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Nathan Hale
By Jane Runyon
Nathan Hale had no intention of becoming a
hero when he was a boy. He was the sixth of
twelve children growing up in Connecticut.
He was born June 6, 1755, to a successful
farmer and his wife, Richard and Elizabeth
Hale. Nathan and his brother, Enoch, were
sent to Yale College to further their education.
Nathan was only fourteen years old at the time.
Enoch decided to become a minister, and
Nathan set his goal to become a school teacher.
Nathan graduated near the top of his class at
age eighteen. He accepted a job as teacher in the Union Grammar
School in New London, Connecticut. Nathan had already taken on
causes that he felt were unfair. He did not believe in the common
practice of educating only the young men. He made an arrangement
with the leaders of the Union Grammar School to teach the young
ladies of the area. Because this was not something normally done,
Nathan had to teach his class of twenty women between the hours of
five and seven in the morning. This way it would not interfere with
his main job, teaching the boys.
It was during this same time that a movement of unrest started to
make its way through the colonies. It is debated among some
scholars that Nathan Hale may have been the first colonist to use the
word independence to describe what the colonists were striving for.
Nathan was only twenty years old when he was commissioned
as a First Lieutenant in the Connecticut regiment. He resigned his
job as teacher and headed to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to meet up
with General George Washington. He kept journals that have given
us a first-hand report of what these first months of the revolution
were like. He was part of the force that drove the British out of
Boston. He was with Washington when the Continental army
followed the British to New York. He helped plan an attack on a
British ship, the Phoenix. They were able to save the ship and take
cannons and ammunition for the colonial forces.
In September of 1776, Hale was asked by General Washington to
undertake a very serious mission. To better plan an attack on the
British in New York, Washington needed to know what the British
were planning. The only way to discover the British plans was to
send a spy behind enemy lines. Nathan Hale quickly accepted the
challenge. He left his uniform behind, dressed in civilian clothes,
and set out for New York. He carried his college diploma with him
and explained his visit by saying he was a school teacher looking for
a job. Not much of what happened while he was in New York is
known. What we do know is that he made arrangements for a boat
to pick him up on September 20. He would then take the notes he
had made back to Washington. On the appointed day, Hale was at
the place where he was supposed to be picked up. When he saw a
boat approaching, he signaled that he was ready to be picked up.
Unfortunately, it was the wrong boat. The boat he signaled was a
British boat patrolling the shore. He tried to run away, but he was
captured by the British soldiers. They found the papers he had
written for Washington. They had been written in Latin, which was
a dead giveaway to the British that he was a spy.
Nathan Hale was taken to the British commander, General
Thomas Howe. Howe was not in good humor. The colonists had
already caused him enough trouble. No trial was held. Howe looked
at the papers Hale had hidden in his shoes and made his decision.
He ordered that Hale be hanged immediately. The following
morning, Nathan Hale was taken to the place he was to be executed.
When asked if he had any final words, it is said that his last words
were "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."
He sacrificed his own life for a cause he felt was just and fair. He
became a hero to the colonists for this sacrifice.
Nathan Hale
Questions
1. Nathan Hale was an only child.
A. false
B. true
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2. What was the first "cause" that Nathan Hale wanted to correct?
What was his solution?
3. What professions did Nathan and his brother pursue?
A. teacher and minister
B. farmer and soldier
C. doctor and lawyer
D. farmer and teacher
4. What word is Nathan said to have used first in the colonies?
A. independence
B. revolution
C. militia
D. Latin
5. Nathan Hale hid his notes in his shoes.
A. true
B. false
6. Why do you think Nathan Hale wrote his notes in Latin?
7. How was Nathan Hale captured?
A. He got into a fight.
B. He signaled the wrong boat.
C. He surrendered.
D. He got lost.
8. What do you think he meant by his final words, "I only regret I
have but one life to give for my country"?
Do you know a hero? Who is it? Why do you consider that person to
be a hero?
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What is a hero? What would you have to do to be called a hero?