nature, and +broad comprehension of what might soon confront the country, it is +probable that his seriousness and his activity were never greater than +during the few weeks intervening between his speech at the political +meeting and his departure from New London to enter the military service +of his country. + +Of course his becoming a soldier would greatly interfere with the plans +that his father had made for him, and he at once wrote home on the +subject, stating that "a sense of duty urged him to sacrifice everything +for his country"; but he added that as soon as the war was ended he +would comply with his father's wishes in regard to a profession. The +father was quite as patriotic as the son. He immediately assented to his +son's desires. In those days, however, correspondence could not be +conducted so swiftly as at present, and some time must have elapsed +before this matter was positively settled between the two. As the war +went on, and doubtless none the less whole-heartedly after the news of +Nathan's death had been received, Mr. Hale did all he could for the +comfort of passing soldiers. It is said of him that many a time he sat +at the door of his hospitable home and watched for passing soldiers that +he might take them in and feed them; and, if necessary, lodge and clothe +them. He often forbade his household "to use the wool raised upon his +farm for home purposes, that it might be woven into blankets for the +army." + +Anxious as had been young Hale to join the army, he appears to have +deferred making any decided plans until he had received the necessary +permission from his father. Having received it, he at once took steps +for securing his dismissal from his school and his admission into the +army. During the weeks of waiting it had become known that he was +anxious to enlist, and a military appointment was waiting his +acceptance. To secure his dismissal, on July 7 he addressed the +following letter to the proprietors of his school,--a letter that for a +young man of twenty is as dignified as it is patriotic: + + GENTLEMEN: Having received information that a place is allotted me + in the army, and being inclined, as I hope for good reasons, to + accept it, I am constrained to ask as a favor that which scarce + anything else would have induced me to, which is, to be excused + from keeping your school any longer. For the purpose of conversing + upon this and of procuring another master, some of your number + think it best there should be a general meeting of the proprietors. + The time talked of for holding it is six o'clock this afternoon, at + the schoolhouse. The year for which I engaged will expire within a + fortnight, so that my quitting a few days sooner, I hope, will + subject you to no great inconvenience. + + School-keeping is a business of which I was always fond, but since + my residence in this town, everything has conspired to render it + more agreeable. I have thought much of never quitting it but with + life, but at present there seems an opportunity for more extended + public service. + + The kindness expressed to me by the people of the place, but + especially the proprietors of the school, will always be very + gratefully remembered by, gentlemen, with respect, your humble + servant, + + NATHAN HALE + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A CALL TO ARMS + + +The place "allotted" to him was that of lieutenant in the third company +of the 7th Connecticut regiment, commanded by Colonel Charles Webb. No +doubt exists that Lieutenant Nathan Hale was the same Nathan Hale who +had won distinction in all his college work, in his subsequent teaching, +and in all the events thus far associated with his early manhood, with +this difference; he was now lifted to a line of service that in his +opinion seemed the highest possible for him to follow, and no one who +studies his subsequent course can question that in this following he +found the loftiest consecration thus far possible to him. Perhaps +unconsciously he was to verify the poet's assertion, + + "So nigh is grandeur to our dust, + So near is God to man, + When Duty whispers low, _Thou must_, + The youth replies, _I can._" + +With no trace of merely personal ambition, but with that splendid power +of absorption in duty as in work, Nathan Hale followed in the steps of +those devoted American patriots whose blood, so freely shed at +Lexington, was calling upon their countrymen to shed theirs as freely, +should duty demand it. + +Dead almost one hundred and forty years, we still are thrilled by proofs +of the splendid manhood henceforth to be so prominent in every remaining +day of Hale's brief life. A few letters to friends, a fairly +comprehensive diary for a few months, his camp-book, and the +recollections of a few of the officers and of his body-servant, give a +moderately complete picture of Nathan Hale for a few brief weeks, during +which time he had been doing all in his power to perfect himself and the +men under him in the duties of soldiers. + +By the middle of September the Connecticut troops, having received +orders from General Washington to proceed to the camp near Boston, the +7th Regiment, containing Lieutenant Hale's company, went to the spot +appointed, remaining there during the winter, and leaving for New York, +again by Washington's orders, in the spring. Of these intervening +months, so momentous to the little army whose many members were +impatient for the close of the war, Nathan Hale himself gives us vivid +pictures; of the work he was trying to do; of the men he was meeting; of +the religious life he was in no sense forgetting, and of his own +deepening patriotism. Letters written to him show the attitude of +friends at home, and their interest both in the affairs of the country +and in him personally. The following letter from Gilbert Saltonstall, a +young Harvard graduate and warm friend of Hale while in New London, +shows how fully the men at home, as well as those in the army, entered +into the anxieties of the times: + + NEW LONDON, Octo. 9th, 1775. + + DEAR SIR: + + By yours of the 5th I see you're Stationd in the Mouth of Danger--I + look upon yr. Situation more Perilous than any other in the + Camp--Should have thought the new Recreuits would have been Posted + at some of the Outworks, & those that have been inured to Service + advanc'd to Defend the most exposed Places--But all Things are + concerted, and ordered with Wisdom no doubt--The affair of Dr. + Church[1] is truly amazing--from the acquaintance I have of his + publick Character I should as soon have suspected Mr. Hancock or + Adams as him. + +[Footnote 1: Of this Dr. Church, John Fiske writes: "In October, 1775, +the American camp was thrown into great consternation by the discovery +that Dr. Benjamin Church, one of the most conspicuous of the Boston +leaders, had engaged in a secret correspondence with the enemy. Dr. +Church was thrown into jail, but as the evidence of treasonable intent +was not absolutely complete, he was set free in the following spring, +and allowed to visit the West Indies for his health. The ship in which +he sailed was never heard from again."] + +(Then follow accounts of an affair on Long Island Sound, and extracts +from a paper two days old just brought from New York, describing army +matters in the North.) + + I have extracted all the material News--should have sent the Paper + but its the only one in Town and every one is Gaping for news. + + Your sincere Friend + GILBERT SALTONSTALL. + +Another, also from Saltonstall, reads in part as follows: + + ESTEEMED FRIEND + + Doctor Church is in close Custody in Norwich Gaol, the windows + boarded up, and he deny'd the use of Pen, Ink, and Paper, to have + no converse with any Person but in presence of the Gaoler, and then + to Converse in no Language but English. ... what a fall ... + + Yr &c + GILBERT SALTONSTALL. + + Novr. 27th 1775 + +A letter already referred to as showing Hale's interest in New London +and its people, also his feeling as to camp life, is here given. +"Betsey" was one of his pupils in his early-morning classes. We note the +little touch of good-natured fun in the last paragraph. + + CAMP WINTER HILL, Octr 19th 1775 + + DEAR BETSEY + + I hope you will excuse my freedom in writing to you, as I cannot + have the pleasure of seeing and conversing with you. What is now a + letter would be a visit were I in New London but this being out of + my power, suffer me to make up the defect in the best manner I can. + I write not to give you any news or any pleasure in reading (though + I would heartily do it if in my power) but from the desire I have + of conversing with you in some form or other. + + I once wanted to come here to see something extraordinary--my + curiosity is satisfied. I have now no more desire for seeing things + here, than for seeing what is in New London, no, nor half so much + neither. Not that I am discontented--so far from it, that in the + present situation of things I would not except a furlough were it + offered me. I would only observe that we often flatter ourselves + with great happiness could we see such and such things; but when we + actually come to the sight of them our solid satisfaction is really + no more than when we only had them in expectation. + + All the news I had I wrote to John Hallam--if it be worth your + hearing he will be able to tell you when he delivers this. It will + therefore not (be) worth while for me to repeat. + + I am a little at a loss how you carry at New London--Jared Starr I + hear is gone--The number of Gentlemen is now so few that I fear how + you will go through the winter but I hope for the best. + + I remain with esteem + Yr Sincere Friend + & Hble Svt. + N. HALE + + TO BETSEY CHRISTOPHERS + At New London + +The next letter refers to the time when, on account of their personal +privations, the Connecticut troops were thinking seriously of +withdrawing from the struggle, and returning to their homes: + + DEAR SIR NEW LONDON Decr-4th 1775 + + The behaviour of our Connecticut Troops makes me Heart-sick--that + they who have stood foremost in the praises and good Wishes of + their Countrymen, as having distinguished themselves for their Zeal + & Public Spirit, should now shamefully desert the Cause; and at a + critical moment too, is really unaccountable--amazing. Those that + do return will meet with real Contempt, with deserv'd Reproach. It + gives great satisfaction that the Officers universally agree to + tarry--that is the Report, is it true or not?--May that God who has + signally appear'd for us since the Commencement of our troubles, + interpose, that no fatal or bad consequence may attend a dastardly + Desertion of his Cause. + + I want much to have a more minute Acct. of the situation of the + Camp than I have been able to obtain. I rely wholly on you for + information. + + Your + G. SALTONSTALL. + +To explain some of Saltonstal's references to the feelings of some of +the Connecticut troops, we quote from Captain Hale's diary of October +23: + + "10 o'clock went to Cambridge with Field commission officers to + General Putman to let him know the state of the Regiment and that + it was through ill usage upon the Score of Provisions that they + would not extend their term of service to the 1st of January 1776." + +Other letters to Hale from New London friends, among them one from an +officer absent on furlough, speak freely of the anxieties of those +watching the progress of the reenlistments, and the home reception that +would be given to any leaving the army. + +Another letter from Saltonstall reads as follows: + + NEW LONDON Decr. 18th 1775 + + DR. SIR.... + + I wholly agree with you in ye. agreables of a Camp Life, and + should have try'd it in some Capacity or other before now, could my + Father carry on his Business without me. I proposed going with + Dudley, who is appointed to Commn. a Twenty-Gun Ship in the + Continental Navy, but my Father is not willing, and I can't + persuade myself to leave him in the eve of Life against his + consent.... + + Yesterday week the Town was in the greatest confusion imaginable; + Women wringing their Hands along Street, Children crying, Carts + loaded 'till nothing more would stick on, posting out of Town, + empty ones driving in, one Person running this way, another that, + some dull, some vex'd, more pleased, some flinging up an + Intrenchment, some at the Fort preparing ye Guns for Action, Drums + beating, Fifes playing; in short as great a Hubbub as at the + confusion of Tongues; all of this occasioned by the appearance of a + Ship and two Sloops off the Harbour, Suppos'd to be part of + Wallace's Fleet,--When they were found to be Friends, Vessels from + New Port with Passengers ye consternation abated.... + +A postscript runs as follows: + + The young girls, B. Coit, S. and P. Belden [Hale's pupils] have + frequently desired their Compliments to Master, but I've never + thought of mentioning it till now. You must write something in your + next by way of P.S. that I may shew it them. + +Favored by copies of these letters by Saltonstall, one must regret all +the more that so few of Hale's own letters have been discovered, ten +being the limit. Within a comparatively short period, however, some +sixty more records--mostly letters written to Hale--have come to light, +preserved, as it is now seen, by the same "orderly care" that marked his +interest in all the correspondence of his friends. + +In them are expressed, in letter after letter, the affectionate interest +and warm admiration of the writers. It is now said that Hale kept these +letters with him down to the date of his tragic mission. We can easily +imagine the glow of satisfaction that must have filled his brotherly +soul in the few spare moments he could devote to these letters. + +Brief extracts are made from his diary, fortunately preserved for +evidence as to his work and growing interest in the duties he had +entered upon. The diary was found in the camp-book brought to his +family by Asher Wright, Hale's attendant in camp before he left New +York. + +In the diary, under date of November 19, 1775, this entry is made: + + " ... Robert Latimer the Majrs Son went to Roxbury to day on his + way home. The Majr who went there to day and ... return'd this + eveng bt acts that the _Asia_ Man of War Station'd at N. York + was taken by a Schooner arm'd with Spear's &c.... This account not + creditted." + +A month after the return from camp mentioned above, Robert Latimer wrote +to Captain Hale, his former teacher, the following interesting and +diverting letter: + + DR SIR, + + As I think myself under the greatest obligations to you for your + care and kindness to me, I should think myself very ungrateful if I + neglected any oppertunity of expressing my gratitude to you for the + same. And I rely on that goodness, I have so often experienc'd to + overlook the deficiencies in my Letter, which I am sensible will be + many as maturity of Judgment is wanting, and tho' I have been so + happy as to be favour'd with your instructions, you can't Sir, + expect a finish'd letter from one who has as yet practis'd but very + little this way, especially with persons of your nice discernment. + + Sir, I have had the pleasure of hearing by the soldiers, which is + come home, that you are in health, tho' likely to be deserted by + all the men you carried down with you, which I am very sorry for, + as I think no man of any spirit would desert a cause in which, we + are all so deeply interested. I am sure was my Mammy willing I + think I should prefer being with you, to all the pleasures which + the company of my Relations Can afford me. + + I am Sir with respect yr Sincere friend + & very H'ble St + ROB'T LATIMER + + Decbr 20th 1775-- + + P. S. My Mammy and aunt Lamb presents Complimts. My Mammy would + have wrote, but being very busy, tho't my writing would be + sufficient--my respects to Capt Hull. Addressed to Capt. Hale. + +Here is a second letter from the same ardent friend of Captain Hale. His +admiration for his former teacher is evident in every line. + + NEW LONDON, March 5th 1776 + + DEAR SIR, + + as my letter meet with such kind reception from you, I still + continue writing & hope that the desire I have of improving, added + to the pleasure, I take in hearing often from so good a friend, + will sufficiently excuse me for writing so often--I Recd your kind + letter Sr pr the post & cant deny but your approbation, of my + writing, gives me the greatest pleasure, & should be afraid of its + raisg my pride; did I not consider that your intention in praising + my poor performance, must be with a design, of raising in me an + ambition, to endeavour to deserve your praise--& I hope that + instructions convey'd in such an agreeable manner, will not, be + thrown away upon me--You write Sr that you have got another Fifer, + & a very good one too, as I hear. Which I am very Glad to hear, + tho' I sincerely wish I was in his Place-- + + Have not any News. + + So will Conclude--I am Sr + with Respect Yr friend & S't, + + ROBERT LATIMER + + P. S. My Mammy & Aunt + Present Compts &c-- + + CAPT. HALE. + +Only one thought dims the pleasure with which we read these two +letters,--the consciousness of the depth of distress that must have +filled that loyal boy's heart to overflowing when he learned of the +tragic death of his hero friend. + +Two notable records from Captain Hale's diary are these: + + November 6. It is of the utmost importance that an officer should + be anxious to know his duty, but of greater that he should + carefully perform what he does know. The present irregular state of + the army is owing to a capital neglect in both of these. + + November 7. Studied ye best method of forming a Reg't for a review, + of arraying the Companies, also of marching round ye reviewing + Officer. A man ought never to lose a moment's time. If he put off a + thing from one minute to the next, his reluctance is but increased. + +Later in November, when the men in his company were unwilling to +reenlist, this notable entry was made, signed with his full name: + + 28, Tuesday. Promised the men if they would tarry another month, + they should have my wages for that time. + + NATHAN HALE. + +These brief quotations, proving as they do Hale's intense devotion to +duty, and his practical efforts to hold his men to their duty, show how +clearly he understood the tremendous responsibility resting upon the +commander-in-chief as given in Washington's own words in letters to +friends and to Congress, soon to be quoted; and that, known or unknown +to Washington, there were men among his officers fully aware of the +condition of the army, and as anxious to serve it as was their +magnificent leader. + +We here quote from Washington's letters; the first one was written to a +friend: + + I know the unhappy predicament in which I stand; I know that much + is expected of me; I know that without men, without arms, without + ammunition, without anything fit for the accommodation of a + soldier, little is to be done, and what is mortifying, I know that + I cannot stand justified to the world without exposing my own + weakness, and injuring the cause, by declaring my wants which I am + determined not to do farther than unavoidable necessity brings + every man acquainted with them. My situation is so irksome to me at + times, that if I did not consult the public good more than my own + tranquillity, I should long ere this have put everything on the + cast of a die. So far from my having an army of twenty thousand + men, well armed, I have been here with less than half that number, + including sick, furloughed, and on command; and those neither armed + nor clothed as they should be. In short, my situation has been + such, that I have been obliged to conceal it from my own officers. + +The second letter was written to Congress: + + To make men well acquainted with the duties of a soldier, requires + time. To bring them under proper discipline and subordination, not + only requires time, but is a work of great difficulty; and in this + army where there is so little distinction between officers and + soldiers, requires an uncommon degree of attention. To expect, + then, the same service from raw and undisciplined recruits, as from + veteran soldiers, is to expect what never did, and perhaps never + will happen. + +On the 23d of December, 1775, Hale began his first and only trip to +Connecticut for the sake of securing additional enlistments. If on this +one visit home he became engaged--as some have believed--to the woman he +had so long loved, now a widow of about nineteen, Alice Adams Ripley, we +may infer that love brightened his embassy even though patriotism +inspired it. No record remains of the glorified hours he may have spent +in Coventry. We have good reason to believe that, if he survived the +war, he expected to marry the woman he had so faithfully loved. After a +few brief days in his home, he left it, never to return, speeding on his +way to serve his country's needs. + +If this new zest entered his life at this time, we can easily imagine as +he fared on, striving to arouse his countrymen to their duty as +patriots, that the happiest hours of his life were urging him forward to +the most perfect service he could render in the present, and to +unlimited hopes and ambitions for the future he might well expect was +awaiting him. Crowned by human love, and with unlimited opportunities to +serve his country, who can tell by what "vision splendid" he was "on his +way attended"? Who can help rejoicing that such days, brief as they +were, and uplifting as they must have been, were given to this man, now +past twenty? + +Details concerning that trip are scanty. We know for a certainty that, +starting from camp December 23, 1775, he returned to it the last week in +January, 1776, having been in New London and other places seeking +recruits, and going back with the recruits he himself had secured, +joined by others coming from the various towns in Connecticut, and all +heading toward the camp around Boston. + +He received his commission as captain in the new army in January, being +still in Colonel Webb's regiment, which now became the Nineteenth of the +Continental Army. For a few weeks he followed the routine of his earlier +months there, doing all that was possible to assist his brother officers +in perfecting the discipline of the raw troops, deepening their +patriotism, and proving himself a soldier as devoid of fear as he was +rich in all manly qualities. Not a word of regret can be found in his +diary. Acknowledging in a letter to a former pupil, Miss Betsey +Christophers of New London, that the novelty and glamour of camp life +had worn off, he asserts, with intense ardor, that nothing would tempt +him to "accept a furlough" or shrink in any manner from any of his +duties as a soldier. And so the weeks passed on. + +During the winter heavy cannon from Fort Ticonderoga had been brought +through the snows over the Green Mountains. The cannon were placed on +Dorchester Heights which commanded the British camp, thus compelling the +British general to choose between attacking the American army and +evacuating the city. In a letter written in April, 1776, to his +half-brother, John Augustine, Washington wrote thus regarding this time: + + The enemy ... apprehending great annoyance from our new works, + resolved upon a retreat, and accordingly, on the 17th (March) + embarked in as much hurry, precipitation and confusion as ever + troops did ... leaving the King's property in Boston to the amount, + as is supposed, of thirty or forty thousand pounds in provisions + and stores. + +Washington's victory in this maneuver, his first great success, +tremendously cheered the hearts of all patriotic Americans. Congress +gave him a vote of thanks, also a gold medal--"the first in the history +of independent America"--in commemoration of the event. Here again we +catch a glimpse of the delight that must have thrilled the hearts of all +his officers, not least among them that of Nathan Hale. But Washington, +proving himself in these earlier events, as he was to, year after year, +through successive discouragements, "the first in war," turned toward +New York as his next base. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +HALE'S ZEAL AS A SOLDIER + + +In the letter just quoted, Washington wrote further: + + "Whither they [the enemy] are now bound,... I know not, but as New + York and Hudson's River are the most important objects they can + have in view ... therefore as soon as they embarked, I detached a + brigade of six regiments to that government and when they sailed + another brigade composed of the same number, and tomorrow another + brigade of five regiments will march. In a day or two more, I shall + follow myself, and be in New York ready to receive all but the + first." + +Uncertain as to his power to hold New York, Washington promptly took the +next step that appeared open to him, carrying in his heart a heavy +weight of care, and realizing, as perhaps no other man did, that only +divine assistance could give him final success. He was bent upon a +desperate mission, but to it, with sublime patience, he gave every +energy of his masterly mind, and the entire consecration of all that he +possessed. + +Well was it for him that the power which controls nations was quietly +working with him. Well, also, that in his army were men ready for any +enterprise of danger, for any sacrifice that duty might demand. + +Washington proceeded to New York, to ultimate victory, to final and +permanent fame. Nathan Hale went also, simply as a captain of a +Connecticut company,--he not to victory, not to immediate fame, but to +something higher in one sense than either victory or fame, and to a +service well worth a man's doing. + +Nathan Hale belonged to the first brigade dispatched to New York--that +of General Heath. After rapid marching, considering the state of the +roads, "Hale found himself" (March 26th) "for the third time" among his +New London friends. The next day they "embarked in high spirits on +fifteen transports and sailed for New York." On March 30th the troops +"disembarked at Turtle Bay, a convenient landing place" near what is now +East 45th Street. Not far from that spot, within six months, Nathan Hale +was to win a victory that time can never dim, even if, for a time, it +appeared to have covered his memory with a pall. But in that landing-day +no shadows were apparent,--only hope, and the zest inevitable in a +soldier's life. + +A minor honor was soon to come to Nathan Hale. Late in 1775 Enoch Hale +was licensed to preach. In the summer of 1776 he attended Commencement +at New Haven, from July 23 to 26. He makes note in his diary of friends +and classmates whom he saw; also that he obtained the degree of Master +of Arts for Nathan and himself. Of the latter his record is, "Write to +brother to tell him I have got him his degree." + +One or two more letters of Hale are extant from which only partial +extracts have been made. One that was written on the 3d of June, 1776, +we give with more fullness, omitting only some unimportant clauses. This +letter has especial value as an illustration of the fact that most of us +now and then have received letters that seemed casual in themselves, but +have, to our surprise and often to our deep sadness, proved to be +farewell letters. + +It is not probable that, in the hurried days that followed, further +messages were sent to his grandmother, to his former pastor and +beloved teacher, Mr. Huntington, and to his sister Rose and her family. +In the late autumn of 1776, after they had learned his fate, and in the +years that followed, one can easily imagine how precious seemed these +appreciative words, embalming as it were the abiding affection of the +man who wrote them. Hale's reference to "the Doctor" also recalls the +fact that, from the immediate family of Deacon Richard Hale, five +men--three sons, one stepson, and one son-in-law (Surgeon Rose)--entered +the Revolutionary Army; one son dying in 1776, one son in 1784, his +health having been ruined while in the service, and one son in 1802, his +life perhaps shortened by his exposures. Whatever else may have been +lacking in that one family, patriotism certainly was not deficient,--the +patriotism that does not count the cost to one's self, but the gain to +one's country. + +The following is the letter referred to, written to his brother Enoch: + + DEAR BROTHER, + NEW YORK June 3d 1776 + + Your Favour of the 9th of May and another written at Norwich I have + received--the first mentioned one the 19th of May ult. + + You complain of my neglecting you--It is not, I acknowledge, wholly + without reason--at the same time I am conscious to have written to + you more than once or twice within this half year. Perhaps my + letters have miscarried. + + Continuance or removal here depends wholly upon the operations of + the war. + + It gives pleasure to every friend of his country to observe the + health which prevails in our army. Dr. Eli (Surgeon of our Regt.) + told me a few days since, there was not a man in our Regt. but + might upon occasion go out with his Firelock. Much the same is said + of other Regiments. + + The army is improving in discipline, and it is hoped will soon be + able to meet the enemy at any kind of play. My company which at + first was small, is now increased to eighty and there is a sergeant + recruiting who, I hope, has got the other ten which completes the + company. We are hardly able to judge as to the numbers the British + army for the Summer is to consist of--undoubtedly sufficient to + cause us too much bloodshed. + + I had written you a complete letter in answer to your last, but + missed the opportunity of sending it. + + This will find you in Coventry--if so remember me to all my + friends--particularly belonging to the Family. Forget not + frequently to visit and strongly to represent my duty to our good + Grandmother Strong. Has she not repeatedly favored us with her + tender, most important advice? The natural Tie is sufficient, but + increased by so much goodness, our gratitude cannot be too + sensible. + + I always with respect remember Mr. Huntington and shall write to + him if time admits. Pay Mr. Wright a visit for me. Tell him Asher + is well--he has for some time lived with me as a waiter.... Asher + this moment told me that our brother Joseph Adams was here + yesterday to see me, when I happened to be out of the way. He is in + Col. Parson's Regt. I intend to see him to-day and if possible by + exchanging get him into my company. + + Yours affectionately. + N. HALE. + + P. S. Sister Rose talked of making me some Linen cloth similar to + Brown Holland for Summer wear. If she has made it, desire her to + keep it for me. My love to her, the Doctor, and little Joseph. + +As Washington had supposed probable, the English decided upon the +occupation of New York. In July and August the largest army ever +collected in one body upon the American continent prior to 1861, an +English army numbering nearly thirty-two thousand men, with a formidable +fleet and large munitions of war, gathered at Staten Island. Washington, +in the meantime, was occupying a portion of Brooklyn and a portion of +the city of New York, fortifying each place and preparing to defend it +to the extent of his ability with his small army, never so well fed nor +so thoroughly disciplined as that of the British. + +Human wisdom would have assumed that the British army would soon succeed +in restoring English control; but the best-laid plans miscarry, and a +power interposes that helps the weaker and hinders the stronger army. + +The English did their best to be ready for the coming conflict, and we +know that Washington spared no pains in preparing for the worst that +might come. + +On August 20, Nathan Hale wrote the following letter to his brother +Enoch--the last letter that he ever wrote, so far as we know, to reach +its destination. It shows that his heart was absorbed in the duties of +the conflict he was sharing, and it also shows how wholly he was +leaving the ultimate issue to a higher power. + + NEW YORK, August 20, 1776. + + DEAR BROTHER. + + I have only time for a hasty letter. Our situation this fortnight + or more has been such as scarce to admit of writing. We have daily + expected an action--by which means, if any one was going and we had + letters written, orders were so strict for our tarrying in camp + that we could rarely get leave to go and deliver them. For about 6 + or 8 days the enemy have been expected hourly, whenever the wind + and tide in the least favored. We keep a particular lookout for + them this morning. The place and manner of our attack time must + determine. The event we leave to Heaven. Thanks to God! We have had + time for completing our works and receiving our reinforcements. The + Militia of Connecticut ordered this way are mostly arrived. Col. + Ward's Regiment has got in. Troops from the southward are daily + coming. We hope under God to give account of the enemy whenever + they choose to make the last appeal. + + Last Friday night, two of our fire vessels (a Sloop and Schooner) + made an attempt upon the shipping up the river. The night was too + dark, the wind too slack for the attempt. The Schooner which was + intended for one of the Ships had got by before she discovered + them; but as Providence would have it, she run athwart a + bomb-catch, which she quickly burned. The Sloop by the light of the + former discovered the _Ph[oe]nix_--but rather too late--however she + made shift to grapple her, but the wind not proving sufficient to + bring her close alongside, or drive the flames immediately on + board, the _Ph[oe]nix_ after much difficulty got her clear by + cutting her own rigging. Sergt. Fosdick, who commanded the above + sloop, and four of his hands were of my company, the remaining two + were of this Regt. The Genl. has been pleased to reward their + bravery with forty Dollars each, except the last man that quitted + the fire-sloop who had fifty. Those on board the Schooner received + the same. + + I must write to some of my other brothers lest you should not be at + home. Remain + + Your friend &c + BROTHER NA. HALE. + + MR. ENOCH HALE. + +Aside from this letter, the following brief quotations from his diary +are all that remain to us in the handwriting of Nathan Hale. Till he +lays down his pen for the last time we see him absorbed in the cares and +duties of the life about him, fearlessly facing whatever remains to him +of life and service. + + Aug. 21st. Heavy storm at Night. Much and heavy Thunder. Capt. Van + Wyke, and a Lieut, and Ens. of Colo. McDougall's Regt. killed by a + Shock. Likewise one man in town, belonging to a Militia Regt. of + Connecticut. The Storm continued for two or three hours, for the + greatest part of which time [there] was a perpetual Lightning, and + the sharpest I ever knew. + + 22d. Thursday. The enemy landed some troops down at the Narrows on + Long Island. + + 23d. Friday. Enemy landed more troops--News that they had marched + up and taken Station near Flatbush, their advce Gds [advance + guards] being on this side near the Woods--that some of our + Rifle-men attacked and drove them back from their post, burnt 2 + stacks of hay, and it was thought killed some of them--this about + 12 O'clock at Night. Our troops attacked them at their station near + Flatb. [Flatbush], routed and drove them back 1-1/2 mile. + +One of the facts most perplexing to General Washington was what appeared +to be Sir William Howe's delay in making an attack. Indeed, to an +outsider unfamiliar with military tactics, Howe's conduct resembles the +cruel pleasure a cat sometimes takes in tormenting a mouse that it knows +cannot escape. The uncertainty as to what the next British move might be +caused much anxiety. Remembering that Howe's force had arrived the last +of June, one sees how leisurely must have been his preparations for +attack, and how assured his hope of victory. + +The expected attack occurred on August 27. The Americans were defeated +and driven within their works, their losses being great, especially in +prisoners. The Nineteenth Regiment was held in reserve, but Captain Hull +wrote that they were near enough to witness the carnage among their +fellow-soldiers. + +The night after the battle the enemy encamped within a few hundred yards +of the defeated Americans. On the 29th Washington decided upon a retreat +to New York, and it was effected that night. If the English had +suspected that the Americans were withdrawing their forces from +Brooklyn, it is easy to imagine the carnage that would have ensued. So +great was Washington's anxiety at this time that he is said not to have +slept during forty-eight hours, and rarely to have dismounted from his +horse. + +One account of the retreat is as follows: "A disadvantageous wind and +rain at first prevented the troops from embarking, and it was feared +that the retreat could not be effected that night. But about eleven +o'clock a favorable breeze sprung up, the tide turned in the right +direction, and about two o'clock in the morning, a thick fog arose which +hung over Long Island, while on the New York side it was clear. During +the night, the whole American army, nine thousand in number, Washington +embarking last of all, with all the artillery, such heavy ordnance as +was of any value, ammunition, provision, cattle, horses, carts, and +everything of importance, passed safely over. + +"All this was effected without the knowledge of the British, although +the enemy were so nigh that they were heard at work with their pickaxes +and shovels. In half an hour after the lines were finally abandoned, the +fog cleared off and the enemy were seen taking possession of the +American works. One boat on the river, ... within reach of the enemy's +fire, was obliged to return; she had only three men in her, who had +loitered behind to plunder." + +That opportune appearance of the fog must have seemed, to more than one +devout heart, as helpful as some of the remarkable interpositions of +Providence described in the old Biblical stories. + +Hale's company, with its many seamen, rendered effective service in this +passage from Long Island. Every student of history, and especially of +military history, can recall certain decisive hours in momentous battles +when some utterly unforeseen event has entirely changed the face of +affairs, and given the victory into unexpected hands; thus, a mistake in +the understanding of a phrase used by his captors made Andre a prisoner, +and saved the capture of West Point by the English; while Waterloo, +Gettysburg, and many another decisive battle has hinged on seeming +chance,--chance truly, if there is no power working for righteousness +among the affairs of nations. + +The position of the American army, however, now appeared more perilous +than ever. Two war vessels had moved up the East River and were followed +by others. Active movements among the British troops were reported by +all the scouts, but the enemy's designs could not be penetrated. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A PERILOUS SERVICE + + +Writing of these events afterward, Captain Hull said, "It was evident +that the superior force of the British would soon give them possession +of New York. The Commander-in-chief, therefore, took a position at Fort +Washington at the other end of the island. To ascertain the further +object of the enemy was now a subject of anxious inquiry with General +Washington." + +In a letter to General Heath at this crisis Washington wrote as follows: +"As everything in a manner depends upon obtaining intelligence of the +enemy's motions, I do most earnestly entreat you and General Clinton to +exert yourselves to accomplish this most desirable end. Leave no stone +unturned, nor do not stick at expense, to bring this to pass, as I never +was more uneasy than on account of my want of knowledge on this score." + +Johnston, in his valuable "Life of Nathan Hale," says: "If he +[Washington] had been anxious to fathom Howe's plans before the latter +began the campaign from Staten Island, he was infinitely more so now. +It was not enough to keep a ceaseless watch across the East river.... +Like every other commander in history, all through the contest he came +to depend much on intelligence gained through the 'secret service.'" + +Stuart, the earliest reliable biographer of Hale, in writing of spies +says: "The exigency of the American army which we have just described, +would not permit the employment, in the service proposed, of any +ordinary soldier, unpracticed in military observation and without skill +as a draughtsman,--least of all of the common mercenary, to whom, +allured by the hope of a large reward, such tasks are usually assigned. +Accurate estimates of the numbers of the enemy, of their distribution, +of the form and position of their various encampments, of their +marchings and countermarchings, of the concentration at one point or +another, of the instruments of war, but more than all of their plan of +attack, as derived from the open report or the unguarded whispers in +camp of officers or men,--estimates of all these things, requiring a +quick eye, a cool head, a practical pencil, military science, general +intelligence, and pliable address, were to be made. The common soldier +would not answer the purpose, and the mercenary might yield to the +higher seductions of the enemy, and betray his employers." + +During the war with the French and Indians, American officers had +learned the need of trained men who could keep the commanders informed +both of the movements and of the plans of the opposing forces. +Washington had learned this unforgetable lesson in Braddock's campaign, +and, as full commander and wholly responsible not only for the immediate +safety but for the future success of his little army, he realized the +necessity of obtaining the most accurate information possible. + +A corps collected from the best men in the army was organized, and its +command was given to Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton. He had gained +experience as a ranger in the French and Indian War, and was noted for +his coolness, skill, and bravery at Bunker Hill. One hundred and fifty +men and twenty officers were considered sufficient for the work assigned +to this special corps, known as Knowlton's Rangers. They were divided +into four companies. Two of the captains of these men were chosen from +Knowlton's own regiment; the other two--one of them Nathan Hale--were +from other companies. There can be little doubt that Nathan Hale was +proud of his enrollment in this brave corps. + +After Hale's services were ended, one brief record remained of "moneys +due to the Company of Rangers commanded late by Captain Hale." After the +1st of September, about which time this company of Rangers was +organized, it was constantly on duty wherever its services were +required, and one can easily imagine Nathan Hale's enthusiasm in his +enlarged duties. + +Knowlton spoke to some of his officers of the wishes of the commanding +general for some one to enter upon this special secret service,--wishes +that so appealed to Hale that he at once seriously considered offering +himself for the hazardous undertaking. + +Captain Hull, two years his senior in age, and one year in advance of +him in Yale, a close friend while in college and during their subsequent +days, shall describe the personal interview between himself and Captain +Hale in regard to this matter. It is said that many remonstrated with +Hale at his decision, but Hull's statement shows the arguments of a +practical man against which Hale had to contend. + +In his memoirs Captain Hull writes thus of his last interview with +Captain Hale: + +"After his interview with Col. Knowlton, he repaired to my quarters and +informed me of what had passed. He remarked 'I think I owe to my +country the accomplishment of an object so important, and so much +desired by the commander of her armies--and I know of no other mode of +obtaining the information than by assuming a disguise and passing into +the enemy's camp.' + +"He asked my candid opinion. I replied that it was an act which involved +serious consequences, and the propriety of it was doubtful; and though +he viewed the business of a spy as a duty, yet he could not officially +be required to perform it; that such a service was not claimed of the +meanest soldier, though many might be willing, for a pecuniary +compensation, to engage in it; and as for himself, the employment was +not in keeping with his character. His nature was too frank and open for +deceit and disguise, and he was incapable of acting a part equally +foreign to his feelings and habits. Admitting that he was successful, +who would wish success at such a price? Did his country demand the moral +degradation of her sons, to advance her interests? + +"Stratagems are resorted to in war; they are feints and evasions, +performed under no disguise; are familiar to commanders; form a part of +their plans, and, considered in a military view, lawful and +advantageous. The tact with which they are executed exacts admiration +from the enemy. But who respects the character of a spy, assuming the +garb of friendship but to betray? The very death assigned him is +expressive of the estimation in which he is held. As soldiers, let us do +our duty in the field; contend for our legitimate rights, and not stain +our honor by the sacrifice of integrity. And when present events, with +all their deep and exciting interests, shall have passed away, may the +blush of shame never arise, by the remembrance of an unworthy though +successful act, in the performance of which we were deceived by the +belief that it was sanctioned by its object. I ended by saying that, +should he undertake the enterprise, his short, bright career would close +with an ignominious death. + +"He replied, 'I am fully sensible of the consequences of discovery and +capture in such a situation. But for a year I have been attached to the +army, and have not rendered any material service, while receiving a +compensation for which I make no return. Yet,' he continued, 'I am not +influenced by the expectation of promotion or pecuniary reward. I wish +to be useful, and every kind of service necessary for the public good, +becomes honorable by being necessary. If the exigencies of my country +demand a peculiar service, its claims to perform that service are +imperative!' + +"He spoke with warmth and decision. I replied, 'That such are your +wishes cannot be doubted. But is this the most effectual mode of +carrying them into execution? In the progress of the war there will be +ample opportunity to give your talents and your life, should it be so +ordered, to the sacred cause to which we are pledged. You can bestow +upon your country the richest benefits, and win for yourself the highest +honours. Your exertions for her interests will be daily felt, while, by +one fatal act, you crush forever the power and opportunity Heaven offers +for her glory and your happiness.' + +"I urged him for the love of country, for the love of kindred, to +abandon an enterprise which would only end in the sacrifice of the +dearest interests of both. He paused--then affectionately taking my +hand, he said, 'I will reflect, and do nothing but what duty demands.' +He was absent from the army, and I feared he had gone to the British +lines to execute his fatal purpose." + +Just how soon after this conversation Captain Hale left camp on his +perilous mission, cannot now be determined. We only know that it must +have been early in September, during the first week or ten days. He +proceeded with Sergeant Hempstead by the safest route, and reached +Norwalk before finding a place to cross Long Island Sound. + +Sergeant Hempstead alone has furnished the few details of Captain Hale's +final preparations. He had decided to assume civilian's dress, probably +that of an educated man seeking employment as tutor among the Americans +still living in New York. Hempstead says he was dressed in a brown suit +of citizen's clothes, with a round, broad-brimmed hat. On parting he +gave Hempstead his private papers and letters, and his silver +shoebuckles, to take care of for him. + +It is, we think, not an undue inference that the letters and private +papers he left in Hempstead's care were all to be sent to his family. +These doubtless included personal letters to them, for no man such as we +know Nathan Hale to have been would have faced a journey from which he +might never return without some words of explanation, and possible +farewell, to those he loved at home. There is one fact that all who +believe in the sanctity of personal confidences and possible farewells +will be glad to remember,--that not one private word from Nathan Hale to +Alice Adams Ripley, or from her to him, has ever been exploited to +satisfy the curiosity of those who have no right to share it. + +Hempstead left Captain Hale, who, now fully committed to his hazardous +quest, set forth on the armed sloop _Schuyler_ with Captain Pond--one of +the captains in the 19th Regiment--in command, across the Sound to Long +Island. When he landed Captain Hale said farewell to the last American +friend he was to be with, so far as we have any record. + +Assuming that he reached this point on or near the 15th of September, +one or two other facts suggest themselves. It is known that the +Declaration of Independence had been carried to the American camp as +early as possible after its announcement in July, had been read to the +troops assembled for that purpose, and had been received with unbounded +enthusiasm. It is probable that both Colonel Knowlton, later in command +of the Rangers, and Captain Hale, one of its officers, were present at +that reading and joined in the huzzas. Singularly enough, neither one of +these two men was a citizen of the United States for three months. + +Two months later Colonel Knowlton fell in the battle of Harlem Heights, +on September 16th, six days before Nathan Hale's execution. Knowlton's +last words are said to have been, "I do not care for my life, if we do +but win the day." + +From the moment of his leaving New York, the mind of such a man as +Nathan Hale must have had solemn foreshadowings of the possible result, +of the tremendous risk he was facing. Men do not grow old by the passing +of years so much as by the endurance of great experiences, and in the +few brief days that were left to Nathan Hale we know really nothing of +his whereabouts, of what risks he ran, of how often he barely escaped +recognition as a spy, where he slept, of any possible friends whom he +may have encountered, or of any moment when his very life seemed to hang +on the accidental glance of an enemy's eye. + +Finally dawned the 21st of September. Hale had fully accomplished his +mission. + +There are conflicting accounts as to what occurred on the last evening +of Nathan Hale's life, some going into minute details of occurrences +that were assumed to have taken place. One with considerable +plausibility says that, as the time had elapsed which he had expected to +spend among the British (at the end of which time a boat was to be sent +across the Sound for him), Hale, having finished his quest, had entered +a tavern kept by a certain widow Chichester. She was a stanch friend of +the Tories, and her house was the constant resort of Tories and British +men and officers. While Hale was sitting in the tavern, apparently at +his ease among the men there assembled, some one passed him whose face +he thought familiar,--a man who glanced at him sharply and then passed +from the room. Later it was said to have been his own cousin who +betrayed him. Fortunately, there is not a word of truth in the +assertion. + +Although Deacon Hale writes that his son was undoubtedly betrayed by +some one, it appears to have been effectually disproved that he was +betrayed by a relative--a cousin who, it is stated, had never seen him, +and therefore could not have recognized him. A much more probable rumor +is that he was recognized by a loyalist woman who might easily have seen +him before the American army retreated farther north on the island, and +been impressed by his personal appearance and by his prowess in kicking +the football over the trees in the Bowery. This feat Hale is said to +have performed. + +The report goes on to say that a man suddenly entered saying that a boat +was approaching, and that Hale, supposing this boat to have been sent +for him, at once left the room and went to the shore. If there is any +truth in this narrative, it is very possible that here Hale committed +his one indiscretion. In his joy at seeing the friends who had been sent +for him, he may have uttered words of such joyous welcome that the +officer who heard them must have known that this was some one expecting +a boat, and presumably a boat from the opposite shore. At all events, it +is stated that Hale, seeing his mistake when several marines presented +their guns, turned to fly, stopping only when told by the officer to +stand or be shot. These events are said to have taken place at +Huntington, Long Island, about forty miles from New York. + +But more than a century after Hale's death a British Orderly Book was +found, containing the statement, dated September 22d, 1776, that +follows: + +[Illustration: See footnote [2]] + +[Footnote 2: A spy fm the Enemy (by his own full Confession) Apprehended +Last night, was this day Executed at 11 o'clock in front of the Artilery +Park. + +From an Orderly Book of the British Guard. Reproduced from the original +in possession of the New York Historical Society.] + +This, with other knowledge obtained about the position of the ship by +whose crew he was said to have been taken, gives reason for believing +that the arrest was not made at Huntington by the crew of that ship, +but in the city of New York. The order proves also that, once +apprehended, he made not the slightest attempt at concealment, nor any +effort to escape his doom. The information gained by Hale's brother +Enoch in New York supports this belief as to his capture. + +All that we actually know is, that he was captured while attempting to +make his way back to his friends, and that this must have been the +sharpest moment in his experience. Before it, he had hopes of escape; +after his capture he knew that his doom was certain, and his splendid +soul adapted itself quietly and bravely to the inevitable. + +That fatal night--the night of the 21st of September--was in many +respects the most terrible that New York has ever passed through. A fire +had broken out near the docks at two in the morning, and was spreading +with fearful rapidity toward the upper part of the city, the blaze +carried northward by a strong breeze. It looked at one time as if +nothing could stop the conflagration, and that the whole city would be +destroyed. + +For a time the enemy believed that the Americans had deliberately set +fire to their own city in order to expel the hated British. Later this +was found to be untrue, as the fire proved to have started in a low +drinking house where several coarse fellows were carousing. The fire +swept on, destroying more than five hundred houses, one fifth of all the +buildings then in the city, and was stopped only near Barclay Street by +a sudden sharp change in the wind, which blew the fire southward toward +the already burning district. + +Report says that the provost marshal was given authority by Howe to +dispose summarily, without the delay of a trial, of any Americans found +rushing about the burning buildings, assuming, of course, that they were +intent on the destruction of more buildings, rather than on the natural +desire of saving what they could of their own property; and that as a +result of this authority, more than one hapless householder was thrown +into his own burning home. + +Up to this point, the early or late evening of the 21st, there is more +or less of unsolvable mystery in regard to Nathan Hale's movements; but +from the memoirs of Captain William Hull, Nathan Hale's college friend +and companion in arms, we have what appears to be unimpeachable evidence +as to Hale's arrest and being brought to General Howe's headquarters. We +quote from Captain Hull the information he received from an English +officer through a flag of truce: + +"I learned the melancholy particulars from this officer, who was present +at Hale's execution and seemed touched by the circumstances attending +it. He said that Captain Hale had passed through their army, both of +Long Island and [New] York Island. That he had procured sketches of the +fortifications, and made memoranda of their number and different +positions. When apprehended, he was taken before Sir William Howe, and +these papers, found concealed about his person, betrayed his intentions. +He at once declared his name, his rank in the American army, and his +object in coming within the British lines. + +"Sir William Howe, without the form of a trial, gave orders for his +execution the following morning. He was placed in the custody of the +provost marshal. Captain Hale asked for a clergyman to attend him. His +request was refused. He then asked for a Bible; that too was refused. + +"'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. 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 summoned to the gallows. But a few persons were around +him.'" + +He was condemned to die in the early morning of the 22d, but in the +confusion prevailing throughout the city on account of the spreading +fire, at one time threatening the whole town, Provost Marshal Cunningham +must have been that morning very fully occupied, and it was late in the +forenoon before he completed his preparations for Hale's execution. + +At eleven o'clock Cunningham was ready, and, as it proved, Nathan Hale +was ready also. Quietly standing among the few who had gathered to see +him die, and it is said in response to a taunt from Cunningham that if +he had any confession to make now was the time to make it, Hale +responded, glancing briefly at Cunningham and then calmly at the faces +about him, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my +country." + +For once in his life Cunningham must have been astounded. With no plea +for mercy, no shrinking from the worst that Cunningham could do, this +man, still almost a boy in years, had shown himself utterly beyond his +power--had lifted himself forever from the doom of a victim to the grand +estate of a victor. One sharp, brief struggle and Nathan Hale was +free--dead, but victorious! + +Indefinite as are most of the details, there are some unwritten points +that may confidently be assumed. + +That 22d of September was a Sabbath day, a day associated in Nathan +Hale's mind with religious observances; prayers at the family altar, +readings of the Bible, and gatherings of his friends within church +walls. Whether or not his family knew the dangerous quest on which he +had ventured, he knew that he was not absent from their memories, and +that the family were bearing him in their thoughts that Sabbath morning. +No other day could have made that assurance so real to him, and this +thought was probably one of his strongest earthly consolations and +inspirations while he was awaiting the slow but relentless preparations +for his death. + +No wonder that he bore himself "calmly and with dignity," as Captain +Montressor said of him. No wonder that he died bravely--seemingly +without a tremor of soul. In his last words Nathan Hale, true and +faithful in every relation and every act of his brief life, gave to his +country more than his life, more than all the hopes he was relinquishing +so freely for her sake. In one short, indomitable breath of patriotism, +he uttered words that will be forgotten only when American history +ceases to be read. + +William Cunningham, Provost Marshal of the English forces in America, +murderer and inhuman jailer, would have laughed to scorn the idea that +any being, human or divine, could preserve Nathan Hale's last words for +the inspiration of coming generations, yet a kindly British officer, +Captain John Montressor, carried them to Hale's friends. + +Cunningham has left a record of brutality unsurpassed in American +history. He is himself said to have boasted that he had caused the death +of two thousand American soldiers. We know that any reference to the +prison ships in New York Harbor sets Cunningham before us as a cowardly +murderer, starving men to death by depriving them of rations which the +English supplied for them, and which he sold, pocketing the proceeds. He +stands alone on a pedestal of infamy. + +The letters that Hale had written and left, as he hoped, to be delivered +to his friends, Cunningham ruthlessly destroyed, giving as his reason +that "the rebels should not know that they had a man in their army who +could die with so much firmness." Though Hale's letters were destroyed, +the English officer, John Montressor, aide to General Howe--a gentleman +in whose presence we may safely assume that Cunningham, cowardly as all +brutal men are, had not dared to maltreat Nathan Hale as he was known +to maltreat other prisoners--that very Sunday evening spoke of Hale's +death to General Putnam and Captain Alexander Hamilton at the American +outposts where he had been sent with a flag of truce by General Howe to +arrange for an exchange of prisoners. More was learned when a flag of +truce was sent two days later to the British lines by General +Washington, in answer to the one on September 22. Two friends of Hale, +Captain Hull and Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Webb, were among those who +went with the flag. + +Through these flags of truce--and perhaps others--were obtained all the +positive knowledge that Hale's friends were ever able to secure; but the +unvarnished story, told by Captain Montressor, gave all that was +essential to reveal to his friends his manly attitude when in the +presence of General Howe, and his calmness and dignity when he was +awaiting execution; while his last unpremeditated but immortal words, in +reply to Cunningham's taunt, proved to all his friends that he had died +as he had lived--a Christian patriot, and a hero. + +We may suppose that Nathan Hale himself had not the remotest idea that +anything concerning his death would ever be made known to his friends +save that, detected as a spy, he had died as the penalty he had known +would follow capture. The words spoken by Nathan Hale, as his last +earthly thought, seem to prove that the thought, breathed from the +depths of his fearless soul, shall live as long as pure patriotism +thrills the souls of mortal men. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +GRIEF FOR THE YOUNG PATRIOT + + +From Enoch Hale's diary, parts of which were first published by his +famous grandson, Edward Everett Hale, we learn how the news reached the +Hale family. Enoch writes as follows: + + "September 30. Afternoon. Ride to Rev. Strong's [his uncle] Salmon + Brook [Connecticut]. Hear a rumor that Capt. Hale, belonging to the + east side of Connecticut River near Colchester, who was educated at + College, was sentenced to hang in the enemy's lines at New York, + being taken as a spy, or reconnoitering their camp. Hope it is + without foundation. Something troubled at it. Sleep not very + well.... October 15. Get a pass to ride to New York.... Accounts + from my brother Captain are indeed melancholy! That about the + second week of September, he went to Stamford, crossed to Long + Island (Dr. Waldo writes) and had finished his plans, but before he + could get off, was betrayed, taken, and hanged without ceremony.... + Some entertain hopes that all this is not true, but it is a gloomy, + dejected hope. Time may determine. Conclude to go to the camp next + week." + +He afterwards wrote that Webb, one of Washington's staff, brought word +to Washington that Nathan Hale, "being suspected by his movements that +he wanted to get out of New York, was taken up and examined by the +general [Howe] and some minutes being found upon him, orders were +immediately given that he should be hanged. When at the gallows, he +spoke and told that he was a Capt. in the Continental army, by name +Nathan Hale." + +To those who have experienced the long weeks of distressing anxiety that +often fall to the lot of those whose friends are in battle, or carried +prisoners to unknown camps, no words are needed to depict the anxiety +among Nathan Hale's family until particulars of his noble death were +finally learned. + +It is a solemn but perhaps a comforting fact, that the deepest human +distress seems, after a few generations have passed, to have been "writ +in water." Bitter as must have been those early sorrowful hours, the +only later reminder of the tears that then flowed is given in the +statement that one who had loved him could not speak of him fifty years +later without tears in her eyes. + +Of how many wept for him we can form no conception. Indeed, we should +have pitied any warmhearted girl or young man who knew him, and had +shared his joyous young life, who could have heard of his tragic death +without tears almost as bitter as for one intensely loved. + +Duly Enoch Hale and his family learned all that ever will be known of +the last days of their beloved, and now honored, dead. + +The following letter of Deacon Richard Hale's--good man and uncertain +speller that he was!--was written to his brother Samuel at Portsmouth, +New Hampshire, a few months after Nathan's death had become known: + + DEAR BROTHER + + I Recd your favor of the 17th of February Last and rejoce to + hear that you and your Famley ware well your obversation as to the + Diffulty of the times is very just. so gloomey a day wee niver saw + before but I trust our Cause is Just and for our Consolation in the + times of greatest destress we have this to sopert us that their is + a God that Jugeth in the earth if we can but take the comfort of + it. as to our being far advanced in life if it do but serve to wean + us from this presint troublesom world and stur us up to prepare for + a world of peace and Rest it is well. the calls in Providance are + loud to prepare to meet our God and O that he would prepare us. you + desired me to inform you about my son Nathan you have doutless seen + the Newberry Port paper that gives the acount of the conduct of our + kinsman Samll Hale toard him in New York as to our kinsman being + here in his way to York it is a mistake but as to his conduct tord + my son at York Mr. Cleveland of Capepan first reported it near us I + sopose when on his way from the Armey where he had been Chapling + home as was Probley true betraie'd he doubtless was by somebody. he + was executed about the 22nd of September last by the aconts we + have had. a child I sot much by but he is gone I think the second + trial I ever met with. my 3rd son Joseph is in the armey over in + the Jarsyes and was well the last we heard from him my other son + that was in the service belonged to the melishey and is now at + home. my son Enoch is gone to take the small pox by enoculation. + Brother Robinson and famley are well we are all threw the Divine + goodness well my wife joins in love to you and Mrs Hale and your + children + + Your loving Brother + COVENTRY March 28th 1777 + RICHARD HALE + +For a while after Nathan Hale's death, in the crowding events of the +Revolution, his personal friends appear to have been his chief mourners. +One lady is said to have told Professor Kingsley of New Haven that she +had never seen greater anguish than that experienced by Deacon Hale and +his family when they heard of Nathan's death. + +What the news meant to his "good grandmother Strong" we are not told. +For her, so faithful and unselfish in her loving, we can but be glad +that if she went home all the earlier for this blow, she must have gone +all the more serenely; assured that if the earth was the poorer, heaven +was the richer, because the grandson she had loved so truly was there +awaiting her. + +Mrs. Abbot, daughter of Deacon Richard Hale's son, Joseph Hale, lived +at her grandfather's from 1784 till her marriage in 1799. Many years ago +she wrote to her cousin, "From my earliest recollection I have felt a +deep interest in that unfortunate uncle. When his death or the manner of +it was spoken of, my grief would come forth in tears. Living in the old +homestead I frequently heard allusions to him by the neighbors and +persons that worked in the family, much more so than by near relatives. +It seemed the anguish they felt did not allow them to make it the +subject of conversation. Was it not so with your mother?" + +Rev. Edward Everett Hale refers in a historical address to the fact that +in his own early days the name of Nathan Hale was seldom mentioned in +his presence. We of to-day can but wish that somewhat of the luster from +the radiant halo that was to encircle his memory and to grow brighter as +the years pass on, might have comforted them. Yet each one of that +sorrowing family has long since learned to rejoice that, as nobly as any +martyr has ever died for his country, their lad went forth into the +eternities. + +The poem which follows was published in "Songs and Ballads of the +Revolution," collected by Mr. Frank Moore. It is not known when these +verses first appeared, but they are among the earliest tributes to Hale +after his death. It is thought possible, by some students of +Revolutionary history, that the lines may yet prove valuable in throwing +light upon the manner of Hale's capture and death, as they are probably +based on accounts current at that time of which records have not yet +appeared. + + +CAPTURE AND DEATH OF NATHAN HALE + +(By an unknown poet of 1776) + + The breezes went steadily thro' the tall pines, + A-saying "oh! hu-sh!" a-saying "oh! hu-sh!" + As stilly stole by a bold legion of horse, + For Hale in the bush, for Hale in the bush. + + "Keep still!" said the thrush as she nestled her young, + In a nest by the road; in a nest by the road; + "For the tyrants are near, and with them appear, + What bodes us no good, what bodes us no good." + + The brave captain heard it, and thought of his home, + In a cot by the brook; in a cot by the brook. + With mother and sister and memories dear, + He so gaily forsook; he so gaily forsook. + + Cooling shades of the night were coming apace, + The tattoo had beat; the tattoo had beat. + The noble one sprang from his dark lurking place + To make his retreat; to make his retreat. + + He warily trod on the dry rustling leaves, + As he pass'd thro' the wood; as he pass'd thro' the wood; + And silently gain'd his rude launch on the shore, + As she play'd with the flood; as she play'd with the flood. + + The guards of the camp, on that dark, dreary night, + Had a murderous will; had a murderous will. + They took him and bore him afar from the shore, + To a hut on the hill; to a hut on the hill. + + No mother was there, nor a friend who could cheer, + In that little stone cell; in that little stone cell. + But he trusted in love from his father above, + In his heart all was well; in his heart all was well. + + An ominous owl with his solemn bass voice + Sat moaning hard by; sat moaning hard by. + "The tyrant's proud minions most gladly rejoice, + For he must soon die; for he must soon die." + + The brave fellow told them, no thing he restrained, + The cruel gen'ral; the cruel gen'ral; + His errand from camp, of the ends to be gained, + And said that was all; and said that was all. + + They took him and bound him and bore him away, + Down the hill's grassy side; down the hill's grassy side. + 'Twas there the base hirelings, in royal array, + His cause did deride; his cause did deride. + + Five minutes were given, short moments, no more, + For him to repent; for him to repent; + He pray'd for his mother, he ask'd not another; + To Heaven he went; to Heaven he went. + + The faith of a martyr, the tragedy shew'd, + As he trod the last stage; as he trod the last stage. + And Britons will shudder at gallant Hale's blood, + As his words do presage; as his words do presage. + + "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." + +The body of the Martyr Spy was never found. For many years there appears +to have been some interest, but little knowledge, as to the place of +Nathan Hale's execution. During the last one hundred and thirty-eight +years, writer after writer has described his life and all the events +connected with it as they are believed to have occurred; and, as was +inevitable under the circumstances, some things have been written that +the critical historian cannot indorse. + +Until near the end of the nineteenth century no reliable information, +even as to the place of his execution, had been gained. The late Mr. +William Kelby, Librarian of the New York Historical Society, "an +accepted authority on all subjects of this and kindred nature," is said +to have undertaken to locate the exact spot where it occurred, and met +with at least partial success. + +Writing on the subject in 1893 he says in substance: When the British +took possession of New York in September, 1776, after the battle of Long +Island, General Howe occupied the Beekman house on Fifty-first Street +and First Avenue as his headquarters, while the army extended across the +island to the north of him. The corps of Royal Artillery occupied part +of the high ground between Sixty-sixth and Seventy-second Streets, where +they parked their guns and formed a camp. + +Close to the camp were the old "five-mile stone" on the way to +Kingsbridge, and a tavern long known as "The Sign of the Dove." The +exact location of this tavern is shown from a survey of 1783 as being +west of the post road on Third Avenue between Sixty-sixth and +Sixty-seventh streets. It belonged, with four acres of land attached, to +the City Corporation. + +The extract already shown on page 82 is from an Orderly Book (discovered +by Mr. Kelby) kept by an officer of the British Foot-Guards. Other +entries read as follows: + +"October 6. The effects of the late Lieutenant Lovell to be sold at the +house near the Artillery Park. + +"October 11. Majors of Brigade to attend at the Artillery Park near the +Dove at five this afternoon." + +The story of Hale's confinement in the Beekman greenhouse at Fifty-first +Street and First Avenue on the night of September 21, 1776, is generally +accepted. Former stories of the place of execution are disproved by the +first extract from the Orderly Book, while the others indicate the +location of the Artillery Park. It therefore appears that Hale was +executed upon some part of this common land of the Corporation of the +City of New York, and it is probable that his body was buried there. + +The tract is now covered mainly by buildings devoted to educational and +philanthropic uses. Possibly the dust of the Martyr Spy may lie in the +grounds of the Normal, or Hunter, College. + +Other materials, found since Mr. Kelby wrote, confirm his conclusions +and make Third Avenue, not far north of Sixty-sixth Street, the most +probable spot of Nathan Hale's death. The noblest educational +institutions in New York City could have no more appropriate foundations +than those laid above the bodies of patriots who have died, not only for +the freedom of the city, but for that of the whole land. + +For a time, as was inevitable, a pall seemed thrown over the memory of +Nathan Hale, and at first only the love of his own family strove to +commemorate his life and death. A stone was erected to his memory in +the cemetery at South Coventry, near the spot where his father expected +to be buried. It still stands there and has been declared to be one of +the best examples of the lettering of the times. It bears this +inscription: + +"Durable stone preserve the monumental record. Nathan Hale Esq. a Capt. +in the army of the United States, who was born June 6th, 1755, and +received the first honors of Yale College, Sept. 1773, resigned his life +a sacrifice to his country's liberty at New York, Sept. 22d, 1776, +Etatis 22d." + +One by one were placed near his, his father's stone (his father died at +eighty-five), and those of other members of his family. These graves are +in a common burial lot near the Congregational Church in South Coventry +where the family had worshiped. + +In November, 1837, the Hale Monument Association was formed for the +purpose of erecting at Coventry a fitting memorial of the +martyr-soldier. Congress was applied to for several years, but was slow +in appropriating money to honor the dead,--strangely unlike England in +honoring her martyrs, as will be seen later. + +Appeals were made to the State legislature, and Stuart, Hale's earliest +biographer and sincere admirer, used his influence as a legislator in +securing an appropriation of twelve hundred and fifty dollars. The +women of Coventry redoubled their zeal, and by fairs, teas, etc., raised +a sufficient sum, added to the grant from the legislature and +contributions from some prominent men of the country, to pay for the +cenotaph. It is a pyramidal shaft, resting on a base of steps, with a +shelving projection one-third of the way up the pedestal. The material +is of hewn Quincy granite. It was designed by Henry Austin of New Haven. +It is fourteen feet square at the base and forty-five feet high. It was +completed under the superintendence of Solomon Willard, architect of +Bunker Hill Monument, at a cost of about four thousand dollars. + +The inscription on the north side is, "Captain Nathan Hale, 1776"; on +the west, "Born at Coventry, June 6, 1755"; on the east, "Died at New +York, Sept. 22, 1776"; on the south, "I only regret that I have but one +life to lose for my country." + +The monument stands on elevated ground. "Its site is particularly +fine;... on the north it overlooks a beautiful lake, while on the east +it looks through a captivating natural vista to greet the sun." + +With the planning of this monument began the revival of interest in +Nathan Hale's short but splendid career that is still gathering strength +and will eventually establish his name among those of the bravest +American patriots. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +TRIBUTES TO NATHAN HALE + + +When Captain Montressor told Hale's dismayed friends of the terrible +doom that had befallen their comrade, it must have seemed as if all the +influence Hale might have had in a prolonged life, all that could come +to such a man, had been sacrificed. We must not blame them if the +question involuntarily rose in their hearts, "Why such waste? Why was +such an influence so permanently destroyed?" Curiously enough, many +years passed with little special notice by the public of Hale's death. +But the leaven of patriotism works, even though slowly, and step by step +Hale was coming to his own. Little by little the memory of his sacrifice +for his country, and the fact that he had left words that should glow +with increasing splendor, took possession of those who had ears to hear +and hearts to remember. + +Old Linonia in Yale did not forget the splendid boy, once its +Chancellor, who died as he had lived. Linonia's records still bear, in +clear and perfect lines, reports his hand had written when he was its +most assiduous member. Others might have forgotten him; Linonia had not. + +On its one-hundredth anniversary, July 27, 1853,--Commencement +Week,--the poet of the occasion was Francis Miles Finch, Yale, 1846, +later Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. As poet, Mr. Finch of +course recalled many former members of the society. He ended with a poem +on Nathan Hale in which he held his listeners spellbound as stanza after +stanza, magnetic in proportion to their truthful beauty, fell from his +lips. + +There has been a further service to his country by Judge Finch. His own +character has been graven into two different poems,--the one just +referred to, and one that he wrote later. The latter poem had, +undoubtedly, a powerful influence in causing our national Decoration Day +to be celebrated throughout the United States. + +The story of this poem is interesting. In a town in Mississippi certain +Southern women went on a spring day, soon after the close of the Civil +War, to cover with flowers the graves of their beloved dead. The +gracious and tender thought must have come to them that in the graves of +aliens buried among them lay those as deeply mourned in Northern homes +as were those they themselves had loved. + +Certainly no sweeter suggestion could have been more tenderly carried +out than that which led these bereaved women to spread flowers over the +graves of those who were once their enemies. Mr. Finch was told of this +incident, and the lines he wrote show his appreciation of the "generous +deed." The poem, "The Blue and the Gray," did much to heal the wounds in +both North and South. + +The two poems by Judge Francis Miles Finch are quoted here, the first +with the drum-beat pulsing through it; the second in musical, flowing +lines that carry in them sorrow, loyalty, and the community of a common +bereavement. + + +HALE'S FATE AND FAME + + And one there was--his name immortal now-- + Who dies not to the ring of rattling steel, + Or battle-march of spirit-stirring drum, + But, far from comrades and from friendly camp, + Alone upon the scaffold. + + To drum-beat and heart-beat + A soldier marches by; + There is color in his cheek, + There is courage in his eye, + Yet to drum-beat and heart-beat + In a moment he must die. + + By starlight and moonlight + He seeks the Briton's camp, + He hears the rustling flag, + And the armed sentry's tramp. + And the starlight and moonlight + His silent wanderings lamp. + + With slow tread and still tread + He scans the tented line, + And he counts the battery guns + By the gaunt and shadowy pine, + And his slow tread and still tread + Give no warning sign. + + The dark wave, the plumed wave! + It meets his eager glance; + And it sparkles 'neath the stars + Like the glimmer of a lance: + A dark wave, a plumed wave, + On an emerald expanse. + + A sharp clang, a steel clang! + And terror in the sound; + For the sentry, falcon-eyed, + In the camp a spy hath found; + With a sharp clang, a steel clang, + The patriot is bound. + + With calm brow, steady brow, + He listens to his doom; + In his look there is no fear + Nor a shadow trace of gloom; + But with calm brow and steady brow + He robes him for the tomb. + + In the long night, the still night, + He kneels upon the sod; + And the brutal guards withhold + E'en the solemn Word of God! + In the long night, the still night, + He walks where Christ hath trod. + + 'Neath the blue morn, the sunny morn, + He dies upon the tree; + And he mourns that he can lose + But one life for Liberty; + And in the blue morn, the sunny morn, + His spirit-wings are free. + + His last words, his message words, + They burn, lest friendly eye + Should read how proud and calm + A patriot could die, + With his last words, his dying words, + A soldier's battle-cry! + + From Fame-leaf and Angel-leaf, + From monument and urn, + The sad of Earth, the glad of Heaven, + His tragic fate shall learn; + And on Fame-leaf and Angel-leaf, + The name of HALE shall burn! + + +THE BLUE AND THE GRAY + + By the flow of the inland river, + Whence the fleets of iron had fled, + Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, + Asleep are the ranks of the dead: + Under the sod and the dew; + Waiting the judgment-day; + Under the one the Blue; + Under the other, the Gray. + + These in the robings of glory, + Those in the gloom of defeat, + All with the battle-blood gory, + In the dusk of eternity meet: + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Under the laurel, the Blue; + Under the willow, the Gray. + + From the silence of sorrowful hours + The desolate mourners go, + Lovingly laden with flowers, + Alike for the friend and the foe: + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Under the roses, the Blue, + Under the lilies, the Gray. + + So, with an equal splendor, + The morning sun-rays fall, + With a touch impartially tender, + On the blossoms blooming for all: + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Broidered with gold, the Blue; + Mellowed with gold, the Gray. + + So, when the summer calleth + On forest and field of grain, + With an equal murmur falleth + The cooling drip of the rain: + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Wet with the rain, the Blue, + Wet with the rain, the Gray. + + Sadly, but not with upbraiding, + The generous deed was done, + In the storm of the years that are fading + No braver battle was won: + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Under the blossoms, the Blue, + Under the garlands, the Gray. + + No more shall the war cry sever, + Or the winding rivers be red; + They banish our anger forever + When they laurel the graves of our dead! + Under the sod and the dew, + Waiting the judgment-day; + Love and tears for the Blue; + Tears and love for the Gray. + +On the one hundred and tenth anniversary of the evacuation of New York +by the British--November 25, 1893--a bronze statue of Nathan Hale was +presented to the city of New York. It was given by the New York Society +of the "Sons of the American Revolution," a society founded in 1876 to +perpetuate the memory and deeds of the war for American independence. +The presentation was made by the president of the society, Mr. Frederic +Samuel Tallmadge, the grandson of Major Tallmadge, Hale's classmate and +fellow-captain. The statue is of bronze and is by Frederick Macmonnies +of Paris. It represents Hale bareheaded, bound about his arms and his +ankles, ready for his death. It was placed in City Hall Park where Hale +was, for a time, supposed to have been executed. On the pedestal are +graven his last wonderful words. + +During the exercises at the unveiling of this statue Dr. Edward Everett +Hale said: "The occasion, I suppose, is without a parallel in history. +Certainly, I know of no other instance where, more than a century after +the death of a boy of twenty-one, his countrymen assembled in such +numbers as are here to do honor to his memory and to dedicate the statue +which preserves it. + +"He died near this spot, saying, 'I am sorry that I have but one life to +give for my country.' And because that boy said those words, and because +he died, thousands of other young men have given their lives to his +country; have served her as she bade them serve her, even though they +died as she bade them die." + +The day's celebration was concluded by a dinner of the Society. Dr. Hale +spoke on this occasion also. He said in part: + +"Let us never forget that this is the monument of a young man--that he +is the young man's hero. Let us never forget how the country then +trusted young men and how worthy they were of the trust. It was at the +very time of which I spoke that Washington first knew Hamilton and asked +him to his tent. Hamilton had already won the confidence of Greene. +Hamilton was, I think, in his nineteenth year. Knox, who commanded +Hamilton's regiment, was, I think, twenty-four. Webb, who commanded +Hale's regiment, was twenty-two. When, the next year, Washington +welcomed Lafayette, whom Congress appointed major-general, he +[Lafayette] was not twenty. And Washington himself, before whom others +stood abashed, had only attained the venerable age of forty-four. The +country needed her young men. She called for them and she had them. It +is one of those young men who, dying at twenty-one, leaves as his only +word of regret that he has but one life to give to her." + +Although it is now known that Hale was not executed near City Hall Park, +in some respects there could be no more fitting location for a monument +to him than this, perhaps the busiest conflux of human beings that +anywhere crowd this great city. Thousands pass this statue, learning +from it their first lessons in American history. Hundreds have stopped, +seeing this bareheaded, dauntless man, evidently doomed to die, to try +to learn whence he came and why he stands there, appealing to the +noblest patriotism--patriotism that must touch the heart of any man who +knows the love of country. + +Since this statue was placed, memorials of various kinds to Nathan Hale +have been erected in several parts of the country. The schoolhouses in +which he taught, although not occupying their original sites, have been +restored, and are in possession of patriotic societies. + +To-day Yale, endowed with buildings costing millions, is learning that +stone and mortar, in edifices however beautiful, do not enshrine their +noblest memories. + +Through a few friends of Yale, a statue of Nathan Hale by Bela Lyon +Pratt has recently been placed near the oldest college building, +Connecticut Hall. This building has been restored to the appearance it +bore when Nathan Hale dwelt therein. Who shall say that the statue of +the bound boy, facing death so manfully, will not prove one of Yale's +noblest endowments? + +Still another beautiful statue of Nathan Hale by William Ordway +Partridge may be seen in the city of St. Paul, Minn. + +Happily, Nathan Hale's ability to die for his country is but one side of +a Yale shield from which gleam the names of hundreds of her sons, who, +doubtless as ready to die for their country as he, had they been in his +place, have proved their power to live for God and for their native +land. Everywhere, in all quarters of the world, the Nathan Hale spirit +of unselfish devotion has inspired the sons of Yale to the noblest +service they could render; and every man, young or old, who passes the +statue of Nathan Hale will realize that hosts have lived lives inspired +by the same splendid spirit. + +Nathan Hale himself went forth from his alma mater filled with the +joyous hopes and ambitions that have filled the souls of many other men, +all unconscious of the fact that the finest heroism and the highest +self-sacrifice lay just before him, but conscious that he meant to be +ready for the best that life could give him. He was ready; and the best +of life for him was the power to die as he died. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +NATHAN HALE'S FRIENDS + + +(1) _Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D._ + +A somewhat full description of the Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D., is well +worth placing among the friends of Nathan Hale. It was impossible for +such a boy as Nathan to have been under the care of such a man as Dr. +Huntington, first as pastor and then as his private teacher in his +preparation for college, without having been strongly influenced by him. +Indeed, scanning these old records of a parish of a hundred and fifty +years ago, we cannot help feeling a strong personal attraction toward +the Rev. Joseph Huntington. + +Few men more fully prove the claim that many of the early New England +pastors were eminently fitted to lead their people heavenward and also +in the practical development of their daily lives. + +Dr. Huntington lived a life evidently inspired by the finest ideals, and +also by shrewd common sense, always so dear to the heart of a New +Englander. It is a pleasure to recall the story of this man's useful +life, and realize that besides the reverence almost invariably accorded +to "the minister" in those days, he must have held the everyday +affection and wholesome trust of his people. Year by year he proved +himself not only their pastor, but a friend full of all kindly +sympathies, never above a hearty laugh when mirth was rampant, or a +sympathetic tear for hearts wrung with anguish. + +He was born in Windham, Connecticut, in 1735. His ancestors came from +England about 1640 and the family ultimately settled in Windham. His +father, a man of somewhat arbitrary character, had determined that +Joseph should be a clothier, and forced him to remain in that business +until he was twenty-one. His intellectual ability was thought to be +somewhat remarkable, and his moral character so good that his pastor +advised him to begin a course of study for the ministry. He completed +his preparation for Yale College in an unusually short time, and was +graduated there in the year 1762. + +His call to be settled over the First Church in Coventry was received so +soon after his graduation that we are forced to believe that his +theological course must have been brief. The parish in Coventry had +been greatly reduced in numbers. The meeting-house had been allowed to +go to decay, and the religious life of the parish was in a corresponding +state of depression. His ordination services were held out of +doors,--whether because the assemblage was too large for the church, or +because the building was too dilapidated, does not appear. The first +thing Mr. Huntington did after his settlement was to urge upon his +people the project of building a new meeting-house. They responded so +heartily that in a short time they had built the best church in the +whole region, having expended for it about five thousand dollars--a +large sum in those days. + +Dr. Huntington does not appear to have been a laborious student. He had +few books of his own, largely depending upon borrowing. But he had a +remarkable memory and the power of so making his own whatever he read +that his scholarship and his originality appear never to have been +questioned. The Rev. Daniel Waldo says of him that he was rather above +the middle height, slender and graceful in form, and that he seemed to +have had an instinctive desire to make everybody around him happy. This, +added to his uniform politeness, caused him to be very popular in +general society. + +The Rev. Mr. Waldo adds that Dr. Huntington was fond of pleasantry and +gives this instance: + +A very dull preacher who had studied theology with him was invited by +his people to resign, and they paid him for his services chiefly in +copper coin. On telling Dr. Huntington how he had been paid, he was +advised to go back and preach a farewell sermon from the text, +"Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil." Many such anecdotes and +repartees of Dr. Huntington were current in Coventry for years after his +death. + +This brief summary of Dr. Joseph Huntington's life shows that the men to +whom Richard Hale intrusted the preparation of his three sons for +entering Yale was not only a Christian, but a gentleman of the finest +culture. He was able not only to impart to Enoch, Nathan and David Hale +the rudiments of scholarship requisite for entering Yale, but to inspire +such boys with the keenest appreciation of courtesy, broad mental +endowments, and a wholesome zeal for high public service. + +The correspondence concerning the Union School in New London shows that +Dr. Huntington gave Nathan Hale the necessary recommendation for the +place. It is on record in Hale's diary that on December 27, 1775, the +day after his arrival home from Camp Winter Hill, he visited Dr. +Huntington; and in one of his New York letters he wrote, "I always with +respect remember Mr. Huntington and shall write to him if time permits." + +Admitting that Nathan Hale's father and mother were his most important +early friends, we believe that Dr. Huntington, as pastor, tutor, and +friend during the six years before Nathan entered college, may have +stood not far behind the parents in deep influence upon his +character--that splendid character, destined to be one of the beacon +lights of our country's history. + + +(2) _Alice Adams_ + +Studying the lives of the founders of our republic, we are interested in +noting the early marriages that so often occurred, and which seem to +have been justified by the early mental maturity of the young men and +women in the eighteenth century. + +With early marriage, large families were the rule and not the exception; +and eulogize the forefathers of New England as much as one may, no one +at all familiar with the lives of the mothers of those generations can +question the share that the foremothers had in broadening the lives +and inspiring the characters of the husbands and sons in that early +period. Nathan Hale showed the power of heredity, and Alice Adams, the +woman he is said to have loved, proved well that she too had come of no +unworthy stock. + +It has been given few women to be so worthily loved as was Alice Adams, +from the time we catch our first glimpse of her till the last, in her +eighty-ninth year. She was born in June, 1757. Her mother married Deacon +Hale when Alice was in her thirteenth year. We do not know when Alice +first met Nathan Hale; but we do know that while both were very young +they found out that they loved each other, and proceeded to engage +themselves without consulting their elders. Nathan had several years of +work preparatory to his profession still before him, and, acting as they +supposed in the best interests of both the boy and the girl, the mother +and elder sister Sarah promptly discouraged the engagement and it was +broken. + +In February, 1773, while Nathan was still at Yale and before she was +sixteen, Alice was married to Elijah Ripley, a prosperous merchant at +Coventry. Within two years Mr. Ripley died, aged twenty-eight, leaving +behind him a little son, also named Elijah, who died in his second year. + +After Mr. Ripley's death, Mrs. Ripley with her baby boy returned to +Deacon Hale's home almost as an adopted daughter, comfortably provided +for by the estate of her late husband. A member of the Hale family, she +must have seen that whatever was true of Nathan Hale in the days when +they were boy and girl together, he, now a Yale graduate and a man among +men, first as teacher and then as soldier, was even more worthy of her +love than in their early days. It is probable that they corresponded +more or less, though happily none of the letters of either are preserved +for the curious to delight in. All we know is that in December, 1775, a +year after her husband's death, Nathan Hale stopped in Coventry while +absent from camp on army business, and the broken engagement has been +said to have been then renewed, this time without opposition. + +Having been married and widowed, and having lost her little son, Alice +Adams Ripley was now free to listen to the claims of the first love that +had entered her heart. What the few brief months that remained to Nathan +Hale must have meant to Alice Ripley, believing in him and caring for +him, only the noblest women can comprehend. + +In regard to the letters written by Nathan Hale on the morning of his +execution, one of these letters is said to have been written to his +mother. One or two of his biographers have inferred that this must be an +error, and that it was written to his father or to a brother. With the +natural delicacy always so conspicuous in him, a letter to his +"mother," so called, in reality the mother of one whom we believe to +have been his betrothed wife, Alice Adams Ripley, who would show it to +Alice and undoubtedly give it to her, was probably what he would have +written. The others would know what he had written, but Alice Adams +would doubtless possess the letter. + +Alice Adams was to live many, many years, to become one of the most +notable women in the city in which she dwelt; so honored that a copy of +her portrait has long hung in the Athenaeum, Hartford's finest shrine for +such portraits. + +It was said of her that for several years after Nathan's death she had +no intention of marrying, but, after a widowhood of ten years, +events--some say changed circumstances--led her to accept an offer of +marriage from William Lawrence, of Hartford, which was thenceforth her +home. For many years she was naturally associated with the social life +of that city. + +Whatever letters may have passed between Nathan Hale and Alice Adams +Ripley, no trace of them remains to-day. For this we can only be +grateful that, unlike other unfortunate lovers,--Robert Browning and +Elizabeth Barrett Browing, for instance,--not one word remains of their +correspondence. That belonged to him and to her alone. It is fortunate +that no mere curiosity hunter can feast his eyes or gossip over the +words these two people wrote to each other. + +To Alice's husband Nathan's father gave the powder horn she once spoke +of as having seen Nathan working upon in his customary intense fashion, +"doing that one thing as if there was nothing else to be thought of at +that time." Its being given to Mr. Lawrence by Nathan's father, to whom +it must have been dear, proves that Mr. Lawrence, as well as his wife, +was a welcome addition to the Hale family. Mr. Lawrence in turn gave it +to his son William, and it is now treasured by the Connecticut +Historical Society. + +Mrs. Lawrence lived well into the nineteenth century, dying in 1845, in +her eighty-ninth year. She was thoroughly appreciated in Hartford, but +it is from the pen of a granddaughter, in a note written to the Hon. I. +W. Stuart, that the best description of Mrs. Lawrence is given. Speaking +of her grandmother she said: "In person she was rather below the middle +height, with full, round figure, rather petite. She possessed a mild, +amiable countenance in which was reflected that intelligent superiority +which distinguished her even in the days of Dwight, Hopkins, and Barlow +in Hartford--men who could appreciate her, who delighted in her wit and +work, and who, with a coterie of others of that period who are still in +remembrance, considered her one of the brightest ornaments of their +society. + +"A fair, fresh complexion ... bright, intelligent, hazel eyes, and hair +of a jetty blackness, will give you some idea of her looks--the crowning +glory of which was the forehead that surpassed in beauty any I ever saw, +and was the admiration of my mature years. I portray her, with the +exception of the hair, as she appeared to me in her eighty-eighth year. +I never tired of gazing on her youthful complexion--upon her eyes which +retained their youthful luster unimpaired, and enabled her to read +without any artificial aid; and upon her hand and arm, which, though +shrunken much from age, must in her younger days have been fit study for +a sculptor. + +"Her character was everything that was lovely. A lady who had known her +many years, writing to me after her death, says, 'Never shall I forget +her unceasing kindness to me, and her noble and generous disposition. +From my first acquaintance with her, and amid all the varied trials +through which she was called to pass, I had ever occasion to admire the +calm and christian spirit she uniformly exhibited. To _you_ I will say +it, I never knew so faultless a character--so gentle, so kind. That +meek expression, that affectionate eye, are as present to my +recollection now as though I had seen them but yesterday.' + +"Such is the language of one who had known her long and well and whose +testimony would be considered more impartial than that of one who like +myself had been the constant recipient of her unceasing kindness and +affection." + +When she died, the story of the early home of the Hales found its +completion. Shall we pity them or congratulate them that in those long +ago days so many sorrows came to them?--testing their strength, +developing their faith, and fitting them, as their days went by, for +life and service beyond. + +The following chivalric poem was written by Nathan Hale--perhaps in +camp. It expresses his mental as well as emotional appreciation of Alice +Adams. It is here given exactly as it appears in the original +manuscript, with almost no punctuation marks. It is probable that this +is a first rough draft, intended to be improved at some future time. +There are marks on the margin of the paper which show that the writer +had possible alterations in mind. + + +TO ALICIA + + Alicia, born with every striking charm + The eye to ravish or the heart to warm + Fair in thy form, still fairer in thy mind + With beauty wisdom sense with sweetness join'd + Great without pride, & lovely without Art + Your looks good nature words good sense impart + Thus formed to charm Oh deign to hear my song + Whose best whose sweetest strains to you belong. + + Let others toil amidst the lofty air + By fancy led through every cloud above + Let empty Follies build her castles there + My thoughts are settled on the friend I love. + Oh friend sincere of soul divinely great + Shedest thou for me a wretch the sorrowed tear + What thanks can I in this unhappy state + Return to you but Gratitude sincere + T'is friendship pure that now demand my lays + A theme sincere that Aid my feeble song + Raised by that theme I do not fear to praise + Since your the subject where due praise belong + Ah dearest girl in whom the gods have join'd + The real blessings, which themselves approve + Can mortals frown at such an heavenly mind + When Gods propitious shine on you they love + Far from the seat of pleasure now I roam + The pleasing landscape now no more I see + Yet absence ne'er shall take my thoughts from home + Nor time efface my due regards for thee. + + +(3) _Benjamin Tallmadge_ + +Benjamin Tallmadge, one year older than Nathan Hale, was Hale's +classmate and one of his correspondents. Like Hale he became a teacher +for a time, and then, entering the army, served with distinction +throughout the war. He was intrusted by Washington with important +services. In October, 1780, he was stationed with Col. Jameson at North +Castle. He had been out on active service against the enemy and returned +on the evening of the day when Major Andre had been brought there and +had been started back to Arnold for explanations. This was four years +after the death of Hale. + +Listening to the account of the capture, and the pass from Arnold, +Tallmadge at once surmised the importance of retaining Andre and +insisted upon his being brought back. + +When Andre was once more in American hands, Tallmadge is said to have +been the first to suspect, from the prisoner's deportment as he walked +to and fro and turned sharply upon his heel to retrace his steps, that +he was bred to arms and was an important British officer. Major +Tallmadge was charged with his custody, and was almost constantly with +him until his execution. Tallmadge writes: "Major Andre became very +inquisitive to know my opinion as to the result of his capture. In other +words, he wished me to give him candidly my opinion as to the light in +which he would be viewed by General Washington and a military tribunal +if one should be ordered. + +"This was the most unpleasant question that had been propounded to me, +and I endeavored to evade it, unwilling to give him a true answer. When +I could no longer evade his importunity and put off a full reply, I +remarked to him as follows: 'I had a much loved classmate in Yale +College, by the name of Nathan Hale, who entered the army in the year +1775. Immediately after the battle of Long Island, General Washington +wanted information respecting the strength, position, and probable +movements of the enemy. + +"'Captain Hale tendered his services, went over to Brooklyn, and was +taken just as he was passing the outposts of the enemy on his return.' +Said I with emphasis, + +"'Do you remember the sequel of this story?' + +"'Yes,' said Andre, 'he was hanged as a spy. But you surely do not +consider his case and mine alike?' + +"I replied, 'Yes, precisely similar, and similar will be your fate.' + +"He endeavored to answer my remarks, but it was manifest he was more +troubled in spirit than I had ever seen him before." + +Major Tallmadge walked with Andre from the Stone House where he had +been confined to the place of execution, and parted with him under the +gallows, "overwhelmed with grief," he says, "that so gallant an officer +and so accomplished a gentleman should come to such an ignominious end." + +What would have occurred if Andre had not been recalled, but had reached +Arnold--whether both could have escaped by boat to the _Vulture_ as did +Arnold; whether Arnold, leaving Andre to his fate, could have escaped +alone under these suspicious circumstances; or whether Hamilton and the +others, who were dining with Arnold when the news of Andre's capture +reached him, could have managed to hold both until Washington's arrival, +cannot now be surmised. We only know that to Major Tallmadge belongs the +credit of the recall and retention of Andre as a prisoner, thereby +preventing the loss of West Point. + +Major Tallmadge remained in the army and was greatly trusted by +Washington, rendering important assistance in the secret service. He +took part in many battles and in time became a colonel. For sixteen +years he was in Congress. He died at the age of eighty, leaving sons and +grandsons who won honored names in various callings. + + +(4) _William Hull_ + +When Captain William Hull, impelled by a strong natural caution, spoke +as forcibly as he could of the disastrous results that might follow +Nathan Hale's acceptance of the office of a spy in his country's +service, he described not only the result of the failure which seemed +almost inevitable, and which would result in a disgraceful death, but +also the contempt that would be felt among his fellow-officers should he +be successful. Hale, as we have seen, deliberately chose these dangers +that appeared so appalling, and lost his life in the manner predicted by +Hull. + +Could Captain Hull, on that September day in 1776, have looked forward +to other days in 1812, when, because of his surrender of Detroit, he +himself would stand as the most disgraced man in the American army, he +would have wondered what disastrous set of causes could have doomed him +to lower depths of discredit than he had imagined possible for his +friend Hale. + +This is the story of Captain Hull as told by his grandson, the Rev. +James Freeman Clarke, a Unitarian clergyman, and an author of high +repute. + +After remaining in the army throughout the Revolutionary War, where he +distinguished himself on repeated occasions, constantly rising in rank, +he settled in Massachusetts, practicing law, becoming prominent as a +legislator, and finally as one of the Massachusetts judges. In 1805, as +General Hull, he was appointed governor of the territory of Michigan by +President Jefferson, and removed thither, stipulating that in case of +war he should not be required to serve both as general and governor, as +he did not believe the duties of both could be successfully administered +by the same person. + +The outbreak of the war of 1812, which occurred while Madison was +President, found what was then the northern frontier of America wholly +unprepared for hostilities. The country was new, with dense forests and +few roads. There were no adequate means of land defense, and no adequate +navy to patrol the lakes. + +The British, as usual, had all the vessels needed, well-drilled +soldiers, and, more terrible than all, more than a thousand Indians, +ready to commit any atrocities upon defenseless white settlers. As Hull +had insisted, another officer was appointed to command the troops, such +as they were, but this officer became ill and Governor Hull was forced +to take command. + +In the meantime, no amount of urgent entreaties could induce the +authorities at Washington to send reenforcements to the assistance of +the defenseless settlers. The American troops were unprepared to +maintain their own position, and absolutely unable to conquer and annex +Canada, as the government expected them to do. General Hull found +himself with some eight hundred men facing more than fifteen hundred +British regulars, and threatened in the rear by a thousand Indians. + +What President Madison or any of his officers would have done, we cannot +say. They appear to have thought that it was General Hull's duty to +annihilate the British army, effectually dispose of the Indians, and +present Canada to the American government. + +General Hull, however, was a practical soldier. He knew the fate that +would await the women and children in his territory, to say nothing of +his small army, if he risked a battle and was defeated, as he surely +would be; so he did what seemed to him the only possible thing to save +the people of Michigan. He surrendered. Canada remained unannexed; the +white settlers of Michigan were not delivered to the tender mercies of +the Indians, and General Hull paid the penalty of the independent stand +he had taken. + +He probably foresaw that he must face a terrible ordeal. The whole +country appeared to be roused against him, and Hull at once became the +best-hated man in America. A court-martial was appointed. + +At first it was hoped that he would be convicted of treason, but the +evidence showed that this charge could not be sustained. He was tried +for cowardice in face of the enemy, found guilty, and sentenced to be +shot. The latter part of the sentence President Madison remitted, in +consideration of his past eminent services in the army. So, stamped with +indelible disgrace by all who did not know the facts, a ruined and +dishonored man, in his sixty-first year General Hull went back to the +farm in Newton that had come to him through his wife. Here, surrounded +by the most devoted affection, he passed his few remaining years. + +A ruined and discredited man he truly was,--the reputation and the honor +due him from his countrymen irrevocably lost and by no fault of his own. +Yet his grandson, the Rev. James Freeman Clarke, asserts that he was not +once heard to say an unkind word about the government that had treated +him so cruelly. + +After his death, in 1825, one of his daughters wrote the story of his +life from his own writings, and the Rev. James Freeman Clarke sketched +for the world an outline of his grandfather's services in Michigan. +This shows that the man who, in his youth, tried to dissuade his friend +Nathan Hale from accepting the role of martyr, himself, in his old age, +bravely and gently endured a martyrdom compared to which the ostracism +he predicted for Hale, even if he succeeded in his mission, was but a +passing dream. + + +(5) _Stephen Hempstead_ + +To Stephen Hempstead, a sergeant in Nathan Hale's company in 1776, we +are indebted for the most reliable account that is known of Hale's +movements after he left New York in the service from which he was not to +return. Sergeant Hempstead removed to Missouri after the war, and this +account was first published in the _Missouri Republican_ in 1827. His +own words describing his last days with Hale are these: + +"Captain Hale was one of the most accomplished officers, of his grade +and age, in the army. He was a native of the town of Coventry, state of +Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale College--young, brave, +honorable--and at the time of his death a Captain in Col. Webb's +Regiment of Continental Troops. Having never seen a circumstantial +account of his untimely and melancholy end, I will give it. I was +attached to his company and in his confidence. After the retreat of our +army from Long Island, he informed me, he was sent for to Head Quarters, +and was solicited to go over to Long Island to discover the disposition +of the enemy's camps, &c., expecting them to attack New York, but that +he was too unwell to go, not having recovered from a recent illness; +that upon a second application he had consented to go, and said I must +go as far with him as I could, with safety, and wait for his return. + +"Accordingly, we left our Camp on Harlem Heights, with the intention of +crossing over the first opportunity; but none offered until we arrived +at Norwalk, fifty miles from New York. In that harbor there was an armed +sloop and one or two row galleys. Capt. Hale had a general order to all +armed vessels, to take him to any place he should designate: he was set +across the Sound, in the sloop, at Huntington (Long Island) by Capt. +Pond, who commanded the vessel. Capt. Hale had changed his uniform for a +plain suit of citizen's brown clothes, with a round broad-brimmed hat, +assuming the character of a Dutch schoolmaster, leaving all his other +clothes, commission, public and private papers, with me, and also his +silver shoebuckles, saying they would not comport with his character of +schoolmaster, and retaining nothing but his College diploma, as an +introduction to his assumed calling. Thus equipped, we parted for the +last time in life. He went on his mission, and I returned back again to +Norwalk, with orders to stop there until he should return, or hear from +him, as he expected to return back again to cross the sound, if he +succeeded in his object." + +So far as there is any other evidence, it tends to confirm this part of +Sergeant Hempstead's report, and he is to-day considered one of the most +valuable authorities on Hale's last intercourse with brother soldiers. + +Of the details of his captain's arrest and execution, which are told in +the last part of the account, and of which Hempstead had no personal +knowledge, he declares that he was "authentically informed" and did +"most religiously believe" them. Some of the incidents he gives appear +to have been proved since to have no basis in fact; others that vary +from reports now accepted may yet, with more light gained, be found to +be true. + +The second letter sent by Sergeant Hempstead to the _Republican_ deals +with his experience in the army in 1781, when he was one of the victims +of the brutalities inflicted upon the hapless prisoners of war at Fort +Griswold, Groton, Connecticut. The injuries he received there were, as +he tells us, so severe that his own wife, having searched for his body +in the fort among the dead, scanned carefully the face of every wounded +soldier sheltered by pitying neighbors, passing him twice without +recognizing him--he too ill to make any sign--and then resuming her +search among the dead. + +Later she found him, and after a time he regained sufficient strength to +be carried to his home. He was, however, incapacitated by his injuries +for service in the field, and was thenceforth able to perform only +duties calling for honest watchfulness rather than personal labor. After +the removal to Missouri the whole family prospered greatly. He settled +on a farm near the city of St. Louis, where he lived many years, +respected by all who knew him. He died in 1831. + + +(6) _Asher Wright_ + +Near the place where the Hale family lie buried is another grave +covering the dust of Asher Wright, once Nathan Hale's attendant. He was +so strongly attached to Hale that his tragic death is thought to have +unsettled his mind so that he never was quite himself again, and never +able to earn his own living. For several years after Nathan Hale's death +Wright was not heard of in his early home. Then he came back to +Coventry, bringing with him some of Nathan Hale's effects that he had +doubtless carried with him in his wandering, giving them, on his return, +to Deacon Hale's family. + +Asher Wright died in his ninetieth year, having lived all his later days +in his house not far from the Hale home. His pension of ninety-six +dollars a year was so supplemented by the Hale family, and by David Hale +of New York, editor of the _Journal of Commerce_, that his last days +were very comfortable. His grave is marked by a marble headstone giving +his name, age, and former connection with Nathan Hale. + +His farm adjoined that of the Hale homestead and has now become a part +of it. + + +(7) _Elisha Bostwick_ + +One letter concerning Nathan Hale comes to us with a curious and +interesting history. + +Not long ago, while in the city of Washington, a loyal friend and warm +admirer of Nathan Hale, George Dudley Seymour, Esq., of New Haven, had +his attention called to a remarkable tribute to Hale. It proved to have +been written by a fellow-soldier in the Revolutionary War, Captain +Elisha Bostwick. This remarkable document was found in the musty records +of a very old pension list, and the portion relating to Nathan Hale is +here given. It came to light a hundred and thirty-five years after +Hale's execution. We give this valuable record of Captain Bostwick's as +it appeared in the _Hartford Courant_ of December 15th, 1914: + +"I will now make some observations upon the amiable & unfortunate Capt. +Nathan Hale whose fate is so well known; for I was with him in the same +Regt. both at Boston & New York & until the day of his tragical death; & +although of inferior grade in office was always in the habits of +friendship & intimacy with him: & my remembrance of his person, manners +& character is so perfect that I feel inclined to make some remarks upon +them: for 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, & he +was undoubtedly Pious; for it was remarked that when any of the soldiers +of his company were sick he always visited them & usually prayed for & +with them in their sickness.--A little anecdote I will relate; one day +he accidentally came across some of his men in a bye place playing +cards--he spoke--what are you doing--this won't do,--give me your cards, +they did so, & he chopd them to pieces, & it was done in such a manner +that the men were rather pleased than otherwise--his activity on all +occasions was wonderful--he would make a pen the quickest & best of any +man-- + +"Innumerable instances of occurrences which took place in the Army I +could relate, but who would care for them: Perhaps it may be thought by +some that I have already been at the expense of Prolixity. Nobody in +these days feels as I do, left here alone, & they cannot if they would, +but to me it is a melancholy pleasure to go back to those Scenes of fear +& anguish & after the laps of 50 years (1826 was in my 78th year) to +rumenate upon them which I think I can do with as bright a recollection +as though they were present--One more reflection I will make--why is it +that the delicious Capt. Hale should be left & lost in an unknown grave +& forgotten!-- + +"The foregoing Statements were made from Memory & recollection & from +documents & Memorandoms which I kept.--ELISHA BOSTWICK." + + +(8) _Edward Everett Hale_ + +Of the subsequent records of the Hale family no trace remains that is +not honorable. Nathan's brother Enoch was settled at Westhampton, +Massachusetts, in 1777, where he remained a useful and beloved pastor +for sixty years. Enoch's eldest son, Nathan, graduated at Williams +College in 1804. He was editor-in-chief of the _Boston Daily Advertiser_ +for more than forty years. Nathan's son, Nathan, a Havard graduate, +became associate editor of the _Boston Advertiser_. + +Lucretia Peabody Hale, a well-known writer in her day, whose delightful +and amusing "Peterkin Papers" are still read and remembered, was a +granddaughter of the Rev. Enoch Hale. + +Edward Everett Hale, a man beloved by every one who knew him, was the +son of "a great journalist," Nathan, grandson of Enoch, and therefore +grandnephew of Captain Nathan Hale. He, too, had a son Nathan who died +in his early manhood. Edward Everett Hale was one of the most commanding +and admired of men, with rare endowments as clergyman, author, editor, +and patriot. + +Those interested in the study of his granduncle, Nathan, owe to him the +preservation of many records of the Hale family, and an arrangement of +the genealogy of the Hale family, made while he was a Unitarian minister +in Worcester, Massachusetts, and kindly lent to the Hon. I. W. Stuart, +one of Hale's early biographers. + +It will be long before some of Edward Everett Hale's vital words are +forgotten; longer still before his marvelous story, "The Man Without a +Country," shall cease to thrill its readers. + +The impassioned sentences in which he cites its unhappy hero as speaking +to a boy--a midshipman--while under heavy stress, read, "For your +country, boy, and for your flag, never dream a dream but of serving her +as she bids you, though the service carry you through a thousand hells. +No matter what happens to you, no matter who flatters you or who abuses +you, never look at another flag, never let a night pass but you pray God +to bless that flag. Remember, boy, that behind all these men you have to +do with, behind officers, and government, and people even, there is the +Country Herself, your Country, and that you belong to Her as you belong +to your own mother." + +No one justly comprehending the bed rock of Edward Everett Hale's +boundless patriotism can doubt that if the same call of duty had come +to him that came in bygone days to his relative, young Nathan Hale, he +would have done exactly as Nathan Hale did. That call did not come, but +to the end of his days Edward Everett Hale lived for his country as +nobly as Nathan Hale died for it. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +ANCESTORS AND DESCENDANTS OF NATHAN HALE'S PARENTS + + +Robert Hale arrived in Massachusetts in 1632. He was one of those sent +from the first church in Boston to form the first church in Charlestown +in 1632, and was a deacon of this church. He was a blacksmith by trade. +He also had a gift for practical mathematics, being regularly employed +by the General Court of Massachusetts as a surveyor of new plantations. +His son John, of whom mention has been made in connection with the +witchcraft delusion, was a graduate of Harvard in 1657. Samuel, the +fourth son of John, was the father of Richard, father of Nathan Hale. + +Elizabeth Strong, wife of Deacon Richard Hale and mother of Nathan, came +from a family more notable than that of her husband. Her grandfather, +Joseph Strong, represented Coventry in the General Assembly of +Connecticut for sixty-five sessions and presided over town-meeting in +his ninetieth year. + +Mrs. Hale had four immediate relatives who were graduates of Yale +college. Three of the sons of Deacon Richard Hale and Elizabeth Strong +Hale graduated from Yale,--Enoch, the fourth son, Nathan, the sixth +child, and David, the eighth son. Three of the sons were officers in the +Revolutionary army, and the husband of a daughter was a surgeon there. +John was a major; Joseph, who died as the result of the privations +endured there, was a lieutenant; and Nathan was a captain. Elizabeth, +daughter of Joseph, married Rev. Abiel Abbot, for many years minister in +Coventry. Three of their sons were college graduates--two of Yale and +one of Dartmouth. Rebekah, another daughter of Joseph, married Ezra +Abbot of Wilton, N.H. Three sons were graduates of Bowdoin. One son, the +Rev. Abiel Abbot, was settled in East Wilton. + +Two daughters also married clergymen. Another daughter of Joseph, Mary, +married the Rev. Levi Nelson. For a man who died at the age of +thirty-four, Lieutenant Joseph Hale appears to have been well +represented by his descendants. + +Surgeon Rose of the Revolutionary army, and Elizabeth Hale, daughter of +Deacon Richard Hale, were the grandparents of the distinguished lawyer +and statesman, Washington Hunt, and of Lieutenant Edward Hunt, U.S.A., +first husband of the celebrated author, Helen Hunt. + +Enoch Hale, Deacon Richard Hale's fourth son, graduated in the same +class with his brother Nathan, became a minister, and spent a long life +in his first and only pastorate. One of his sons, Enoch, was educated at +Yale and Harvard and became a noted physician. A son, Nathan, was a +graduate of Williams College, and editor of the _Boston Advertiser_ for +more than forty years. His son Nathan, a Harvard man, became coeditor +with him. One of Enoch's granddaughters married a minister named +Montague. + +David, another son of Deacon Richard Hale, graduated at Yale, and was +settled in the ministry at Lisbon, Connecticut. Joanna, the second +daughter of Richard Hale, married Dr. Nathan Howard. + +One of Enoch Hale's grandsons was president of the Continental Bank in +New York City. The most noted of Enoch Hale's descendants was the Rev. +Edward Everett Hale, clergyman, editor, and author, and a graduate of +Harvard. The writer, Lucretia Peabody Hale, was one of Enoch Hale's +grandchildren. David Hale, a grandson of Richard Hale, was long in +control of the _Journal of Commerce_ in New York City and noted for his +charities. Alexander and Charles, grandsons of Enoch, were graduates of +Harvard. + +As this list of college graduates and professional men is not extended +beyond the year 1850, a little past the limit of a century after the +marriage of Richard Hale and Elizabeth Strong, one is inclined to wonder +whether any other farmer's family within that, or any other, period in +American history, can show a more remarkable record. + +One is impressed, too, most profoundly, by the realization that, +although Elizabeth Strong Hale died so early, as lives are now +measured,--she was only forty,--to few women in any land who have +reached the appointed limit of human life have been given the remarkable +power of leaving to so many descendants such warmth of feeling and such +nobility of nature as passed through that century of her descendants. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +ASSERTED BETRAYAL OF NATHAN HALE + + +For some time after the death of Nathan Hale a report was circulated, +and apparently substantiated, that he had been betrayed into the hands +of the British by a Tory cousin. Ultimately this report was printed in a +Newburyport (Massachusetts) newspaper of the day, and read by Mr. Samuel +Hale of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This Mr. Hale was a prominent teacher +and a strong friend of the American cause, and uncle both to Nathan Hale +and to Samuel Hale, the cousin who was said to have betrayed Nathan. + +Mr. Samuel Hale never for a moment believed the report, and set himself +at once to disprove it. This appears to have been done in the most +effectual way by the combined efforts of Mr. Samuel Hale and Deacon +Hale, who furnished proof that the supposed betrayer of Nathan Hale had +never visited in Deacon Hale's family, and, not being in his uncle's +house when Nathan visited there, had never so much as seen Nathan Hale. + +There were, of course, at the time, strong animosities existing between +those who supported the British cause among the Americans, and the +Americans who were opposing England. As at all such times, some members +of each party were not only unjust but cruel to the other party; and in +some respects this nephew of the teacher, Samuel Hale, and asserted +betrayer of Nathan, paid very heavily for his loyalty to the English +cause. We will let him tell his own story, only adding that when +hostilities broke out he was a young and successful barrister practicing +in Portsmouth, was married, and had one child. + +Unswerving in his loyalty to the English cause, he was soon obliged to +leave New Hampshire, and eventually to go into English territory. He +wrote to his uncle Samuel, in whose family he had been reared, and later +to his wife; neither letter is dated, but it is probable that when the +latter was written he was in Nova Scotia. His letter to his uncle runs +in part as follows: + +"My affections as well as my allegiance are due to another nation. I +love the British government with filial fondness. I have never been +actuated by any political rancor towards the Americans. My conduct has +always been fair, explicit, and open, and I may add, _some of your +people have found it humane_ at a time when affairs on our side wore +the most flattering appearances. My veneration is as high, my friendship +as warm, and my attachment as great as ever it was for many characters +among you, though I have differed much from them in politics. In the +justness of the reasoning which led to the principles that have guided +me through life, I can suppose myself mistaken. The same thing may have +been the case with my opponents. Our powers are so limited, our means of +information so inadequate to the end, that common decency requires we +should forgive each other when we have every reason to think that each +has acted honestly. + +"Sure I am, this is the case with me and I hope it is the same with some +of you. My conduct during this unhappy contest has been invariably +uniform. I can in no sense be called a traitor to your state. I never +owed it any allegiance, because I left it before it had assumed the form +or even the name of an independent state, and when I neither saw or felt +any oppression. I must have been mad as well as wicked to have acted any +other part than I did upon the principles I held. If I have been +mistaken I am sorry for the error, and if it be error I still continue +in it." + +This letter is certainly a good illustration of the truth that, in all +great contests, perfectly honorable and consistent men are forced to +take opposite sides, even at the cost of suffering heavy injustice. The +letter to his wife is here given in full. + + MY DEAR GIRL,-- + + This you will get by Mr. Hart's flag of Truce, who is coming to + Boston for his family. I know the disposition of the Leaders at + Boston so well, that I doubt not of his success. I would have come + for you and the boy, but I thought you would leave your father with + reluctance, nor am I sure that I could have obtained leave for you + to come away, if you were disposed. I fear the resentment of the + people against me may have injured you, but I hope not. I am sorry + such a prejudice has arisen. + + Depend upon it, there never was the least truth in that infamous + newspaper publication charging me with ingratitude, etc. I am happy + that they have had [to have] recourse to falsehood to vilify my + character. Attachment to the old Constitution of my country is my + only crime with them--for which I have still the disposition of the + primitive martyr. + + I hope and believe you want no pecuniary assistance. If you should + you may apply to some of my friends or your relations. You may then + use my name with confidence that they shall be amply satisfied. I + believe I shall have the power, I am sure I shall have the will, to + recompense them again. + + I somewhat expect to see you in a few months--perhaps not before I + have seen England. In the meanwhile, my dear Girl, take care of + your own and the Boy's health. He may live to be serviceable to his + country in some distant period. Respect, Love, Duty, etc., await + all my inquiring and real friends. + + I am, etc. + S. HALE. + + TO MRS HALE + +These letters sufficiently attest the character of the man, and we can +hope that in later days he was enabled to return to his family, and to +prove that political differences of opinion had not changed the +integrity of his life. + +Knowing nothing of his later days, we may rejoice that the base +assertion that this own cousin had betrayed Nathan Hale was wholly +without foundation; and that in him, also, the Hale trait of loyalty to +honest opinions enabled him to make sacrifices as great in their way as +those made by many of his kindred. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +CONTRASTS BETWEEN HALE AND ANDRE + + +If Nathan Hale was in many respects the most notable American martyr, +another man, in the English army, four years later met a doom that to +the English appears to have exalted him to a rank corresponding to +Nathan Hale's. For a long time there was a glamour about Andre that +lifted him above the place to which, in the minds of many, he rightfully +belonged, and comparisons have often been made between him and Hale, as +if in reality their services and their characters justified such +comparison. + +It has been our aim to describe Hale as accurately as possible. He has +been presented as an educated, high-minded patriot, wholly intent upon +serving his country to the full extent of his ability, ready to run any +risk in her service, and fully comprehending, in his last supreme effort +to serve her, that he was risking his life and facing the possibility of +a dishonorable death. He expected no reward if he succeeded, save the +consciousness of having done his duty. But fail he did, and we have seen +how simply and bravely he accepted his doom. His grave is unknown to +this day, and his country, as a country, has made no recognition +whatever of his supreme sacrifice. + +In regard to Andre, we know that he was of foreign parentage, his father +a Genevan Swiss, and his mother French. He had not inherited a drop of +English blood. Born, however, after his parents removed to London, he +was, in ordinary acceptance, English. + +His parents were able to educate him thoroughly, and to fit him for what +they supposed would be a successful commercial career. A disappointment +in love, however, led him to seek a change of scene, and he entered the +English army. + +Personally he was most attractive, charming in his manners beyond the +average man, a fine linguist, and a brave man. He soon attracted +attention among the English officers engaged in the war against America, +and was eventually made adjutant general of the English army. So far as +can now be judged, his life as a soldier had been most agreeable, and he +had made friends with all his associates. While Arnold was perfecting +his designs to betray West Point into the hands of the English, and +thus in effect terminate the war, Andre was appointed to act as the +intermediary between Arnold and Sir Henry Clinton. + +Andre may have looked upon himself as an envoy from his own commander to +an American commander, and he well knew that, if successful, high honor +and a desirable command in the British army would be awarded him by the +English government. He does not appear to have considered the fact that +he was risking his life in the service of the English. Indeed, none of +the English officers appear to have thought it possible that the +Americans would dare to treat as a spy an English adjutant general who +had been invited to his headquarters by General Arnold, and by him +provided with safeguards for his return. So sure were they of Andre's +safety that it is said the British officers treated with derision the +suggestion that he was in danger, even after his capture. + +Once captured, they should not have been so sure of his safety. But +neither they nor he had any idea that he would be captured. Indeed, we +can hardly see how he could have been captured had he followed the +instructions of Sir Henry Clinton, who strictly enjoined him not to go +within the American lines, not to assume any disguise, and not to carry +a scrap of writing. + +At first Andre had supposed that Arnold would meet him on the _Vulture_, +and that all their negotiations would be completed there. But Arnold, +too crafty to run any personal risk, or arouse any suspicion in his own +officers, insisted upon Andre's landing and conferring with him at some +little distance from his own headquarters. Disregarding, through +Arnold's persuasions, Clinton's first order to remain upon the +_Vulture_, Andre's other failures in obedience appear to have been +inevitable, and taking the risks as they came, he went forward to his +doom, to his death, to Arnold's ruin as an American citizen, and to the +preservation of the infant republic. + +For the third time, Providence appears to have thwarted the shrewdest +plans of the enemies of America. First came the fog in New York Bay, +enabling Washington to withdraw his troops from Brooklyn without the +knowledge of the British; second, the knowledge of Hale's fate and the +preservation of his last words by a humane English officer, despite the +malice of Provost Marshal Cunningham; third, and apparently most +important of all, the capture of Andre, involving the defeat of Arnold's +traitorous plans to ruin his country's cause. + +From the moment Andre fell into the hands of the Americans, he was +treated with the utmost courtesy. Every possible opportunity for him to +prove his innocence was given him, and an offer to exchange him for +Arnold, who had fled to the British camp, was made to the commanders of +the English. This, however, could not be done honorably by Sir Henry +Clinton, and Andre had to face a fate he had not for a moment thought +possible. + +He bore himself bravely, and he certainly won the hearts of those who +held him prisoner. When he came to die in Tappan--not, as he had hoped, +as a soldier, shot to death, but hanged as a spy--he seemed for a moment +greatly affected. Then recovering himself before the fatal drop he said, +"Gentlemen, I beg you all to bear witness that I die as a brave man." + +Self-pity, the desire to be honored despite the manner of his death, +marked Andre's exit from the world. Hale had gone hence without one +personal expression of regret save that he could not add to his service +for his country. + +Andre had died pitied and lamented even by loyal Americans. England, +remembering what he had done to serve her, and that he had died in her +service, rendered his memory the highest honor. She conferred knighthood +on his brother, and a pension of three hundred guineas a year on his +mother and sisters, already well provided for. + +Forty years later she sent one of her war vessels to America to bring +his body back to England; and then the doors of stately Westminster +Abbey, in which lie buried the dust of those she most delights to honor, +were opened to receive his remains; there they will lie till the old +Abbey crumbles. + +Thus England honors the men who try to serve her in any line of heroic +service, proving that if she "expects every man to do his duty," she, in +her turn, expects to honor those who serve her, be they her own sons or +the sons of strangers born "within her gates." + +October 2, 1879, the ninety-ninth anniversary of the execution of Andre, +a monument, prepared by order of Cyrus W. Field and placed over the spot +of Andre's execution, was unveiled. There were present members of +historical societies, of the United States Army, of the newspapers, and +various other persons. At noon, the hour of Andre's execution, the +memorial was unveiled. There were no ceremonies on the occasion. The +epitaph had been prepared by the Rev. Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, the +beloved and honored Dean of Westminster, at whose suggestion Mr. Field +had erected the memorial. It is inscribed as follows: + + Here died, October 2, 1780 + Major John Andre of the British Army, + Who, entering the American lines + On a secret mission to Benedict Arnold, + For the surrender of West Point, + Was taken prisoner, tried and condemned as a spy. + His death + Though according to the stern rule of war, + Moved even his enemies to pity; + And both armies mourned the fate + Of one so young and so brave. + In 1821 his remains were removed to Westminster Abbey. + A hundred years after the execution + This stone was placed above the spot where he lay, + By a citizen of the United States against which he fought, + Not to perpetuate the record of strife, + But in token of those friendly feelings + Which have since united two nations, + One in race, in language, and in religion, + With the hope that this friendly union + Will never be broken. + +On the other side are these words of Washington: + + "He was more unfortunate than criminal." + "An accomplished man and gallant officer." + + --GEORGE WASHINGTON + +The first of the two lines was from a letter of Washington to Count de +Rochambeau, dated October 10, 1780. The second is from a letter written +by Washington to Colonel John Laurens on October 13 of the same year. + +In the year 1853 some Americans who believe that all historic spots in +our land should be marked by permanent memorials, erected a monument at +Tarrytown, New York, in honor of the captors of Andre. Hon. Henry J. +Raymond made the address at its dedication. Mr. Raymond was born in 1820 +and was graduated from the University of Vermont in 1840. He assisted +Horace Greeley in the conduct of the _Tribune_ and other newspapers. He +founded the _New York Times_ in 1851 and died in 1869. + +In the address just mentioned, Mr. Raymond, contrasting the halo that +surrounded Andre's name with the oblivion then seemingly the fate of +Nathan Hale, closed with these impassioned words: + +"Where sleeps the Americanism of Americans, that their hearts are not +stirred to solemn rapture at thought of the sublime love of country +which buoyed him [Hale] not alone above 'the fear of death,' but far +beyond all thought of himself, of his fate, and his fame, or of anything +less than his country, and which shaped his dying breath into the sacred +sentence which trembled at the last upon his unquivering lip?" + +With this tribute we close, believing that the tardy justice accorded to +our martyr-hero is destined to become a nation-wide loyalty; that the +day will yet come when our nation, as a nation, will recognize the +nobility of nature displayed, and will assign a high place to the brave +lad who so sublimely relinquished all that life held, and all that +coming years might bring, to die for his country,--_our country_,--the +high-souled Nathan Hale. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Nathan Hale, by Jean Christie Root + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATHAN HALE *** + +***** This file should be named 31650.txt or 31650.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/6/5/31650/ + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreaders at +http://www.fadedpage.com + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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