^•^• %^' .%^^^. \.J' a> -U vOC ,1 ; '^0^ t ,0- sO' <. ^ " "/^ '"C' ' " V ^ -.,. c^' t. \ N^^ V %. ..A'''* '^. c'=- • % ,.N^^- -.>.^ ..^ O' ^' ^.:-''\" / % ' * ■<' ,, ■ ■ ' ~^ ,'\ •^^ »\ .# '::--- ■^' --^ a\ •. 't/^ >^ o^^' ,^ '^. ^ .'■^ ,X^^ ."-.^^V' 0^ .0- ^^• -\s^^^: ..<^' ■>, .c\^ ■^-, ^' •^., ,*^ -^e .0- . ,' * V,' •■Js ^^ . ■'/■ V .-.^^ % \- ./^ n\^' o "^^ V^' V' ■^o 0^' . '% S^' •XN^^' ^-^. a. 5 O, ^0- ■ O- ^0 ■^■ \V,/ V' \^ .^\^-'.X '^^.^ ^^ .^o. .0- ,x -^'^^ \> s^r-'. \\ . .\V A^' ,^N^ ''c 0^ ' "^' ■ %<^^ ^*'% ■ ■%• ..v.^^^ -. '^V\ N 1. , ,0 c o\ o 0' is <- X. ,x\- •?, '/ »^ s-- <0 .^-> '^>, ^^ ^ ,0 o^ %,^' o\' ■^= -^^ r^ \^ NATHAN HALE 1776 Published from the Fund Presented to the University by the 1914 Editorial Board of the YALE DAILY NEWS Richard A. Douglas, Chairman Frederick G. Blackburn, Assignment Editor Stoddard King, Managing Editor George W, Patterson, IV, Business Manager Hundley S. Bonnie, Managing Editor Lindsay Bradford Laurence M. Marks Chester H. Plimpton George G. Jones Morgan P. Noyes Paul B, Valle Nathan Hale 1776 Biography and Memorials By HENRY PHELPS JOHNSTON M Professor of History in the College of the City of New York / REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION New Haven : Yale University Press London: Humphrey Milford Oxford University Press MDCCCCXIV ^- — o pu C Copyright, 1914 BY Yale University Press y First printed November, 1914, 1000 copies ^fC -1 /9/4 )GI,A388790 ^^^ INTRODUCTORY NOTE We are coming to know more and more of Nathan Hale — an Interesting fact in Itself, and for his memory a welcome one. In the preface to the first edition of this work, atten- tion was called to the new sources of Information avail- able at that date, 1901, since the publication of the earliest biography of Hale by Stuart In 1856. During the past twelve years these sources have extended. Mr. I. W. Stuart, living at Hartford and near Hale's home, was fortunately drawn to the subject when sufficient mate- rial was at hand for a beginning, and when it was still possible to glean from personal recollections. His suc- cessors appreciate his pioneer work, In spite of his some- what free acceptance of traditions and reliance on state- ments, of assumed authority, made long after the event. This was natural and inevitable in his sympathetic desire to restore and perpetuate Hale's name and memory. For original material, however, he could draw upon not more than six or seven letters written by Hale, in addition to his diary, and a number from his friends. The latter he utilized to but a limited extent. What we may now describe as Hale's correspondence and papers has kept increasing until, to-day, so far as the author has been able to discover, the scattered collec- tion Includes nearly seventy separate pieces — all of them original manuscripts and of contemporary date. Sixty- four of these are printed. In whole or in part, in the present edition. They are chiefly letters — ten, with other material, being from Hale's pen and the rest from college classmates and later associates. Future biographers will via INTRODUCTORY NOTE doubtless add to the list, which, in view of the period represented, may be regarded as an exceptional, not to say a remarkable one. The screen of one hundred and ' fifty years folds back, more often than not, with thank- less results, if one is following up the thread of individ- ual and social life. In the case of very few men of those transitional years in our history, not in public life, could such a correspondence be recovered to-day. We owe this fortunate survival of his records very much to Hale's own orderly care and his sincere appre- ciation of his friends. He preserved their letters, sys- tematically indorsed them, and seems to have kept them with him down to the time of his tragical fate. At least forty of their number are now known to us, which is probably more than half of what he received during his brief, active years from 1773 to 1776. Drifting in after time into other hands, their tender association saved them from common neglect and loss. Whatever value we may attach to their contents, their personal sugges- tion cannot fail to attract. Through nearly all of these letters there runs a note or expression of more than ordinary interest — in many of them, of affectionate interest — in Hale himself. His friends wrote to him because they were drawn to him. There can be no doubt of their respect, admiration, and love for the youth. Where we deal with personality, where we would wish to know Hale well, intimately, if possible, this warmth of feeling in the correspondence is a guiding light. We must regret all the more that so few of his own letters have been preserved. For the new material in this edition, the writer Is indebted, as in the first, to individuals and libraries. His acknowledgments are due to Hon. Simon Gratz, of Philadelphia; Mr. George M. Thornton, of Pawtucket, R. I.; Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes, secretary Yale Uni- INTRODUCTORY NOTE ix versity; George Dudley Seymour, Esq., of New Haven; Mr. George E. Hoadley, of Hartford; Mr. George D. Smith and Mr. Robert H. Dodd, of New York, and the New York Public Library. The relative importance of these new contributions is pointed out in the text. The correspondence in the first edition was contributed by the late Rev. Edward Everett Hale, to whose daugh- ter. Miss Ellen Day Hale, the writer is under obligations for further use of his papers; by the late Mr. W. F. Havemeyer, of New York, who added to his Hale list the valuable letter from William Robinson, of which he kindly offered the author a copy shortly before his death; by Mr. Grenville Kane, of Tuxedo, N. Y., and Major Godfrey Wieners, of College Point, Long Island. Since 1 90 1, a few of the Hale pieces have changed hands, his commission and the earliest of his known letters being now in the possession of Mr. William A. Read, of New York. The Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, is happily and properly the possessor of much the larger portion of the letters written to Hale — some thirty in all — as well as of his army diary, basket, and powder- horn. We are once more under obligations to this Soci- ety and its librarian, Mr. Albert C. Bates, for a free examination of the collection. At Yale University there are reminders of Hale's college life in his Society minutes and the restored dormitory in which he roomed. The graduate records published by Professor Franklin B. Dexter have been of great assistance, while his own inter- est in our subject, with that of Mr. Stokes, Mr. George Parmly Day, the treasurer, and other members and grad- uates of the University, Is cordially appreciated. Mr. Robert H. Kelby, librarian of the New York Historical Society, has again materially aided the writer in his searches among Its papers. We are indebted, also, to Miss Alice M. Gay, of Hartford, and Miss E. H. Fair- X INTRODUCTORY NOTE brother, of London, for expert examination and tran- scripts of records. The edition of 1901 — a limited one — was intended to be of a memorial character and, as such, included fac- simile reproductions of a few of Hale's letters, his camp relics, his schoolhouses, statues, and home. In the pres- ent edition, most of the reproductions are omitted, and in their place, as memorials perhaps more expressive of himself and his associations, we have given the great body of his correspondence. Some more detail has been intro- duced and some corrections made, but in their aim to represent Hale as he was known, and as we believe pos- terity should remember him, the two editions are one work. The power of the story lies in the simple record. The College of the City of New York, October i, 19 14. CONTENTS PAGE Introductory Note vii I Home and Ancestry — the Hales and the Strongs 1 n Hale in College — Four Years at Yale (1769- 1773) 18 in Hale as Schoolmaster — at East Haddam and New London — His Engagement ... 40 IV The Lexington Alarm — Hale Joins the Army 61 V In Camp Near Boston — Besieging the Enemy 73 VI With the Army at New York — Defeat on Long Island 88 VII Hale in the British Lines — Capture and Exe- cution 98 VIII Preservation of Hale's Memory — Other Points of Interest 135 Appendix — Hale's Correspondence^ Army Diary, Etc., Bibliography, Index . . . 175 ILLUSTRATIONS opposite page The Hale Homestead, South Coventry, Connecticut 9 Hale's Powderhorn, Camp Book and Basket, 1115-16 64 Monument to Hale at South Coventry, Connecticut 134 Site of Hale's Execution, New York 162 Autographs of Nathan Hale and His Father, Richard Hale 195 NATHAN HALE 1776 I HOME AND ANCESTRY— THE HALES AND THE STRONGS Living on an ample farm at Coventry, Connecticut, in high and rolling country, near the beautiful Lake Waugaumbaug of the Mohegans, and with good neigh- bors about, Hale's family found its lines pleasantly cast. It was a typical colonial home — a type of the rural home in New England, with its modest character- istics, its busy and honest occupants, and its largely self- centered interests. Around it was the growing town com- munity, composed of people much alike, who faithfully filled out the round of daily duties, whose higher hope was to be gathered to their fathers, whose administra- tion of little neighborhood matters was training them for larger affairs, and who, in their distance from the official rut of the old world, were beginning to feel the invigorating sense of a practically independent life. One would find there the simple, hopeful, earnest society of the time, from which it was possible for individual members, young or old, to pass out into more absorbing spheres and act a greater part as ingenuously as they might have acted a lesser one at home, quite unconscious of or indif- ferent to the fact that others were looking on. Like its homestead structures, this folk, for the most part, was plain and solid in quality, adapted to seasons and condi- tions, and nobly answering its worth and purpose in colonial beginnings. 2 NATHAN HALE, 1776 We can imagine the interest of these Coventry people in the spot where they lived. Its associations were with the very old and the very new. In their blood and much of their home life, they still represented old England. The soil was new, untouched before by white man, with its original Indian owner, uncivilized and picturesque as ever, living or roaming not far away. The place, some twenty miles east of Hartford, lay in a tract belonging to the tribe of Mohegans, which their sachem "Joshua" deeded to a few private proprietors, who, in turn, sold its farm lands and plots to new settlers. The General Assembly of the Colony marked out a town there in 1708, and gave it its name in 171 1. The older towns had been settled by families in groups, as a measure of safety and association, while the later ones grew up more often through individual enterprise. But they all flour- ished apace, some towns throwing out others beyond them and within easy reach, with the meeting-house con- veniently centered, until in the brief period of one hun- dred and fifty years, or by the time of the Revolution, the population of New England had increased to over seven hundred thousand, compactly placed, homogeneous, self-governed, and fit, with the sister colonies, to enter upon national life. And how those early comers, we may note in passing, seem to have clung, even in the third generation, to the traditions of life and customs in the mother country! It was no mere coincidence that the Connecticut Assembly named the town in question after old Coventry in Eng- land. The town names in the central and eastern coun- ties in this colony, as in Massachusetts, and in scarcely less degree in the other colonies, tell of the genuine inter- est they long retained in the birthplaces of their grand- parents, whatever they may have thought of revenue acts, commercial monopoly, and ministerial appointments; and HOME AND ANCESTRY 3 In many households could have been found, as heir- looms distributed by gift or the wills of the first settlers, more than one tangible piece of evidence that old Eng- land was not altogether forgotten by the New. So not only will one see repeated on the map of Connecticut the names of Ashford, and Bolton, and Canterbury, and Chatham, and Chester; of Colchester, Coventry, Derby, Durham, Essex, Glastonbury, and Guilford; of Hart- ford, Kent, Lyme, Milford, New Haven, and New Lon- don; of Norwalk, Norwich, Pomfret, Preston, Stamford, Stratford, Windsor, and Woodstock; but in their home- steads he would have seen at that date some of the chairs and chests, the books and pieces of plate, the spoons, dishes, buckles, and quilts, and the family Bible, with its precious record of births, marriages, and deaths, which their possessors prized for their ancestral associations across the sea. Coventry was Hale's birthplace. Of his boyhood and country life we could expect to know little, so far as any household records would reveal it. Those years, and indeed the course of domestic experiences generally, varied little in the colony circles. From glimpses, tradi- tions, and fragmentary diaries a picture could be drawn, which, in its perspective, would do for all. Early mar- riages were the rule. Hale's father, born February 28, 17 1 7, was twenty-nine; his mother, born February 7, 1727, was nineteen. They were married in Coventry, May 2, 1746, and lived and died in the place. Their son Nathan, to whose memory these pages are dedicated, was born June 6, 1755, the fifth boy and sixth child in the family of twelve. He had eight brothers and three sisters, two dying In infancy. David and Jonathan were twins. His elder sister, being, like her mother and grandmother, the eldest daughter, bore the same name, Elizabeth. The other children were Samuel, John, 4 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Joseph, Enoch, Richard, Billy, Joanna, and Susanna, several of whom married and have descendants living. Nathan was doubtless named after one of the Nathan Strongs on his mother's side of the house. It will help to gauge the characteristics of Hale's fam- ily — we can come into closer touch with the members of the household, better understand their manner of life, their traits, their strength or weaknesses, their views, hopes, and prospects — if we turn a moment to the line of their forebears. Lineage sheds a certain light. In Hale's case there are no gaps in the record of the imme- diate generations. Both on his paternal and maternal side, his descent can be traced continuously to its Ameri- can beginnings. Its genealogies contain their proportion of individual histories, in which one may detect a thread of family resemblances or rate the value of the blood and fiber represented. As in a hundred other cases, also, here and there, in the direct and collateral branches, at different points and in different generations, we meet with some fine development. Some strain of superiority or rare worth will be found asserting itself in the person of a distinguished judge, an eminent divine, a public benefactor, or again in the person of a youthful patriot. The good people of that day not only believed in the transmission of qualities and observed likenesses, but they highly valued the living influence of one generation upon another — an influence which modern conditions are grad- ually lessening. Neighbors then, more often than not, were relatives. Hale could remember his great-grand- father, and of his grandmother's graces, and guardian- ship over him, he himself speaks with appreciation and feeling. There is material here for the study of heredity and the influence or predominance of individualism in our national growth. HOME AND ANCESTRY 5 The ships that sailed into Massachusetts Bay in the notable years between 1630 and 1640 brought over what local historians like to call much "precious freight." They brought more than one stout heart and devoted group, v/hich old England could ill afford to spare, but in whom New England found her making. Among these first comers — commonwealth builders as they were to prove — were the ancestors of Nathan Hale. The names of his father, Richard Hale, and his mother, Elizabeth Strong, take us back to their great-grandparents, the Hales and the Strongs, who followed Governor Win- throp from England to Boston to help break ground for the new settlements on the Charles River and the Connec- ticut. In later years, their names appear again at this point in the wilderness or that town on the coast, showing that they took their part abreast with the others in the active work of colonization. On the father's side the immigrant was Robert Hale, who came, we are told, of the old and knighted family of Hales in Kent. That he cared little for crests or coats of arms, and much more for a new start in life and a freer atmosphere, may perhaps be inferred from his leaving England at one of the earliest opportunities. Making Charlestown, Massachusetts, his permanent home, he assisted in founding the church there In 1632, and became deacon, selectman, ensign, and surveyor. Evidently an energetic and thrifty individual — by occu- pation a blacksmith — he kept increasing his acres until he owned fields and lots on Charlestown Neck, along the Mystic River, and adjoining the roads in the vicinity which were to become the scene of some lively warfare in 1775. One of his neighbors, following him two or three years later, was that George Bunker whose famous hill stands in the new world for all and more than Mara- thon's mound has so long stood for in the old. It was 6 NATHAN HALE, 1776 to remain for a descendant of his in the fifth generation — the young captain of 1776 — to assist in ridding the ances- tral farm of an enemy's presence. Robert Hale's pros- perity and intelligence no doubt led him to share in the desire which the leading colonists felt to educate preach- ers for their multiplying churches on their own soil, and we presently find him sending his eldest son, John, to the newly founded Harvard College. This was the Rev. John Hale, graduated in 1657, who was the first and long-settled pastor at Beverly, just beyond Salem, Massachusetts. He is described as a rep- resentative man, of recognized abilities, generous dis- position, public-spirited, and, of course, a Calvinist of the prevailing robust type. The occasional hardships and misfortunes of his people he made his own. In 1676, when King Philip's War caused distress, he directed the selectmen of the parish to dispose of £6, about one twelfth of his year's salary, for the general defense. In 1690, he went as chaplain on Phipps' disastrous expedition against Quebec, not only to fight the annoying French- man, but also to watch over a company of his own young parishioners. Inevitably, with Salem so near, he was identified with the witchcraft trials, but latterly, through a personal experience, was convinced of the error of the proceedings, and in 1697 issued a "Modest Inquiry" into the nature of the delusion. "Such," he writes, "was the darkness of that day, the tortures and lamentations of the afflicted, and the power of former precedents, that we walked in the clouds and could not see our way"; but, as he continues in another connection, "observing the events of that sad catastrophe. Anno 1692, I was brought to a more strict scanning of the principles I had imbibed, and by scanning, to question, and by questioning at length to reject many of them." His revulsion against the pain- ful business, even though partial, could only have deep- HOME AND ANCESTRY 7 ened his human sympathies and drawn him nearer to his flock. Upon his death or earlier, his family, as in so many other instances, dispersed to find new fields. One son remained at Beverly, another became a pastor and settled at Ashford, Connecticut, and a third son, Samuel, moved along the coast, first to Newburyport and then to Portsmouth. The line we are following comes down through this Samuel Hale. There is little recorded of him, but it is to be noticed that, like his father and grandfather, he was represented by a son at Harvard, also named Samuel, who remained at Portsmouth, and of whom we shall hear again as a good citizen, defender of his country, and notable schoolmaster. Another son, named Richard, of more interest to us, fell into the general drift, as it would appear, looked about for richer soil, perhaps a less rigor- ous climate, and with other wide-awake farmers settled in a new locality. About 1744, a young, unmarried man, he found his way into Connecticut and made choice of his future home in the town of Coventry, some twenty miles east of Hartford. This Richard, fourth from the immigrant, was the father of our Nathan Hale. Upon Hale's mother's side, the story of descent is in some respects a repetition of his father's. That young Nathan himself would have dwelt with a most affection- ate interest on what he knew of it may be gathered from some of the last expressions we have from his pen. To his brother Enoch he wrote from camp: "This will prob- ably 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 repeat- edly 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." Hale's 8 NATHAN HALE, 1776 mother was not then living, but in her mother, as just described, we doubtless see the temperament which ruled her own household. That she was gentle, true, and watch- ful may be readily assumed, and perhaps we perceive some of her stronger traits of character reflected and emphasized in those of her son. "Our good grand- mother Strong" draws us equally to the youth whose love and remembrance were deep and manly, and to the lin- eage which produced such womanhood. But the story is not exceptional. The Strongs, like the Hales, were a typical family, through whom, in connection with the many others with corresponding or varying records, we are enabled to observe the working of domestic and social influences in colonial life. The head of the line here was Elder John Strong, who in the spring of 1630 sailed from Plymouth, England, in the ship Mary and John, and helped in the founding of Dorchester, south of Boston. His numerous descend- ants — quite a remarkable list — are scattered to-day throughout the country. Passing on to Taunton and then to Windsor, Connecticut, he returned to Massachusetts in 1659, and with a few others, for the third time, started a new settlement, which became Northampton. His grandsons, Joseph and Elnathan, settled in Connecticut, the former at Coventry, about 17 15, twenty or thirty years before Richard Hale. This Joseph, known as Justice Joseph Strong, grew up with the place and became a leading townsman, filling the offices of treasurer and justice of the peace for many years, and representing Coventry in the General Assembly for sixty-five sessions. Vigorous, both mentally and physically, he could preside at a town meeting in his ninetieth year. He was suc- ceeded in some of his offices and a portion of his lands by his son, also Joseph, generally called Captain Joseph Strong. In 1724, this Joseph married his second cousin, HOME AND ANCESTRY 9 Elizabeth Strong, daughter of Preserved Strong, the "grandmother" referred to above; and it was their eldest daughter, again Elizabeth, fifth from the immigrant, who became the wife of Richard and the mother of Nathan Hale. Hale's immediate ancestors were thus among the first inhabitants and co-builders of his native place, and exercised no little influence on the gathering community. Success seems to have attended the enterprise and hard labors of these families. From the town records we learn that as early as 1724 Justice Strong was able to turn over to his son. Captain Strong, a farm of ninety acres, in consideration of "parental love and affection," and that Richard Hale, in 1745, could purchase from Talcott and Lathrop, apparently two of the original proprietors of the Coventry tract, an extensive farm of two hundred and forty acres. These lands lay in the southern part of the survey, or in what is now the separate town of South Coventry, The Strong homestead, in which Hale's mother was probably born, was pulled down a number of years ago, while the Hale homestead, which still stands in good condition, is understood not to be the original dwelling in which Nathan was born, but one of later date, standing two or three rods northwest of it, with which, as the references show, he was familiar. Associations with it were recalled in after life by one of Hale's nieces, Mrs. Elizabeth Abbot, who lived there for fifteen years, from about 1784 to 1799. "From my earliest recollection," she wrote to a cousin in 1856, "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 10 NATHAN HALE, 1776 allow them to make it a subject of conversation. Was it not so with your mother?"^ Such was Hale's ancestral background. Solid qualities, excellent traits, and simple ways — such as any one familiar with the domestic li^e of the later New England colonists Mould recognize — had come down with tradi- tions and memories to be passed along. All combined to produce the stout-hearted, hard-working, practical, self-reliant and generally serious-minded circle of rela- tives and friends among whom he was brought up. There were great possibilities in those little communities that worked out into larger activities and actualities. It was the seedtime existence, that was destined, with what could be found everywhere up and down the continental coast, to expand into the energetic and productive life that especially marked our nineteenth century. Descend- ants of the Coventry Hales and Strongs, as of a multi- tude of others, have been, and are to-day, clergymen, lawyers, professors, editors, farmers, and business men, not to forget delightful and worthy women, who repre- sent the development or are honored in the sacrifice of the young men of "Seventy-Six." At Hale's home the responsibilities were great, but bravely met by the parents. Of the head of the house it is said, that "never a man worked so hard for both ^Mr. Abiel Abbot, of East Wilton, New Hampshire, son of Mrs. Abbot, quoted above, wrote in 1856 that the house she lived in, 1784- 1799, was built many years before; "but parts, still unfinished when she went to live there, were finished at different times afterwards. Allu- sions were still frequent to the old house, then torn down, which had stood two or three rods to the southeast." Again: "Mother's home con- tinued to be at the old homestead in the family of her grandfather [Deacon Richard Hale] and her uncle John [Nathan's brother] until her own marriage in 1799." References to the "north chamber," with a supposed profile of him on its door, seem to indicate that it was Nathan's room. Further extracts are given in Chapter VIII. — MSS. in Connecticut Historical Societv Archives. HOME AND ANCESTRY ii worlds as Deacon Hale." The town and ecclesiastical society confided in him. He held offices from each. For a few terms in succession the Coventry deputies to the Connecticut Assembly were Hale and Strong. Of the mother we have already formed an impression — certainly a domestic and devoted woman, the fitting link between the "good grandmother" and more than one superior child and descendant. The six things such a family, young and old, would have to think of and live for the year round were home, farm, church, school, chores, play. Stuart, Hale's first biographer, describes it as "a quiet, strict, godly household, where the Bible ruled and family prayers never failed, nor was grace ever omitted at meals, nor work done after sundown on a Saturday night." One item would stagger the modern parent — not only clothes for twelve, but the cloth must be spun at home or around among the neighbors. It was so at the Hales'. Work on the farm should have gone along handily, as there were boys enough to call upon. Incidents of this part of their life would hardly be looked for. It may be of interest to recall that soon after the death of old Deacon Hale, or in 1804, his son David, younger brother of Nathan, removed to the ancestral farm and is understood to have made it a model one. This David, like Nathan, graduated at Yale College, and entered the ministry. An unassuming and lovable man, also strict and methodical it would appear, his delicate health forced him into open-air life. Whether he was putting into larger practice what he had learned under his father one cannot say, but his system must have reflected the old days in part. As to practical farming, we are told that "he would never suffer a dumb animal to be abused. His horses and oxen were trained and guided in the field without fear of 12 NATHAN HALE, 1776 whip or goad." Saturday night was strictly observed. "Even in harvest time, on Saturday afternoon his work- men were called from the field and dismissed with supper in season for each to reach his home before sun-down." "The interior affairs of the household were conducted with like method and regularity. There was a fixed hour for rising and retiring, for devotional exercises, and for every meal. Order was the law of the house and of the farm; and whoever was employed in either, though but for one day, was required to conform to the estab- lished rules. . . . Mr. Hale was as rigid in exacting what was right from others as he was conscientious and even scrupulous in doing right himself," and with this "was blended a kindness and gentleness of spirit hardly less rare." "A generous hospitality always graced his board, and his charity, often bestowed in secret, relieved the wants of the poor."^ David's farm was evidently a fine one, but many things about it would not have been new to Nathan. All, of course, had some schooling. Whether Nathan and the others attended the original Coventry school- house, which, by town-meeting vote, was to be twenty feet long and eighteen feet wide, or a later schoolhouse, now transformed into a dwelling, is uncertain. By the same vote the schoolmaster's wages were fixed at eleven pounds for the winter quarter, and the pupils' enjoy- ment of the term depended upon his disposition and the depth of the snow. The pastimes were the pastimes of to-day in the farming towns. "Nathan" — quoting Stuart again — "early exhibited a fondness for those rural sports to which such a birthplace and scenery naturally invited him. He loved the gun and fishing-rod, and 1 Life of David Hale, son of Rev. David Hale, by Joseph P. Thomp- son, D.D. New York. pp. 7-10. HOME AND ANCESTRY 13 exhibited great Ingenuity in fashioning juvenile imple- ments of every sort. He was fond of running, leaping, wrestling, firing at a mark, throwing, lifting, playing ball. In consequence, his infancy, at first feeble, soon hardened by simple diet and exercise into a firm boyhood. And with the growth of his body his mind, naturally bright and active, developed rapidly. He mastered his books with ease, w^as fond of reading out of school, and was constantly applying his information." If, according to present standards, the boys' acquirements of that day were simple, perhaps their absorptive powers were more active and tenacious. In those interesting years, young Nathan and his fellows could not but have added to the "three R's" and their accompaniments the more valuable impressions and knowledge — more valuable in view of the great struggle they were soon to enter — to be derived from ordinary listening and observation as when their fathers and elder brothers returned from the campaigns against the French to tell of Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and Quebec, or when, a little later, the Stamp Act brought them all to their feet in protest and revolt. The old Congregational meeting-house which Hale's family attended, facing the town green and overlooking the lake, was burned down several years ago. The par- sonage was a few rods south of It. As Hale's father and grandfather Strong were deacons of the church, and the pastor. Rev. Dr. Joseph Huntington, Intimate with their circles, the boy was surrounded by all the religious influences which New England Congregationalism sought to extend. It was In this parish church that the Hale Monument Association met on November 25, 1836, and listened to an address by Hon. Andrew T. Judson. Refer- ring to Nathan, he said: "Here was his birthplace. Here were his kindred, some of whom survive, and are now gratified with the respect you pay his memory. Here 14 NATHAN HALE, 1776 he received the first rudiments of a political education. Here was the Mother to whom he would have sent back, in sweet accents of love and tenderness, his latest aspira- tions. Here, upon this very spot, and in this very church, he paid his earliest devotions. Before this altar he first bent his knee in reverence to the God of his fathers. Among this community he first inhaled that fervent and glowing spirit of patriotism, which conducted him to the field of battle." When Hale was twelve years old he lost his mother. She died April 21, 1767, at the age of forty. When young, we are told, he was not in the best of health. Sometimes he is described as "the flower of the family"; but his nephew is probably more correct in saying that "he grew up among quiet scenes, and filled his place well on all occasions. He is remembered in the neighborhood, or was before all those were dead who knew him, as not particularly distinguished from his brothers and other young men. . . , He was a simple-hearted, well- educated, intelligent country youth, always doing what he thought right; and that in those days was nothing, singular."^ We infer that his future career was decided upon about this time, or, at least, that he was to receive a college education, and no doubt the boy was happy in the prospect. If, according to early recollections of the family, his mother was more anxious and urgent than others in the matter, it is not diflicult to see what influ- ences beyond her own wishes and perhaps intuitive appreciation of Nathan's character and talents may have had weight. The representation of college-bred men among the Strongs in Connecticut was increasing. Hale's own uncle, his mother's younger brother. Rev. Joseph Strong, a graduate of Yale College in the class of 1749, 1 From an article or criticism in the New York Journal of Com- merce for July 10, 1846, written by David Hale, then one of its editors. HOME AND ANCESTRY 15 was at that date the settled pastor over the village church of Salmon Brook in Granby, Connecticut, north- west of Coventry, while Rev. Nathan Strong, class of 1742, his mother's second cousin, was settled over the north parish of his own town, but a few miles away. The latter's son, also Nathan, who was to become a dis- tinguished divine in the State, was just then, in 1767, a student in the college, where we shall meet with him a little later as one of the instructors. Another son, Joseph, was preparing to enter the same institution. Rela- tionships of all degrees were made much of in those days, the more so where the relatives were parish ministers; and when the Rev. "Uncle" Strong or the Rev. "Cousin" Strong was housed over the Sabbath at Deacon Strong's or Deacon Hale's, It was an event of some social con- sequence. On these and like occasions, the rising genera- tion would come under casual inspection and comment, and if some youth In the circle seemed to show both spiritual and Intellectual promise, he might be marked as one to succeed the learned elders, and his parents be advised to enter him for the profession. The ranks of that influential colonial body, the New England clergy, were filled much In this way, and In the decisions the mothers' views and hopes for their sons were not to be ignored. However It may have been in this case, a college educa- tion was decided upon, not only for Nathan, but for his next elder brother, Enoch, as well. Whether they were then, at that early age, expecting to enter the ministry, we cannot say. There was time enough for a final decision later, even after graduation. The present task was prep- aration. Except in a few of the larger towns where pre- paratory schools existed, the boys of that time were gener- ally fitted for college by the minister of their parish. Ben- jamin Tallmadge, one of Hale's classmates, states in his i6 NATHAN HALE, 1776 "Memoir" that he and other boys were so prepared by his father, pastor at Brookhaven, Long Island. Hale's pastor, Rev. Dr. Huntington, brother of the Hon. Samuel Huntington, subsequently one of the presidents of the Continental Congress and Governor of Connecti- cut, was one of the more prominent of the colony min- isters, inclined to liberality in his theological views and pronounced in his sympathies with America in the Revo- lutionary struggle. Reviewing events in an election ser- mon after the war, he said: "We once loved Britain most dearly, but Britain the tyrant we could not love. Our souls abhorred her measures. We rose from the dust, where we had been long prostrate. Our breasts glowed with noble ardor. We invoked the God of our fathers and we took the field." The old, attractive par- sonage still stands in altered shape on Coventry hill, and there without doubt young Nathan and his brother Enoch regularly recited to Mr. Huntington from such Latin authors as Eutropius, Nepos, Virgil, Cicero, and Horace — John Trumbull, the painter, who fitted at Nor- wich about the same period, stating that these were the books he had to study — while at times the parson must have wandered from the lessons to denounce the policy of the mother-country toward the colonies and inspire the boys with his own vision of the greatness of the new nation destined to grow up here and which it would be theirs to live in. In September, 1769, the two brothers entered the Freshman class at Yale College, Nathan then being in his fifteenth year. Hale now has seven years before him — four at college, two behind the schoolmaster's desk, and one in his coun- try's service. His career will end where that of most men begins — just on the edge of manhood. We shall not have an exceptional experience during those seven years. There will be no occasion, as there can be no HOME AND ANCESTRY 17 wish, to glorify Hale. We shall find him a young man of gifts and purpose and action, as others among his companions were. Those were the years of his making, and at the end there will come an unexpected test of what was in him. Our special and public interest centers in this test — the experience of the last twenty days of his life. It is the interest which common humanity feels and expresses in an act of rare devotion, where the act is performed less from impulse than in response to the call of duty, fortified by calm reflection and resolutely followed to the end. There is also added the charm of his character and his youth. Scarcely turned the age of twenty-one, he will rise to the demands of an extreme occasion and play the man. We justly regard his sacri- fice as an ideal act of patriotism. With a touching and noble expression of regret that he could do no more, he surrendered in his country's behalf the most that a man can give — his life and his good name. History reserves the shining examples for herself and frequently makes one heroic episode consecrate a lifetime. So Hale in a way becomes endeared to us through all his years. II HALE IN COLLEGE— FOUR YEARS AT YALE (1769-1773) In his new sphere, In the student world now opening before him, It becomes possible to form some sort of per- sonal acquaintance with Hale. Here through the record, as well as Incidentally through his fellows and instruc- tors, who long cherished their recollections of him, the main outlines of his course can be followed. If we have little from his own pen, If we must forego an Insight into his Inner self as he might have reflected it in letters or In entries of a private journal — material which sel- dom existed and is rarely found — we can still see and appreciate him In his surroundings. The intimate and whole-souled friendships of college days are proverbial, and Hale seems to have had his full share of them. It is from this source largely that we are assured of his manliness, scholarship, attractive personality, and the general high tone of his nature. Where he is recalled as "a much loved classmate," there Is a sweetness and a value in the memory peculiarly Its own; or if there are references, though brief, to his cultivated mind and gen- erous Impulses, or to his unassuming air and quiet dig- nity, or to his popularity as seen in the honors voted him, and again to the promise of his success in life, we have a recognized basis from which to estimate his worth. He should be understood by the student of to-day. Every college generation produces young men who impress themselves upon their associates somewhat as Hale did In his time. HALE IN COLLEGE 19 In 1769, Yale College at New Haven was but a town academy, compared with the spreading university now starting on its third century of growth. But relatively its usefulness and distinction were hardly less marked. Its acting President was Rev. Dr. Naphtall Daggett, who also continued his duties as Professor of Divinity, the first and only full professorship In the college at that time. While not especially capable as an administrator, one of his students has said of him that he was an instruct- ive preacher and another that he was appreciated and loved. In the younger group, among the tutors, there were several able men, such as Ebenezer Baldwin, Joseph Lyman, John Trumbull, Joseph Howe, Nathan Strong, and Timothy Dwight, with whom Hale came in contact in one year or another and felt their influence, though not all were his Immediate teachers. The last two gave promise of, and won, a wide reputation in their fields, Dwight becoming President of Yale, and Strong a shining light of the Hartford pulpit. Howe, also a minister, died early, just as his talents were attracting attention. Hale notes his death In his army diary. Strong was Hale's relative and fellow-townsman, mentioned in the previous chapter, with both of whom Dwight was dis- tantly connected, being a descendant of Elder Strong, of Northampton. Our young student thus found him- self, certainly in his Junior and Senior years, among personal friends, and In these friends he was equally fortunate In finding scholarly instructors and kindly advisers. How highly and fondly Dwight came to regard him will appear In another connection. During Hale's course there were about one hundred students In the four classes. His own, the class of 1773, was the largest, with Its thirty-six graduates. At that date three buildings stood on the college grounds — one, the original Yale College, being a dormitory with dining- 20 NATHAN HALE, 1776 hall, standing on the site of present Osborn Hall and called "Old College"; another, a chapel and library, afterwards known as the Athenaeum; and a third, a later dormitory dedicated as "Connecticut Hall," but usually called "New College." Even then they needed repairs and finishing touches, as we find from the Presi- dent's petitions to the Colony Assembly in 1768 and 1769. The several things, he says, "yet wanting to put the College into a condition for Answering the great and valuable Designs of it" are a decent fence for the yard, a more convenient kitchen and dining-room, the comple- tion of the entries of the Brick College, finishing the new Library on the upper floor of the Chapel, and carry- ing the lower part of the Chapel steeple up to that point. "A larger number of instructors" was included among the wants. As usual, the Assembly appropriated the merest fraction of what was called for.^ Of these earliest buildings, the new college, the above Brick College, long to be remembered as old "South Middle," still stands on the Campus in restored form, much as Hale used to know it. He roomed within its walls, in its south entry, during one or more of his four years.^ His roommates, three being then assigned to a room with its two "studies," were his brother Enoch and a classmate, Isaac Gridley. 1 Archives State Library, Hartford, "Colleges and Schools," Vol. II, Nos. 88, 94. 2 The long accepted tradition that Hale roomed in present "South Middle" we believe to be established as fact by Tallmadge's letter to him, in the Appendix, beginning "Friendly Sir" and addressed at the end "To Mr Nathan Hale N. South Stairs." Though undated, other references show it to have been written in their Junior or Senior year, 1772-73. The above "N" is clearly an abbrevia- tion of "New." That is. Hale roomed in new college, not the old, while the additional fact appears that his room was in south stairs or south entry. The "Friendly Sir" is preceded by the letter "N" and another HALE IN COLLEGE 21 How that early colonial college would measure up as compared with modern standards is best told by Pro- fessor Dexter, whose researches and long familiarity with its history make his estimate authoritative. Student life in 1750 [he writes], was in essentials very closely akin to student life in 1907. Undoubtedly there was more coarseness and less luxury, more formal relations with the governing body and less mental im- provement, perhaps more experience in grace and cer- tainly less experience in the world, — but this is only saying in another way that the college shared the general character of its century, and was not, as we should not expect it to be, ahead of the times. . . . In general, my conception of the little community of that epoch — varying in size from ninety members to nearly twice that number — represents it as substantially homogeneous, living in the main a separate cloistered life, with few great excitements and little knowledge of the world outside, not excessively studious nor remark- ably quiet, but reasonably responsive to the appeals of conscience and appreciative of the gaieties of life. In proportion to their means, they were, I am inclined to think, as lavish in personal expenditure and as ready for combined extravagance as any generation since. There was always a considerable group of candidates for the ministry who had chosen their vocation at a somewhat advanced age, and thus contributed a more settled and sober element; yet even with this makeweight, the com- munity abounded in liveliness. With our different habits we may imagine their life uncouth and barbarous; but we need not waste our pity. To them it was a life of breadth and freedom and stim- character, usually taken to be in Tallmadge's hand. On close compari- son it is found to be Hale's indorsement "N^" [No. 2?]. As these stu- dents were then corresponding in a friendly way, this, apparently, was the second letter Hale had received, and he may have so marked it. — Original MSS. in Connecticut Historical Society Archives. 22 NATHAN HALE, 1776 ulus, compared with that in the ordinary New England village of their earlier years; and the college brother- hood, then even more than now, found in itself a zest and a capacity for enjoyment beyond the reach or perhaps the comprehension of maturer years.^ We do not have to go to the standing rules to learn that supervision of the college was of the parental order. Naturally, the Puritan touch would be found in all the moral and religious obligations enjoined — the living of blameless lives, the frequent reading of the Scriptures as the fountain of light and truth, the strict observance of the Sabbath, and the regular attendance on public and private devotions. Delinquencies and offenses were pun- ishable largely by fines — a survival of the practice In the mediaeval guilds and later corporations — the fines rang- ing from a penny for absence from morning or evening prayers In the chapel, to ten or twelve shillings, or sus- pension, or expulsion for repeated or glaring misdemean- ors, although by Hale's time this demand upon the pocket seemed to be yielding to more rational discipline. Among the familiar and milder pranks was the ringing of the col- lege bell at unearthly hours. Fines did not stop It. A Freshman caught In the act, bell-rope In hand, was boxed on the ears by the President, by way of change and on advice of the tutorial faculty; but the ringing went on, to be Indulged In now and then far Into the following century. Those were the days, as well, when much outward ceremony must be observed toward the college authori- ties. All the students were to stand with hats off when- ever the President passed along the walks, and all were to bow when he went in or out of the Chapel; but this — 1 "Student Life at Yale in the Early Days of Connecticut Hall, by Franklin Bowditch Dexter, Litt.D." Transactions of the New Haven Colony Historical Society, Vol. VII, p. 297. HALE IN COLLEGE 23 the chapel bowing — they still do with the same respect and perhaps for the old days' sake. In these formalities, the Freshmen found themselves a sadly abused class, their insignificance being even ojfficially recognized. Minor indignities they might put up with, but to be compelled to wait upon and be messengers to upper- class men must have seemed to them sheer oppression — an excessive stretch of the humility they were taught as boys to show to their elders. Consolation could come only in the prospect of the retaliation they would mete out to the next set of innocents. We have a description of campus customs and college costume in the reminis- cences of Oliver Wolcott, Hamilton's successor as Sec- retary of the Treasury, in the very summer of 1773, when Hale was about to graduate. I went up to college in the evening [he tells us] , to observe the scene of my future exploits with emotions of awe and reverence. Men in black robes, white wigs and high cocked hats, young men in camblet gowns, passed us in small groups. The men in robes and wigs I was told were professors; the young men in gowns were students. There were young men in black silk gowns, some with bands and others without. These were either tutors in the college or resident graduates to whom the title of "Sir" was accorded. When we entered the col- lege yard a new scene was presented. There was a class who wore no gowns and who walked but never ran or jumped in the yard. They appeared much in awe or looked surlily after they passed by the young men habited in gowns and staves. Some of the young gownsmen treated those who wore neither hats nor gowns in the yard with harshness and what I thought indignity. I give an instance: "Nevill, go to my room, middle story of old college, No. — , and take from it a pitcher, fill it from the pump, place it in my room and stay there till my return. ..." The domineering young men I was 24 NATHAN HALE, 1776 told were scholars or students of the sophomore class, and those without hats and gowns and who walked in the yard were freshmen, who out of the hours of study were waiters or servants to the authority, the president, professors, tutors and undergraduates.^ But behind this exterior could be found that freedom, companionship, and communistic enthusiasm, which have always made the American student's life one of the hap- piest of his experiences. Those generally robust sons of colonial parents were not likely to spend four years in tame existence. The numerous offenses mentioned in the penal laws of the college show how far their spirits had to be curbed. They had their recreations, sports, and occasional outbreaks; and If we read aright, they resented impositions, one Instance occurring In Hale's day, when John Brown, of the class of 1771, afterwards a gallant officer of the Revolution, was one of the lead- ers In a revolt against the quality, It would seem, of college "commons," and left with others until grievances were redressed. A few years earlier they had denounced college governing methods and became at times insub- ordinate and riotous. At the proper moment, again, they were ready to put themselves on record on the trade Issues with the mother-country, as when the class that graduated as Hale entered voted almost unanimously to appear at their Commencement exercises "wholly dressed in the Manufactures of our own Country," giving early public notice "so that their Parents and Friends may have sufficient Time to be providing Homespun Cloaths for them, that none of them may be obliged to the hard Necessity of unfashionable Singularity, by wearing imported Cloth."" It was such action as this, 1 Wolcott Memorial, p. 225. - Dexter, Yale Biographies, etc., Vol. Ill, p. 303. Dr. Stiles, who attended Commencement at Harvard in July, 1770, notes in his Diary HALE IN COLLEGE 25 and what more preceded and followed, that, in after years, led the loyalist graduate, Judge Thomas Jones, of Long Island, to distinguish his Alma Mater as "a nursery of sedition, of faction, and republicanism." To Hale and his brother, college life must have been a constant enjoyment, and In view of their training it could have been no task for them to conform to the rules. By the fortunate preservation of three letters from their father — plain, homely missives, with the usual distorted spelling, but very uncommon as records and valuable to us just now for their tenderness, injunc- tions, and hard fact — we get a few glimpses of the boys in their new relations. Whether as Freshmen or Sopho- mores, they were addressed as "Dear Children," and reminded of their duties. They had written home on December 7, 1769, two months after entrance, that they were comfortably settled, and on the 26th their parent replies: "I hope you will carefully mind your studies that your time be not lost and that you will mind all the orders of Colledge with care." Above all, they were not to forget their devotions or chapel prayers. A year later, he wrote In the same vein, and added: "Shun all vice, especially card-playing." The common view of this diversion was still In harmony with the spirit of the regu- lations of 1745, under which play at cards, dice, or on a wager was subject to fine, to be followed on the third offense by expulsion. Students' expenses, then as now, were always pending as paternal joys or burdens, and the bills of the country boys w^ere settled Irregularly. Exchange and barter were much out of vogue in the larger towns, and the farmer could not pay for his son's tuition with the wheat in his barn. In their Freshman year, Deacon Hale tells that "The Bachelors all dressed in black cloth coats of american Manu- facture, covered with a thin, black Gown & Sq^. Cap." 26 NATHAN HALE, 1776 his children that he will send them some money soon, perhaps by "Mr. Sherman," when the latter returns from his circuit, and he inquires whether it would do to let their account run until he could go to town himself in May and clear it up. In the following year he hopes to forward what cash they need "when Sr, Strong comes to Coventry" — this being "Sir" Nathan Strong, their graduate cousin, then connected with the college in another capacity, before he became tutor/ At vacation times their own horses would be driven down for them, or they could hire some in New Haven. For the first two or three years, at least, like most Connecticut boys, they probably wore homespun clothes. Judging from the localities they came from, we should say that the majority of Hale's class wore them, Robinson, for one, as we know. Toward the end of their Sophomore year, one of the brothers was called to Coventry to be fitted to a suit, if he could obtain leave, and if they hoped to have new clothes for the coming Commencement. "I sopose," writes their father, to be spared the protest or ridicule with which the suggestion would be received by the modern Sophomore — "I sopose that one measure will do for both of you," The wealthier student, we are told, would dress more fashionably and appear on the Campus in "the finest coat" with "largest ruffles"; and it is probable, judging from a previous reference, that before the revenue troubles set in, suits made from "imported cloth" were a standing luxury the Seniors indulged in for Commencement display. The Hales and their fellows may have patriotically denied themselves this and followed the action of their predecessors of 1 William Robinson, of Lebanon, Connecticut, classmate of Hale, kept an account of his college expenses for Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years, the total amounitng to £70. Life of fVilliam Robinson, by his son, Edward Robinson. HALE IN COLLEGE 27 1769. In 1773, homespun should have been more fash- ionable than ever. That Hale made the most of his college course we may feel assured, for at the end he stood among the best scholars and most popular men of his class. During the first two years the curriculum required him to face some grinding study in the three learned tongues — Greek, Latin, and Hebrew — with logic, rhetoric, disputes, and geometry interspersed; while in the last two, more clas- sics, natural philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, meta- physics, and ethics completed the sum of his accomplish- ments. Saturday forenoons were devoted to the sub- ject of divinity.^ As to the Latin then heard in the classrooms, it may be interesting to note that Rev. Dr. Stiles, later President of Yale, wrote in 1768 that "our New England Pronunciation of Latin is according to the University of Cambridge in England & that of Dublin in Ireland 100 years ago" — the same pronunciation to con- tinue at Yale nearly another hundred years beyond Dr. Stiles' time, down to President Porter's incumbency, or about 1875. Not surprising that some students found parts of the routine irksome, and when Roger Alden afterwards wrote to Hale from his schoolroom that he dreaded its hours as much as ever he did "the morning prayer bell or Saturday noon recitations," his complaint was only a distant intimation of changes to come. The 1 Speaking of the studies of the third year, a student wrote in 1767: "This week we begin Martin's Grammar, which we recite in the morn- ing, Tully at 11 o'clock, and the Greek Testament at 5 in the afternoon. On Mondays and Tuesdays we dispute and for Saturdays study we have Wollebius's Compend of Divinity in Latin (which books the President got at Boston for the Junior Class)." — Dexter's Yale Biographies, etc., Vol. Ill, p. 264. Hours at Home, 1870, p. 331. In the classrooms, Enoch Hale was known as Hale primus, and Nathan, Hale secundus, a practice long continued in some New England Latin grammar schools. 28 NATHAN HALE, 1776 prayer bell still rings, but not at half-past five in the morning in summer time or half-past six in winter, and divinity finds its special field in the theological school. Respecting tests or evidences of scholarship at that day, it appears that the head of the class was not called "valedictorian" — the distinction coming in at a later time — but a Commencement appointment was a pretty certain indication. Hale will be prominent there. The Berkeley Scholarship, a prize of long standing at the college, was awarded to the student who made the best showing in Greek and Latin at a competitive examina- tion. The fund enabled him to continue his studies as a resident scholar, or "Sir," after graduation. In Hale's class the successful competitor was Ezra Sampson. Whether the Hales took the examination does not appear. Tallmadge states in his "Memoir" that his own excellent preparation in the classics would have war- ranted the attempt on his part, but the measles troubled him in his Junior and Senior years and his studying was of a light order. It may have been so with the Hales, who had been similarly affected. But that Nathan stood among the highest in all-around attainments, the classics especially, is well known. The modern critic of the Yale training of that time would notice the comparatively limited attention paid to English literature and the cultivation of style — an absence, as it were, of the literary atmosphere. Dr. Stiles apparently acknowledged this in his reference to the English oration he heard at the Commencement exer- cises of 1768. It was "a good Piece of Composition even for Language (in which however we Yalensians do not pretend to Excel) but especially for a judicious & learfied Review of Literature" — this literature, however, being that of the Greeks, the Augustan Age and Oriental antiquity. Of colonial models there were none, while HALE IN COLLEGE 29 the seventeenth and eighteenth century mother-country productions met with Httle encouragement. One must look far to find mention of Shakespeare in Hale's day. The art of easy and cultivated essay and letter writing was still in its unfinished stage, as many of the published specimens show. The correspondence in the Appendix of this work bears out the criticism, but it can hardly be taken as a fair example, for, with due indulgence, we have to recall that it is the correspondence of young people, written often in haste and almost the whole of it devoted to the current news and rumors of war times, with youthful sentiment interspersed. Its value lies in another direction — in the sidelights it throws on the sub- ject of the biography. Hale's letters, generally plain and sedate, represent the average work of the better trained college student or good writer of the period. Probably his best specimens have not been preserved. Where he writes with some care, his punctuation, or "pointing," his infrequent capitalization of common words, and the general appearance of his handwriting and manuscript bring his efforts noticeably nearer to the modern form. With Tutor Dwight's connection with the college some attempt at reform in this direction appears to have been made. Joining with other instructors, he exerted his influence in raising the standard of culture, especially in composition, criticism, and oratory, and was himself then preparing a possible literary model in his well-known epic poem, the "Conquest of Canaan." Hale and his class- mate, Tallmadge, seem to have caught the new spirit, for we find them corresponding in their Junior or Senior year and criticizing each other's effusions. It was a side course of their own. One letter in the series — one of Tallmadge's — has come to light, and it may suffice. We can imagine him in after life, a correspondent of Wash- 30 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Ington and member of Congress, writing and speaking ably and gracefully, wholly repudiating the ambitious efforts of his college days. But we would not be with- out it, and can only regret the disappearance of Hale's replies. Writing from some quiet room — off the Campus, we may infer — he begins: "Friendly Sir, In my delight- some retirement from the fruitless Bustle of the noisy, with my usual Delight, &, perhaps, with more than com- mon attentiQn, I perused your Epistle — Replete as it was with sentiments worthy to be contemplated, let me assure you with the strongest confidence of an affectionate Friend, that with nothing was my Pleasure so greatly heightened, as with your curious remarks upon my preceeding Per- formance, which, so far from carrying the appearance of a censuring Critick's empty amusement, seemed to me to be wholly the result of unspoted regard & (as I may say) fraternal Esteem." The rest will be found in the Appendix, but Tallmadge goes on with a laborious de- fense of some term of friendship he had applied in his preceding letter and then tells Hale that his whole object in engaging in this friendly correspondence was "to obtain advantage myself & to be contributory, as much as I am able to your improvement." The two friends kept on writing to each other after graduation, and once, at least, Tallmadge attempted a piece of rhyme, to which Hale replied in kind, as his first offense, though not his last. Whatever Tallmadge's muse inspired him to say, Hale evidently made a neat turn upon him: Whene'er with friends I correspond, I seek for food of which they're fond. But if my best's of meaner kind, I strive to dress it to their mind. F'or this I leave my wonted course, With you, and seek for aid from verse. HALE IN COLLEGE 31 As a literary diversion, the students established debat- ing societies. Two, well known to Yale graduates, sur- vived — "Linonia," founded in 1753, and "The Brothers in Unity," in 1768. After more than a century's exist- ence, both have been dissolved. Former alumni, distin- guished at the bar, in Congress or in the pulpit, owed something of their rhetorical training to these societies. The Hales belonged to Linonia and took an active inter- est in its exercises, Nathan especially. In his Junior year, 1771, he became its secretary or "scribe," and its book of well-kept minutes is still preserved in the university library. That the members improved and enjoyed them- selves the entries fully bear out. Their proceedings on different evenings included debates, narrations, addresses, dialogues, and a system of mutual questions and answers. To better their conversation and literary style, they would criticize each other's grammar and choice of words. On one occasion they debated the question whether it was right to enslave the African. Nathan's name frequently appears among the speakers, as on December 23, 1771, when another member had succeeded him as scribe, "The meeting was opened with a very entertaining narration by Hale 2d"; or again, the meeting of August 5, 1772, "closed with a speech delivered by Hale 2d." It was before Linonia that Hale delivered the address printed in the Appendix. He was then near the close of his third or Junior year, and the occasion was the departure of a number of the "Sirs," for whom Sir Billings deliv- ered the valedictory. Hale replied, voicing the Society's regret and sorrow. His effort is full of sentiment, but its expression and style would hardly be followed by a modern Junior. "That the gentlemen," he said, "who have now taken their leave were very much beloved by us, our inward emotions, as well as countenances, do very strongly testify. They have been rendered dear to us, 32 NATHAN HALE, 1776 not only by a long and intimate acquaintance, but by the strictest bonds of unity and friendship. ... As our patrons, we have shared their utmost care & vigi- lance in supporting Linonia's cause, & protecting her from the malice of her insulting foes." His reference here is probably to the newly formed rival society of the "Broth- ers in Unity," to which some of his friends, like Tall- madge, Wyllys, and others, belonged. "As our bene- factors," he continues, "we have partaken of their liber- ality, not only in their rich & valuable donations to our library, but, what is still more, their amiable company and conversation." And again: "Receive kind Sirs as a very poor return our sincere thanks for your numberless kindnesses. Be assur'd that we shall be spirited in Lino- nia's cause & with steadiness & resolution strive to make her shine with unparalleled lustre. And although Plu- tonia should make use of every sordid and low-lived scheme, to raise herself & rival our fame, rely upon it that we shall exert ourselves in the use of all proper means to humble her pride & reduce her to nothing. And you may firmly believe, we will do our best to render ourselves worthy our illustrious Ancestors . . . Dear Gentlemen farewell!" Appreciative of "the gaities of life," these college boys had their diversions. With no public stage to patronize, they worked up a mild form of one for themselves. Such amusement they were bound to have, and the dramatic art came into high favor. These embryo teachers, min- isters, warriors, and statesmen could at intervals forget "the great Design" of learning and entertain themselves and their friends in their societies with such plays as the "Conscious Lovers," the "West Indian," the "Toy Shop," and the "Beaux' Stratagem." In the two latter, presented in Linonia, Hale took a part with eclat, while in the cast of the first were included no less a trio than HALE IN COLLEGE 33 "Sirs" Dwight, Davenport, and Williams. The "West Indian" was announced as a new comedy to be played on the occasion of Linonia's twentieth anniversary, April 3, 1773, at the house of Mr. Thomas Atwater. The entertainment was a pronounced success. "Both the scenery and action," says the secretary, "were on all hands allowed to be superior to anything of the kind heretofore exhibited on the like occasion. The whole received peculiar beauty from the officers appearing dressed in regimentals and the actresses in full and ele- gant suits of lady's apparel. The last scene was no sooner closed than the company testified their satisfac- tion by the clapping of hands. . . . An epilogue made expressly on the occasion and delivered by Hale 2d was received with approbation." There was also a musical dialogue sung by two members "in the characters of Damon and Clora."^ Something of the same sort was presented on "Quarter Days," when examinations were held and bills paid. These functions closed more joy- ously with an exhibition. Quoting Dr. Stiles again, he tells us that on one such Quarter occasion, in 1779, they had a dramatic representation of the invasion of the Tories and Indians on the Susquehanna, led by the blood- thirsty Colonel Butler. Student Pixley, says the worthy President, acted the Indian warrior "inimitably."^ 1 Ebenezer Fitch, class of 1777, subsequently first President of Wil- liams College, has this to say in his diary about the exhibition plays in his graduating year: "March 17. At one o'clock walked in procession to the chapel, and at two began to act the tragedy before the largest and most splendid audience that we ever before had at anniversary. After the tragedy was concluded, the comedy, called the West Indian, was acted to the great entertainment of the audience, and was deservedly applauded. I was never more agreeably entertained. Every character was remarkably well sustained. After the exhibition, the procession returned as it came." 2 Princeton students seem to have had similar diversions. An early instance is noticed when the graduating class gave an entertainment at 34 NATHAN HALE, 1776 And finally — Commencement Day. For Hale's class this fell on September 3, 1773. It was the annual grand occasion both for college and the town, when dignitaries of the Colony and the lights of its churches, together with numerous citizens, assembled in the meeting-house on the New Haven green to listen to the graduation exer- cises. An all-day function, it was continued as such to recent years, though losing its varied character. A report of it appears in The Connecticut Journal and New Haven Post Boy, now one of the rarest of colonial news- papers. In the forenoon the salutatory address was delivered by John Palsgrave Wyllys, of Hartford, who, like Hale, early entered into the Revolutionary War and after fourteen years of service fell in action with the Indians on the western frontier. A "syllogistic dispu- tation" followed, and then came a forensic debate by Messrs. Beckwith, Fairchild, Flint, and Mead on the question, "Whether a large metropolis would be of pub- lic advantage to the Colony." Messrs. Alden, Keyes, and Marvin — all three to become Revolutionary offi- cers — rendered a dialogue in English on the three learned professions, and Sir Williams delivered an English ora- tion on Prejudice. In the afternoon Sir Davenport resumed the exercises with an English oration on the state of the private schools in Connecticut. Another syllogistic dispute — this one in Latin — followed, and the Commencement closed with what was evidently the treat of the day — a second forensic debate by Messrs. Hale, Robinson, Sampson, and Tallmadge on the then perti- the close of the Commencement exercises at Nassau Hall, September 29, 1762. They presented the "Military Glory of Great-Britain," a drama extolling the victories of the French and Indian War and the names of Wolfe, Amherst, and others. "Long may George the regal sceptre sway" is the key-note. The drama was printed by William Bradford, Phila- delphia. HALE IN COLLEGE 35 nent question, "Whether the Education of Daughters be not, without any just reason, more neglected than that of sons." Quite possibly, as some writers state. Hale took the side of the daughters, with whom we know him to have been a general favorite. We assume that the day closed with the usual Commencement dinner. For this feast in 1769, the steward, Mr. Fitch, was directed to keep in his hands £20-12-2. As our young graduate now goes out into the world after a successful course in college, carrying with him all the honors and good wishes he could desire, he is much less a stranger to us than he would have been without this experience. We shall come to know him better dur- ing the next three years, but here at graduation, at the close of a most important formative period, we get our first and fixed impressions. It is the youth himself whom we would wish to see and understand. To what has already been said we may add the indirect light reflected through his personal friendships — the intimacies of "bright college days." They meant much then, as now. From expressions and hints in letters he received, we should say that he was counted as one of their best friends by such men as Alden, Marvin, Mead, Robinson, Sampson, Selden, Tallmadge, Williams, and Wyllys — all worth knowing in after life. What Sampson wrote to Robinson years later, in 18 17, they doubtless could all have written to each other: "Between us two there was in our juvenile days, the closest intimacy. . . . Believe me. Dear Sir, in thought I am now and then walking with you in the suburbs of old Yale just as we used to walk together." In thought the modern student may walk with them and with Hale and the rest over much of the same familiar ground, to the great Rocks, to the shores and over bypaths into the country and its woods. Five letters in his correspondence — two from Robinson and 36 NATHAN HALE, 1776 three from Tallmadge — written in college or soon after graduation, are alone worth much in their avowal of spontaneous, youthful good feeling and affection. Rob- inson, while teaching, regrets he cannot enjoy Hale's company with that of "some other special friends," and later he refers to their intimate acquaintance, calls him "Dear Nathan," and again misses his society. In his two college letters, Tallmadge signs himself "Damon," and hopes that his correspondence with Hale may never end. "I remain your constant friend," he writes, — my thoughts come from "a heart ever devoted to your welfare." The same regard and warmth are shown by others. "Tell yourself that no one loves you more than Roger Alden," and Marvin to the same effect. We prize nothing more than Tutor Dwight's moving and devoted remembrance of Hale in his "Conquest of Canaan," so often quoted. But before that we now have a letter of his, February 20, 1776, hinting at his young friend's intellectual bent and qualities of heart. Dwight was preparing to publish his epic and knew Hale well enough to ask his kind assist- ance in mentioning it to his acquaintances. "To a per- son of Mr. Hale's character," he wrote him, "motives of friendship apart, one's fondness for the liberal arts would be a sufficient excuse for calling his attention to the work" ; and he adds, "I esteem myself happy in reflecting that the person who may confer this obligation is a gentleman, of whose politeness and benevolence I have already experienced so frequent and so undoubted assurances." That Hale was held in deserved esteem by his fellows is further evidenced by the fact that he was one of the chancellors or presidents of Linonia from his class. In later years, and doubtless it was so then, this was regarded as among the highest of college honors in the gift of the students. There was confidence in his abilities, methods, and judgment. We have to bear in HALE IN COLLEGE 37 mind, also, that, in general, these young men, as Pro- fessor Dexter has noticed, were "responsive to the appeals of conscience." Hale's nature, we must believe, was strong in its obedience to such appeals, and his col- lege associations had not weakened it. A sense of duty governed him to the end. At the end, as we know, he was profoundly true to it. Not long after his death some one of his contempo- raries in New Haven, an acquaintance and probably college companion, remembered him with a eulogy in which, with due allowance for the poetic feeling and license in the case, we doubtless have a more or less faith- ful picture or impression of Hale. He is handed down to us by his Alma Mater, we may say, as a most attractive and superior fellow, a son of whose acquirements within her walls she was proud, and for whom an enviable future might be predicted. Erect and tall, his well-proportioned frame, Vigorous and active, as electric flame ; His manly limbs had symmetry and grace. And innate goodness marked his beauteous face; His fancy lively, and his genius great, His solid judgment shone in grave debate; For erudition far beyond his years; At Yale distinguished above all his peers; Speak, ye who knew him while a pupil there. His numerous virtues to the world declare; His blameless carriage and his modest air, Above the vain parade and idle show Which mark the coxcomb and the empty beau; Removed from envy, malice, pride, and strife. He walked through goodness as he walked through life ; A kinder brother nature never knew, A child more duteous or a friend more true.'^ 1 The above is an extract from a long poem first published in the American Historical Magazine in 1836. The author prefaced it with 38 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Recollections bear out this description. Those who knew him, and others who gathered details and traditions as early as 1835, tell us that he was a noticeably fine-look- ing youth, nearly six feet in height, of rather slender build, ruddy In complexion, with expressive features, a musical voice, and a presence that was at once natural and com- manding. Stories are told of his athletic skill. A happy manner, generous disposition, and social aptitude graced the stronger side of his character. He was evidently mature for his years and, though not yet twenty, was about to enter active life with much of a man's equipment. Among his New Haven friends, Hale found an appre- ciative one in Dr. ^neas Munson, a well-known physi- cian of the place. In 1836, his son, also Dr. ^neas Munson, a young surgeon's mate in the Revolution, long remembered by old residents, wrote to the magazine referred to above: "Nathan Hale I was acquainted with from his frequent visits to my father's house, while an academical student. His own remarks and the remarks of my father left at that period an indeli- a letter written in 1784, at New Haven, in which he says he was per- sonally acquainted with Hale, entertained a high opinion of him, and wrote the poem soon after his death. His own emotions and impulse to remember his friend are expressed in these lines: Shall haughty Britons in heroic lays, And tuneful numbers, chant their Andre's praise; And shall Columbia — where blest freedom reigns With gentle sway, to bless her happy plains, — Where friendship, truth, and simple manners shine, And noblest Science lifts her head divine; — Shall she forget a son's — a patriot's name, A hero's glory, and a martyr's fame? And shall not one, of all her tuneful choir. Whose bosom glows with true poetic fire, Attempt to sing that dear departed youth, Who fell a victim in the Cause of truth? Rous'd by the thought, a friend presumes, thus late, Lov'd Hale, thy life and death to celebrate. HALE IN COLLEGE 39 ble impression on my mind." On one of these occa- sions, as Hale was leaving the house, the elder Mun- son 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." And by way of appeal to the editor, the younger doctor adds, before any memorials to their friend were erected: "Cannot you rouse the dormant energies of an ungrate- ful republic, in the case of Captain Hale, to mark the spot where so much virtue and patriotism moulder with his native dust?" Ill HALE AS SCHOOLMASTER— AT EAST -HADDAM AND NEW LONDON— HIS ENGAGEMENT Upon graduation, or In the early fall of 1773, Nathan visited his uncle, Samuel Hale, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, This was his father's brother, already mentioned, a graduate of Harvard College, who was the well-known head of the leading school in that Colony, and was addressed as "Major," on account of his rank and services at Cape Breton and the Siege of Loulsburg. What Hale had to say of this trip and his own affairs appears in the Interesting letter he afterwards wrote to his uncle, which Is given In full In another connection. The visit was long remembered by his Portsmouth rela- tives, who frequently spoke of his pleasing appearance and accomplishments. One of them, his cousin William Hale, afterwards member of Congress from New Hamp- shire, wrote in later life that he perfectly recollected the anguish experienced by his father and elder sisters when the account of Nathan's death was received.^ Returning to Connecticut, Hale followed his uncle's lines and became schoolmaster. This was the usual step before entering upon a calling. Professional depart- ments and labyrinthine postgraduate courses. In which the "Sirs" could continue their studies to an advanced point, were yet to be evolved as the crown of the higher edu- cation. About the most dignified position to which a 1 Letter in Connecticut Historical Society; printed in Stuart, 2d ed., p. 261. HALE AS SCHOOLMASTER 41 graduate teacher of that day could aspire was a tutorship at the college, and there places were few, far from lucra- tive, and not permanent. The pedagogue's desk was generally looked upon then, as for many generations afterwards, as a temporary makeshift. For the time being there were schools enough for the newly fledged graduates. In that same year, 1773, Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, in reply to inquir- ies from one of the home government's Secretaries of State, reported that the Colony taxes amounted annually to about six thousand pounds, "somewhat more than one third part" of which — a good proportion — was raised by the several towns for the support of their schools. The old laws on the books required every town or ecclesiastical society with seventy families to maintain a good, centrally located schoolhouse and a schoolmaster for "Teaching and instructing youth in Reading writing and arithmatic at least eleven months in each year," or six months where the societies were smaller. These were the public parish or "district" schools, managed through the machinery of the churches and town com- mittees, and which children of all ages could attend. Another type, also provided for by an early law, was the higher or "grammar school," which each of the four county towns of Hartford, New Haven, New London, and Fairfield was required to keep up — the designation "grammar" having come down through the colonists from the long-established schools of the same name in old England, supported there by the guilds or by private funds and bequests or royal patronage or, in some instances, by town and municipal rates. It was the teaching of grammar, whether Latin or English, as an advanced study, and the preparation offered in some of them for college entrance, that gave these schools 42 NATHAN HALE, 1776 their distinguishing name, which in our case was long continued in about the same sense by the Latin schools of Boston and other places, and clings to-day to the quite old "Hopkins Grammar School" at New Haven. Still another type of the later colonial period was the private school or academy then gradually coming into favor. In one of these, opened by Daniel Humphrey, in Connecticut, in 1776, emphasis was to be laid on the English classics and the pupils trained "to write their mother tongue with Eloquence." A similar school on Long Island offered its boarders the advantage of being taught geography in the winter evenings "with many other useful particulars that frequently occur to the teacher." Hale and some of his classmates were not long in finding situations. For himself he accepted one at East Haddam, on the Connecticut River, sixteen miles from its mouth. His brother Enoch settled down near Wind- sor, east of the river; Robinson, .close by, at Windsor; Alden and Samuel Dwight, at New Haven; Marvin, at Norwich. Tallmadge had already, shortly before grad- uation, succeeded David Humphreys, of the class of 1 77 1 and subsequently aid to Washington, as head of the private academy or "High School," at Wethersfield. Hale's school — a comparatively small one — was the prin- cipal "district" school in the town, with the schoolhouse near the present "Landing" and the eastern terminal of the new bridge. The house has passed into the hands of a patriotic society and been moved to a sightly spot on the river bank above. East Haddam was also known by the contracted Indian name of Moodus, which now attaches to the growing village -north of it. Hale calls it "East Haddam (alias Modus)." His term here being a comparatively short one of four or five months, dating HALE AS SCHOOLMASTER 43 from October or November, 1773, to the middle of March, 1774, we know little of this, his first experience. His pupils were of the same grades as elsewhere, from primary children to young persons of nearly his own age, and all learning or improving upon "the three R's" and other subjects in which the teacher might choose to inter- est them. Within the schoolroom it was not an uncom- mon arrangement to have the scholars seated on long benches fronting flat desks fastened in the walls. School books were rarities then, Dilworth's or some other author's spelling lessons, an arithmetic and the Psalter being about the only ones in general use in the country districts. Blackboards and globes were almost unknown. Noah Webster tells us that before the Revolution all writing exercises and operations in arithmetic were worked out on paper. The teacher wrote the "copies" and, where there were no books in hand, read off the "sums." Frequently the entire school studied aloud; and thus, with other primitive methods and simple exer- cises, the early required education was instilled. East Haddam's families, we must believe, sent some preco- cious children to Hale, but it would have been hard to find the equal of Alvan Peake, the young prodigy among the sixty pupils in the school of the first society at Wood- stock, Connecticut, who, we are told in one of the public prints, "did every sum in Fenning's Arithmetic, from Reduction, to the end, before he was twelve Years of Age; and said the Primer through, from the Beginning to the End, and never mist a Word." This was pub- lished, inclusive of the teacher's spelling, "for the encour- agement of children and youth in Learning." Hale may have had no youngster like Alvan, but more than one of his boys is doubtless pictured to the life in Trumbull's "Progress of Dulness" : 44 NATHAN HALE, 1776 There's not a lad in town so bright, He'll cipher bravely, write and read, And say his catechism and creed. And scorns to hesitate or falter In Primer, Spelling-book or Psalter. We may be confident, however, that in his humorous description of the average district pedagogue, Trumbull could not have had anyone in mind with Hale's training and qualifications: He tries, with ease and unconcern, To teach what ne'er himself could learn, Gives law and punishment alone. Judge, jury, bailiff, all in one. Holds all good learning must depend Upon the rod's extremest end.^ Although East Haddam was a town with agricultural and shipping interests and good society. Hale seems to have found it an isolated place, and this may account in part for his brief stay there. Missing old friends, he was, nevertheless, certain to make new ones; and he could say no more of his agreeable situation at New London afterwards than that it was "somewhat prefer- able" to that at East Haddam. Mail facilities were irregular in winter, and his acquaintances appear to have heard from him but seldom. His classmate Robinson runs him pleasantly on his disappearance thus: "I am at a loss to determine whether you are yet in this land of the living, or removed to some far distant and to us unknown region; but this much I am certain of, that if you ^ Trumbull's description applied to many of the district schoolmas- ters — poor pay accounting for their mediocrity. In some towns, Coventry included at one time, parents sent their children to school intermittently, which led persons interested in the Colony's educational system to peti- tion the Assembly in May, 1774, to investigate and reform matters. Hale was then teaching at New London. HALE AS SCHOOLMASTER 45 departed this life at Modus, you stood but a narrow chance for gaining a better." Stuart gives the recollec- tion of one old lady who went to Hale's school in this river town. "Everybody loved him," she said; "he was so sprightly, intelligent and kind, and withal so hand- some."^ Hale had not been teaching many weeks at East Had- dam before he sought or was invited to a more promising post. "I love my employment," he was to write a year later; and if a strong liking for it had already developed, with an intuitive sense that he was born to the work, a field with larger prospects would be his ambition. Early in December we find him corresponding with Mr. Tim- othy Green, of New London, one of the proprietors of the "Union School" at that place, respecting his engage- ment as master for the spring term of the following year. Hearing of this opportunity, Hale evidently interested his old pastor. Rev. Mr. Huntington, in his application, and secured from him the necessary letter of recom- mendation, on the receipt of which Mr. Green wrote to him, December 21: "I have shewed Mr. Huntington's Letter and sample of your writing enclosed in it to sev- eral of the Proprietors of the School in this Town, who have desired me to inform you that there is a Probability of their agreeing with you to keep the School; and for that Reason desire that you would not engage your self elsewhere till you hear further from them."^ 1 While at East Haddam Hale appears to have lived in the family of Mr. James Green, whose house was known as the "Smith's Arms." Several of the children were Hale's pupils. Mr. Green was subsequently a Captain of Connecticut Dragoons and served at White Plains and Saratoga. The author is indebted to Mr. Richard Henry Greene, of New York, for the information. He adds: "I have the only chair in existence that Hale is known to have sat upon; it was in the sitting room of Captain James Green's house." 2 The letter from Mr. Huntington, here referred to, we miss from the Hale correspondence. It would have told us something worth having 46 NATHAN HALE, 1776 The sample of handwriting referred to was the sine qua non and passport to position required of the young schoolmasters of the period, and in the nature of the case was usually superior to their ordinary chirography. The few letters we have from Hale compare very fav- orably in appearance with those of his correspondents, and that he could set a "copy" which his pupils would be proud to equal may be seen in his call for a school meet- ing, February 22, 1775, and especially in the signature of his letter to his classmate Mead — amusingly affected, no doubt — which still stands at the bottom of the page with the precise regularity and shading of an engraved hand. This accomplishment helped to tell in Hale's favor, though he was not to have the school immediately. The proprietors, needing a teacher at once, employed Phineas Tracy, of Norwich, for three months, at the about the young man the good pastor helped to educate — what was thought of him, for one thing, at the close of his college career. How an application to teach was regarded by responsible persons at that period may be seen in the following letter from President Stiles (in the author's possession) in reply to a note from General Greene, who was interested in a school at Coventry, Rhode Island: Yale College Apr. 24 1784. Dear Sir Ever since I received your Letter I have taken much pains to procure a Preceptor suitable for your School at Coventry, but without Success. I might send you a choice of indifferent characters; but of this I should be ashamed: And the offers of Coventry do not induce the young Gentlemen this way, of a merit equal to your Wishes. You have been happy in the ingenious Mr. Rogers: I wish you to obtain one to succeed him who may keep up the Reputation to which he hath advanced that school. Your kinsman the Governors Son with us is in Health & is an Honor to the College. Mrs. Stiles unites me in Respects to yourself and Lady. I am Dr Sir Your most obedt Servt Ezra Stiles Gen Greene HALE AS SCHOOLMASTER 47 same time holding out encouragement to our East Had- dam candidate, who, at Mr. Green's suggestion, had ridden over to New London and seen him personally in the matter. On February 4, Mr. Green again requested him to wait, this time for "one week more," before accepting any other place; and on the loth he formally notified him of his engagement for one quarter, at the rate of two hundred and twenty dollars per annum. The Union School at New London, of which Hale now took charge, "about the middle of March," 17745 when Tracy's term closed, was a private enterprise started some years before, but not yet incorporated. The school may have been modeled upon the older and quite famous academy at Lebanon, Connecticut, which Master Nathan Tisdale, a graduate of Harvard College, had been long and successfully conducting. The proprietors of the latter included twelve well-to-do residents of the town, with Governor Trumbull as one of their number, who wished to give their own children, and such others as might join them, the advantages of a select and superior schooling. In their agreement we read that "A Latin scholar is to be computed at 35s., old tenor, for each quarter, and a reading scholar at 30s. for each quarter — each one to pay according to the number of children that he sends, and the learning they are improved upon, whether the learned tongues, reading and history, or reading and English only." Master Tisdale's school was liberally patronized, but in one respect it would not have appealed to the modern youth. The artist Trumbull, who attended it, tells us that it offered no vacations, "in the long idleness and dissipations of which the labors of preceding months might be half forgotten." The New London School closed its doors in 1833, after an apparently successful course of sixty or seventy years, and after it is said to have become something of 48 NATHAN HALE, 1776 a rival of the much older public ox "Free Grammar School" of New London, one of the four already referred to, dating back to about 1700. That was the higher school of the town, conducted by John Owen, another graduate, who reigned supreme on the "throne" of his classroom over his one hundred pupils — the average attendance — for nearly forty years/ With "Master" Owen and "Master" Hale teaching and disciplining the young people of New London, the town may have regarded itself as open to congratulation. Here was an opportunity for a young schoolmaster to set a new enterprise more firmly on its feet, and Hale succeeded. In their petition for incorporation, the pro- prietors of the Union Academy state that they "have at great cost erected a school-house for the advancement of learning," and hired and paid teachers, and they were anxious to get the right man for master and retain him. Not six months had elapsed before they were offering Hale increased wages and a permanent position. The school was incorporated on October 4, 1774, and it is through Hale's call for a later meeting of its proprietors, printed among his letters, that we have, for the first time, a complete list of their names. ^ There were twenty- four in all, representing the wealth and intelligence of New London — the Saltonstalls, Winthrops, Laws, Mum- fords, Coits, Shaws, Richards, Greens, and others locally well known. Their children probably formed the body of the school, and Hale found his time fully occupied in their instruction. We know something about it from 1 Records and Papers of the New London County Historical Society, Vol. II, pp. 115-144. - In the original petition, October 1, 1774, the names of thirteen memorialists appear with "others." Hale fills out the list. — College and Schools, Vol. I, p. 35. Archives Connecticut State Library. HALE AS SCHOOLMASTER 49 his own pen. On September 24, 1774, he wrote to his uncle at Portsmouth: New London, Conn. Sept 24*11, 1774 Respected Uncle: My visit to Portsmouth last fall served only to increase the nearness of your family and make [me] the more desirous of seeing them again. But this is a happi- ness which at present I have but little prospect of enjoy- ing. The most I now hope for is that I may now and then have the satisfaction to hear from my Uncle and Cousins by letter. I can tell you but little of my father or his family, being situated about 30 miles from them. I have not visited them for near three months, but have heard from them somewhat indirectly within a few days. I under- stand they are well. My eldest sister (Elizabeth) was married last winter (as you have doubtless heard) to Sam^ Rose, son of Docf Rose, and has, as I suppose, a prospect of a very comfortable living. As to any further particulars of my Father or his Family, I can mention nothing. My own employment is at present the same that you spent your days in. I have a school of 32 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. a scholar by the quarter. The people with whom I live are free and generous, many of them gentlemen of sense and merit. They are desirous that I would continue and settle in the school ; and pro- pose a considerable increase of wages. I am much at a loss whether to accept their proposals. Your advice in the 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 sub- ject, and also to acquaint me with the welfare of your 50 NATHAN HALE, 1776 family, if your leisure will permit, will be much to the satisfaction of Your most dutiful Nephew, Nathan Hale. P. S. — Please to present my duty to my Aunt, and my fondest regards to all my cousins. If no other oppor- tunity of writing presents, please to improve that of the Post. — [Addressed "To Maj"" Samuel Hale at Portsmouth."]^ To his classmate Mead, then studying theology at New Haven, Hale gives a few of the same facts, and to Dr. Munson, at the same place, he wrote two months later: "I am happily situated here. I love my employ- ment; find many friends among strangers; have time for scientific study, and seem to fill the place assigned me with satisfaction." What Hale meant by scientific study was general reading, a sort of culture course apart from theology or law, and in pursuing It he seems to have had a small library of his own to draw upon. Such works as Pope's "Iliad" and the "History of the Seven Years' War," In five volumes, were to be sent him, his brother Enoch writes, from "among the books" at his home. Hale's occupation was clearly congenial to him, as it seems not to have been to his classmate Alden, who dis- liked being confined to particular hours, or have his morning reading Interrupted by the discovery that It was "just fifty-nine minutes after eight o'clock." The philo- sophical Robinson found that teaching deprived him of the pleasure of many agreeable rides he had counted on taking about the country, and, as he writes to Hale, pre- vented him from enjoying "the company of yourself with some other special friends." Marvin, who. certainly 1 From the original MS. in possession of Mr. Grenville Kane, Tuxedo, New York. Here printed complete. Stuart gives the body of the letter. HALE AS SCHOOLMASTER 51 found entertainment enough on "Quarter Day" of his school, April 8, 1774, wrote later that with him "teach- ing, scolding and floging, is the continual round. . . . In short, I have come to be one of your fretting, teasing pedagogues," but the war had opened and his thoughts were turning to the cause and the field. Tallmadge, at Wethersfield, seems to have had one of the choice posi- tions. "Perhaps, in no Place," he writes, "is there more distinction with regard to Company. The Pedagogues of this place, have the Honour to be admitted into the Number of those who are of the first Rank. In such Company we have not only the advantages of friendly Intercourse, Jollity, & Mirth; but it may also be rendered very useful and instructive." In addition, as his pupils varied from seventy to ninety in number, he was to have "a colleague of the fair sex." Of the impression Hale made as a teacher some recol- lections remain. A few of his old pupils were living in 1840 or later. His tact and amiability, his control over boys, without severity of manner, and his universal popu- larity could be recalled, says Stuart, by the venerable Samuel Green, of Hartford. Among the elderly people at New London, Mrs. Elizabeth Poole tells us that she was "an inmate of the same family with the deeply lamented Capt. Hale" while he taught school. Her impressions, written out, by request, in 1837, appear to have been the basis of the happy pen picture of" Hale drawn by Mr. J. S. Babcock in a pamphlet published in 1844. In her brief contribution, Mrs. Poole says of him: "His capacity as a teacher, and the mildness of his mode of instruction, was highly appreciated by parents & pupils; his appearance manners & temper secured the purest affection of those to whom he was known. As a companion in the social, particularly in the domestic circle, his simple, unostentatious manner of imparting 52 NATHAN HALE, 1776 right views & feelings to less cultivated understandings was unsurpassed by any individual who then or since has fallen under my observation. He was peculiarly free from the shadow of guile ! his remarkably expressive features were an index of the mind and heart that every new emotion lighted with a brilliancy perceptable to even common observers." In the few lines that follow she speaks of his frank and open mind and a soul that would disdain deception and disguise even where personal safety might be at stake. Serious-minded herself, the venerable lady seems to have recalled only his serious side.^ Miss Caulkins, who gathered local recollections about 1850, says in her "History of New London" : "Those who knew Captain Hale have described him as a man of many agreeable qualities: frank and independent in his bearing; social, animated, ardent; a lover of the society of ladies, and a favorite among them. Many a fair cheek was wet with bitter tears, and gentle voices uttered deep execra- tions on his barbarous foes, when tidings of his untimely fate were received. As a teacher Captain Hale is said to have been a firm disciplinarian, but happy in his mode of conveying instruction, and highly respected by his pupils. The parting scene made a strong impression on their minds. He addressed them in a style almost par- ental; gave them earnest counsel, prayed with them, and shaking each by the hand, bade them individually fare- well." A letter from one of his young boys, Robert 1 Mr. W. W. Saltonstall, of New London, wrote March 1, 1837, to Mr. Cyrus P. Bradley at Hanover, New Hampshire, who was collecting Hale material: "The above is a communication from my aged friend Mrs. Elizabeth Pool which I believe expresses the opinions entertained here of Capt. Hale's character by all those who knew him, but whose advanced age and infirmities prevent their attesting so clearly his worth." — From MSS. in Connecticut Historical Society. The form of one of Hale's School bills — tuition of Winthrop Salton- stall's son — is given in the Appendix, p. 191. HALE AS SCHOOLMASTER 53 s Latimer, written to Hale while he was in camp, has been preserved: "I think myself under the greatest obliga- tions to you for your care and kindness to me . . . Though I have been so happy as to be favored with your instructions, you can't, Sir, expect a finished letter from one who has as yet practised but very little this way, especially with persons of your nice discernment"; and he adds with the unconscious humor of his years, "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." At New London, Hale made many good friends. The families of the school proprietors alone would form a large and agreeable circle. With one of them, Mr. Richards, he appears to have made his home.^ In Gil- bert Saltonstall, a young graduate of Harvard, son of Colonel Gurdon Saltonstall, one of the more prominent residents of the place, he found a kindred spirit. In addition to the social circles in which he would naturally move, Hale met a new element here, which was to prove important to him when the war broke out. New London was a port of entry, and among its residents were ship- builders, shipmasters, importers, and whalers, some of them rough-and-ready men, full of adventure, and not a few of whom, including four or five of the proprietors 1 In his letter to Hale, July 4, 1775, Tallmadge, at Wethersfield, states that he was informed "by your good Landlord" of Hale's appointment in the army. The letter was sent to Hale "per Mr. Rich- ards," returning to New London, who apparently was the person who gave the information. When Hale was at home "on leave" from camp in January, 1776, he went down to New London and settled a few accounts with Mr. Richards. Among other items he received from him some tuition money due Hale from one of his scholars and deposited with Richards. The two references together point to the latter as Hale's "good landlord." We infer that this was John Richards and not "Captain" G. Richards. 54 NATHAN HALE, 1776 referred to, were to do good service during the Revolu- tion as owners and captains of privateers. A few were to become officers or soldiers under him, and some of their letters show that they were as appreciative of his open character and talents as he was responsive to their own rugged and honest natures. His experience in this town must have been valuable to him in more ways than one. It broadened his range of observation and matured capacities in which others would be called upon to confide. His last schoolhouse still stands as a memorial of his happy associations with the place. Like the one at East Haddam, it has been restored, removed to a new site, and intrusted to the care of a patriotic society, to be used as a library and depository of colonial and Revolutionary relics. Hale reengaged to remain where he was until the mid- dle of July, 1775. His subsequent course would be deter- mined by circumstances. He might continue with the Union Academy and succeed to Tisdale's or his own uncle's reputation as a notable New England school- master; or, like Nathan Strong, Timothy Dwight, and his classmate William Robinson, he might be invited to become a tutor at Yale and under its influences conclude to enter the ministry. The tradition has been noticed that this was his mother's hope and wish. Two of Nathan's brothers, Enoch and David, became preachers, and developed a natural fitness for their profession, the former filling out a pastorate of more than fifty years at Westhampton, Massachusetts. Professor Dexter says of him, that "no finer example can be found of the genuine parish minister of what was long the established church of Massachusetts . . . Besides his services as pastor, in which he was eminently faithful, he gave much atten- tion to the educational interests of the community, and himself for many years fitted pupils for college. He par- HALE'S ENGAGEMENT 55 ticipated in all the public interests, being, for instance, the representative of the town in the State Constitutional Convention of 1820. Though not possessed of brilliant talents, he was remarkable for thorough conscientious- ness, and for orderliness, punctuality, and exactness in all the habits of daily life, and his influence on the com- munity was strong and lasting, remaining as a sacred memory even to this generation,"^ David Hale, who graduated in 1785, continued in the ministry not more than twelve or fourteen years, his constitution obliging him, as stated, to return to the paternal farm in Coventry. He was remembered for his virtues and kindly disposition, and, like Nathan, as an excellent and popular teacher. We are finding in Hale's brief course that many of his brothers' stronger and more attractive qualities were innately his, and had he lived and joined them in the same field of work, success and distinction could have been anticipated for him. In this matter of future occupation, Hale's school- master experience appears to have left him in doubt, for in September, 1774, we find him seeking his uncle's advice regarding his acceptance of a permanent position as teacher; and as late as July, 1775, when he resigned his New London desk, he told the proprietors that he had grown fond of his work and had thought of devoting his life to it. Events decided his course for him. In closing with this period when Hale is just entering his twenty-first year, we may notice a bit of romance associated with his college and later days that has gath- ered into a chapter of courtship and engagement. It is the old story in one of its familiar phases — the story of a love interrupted and then renewed. We know that the handsome and affable youth made an impression in the 1 Yale Biographies, etc., Vol. Ill, p. 482. S6 NATHAN HALE, 1776 circle of his young lady friends, and, no doubt, was equally susceptible to their attractions. For Alice Adams, one of his early acquaintances, he seems to have formed a special attachment. This was at his native Coventry, but the traditions in the case do not appear to have clung around the old homestead. When Mr. Gilbert, of that place, made an effort, in 1835-36, to collect neighbor- hood recollections of Hale, he wrote that he could learn nothing of his "calculations in matrimony." This might cause some surprise, for Miss Adams, then Mrs. Law- rence, was still living at Hartford. It is through her descendants that the story comes down — the generally accepted version being based upon the fact that before Nathan appeared upon the scene, there already existed a double relationship between the Hales and the Adamses. On June 13, 1769, not quite three months before Hale entered college, his father. Deacon Richard Hale, mar- ried, for his second wife, Mrs. Abigail Adams, widow of Captain Samuel Adams, of the near-by town of Canter- bury, Presently two of the widow's daughters were intro- duced into the family, one of whom, Sarah, was married, December 19, 1771, to John Hale, Nathan's elder brother. The other was Alice, or Alicia, Adams, who, as the tradition begins, occasionally visited her mother in her new home, with the result that Deacon Hale insisted on her remaining with them permanently. This would be about the year 1770-71, when Alice was in her fifteenth year and Nathan a Sophomore at college. It was not long before both Nathan and his brother Enoch were strongly attracted to her — the fondness increasing during vacation days — with Nathan as the favored one. During term time he engaged in a correspondence with her, but this added flow of their affections was checked by the mother on account of their youth. That Deacon Hale objected to Alice as another daughter-in-law from the HALE'S ENGAGEMENT 57 Adams side of the house, as once supposed, has been questioned, and we are told that, on the contrary, he favored the alhance. The young girl possessed many fine qualities, both of mind and heart, developing attrac- tively in after life, and Hale, we may well believe, already felt a lover's appreciation of them. Stuart, in fact, quotes him as referring to her afterwards as "a bright, particular star" he "thought to wed." Alice, however, though subsequently twice married, was not to bear the name of Hale. As the tradition continues, her mother and sister prevailed upon her to accept Mr, Elijah Ripley, of Coventry, a well-to-do and worthy neighbor, considerably older than herself.^ They were married February 8, 1773, when Nathan was about half way through his Senior year, and thus his student fancy, or courtship, whatever it may have been, passed into a memory or disappointment. This experience of youth, so often repeated, was fol- lowed by its not infrequent sequel. During the next two years, especially when he was at New London, Hale's circle of friends widened and extended into neighboring places. Marvin wrote him from Norwich that "the ladies are all in good spirits" and Saltonstall, after a trip to Lyme, where it would seem Hale occasionally visited, told him that the girls he met at a friend's or relative's house "expressed a regard for you which I thought but a few removes from love." These were light touches in otherwise matter-of-fact letters, but they give us glimpses of Hale among happy companions who 1 The Connecticut Historical Society Library contains a pamphlet entitled, "A Father's Legacy to His Daughters — By the late Dr. Gregory of Edinburgh." — Boston, 1779. — At the head of the title-page is the auto- graph, "Alicia Ripley's Book." It was written "by a tender father in a declining state of health for the instruction of his daughters," and treats of religious duties, amusements, books, dress, friendships, love and marriage. 58 NATHAN HALE, 1776 understood his responsive heart. How far his alleged disappointment at college affected him we cannot say, but that he became interested somewhere in youthful fashion, and perhaps seriously, may be implied from allusions or hints from classmates. His two close friends, Robinson and Tallmadge, undoubtedly knew of Alice Adams, and of her charming ways and presence — one or both may have met her — but to whom did they refer when touching Hale on his tender side? Robinson ventured to say to him, on January 20, 1774: "My own school is not large; my neighbors are kind, and (summatim) my distance from a house on your side the river which contains an object worthy the esteem of every one, and, as I conclude, has yours In an especial manner, is not great." And six months later Tallmadge was curious enough to write, on a warm July 4, 1774: "Friend Hale: — How do you do this cold weather? I should be very glad to have some direct news from you, I do assure you; for by the last accounts, you were all over (head and heels) in love ... I have only time to subscribe myself your real friend &c." At these dates, Alice Adams had been mar- ried a year or more. She was Mrs. Ripley. These classmates may have just learned to their surprise that the studious Nathan had once been in love and was now expressing his former admiration for Alice or "regard" for some one else at that moment, and were sounding or jibing him after the manner of college chums. ^ The story concludes with the death of Mr. Ripley on December 26, 1774. Alice was left a widow with a young 1 In the Memoir of Rev. William Robinson, p. 71, n., his biographer, noticing the same point, expresses the opinion that the "house on your side of the river," referred to above, was probably that of the Wolcotts at East Windsor, and that the young lady may have been Miss Naomi Wolcott, "with whom Hale was doubtless acquainted." This was a suggestion. The biographer could not believe that the Hale, or any other "house" at Coventry, was meant. HALE'S ENGAGEMENT 59 child, named after its father. Hale was then with the Union School at New London. We might or might not expect to hear of the renewal of their affection, but it seems certain that it was renewed and that they became engaged some time during the following year, 1775, or early in 1776, while he was still teaching or after he joined the army. A heart-tribute, or "love poem," ad- dressed by Nathan to Alice, presumably about this period, and now published for the first time (in the Appendix), gives us a glimpse of the warmth and depth of his feelings : Alicia, born with every striking charm, T^ ^ «!? 7i? ^ 91? tJ? Fair in thy form, still fairer in thy mind, With beauty wisdom, sense with sweetness joined jli. ijt ifc Jjt ^ Jfc ^ Let others toil amidst the lofty air By fancy led through every cloud above Let empty follies build the castles there My thoughts are settled on the friend I love ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ The poem is without date, but one might fairly infer from the line, "Far from the seat of pleasure now I roam," that he was in camp.^ Marvin's letter of Febru- ary 26, 1776, closing in rhyme, contains the last refer- ence, in the Hale correspondence, to the betrothed couple. The meandering poet drops into a musing vein, comfort- ing "Nathan's other self" with the knightly vision that he would return a hero from the field of Mars: Her heart to ease, her mind to calm, He then pours in the friendly balm Of honor gain'd, of service done, A treasure which he'll sure bring home. ^ This poem is given in full on pp. 190, 191. 6o NATHAN HALE, 1776 After a widowhood of about seven years, Alice mar- ried Mr. William Lawrence, son of a former treasurer of Connecticut, and survived at Hartford to the age of eighty-eight. She was remembered by persons living a few years ago as a sweet, intellectual woman — a char- acter that is stamped in the lines of her portrait, pre- served by descendants in Brooklyn, Long Island.^ An appreciative notice of her may be found in Stuart. One who knew her gave this recollection to the present writer in 1901 : "She was a smart, pretty, lovely lady in 1830, when I began to call on her. Many and many a time I talked with her about Nathan Hale. She, with tears in her eyes, told of his noble character and fine talents and personal appearance. . . . Happy as she was in her second marriage, she never forgot Nathan Hale." A copy of her portrait hangs in the Athenaeum collection at Hartford. 1 The present possessor of the portrait is Mrs. C. Thurston Corey, of Brooklyn, great-granddaughter of Alice Adams. Further reference to the engagement traditions and mention of a Hale miniature and profile appear in Chapter VIII. IV THE LEXINGTON ALARM— HALE JOINS THE ARMY While Hale was teaching school the war opened. The 19th of April, 1775, had the effect of a surprise. The phase of affairs had been regarded as critical, men felt that a struggle was upon them, but the actual hostilities, the firing of the first gun, stirred them all with a new and profound sensation. It was so in our Civil War. While the conflict with the mother-country had been openly predicted and anticipated, the sudden mustering of the farmers, the volleys along the roads and from behind the walls, the slaughter of the redcoats, the fall of neighbors, and the grief of families intensified their mingled forebodings and enthusiasm. Nothing had come so near to these people since the days when King Philip or the Pequots had threatened the homes of their grandfathers. The pitch of their emotions and patriot- ism is represented by this outburst in a letter of the day: "Oh my dear New England, hearest thou the alarm of war — the call of Heaven is to arms, to arms!" Connecticut as a near neighbor turned out to the assist- ance of Massachusetts and in a few days had four thou- sand men on the roads marching towards Boston. They dropped into their militia organizations or formed im- promptu companies and pushed on, in many cases without waiting for orders. In its records of the Revolutionary War, published by the State, the names of these volun- teers, with the days of their service, are classified by 62 NATHAN HALE, 1776 localities and together present the appearance of an honor-roll of the emergency. In the Coventry list may be seen the names of John and Joseph Hale, two of Nathan's brothers. The young schoolmaster watched the tendencies of the times with eager interest. In the second letter that we have from his pen, dated September 8, 1774, he writes that no liberty-pole had yet been erected in New London, "but the people seem much more spirited than they were before the alarm." This was an alarm caused within a few days by the report that the British ships were firing upon Boston and troops preparing to march upon the towns. Several thousand armed men in Massa- chusetts and Connecticut immediately headed for the threatened points. The reports proved false, but the colonists realized through this demonstration that the right spirit would prevail when reports proved true. Hale adds: "Parson Peters, of Hebron, I hear, has had a second visit paid him by the Sons of liberty in Wind- ham. His treatment and the concessions he made I have not yet heard." Hebron adjoined Coventry and the parson was the Rev. Samuel Peters, one of the few clergy- men in the Colony who threw their influence against the rising sentiment of the country. Finding the liberty-men too much in earnest to give them occasion for a third visit, he quickly left for England.^ 1 It would have amused Hale, had he lived, to read the large tales Parson Peters subsequently gave out respecting his treatment at Hebron. In his application for a loyalists' pension in England in 1782, he repre- sented that he vyas taken up in 1774 by the liberty-men, and vyas "the first man they intended to kill." The Americans would have put him to death if he had stayed. "Mr. Peters attends again and says that after he was condemn'd to be hang'd he was carried under the Gallows & expected to be hang'd in 5 minutes — the tar & feathers were prepar- ing — some of his Neighbours came up at the moment & rescued him." — Loyalist Papers, N. Y. Public Library. "Temporary Support," etc.. Vol. II, pp. 266-267. No violence of this sort was threatened. The parson HALE JOINS THE ARMY 63 From this date the movement grew rapidly. In Octo- ber, the lately assembled first Continental Congress took decisive action in favor of commercial non-intercourse with Great Britain as long as the tax measures were in force. Its stand was applauded and toasted by the patriotic element. A wider interchange and freer expres- sion of views followed. New London was one of the few Connecticut towns that could boast the luxury of a news- paper, and its weekly Gazette, like the others elsewhere, served as a pulse of opinion through the items it circu- lated. If Hale read it carefully, as no doubt he did, he saw that his friends and neighbors in Coventry held a legal town meeting on September 13, — Phineas Strong, moderator, — at which they expressed alarm at the gloomy aspect, but at the same time gratefully acknowl- edged "the favorable omens of Providence in that happy unity, propitious plenty, sympathetic charity, noble forti- tude and manly resistance to despotism, universal through- out America." He saw that at the recent Commence- ment at his college there was an English dialogue pre- sented on "The Right of America, and the unconstitu- tional measures of the British Parliament." Now and then there came some bugle blast which strengthened the nerves, as when "Cassius" wrote to the printer on Febru- ary 24, 1775: The question which for the last ten years has been agitated between Great Britain and the American Colonies is now shifted from the principle of right to that of power. . . . To this crisis, O Americans, our affairs are wrought up that the alternative, the serious alternative, is this — either submit and take the yoke upon )'ou or prepare, and that instantly, to resist in the same style in which you have hitherto professed to reason and to act. Long and laboured speeches and harangues, when the enemy are was the author of that edition of the "Blue Laws" of Connecticut which is famous for its fiction and diverting variations from the original. 64 NATHAN HALE, 1776 in sight, carry with them strong implication of cowardice. . . . Therefore, as it has been for some time sounded as our alarm- bell that we must unite or die — our motto being "United we stand, divided we fall" — so in one word let this be added. Resist and be free or submit and be slaves. Need men be urged to arm when the enemy is at the door? Immediately beneath this appears the report of a meet- ing in Fairfax County, Virginia, in favor of organiza- tion of companies and drilling for service, with the head- ing, "Colonel George Washington in the Chair." A month later the Gazette did not fail to publish Warren's oration on the anniversary of the Boston Massacre, with its many impassioned sentences, and also one of Chat- ham's friendly speeches. Independence was at that date something of a prohibited sentiment so far as Its public expression was concerned, but In private It was avowed, If not urged. In certain quarters; and when the New Lon- don paper found a pointed reference to It In the Boston Post, it seems to have been happy to quote It without assuming the responsibility of Its authorship. In effect the writer said that If England continued to spurn her colonies, the latter would be compelled by the great law of nature to rise In their might and, following the exam- ple of the united provinces of Holland, publish a mani- festo to the world, showing the necessity of dissolving their connection with a nation whose ministers were aim- ing at their ruin. With such a declaration they must also offer free trade to all and an asylum to the oppressed throughout the world. "This Is the dernier resort," con- tinued the writer, "and this, Americans, you can do, and this you must do, unless tyranny ceases to Invade your liberties." Samuel Adams thought so, too, and he had more than one disciple throughout the colonies. From what we know of Hale, he could heartily have said "Amen" to the sentiment. There was also a poet's corner Hale's Powderhorn, Camp Book a>,d BAbKi.r, !//:)-,( HALE JOINS THE ARMY 65 in the Gazette in which the local muse was permitted at intervals to fan the flame. "Rule Britannia" was once as popular in America as in England, but now an Ameri- can version was attempted: To spread bright freedom's gende sway, Your isle too narrow for its bound, We traced wild ocean's trackless way And here a safe asylum found. Rule, Britannia, rule the waves, Bul rule us justly — not like slaves. Let us your sons by freedom warm'd. Your own example keep in view, 'Gainst Tyranny be ever arm'd, Tho' we our Tyrant find — in you. Rule, Britannia, rule the waves. But never make your children slaves. To Hale such atmosphere must have proved a tonic, and we are the better prepared to accept the tradition which represents him as making a spirited speech at a public meeting held in New London on the reception of the news from Lexington. "Let us march immediately," he is reported to have said, "and never lay down our arms until we obtain our independence." The last word was cautiously in the air, but he may have boldly spoken it as the true issue of the war. This was obvious to every one who had watched events and understood the temper of the home administration. There was no half-way outcome. War meant complete independence for the colonies, or, in case of defeat, as then believed, a more irritating dependence on Great Britain. 66 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Whatever Hale may have said at the meeting, it is hardly probable, as usually represented, that he bade farewell to his school on the following morning and marched as a volunteer with Captain Coit's company for Boston. Parts of four companies went from New Lon- don. His name does not appear on the official list of any of them, and from the tenor of his letter to the pro- prietors of the school, July 7 following, we gather that he had not been absent from it in April, He was under engagement for a year, and just before its expiration he requested as a special favor that they would release him two weeks in advance. Nothing, he says, could have persuaded him to ask for it but the fact that he had received a commission in the army, and that closing a fortnight earlier would probably not subject them to inconvenience. Had he marched on the alarm and been away as long as Coit's company, the school would have been broken up for the term. If the war was then open- ing in earnest, the systematic mustering of troops would be necessary and he could enter for permanent service in ample time a few weeks later. As it was, few college men were in the field before him. Connecticut made her first regular call for volunteers soon after the uprising of the 19th and organized six regiments, one from each county, to serve for seven months. As these troops were dispatched into fields out- side of the Colony, some to participate in the siege of Boston, others to invade Canada, the Assembly at an extra session in July organized two additional regi- ments for special home defense, to be known as the "Seventh" and "Eighth" and to sesve until about the ist of December. Long terms of service, winter quarters — anything suggestive of a regular army — would have been intolerable to the colonists at that date, and in conse- quence the country during the first two years suffered HALE JOINS THE ARMY 67 from lack of discipline and cohesion in its defensive force. It was not until 1777 that a Continental army was enlisted to serve for "three years or during the war." On the other hand, the short terms of the earlier years were filled with a promptness that gave to the cause the needed momentum and appearance of energy. On the ist of July the Connecticut Assembly appointed, and on the 6th the Governor commissioned, the officers of the new "Seventh" regiment. Hale's name was on the list. He appeared as first lieutenant of the third, or major's, company. The appointment doubtless came about in the usuu! way. The Assembly, through com- mittees, made out the rosters from applications and rec- ommendations received from the deputies or leading men of the towns, with personal and social influence playing its usual part. The moment it was known that Hale had thoughts of entering the service, his New Lon- don friends, appreciating his fitness, would not hesitate to indorse him for an officer's position. "Having re- ceived information that a place is allotted me in the army, and being inclined, as I hope, for good reasons to accept it" — is all we have from Hale himself. It is quite possible that the major, Jonathan Latimer, who knew him well and whose son Robert was one of Hale's pupils, applied to have him appointed his lieutenant. The first lieutenants of the three field officers' companies were practically captains, as they had full charge of the men. The regiment was commanded by Colonel Charles Webb, of Stamford, and being intended for coast defense, it was recruited mainly from Greenwich, Stamford, Nor- walk, Milford, New Haven, Branford, Saybrook, Lyme, New London, Groton, and Stonington on the Sound. It contained, as Hale himself says, many skippers and sail- ors. The lieutenant-colonel's first lieutenant was William Hull, of Derby, one of Hale's college acquaintances 68 NATHAN HALE, 1776 whose friendship was to be strengthened in their camp associations. A new letter we have from Tallmadge comes in most interestingly at this point. He was then in his third year of school teaching at Wethersfield, and had just learned of Hale's appointment In the army. Returning from a flying trip to the Boston camp, and aroused by the war situation, he wrote to his classmate, July 4, what he thought of their common duty in the emergency. He is not quite certain as to the best advice to give. "I can't say," he writes, "that you will hesitate a moment In your own mind about accepting or refusing; but you have a matter of no trifling consideration which presents Itself for calm reflexion, mature deliberation & a wise con- clusion. . . . When I consider you as a Brother Peda- gogue, engaged in a calling, useful, honorable, & doubt- less to you very entertaining, it seems difficult to advise you to relinquish your business, & to leave so agreeable a circle of connections and friends. But when I consider you as acting in that capacity to the good acceptance of all concerned, & to your own applause, [and far be it from me to flatter a friend] the difficulty Is still greater. On the other hand when I consider our Country, a Land flowing as It were with milk & honey, holding open her arms, & demanding Assistance from all who can assist her in her sore distress, Methlnks a Christian's counsel must favour the latter. . . . Was I In your condition, notwithstanding the many, I had almost said Insuperable, objections against such a resolution, I think the more ex- tensive service would be my choice. Our holy Religion, the honour of our God, a glorious Country, & a happy constitution Is what we have to defend."^ This letter is valuable In the light of the times as 1 See Appendix for the entire letter. HALE JOINS THE ARMY 69 well as biographically. There Is a glimpse here of the views of educated and patriotic young men at the opening of the Revolution we do not often get. Hale accepted the "more extended service," and Tallmadge followed with other classmates in the following year. A few months later we shall have another still more valuable letter, in its bearing on events, from another young graduate. As he left his school to begin recruiting, Hale wrote to the proprietois his appreciative letter of July 7. "Good reasons," he assures them, take him into the army, "School keeping," he adds, "is a business of which I was always fond, but since my residence in this town, every- thing 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 of 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." So the school bell gave way to the drum, and with commis- sion, blanks, and necessary funds in hand, Hale proceeded to fill up his company. During this interval, when he had occasion to ride about the country, it is supposed that he went to New Haven. If so, he must have imbibed some new enthusi- asm from his old associations. The day before the Lex- ington alarm reached that town, or on April 20, 1775, Hale's classmate, Ebenezer Williams, wrote to him: All public exercises and exhibitions are discontinued at college on account of the present melancholy aspect of our public affairs. Politics engross so much of the attention of people of all ages and denominations among us, that little else is heard or thought of. It would I suppose be nothing new to inform you that the best military company in the colony consists of the members 70 NATHAN HALE, 1776 of Yale College, who appear statedly under arms three times per day. Query. Do we not bid fair to be in time a martial people and a match for our enemies, when even students are so much engaged in the cause ?^ It was at Dr. Munson's at New Haven, as we are told, that, while speaking of the new field he was about to enter, Hale exclaimed with a youth's enthusiasm, "Dulce et decorum est pro patrid viori." The young captain now began recruiting men in and around New London, while his lieutenant and ensign, Belcher and Hilliard, went to work at Stonington. In this connection we have a brief but rare letter preserved, in which Belcher writes to Hale that by the 27th of July he had enrolled twenty-two men, whom he expected to increase to thirty, and inquires "what progress you have made in the enlisting way." The companies were all soon filled and took post at different points. Several were stationed at New Haven under the colonel, while the major and three companies went on with the fortifications at New London. The daily routine was drill, guard, and picket duty along the shore. Once, in August, the enemy's ships fired into Stonington and the major and his men — Hale with them, no doubt — hurried over to defend the place. The alarm subsided and they were soon ordered to another field. Washington had not been in command of the provin- cial army around Boston more than a month before he called for reinforcements. On September 8, he made a demand on Governor Trumbull for the two new Con- 1 Hale, Nathan. Captain in the Revolutionary War. The martyr spy. Executed by the British. A. L. S. folio of E. Williams to Nathan Hale, dated New Haven, April 20, 1775, and indorsed in Hale's hand- luriting. Letter sold at auction in 1913. As to the college company and its acting as escort to Washington as he passed through New Haven, in June, 1775, see Yale in the Revolu- tion, p. 13. HALE JOINS THE ARMY 71 necticut regiments, and about the 20th the companies were on the march. It is here that the preserved portions of Hale's army diary begin. Brief, abbreviated, hurriedly written, and intended only for personal reference, it is still a valu- able record — the only existing record, indeed, which gives the movements of his regiment. For biographi- cal purposes its value lies in the lively interest it shows him to have taken in his new duties as an officer and in the progreiJ of the war. From it we learn that from New London his part of the regiment marched to Providence and beyond through the Massachusetts towns of Rehoboth, Attleboro, Wrentham, Walpole, Dedham, and Roxbury, to Cambridge, headquarters of the Ameri- can force besieging the British in Boston. On arrival the Seventh was assigned to General Sullivan's brigade at Winter Hill, on the extreme left of the semicircular line of investment, not far from Medford. The other Con- necticut regiments were stationed on the right, at Roxbury. Five months had now passed since Lexington and Con- cord, and three since the battle of Bunker Hill. These opening successes had elated the country and seemed to foreshadow the final result. The gathering around Boston of the farmers and citizens in their ordinary clothes, and many of them with their own arms, marked the character of the first uprising. It was not, and never became, a well-appointed camp of soldiers so much as an extended muster of townsmen. These people were still appealing to their king to protect them against the legislation of their Parliament. They floated their pro- vincial or special regimental colors, but no common standard of disloyalty. Our schoolmaster of the Sev- enth Connecticut marched under a blue banner. Before long, with their protests and attitude unheeded, they ^2 NATHAN HALE, 1776 will run up the thirteen red and white stripes indicative of their colonial union and at a later day they will replace the British Jack with a cluster of stars, announcing them- selves through their completed flag as "a new constella- tion" among the nations. V IN CAMP NEAR BOSTON— BESIEGING THE ENEMY Here at Winter Hill, two miles on the direct road from the British at Charlestown Neck and Bunker Hill, Hale passed his first fear months with Washington's army. Apart from the gratification of being In his country's service, he found camp life more or less agreeable. He seems at one time or another to have visited nearly every part of the American lines, examined the forts and famil- iarized himself with the country about. The doings of the enemy, who at points were in plain sight, would of course be noted. "Considerable firing upon Roxbury side In the forenoon, and some P. M. No damage done as we hear" — Is his September 30 entry the morning after arrival In quarters. Some days later he rides several miles around to the right or Dorchester end of the line, to have a look at British Boston from that side. Now and again he commands the picket-guard on Ploughed Hill, In advance of Winter Hill, and hears the regulars at work with their pickaxes. "One of our centrles," he writes, "heard their grand rounds give the countersign which was Hamilton. — Returned to camp at sunrise." November 9, there was a general alarm sounded on the landing, at Lechmere's Point, of a body of redcoats who were out on a cattle raid. "Our works were immediately all manned," Is Hale's account, "and a detachment sent to receive them, who were obliged to wade through water nearly waist high. While the enemy were landing, we gave them a constant cannonade from Prospect Hill. Our party, having got on to the Point, marched in two T4 NATHAN HALE, 1776 columns, one on each side of y^ hill, with a view to sur- round y^ enemy, but upon the first appearance of them, they made their boats as fast as possible." Opposite, on captured Bunker Hill, a handsome young English officer, Captain William Evelyn, was sending home similar bits of news. "Remember poor me," he wrote to his father In October, "three thousand miles off, lodging upon the cold ground, and now and then ducking at the whistling of a twenty-four pounder, one of which came a few days ago into our camp, went through one of our tents and fairly took the crown out of one of the King's Own Grenadiers' hats. His head was not in it." Not long after. Hale had something of the same sort to note: "Went to Cobble Hill. A shell and a shot from Bunker Hill. The shell breaking in the air, one piece fell and touched a man's hat, but did no harm." This was mild warfare, but all good training for those earliest soldiers of 1775. Scenes more real and sobering were to come. A year later both the youthful captains, here face to face at the front, will meet their fate on another field within a few weeks of each other. Hale found time to write letters home and to friends and scattered classmates. Once he attempted poetry, in spite of his admission to Tallmadge that "feet and rhyme" were not his forte. As a simple piece of descrip- tive verse, he may have intended it solely for the eyes of some of his young scholars in New London, for in one of the lines he is addressing more than one person, but as it comes to light now, after a century of obscurity, we may value the realism in its simplicity. He tells of his surroundings — and the sketch or picture is there: Could you but take a full survey, On this & that & t'other way, IN CAMP NEAR BOSTON 7S You'd see extended far and wide Our Camps both here & Roxbury side. The hills with tents their whiteness show Resembling much Mid winter's snow. ( For some such cause perhaps the same, Our hill is known by winter's name.) ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ When coming here from Watertown, Soon after ent'ring Cambridge ground, You Si 7 the grand & pleasant seat, Possess'd by Washin[g]ton the great. An interesting reference In the last line — the Impression made by Washington on his soldiers at this early date when he had not been In command three months and had come a comparative stranger among them. It Is hardly poetic courtesy that Hale Indulges In, as the letters and expressions of others bear him out. Passing on, the "domes" of fair Harvard attract him: In former times as I am told, This splendid place was College called The muses here did once reside, And with the ancient muses vy'd. E'en shaming Greek and Roman pride. But now, so changed is the scene. You'd scarce believe these things had been. Instead of sons of Science sons of Mars And nothing's heard but sound of Wars. But now it gives me joy to hear That when her ruin seem'd so near, From danger having swiftly fled ; At Concord she erects her head. 7d NATHAN HALE, 1776 The siege of Boston presented no thrilling or desperate episodes. On the part of the Americans it was mainly a blockade of the roads running out of the town, with an attempt to crowd the enemy at given points. The lack of powder prevented a continued and concentrated bom- bardment of Boston, while the British believed their own force to be insufficient to break up the siege and seemed to dread the repetition of such stone-wall fighting as the minute-men of April 19 had indulged in. As the winter drew on, both armies kept more closely to their lines and contented themselves with irregular cannonading. From the nature of the position, attack and sortie were seldom attempted. In the mean time. Captain Hale was perfecting himself in a soldier's and officer's duties. He drilled his company, looked after clothes, provisions, pay, and equipments, and mastered the minute directions for guards and pickets. Resolutiori and activity marked his daily routine. "Studied the method of forming a regi- ment for a review, of arraying the companies, also of marching round the 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." And again: "Complaint of the bad condition of the lower picquet by Major Cutler, 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," His leisure hours, too, were often pleasantly spent. With the freedom and familiarity permitted in the provincial forces, where in many cases men and officers had been friends and neighbors at home, we find him dining twice at General Putnam's, visiting Generals Lee, Greene, Spencer, and Sullivan, and sharing in entertainments. On these occasions Hull was frequently his companion. They IN CAMP NEAR BOSTON 77 were both promoted to be captains, or more properly captains-lieutenant, during this fall — Hale on September I — but were not allowed a full captain's pay until the reorganization to be noticed. At times Hale joined in camp diversions, played football and checkers, watched wrestling matches — evening prayers, he tells us, being omitted on the occasion when Winter Hill was "stumped" by Prospect Hill — read what books he could pick up, went to hear the several chaplains preach, drank a bottle of wine at Brown's, cider at Stone's, wrote to father, brothers, friends, and pupils, and — what is significant of his faith and temperament — throughout his diary or in his letters never entered a despondent line or reflection. It is true that in his polite note of October 19 to Betsey Christophers at New London, he implies that camp scenes had lost their first fascination for him. As we would expect, however, he tells her: "Not that I am dis- contented — so far from it, that in the present situation of things I would not accept a furlough were it offered me." In his Connecticut circles Hale was not forgotten. Among his New London acquaintances, Gilbert Salton- stall, already referred to, kept him informed of all mat- ters of interest, and to Hale's care in preserving his letters we are indebted for additions of some value to local history. Hearing from the captain that he was at Winter Hill, Saltonstall replied: "I see you are stationed in the mouth of danger. I look upon your situation as more perilous than any other in camp." In reply to some- thing Hale must have written him about entering the service, he says: "I wholly agree with you in y^ agree- ables of a camp life and should have tryed it in some capacity or other before now, could my father carry on his business without me. I proposed going with Dudley [his brother] who is appointed to command a twenty- Gun ship in the Continental Navy, but my father is not 78 NATHAN HALE, 1776 willing, and I can't persuade myself to leave him in the eve of life against his consent." An opportunity offered later. In a postscript he adds: "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 some- thing in your next by way of P. S. that I may shew it them." He sends Hale the war news from different points, addresses him as "Esteemed Friend" and hopes he will continue writing him from camp. His letters in the Appendix only add to the regret that Hale's answers, and his replies to others, have not come to light. John Hallam wrote October 9 : "I received your two letters by Capt. Packwood and the post — am extremely glad you bore travelling & arrived at the camp so well. . . . Mrs. Hallam, Betsey & the rest of the family's compli- ments to you." Young Thomas W. Fosdick applied for a position in the army, "under you in particular" — a wish that was to be gratified in the following year. Among his classmates, Elihu Marvin, at Norwich, took Hale to task for not remembering him : "Three months at Cam- bridge and not one line — Well, I can't help it; if a Cap- tain's commission has all this effect, what will happen when it is turned into a Colonel's. . . . Polly hears of one and another at New London who have letters from Mr. Hale, but none comes to me, Polly says." Roger Alden, at New Haven, also thought he was neglected, but explained with a sententious touch: "The cares, per- plexities and fatigues of your office are matters sufficient to vindicate your conduct, and the duty which you owe your honor and the interest of your country is sufficient to employ your whole time and to justify you in dispensing with the obligations of your old friends and acquaint- ances." In a livelier and more interested vein he con- tinued: "I almost envy you your circumstances — ^I want IN CAMP NEAR BOSTON 79 to be in the army very much; I feel myself fit to relish the noise of guns, trumpets, blunderbuss and thunder, and was I qualified for a berth and of influence sufficient to procure one, I would accept it with all my heart. . . . After you have thought over all this tell yourself that no one loves you more than Roger Alden," With the approach of winter the enlistment of a new army engrossed the attention of Congress and camp. The terms of most of the troops would expire in Decem- ber, and the danger was foreseen that during that and the following month the investment might be seriously weakened. Washington's anxiety in the case is expressed in his letters of that date. To meet the emergency it was determined to recruit new regiments, as far as possible from the old ones in camp, to serve through the year 1776. This was known as the new establishment, and Connecticut's quota was to be five battalions. Colonel Webb and all his captains, including Hale, reentered the service, first for the emergency until January i, and then for the following year. The nucleus of their regiment thus remained, and they proceeded to fill up its com- panies. In the new army for 1776 it was designated as the "Nineteenth Foot in the service of the United Colo- nies," otherwise in the army of the English colonies on the Continent of North America, and hence the "Con- tinental" army. Hale refers to this reorganization, and we find him cooperating heart and soul in the work. To tide over December, the men were urged by oflicers of all grades, including Generals Lee and Sullivan, to remain a few weeks longer, and the militia were called out to fill the gaps. In a single sentence in Hale's diary we may read how earnestly he put the case before his own company: "Promised the men if they would tarry another month they should have my wages for that time" — an offer that 8o NATHAN HALE. 1776 might spontaneously come from one who was ready to give his life at a more serious turn of affairs. Many soldiers volunteered to remain, and the siege was main- tained. One army was disappearing and another organ- izing in the face and with the knowledge of the enemy. Hale's term in the old Seventh expired December 6, and on the loth he was mustered out; but under the new arrangement he continued his duties without interrup- tion. He reenlisted men for his new company, who were given furloughs for a few weeks, while his lieutenant and ensign went back to Connecticut to recruit more. In the brief "cash" entries he kept and cancelled in the same little book containing his army diary, we notice pay- ments made to four soldiers as early as November, "in consequence," as each one says, "of my inlisting in the Continental service for another year." One of them, Lemuel Maynard, his drummer, received "i pr. Deer- skin breeches and 32 shillings." It took time to accom- plish the business in the winter season, and it was well into January before the second army took shape. From New London, John Hallam wrote to Hale, December 10, that in view of the large demands for men, recruit- ing for his command went on slowly. Captain Dudley Saltonstall was beating up sailors for his Continental frigate, and privateers were fitting out, whose prospects of adventure and profits were more attractive than ser- vice on land. It will be noticed that Hale commiserates Betsey Christophers on the social outlook for the winter, there would be so few gentlemen in town. During these army changes, Washington permitted officers and men to visit their homes, and Hale took his turn with the rest. On the 23d of December, first brushing up with a small outlay for "Dress^. Hat" and "dress^. hair," he left camp for a month's leave and reached his father's house at Coventry on the 26th. Of IN CAMP NEAR BOSTON 8i this visit we learn almost nothing from his diary, in which a break occurs from the 29th until his return to Winter Hill, and we will leave him at the firesides of those he loved, hardly one of whom was he to see again. His accounts, however, show that he spent part of the time at other places, looking after personal matters and enlistments. On January i, as we infer, he was at Wind- ham; the next day at Norwich, having his watch and buckles repaired; the following day, in New London once more, where some old dues for "Louisa fox's school^" were paid him, and where he stayed two or three days longer, settling accounts, one entry reading, "Maj. Lati- mer Cr By cash (my wages) 25. 10. 5. — By do (soldiers wages) 32. 2. 7." On the 8th he was back at home; on the 1 6th, pays "Sister Rose" for six pairs of mittens and one of stockings; on other days he buys cloth and buttons for half-boots, and a black Barcelona handkerchief, pays "Miss Ma'^'^. Gove" for making shirts, and has some small accounts with his brothers John and Joseph. About the 20th another trip to Norwich, this time, perhaps, "walking down street" with classmate Marvin and talk- ing about the town's Light Infantry Company, as Marvin writes on February 26; then on the 24th, the day he leaves for camp again, the entry shows him fairly well fitted out: "To Making & mending clothes o. 14-0, Mr. Lane." When at New London, Hale missed his ensign. Hurl- but, who had returned to camp and written him on the 28th: "I Joined our Company Last Sunday and found them all in Good Spirits. I was very much Disappointed in not seeing you Hear. I am now a Going to set out for Bunker Hill [on picket] But I shant Go with so much Pleasure as if you was to Be with me." On January 4, he is in happier mood: "Sir I hope the next Time I see you, it will be in Boston, a Drinking a glass of wine with 82 NATHAN HALE, 1776 me. If we can but have a Bridge we shall make a Push to Try our Brave Courage." On January 27 Hale was back in camp with recruits, to find that his regiment was one of the largest among the twenty-six which formed the new force, and that in the reorganization it was brigaded with three other Connecticut regiments under General Spencer and trans- ferred to the right wing at Roxbury. His own company, for 1776, was made up largely of new men. Its roll, as it stood in June of that year, has been published from his own papers in the Collections of the Connecticut His- torical Society. Writing to his brother Enoch, on the 3d, he says of It: "My company which at first was small. Is now increased to eighty, and there is a Sergeant recruit- ing, who, I hope, has got the other 10 which compleats the Company."^ Presently the military situation changed. Finding themselves locked in at Boston, unable to utilize either their army or their navy effectively, the British deter- mined to abandon the contracted base for a wider field. They proposed to make New York the center of opera- tions in 1776, and with powerful reinforcements control the line of the Hudson and thus isolate New England, with its large population and resources, from the other colonies. From that vantage-point the rebellion was to be quelled north and south. Washington and his officers fathomed the enemy's Intentions, and In January, Gen- eral Lee was dispatched to New York City to forestall Lord Howe and put the place In a state of defense. On March 17, 1776, came the first step In the change of base. The British evacuated Boston and sailed away to Hali- fax — an event that was hailed with the greatest satls- 1 Many of the soldiers' pay or "wages" receipts, as drawn up by Hale, are in the possession of Mr. George E. Hoadley, of Hartford. The last one is dated August 31, 1776, the day after the retreat from Long Island. IN CAMP NEAR BOSTON 83 faction throughout the country as a significant American triumph. Among other officers Colonel Jedediah Hunt- ington, at the Roxbury Camp, was made very happy over it and at once, on the same day, sent his congratulations to his brother Andrew, at Norwich. "Never was Joy painted in higher Colours," he writes, "than in the Faces of the Selectmen of Boston & other of the Inhabitants of that distressed Town when we first had an Interview this forenoon — I have been in several Parts of the Town — there seems to be much mischief done out of mere Wan- tonness — saw several Holes where the Cannon shot from our Lines at Roxbury had passed — two 13 Inch shells from Cobble Hill fell just over Mr. Sherburnes House a little above King's Chappie — I just step'd into Mr. Han- cocks to see what Damage he had suffered expecting to see every Thing laid waste but found it much otherwise — all his good Furniture Family Pictures &c are preserved & but little Hurt done to the House or Gardens . . , where the enemy will get another such Foothold I know not — my Love to Sister — congratulate you on this Ac- quisition — the oppressed Town is once more freed of its cruel masters. . . . "^ Of course Hale was happy as the rest after his many weeks of outpost service at the front. Washington immediately began the transfer of the main portion of his army to the threatened quarter. Just as the military field was thus widening, the vital political issue of the hour was looming larger. It was a propitious moment for the spread of the sentiment of independence, and it spread rapidly now during the spring of 1776. The appearance of Thomas Paine's pamphlet, "Common Sense," with its strong reasons and stirring words in favor of the step, largely explained this wave ^ From the MS. letter, Archives Connecticut Historical Society. 84 NATHAN HALE, 1776 of public Interest, although there was still caution and reserve. Paine was read widely, with occasional press comment. The papers seemed to be more eager to call attention to the extended sale of the pamphlet than to quote from its pages. "Eight editions," said the New Lon- don Gazette on March i, had already within a few weeks been printed in the different Colonies — one of them from the press of the Gazette itself — and by way of spirited indorsement it republished this extract from a Maryland paper: "If you know the author of COMMON SENSE tell him he has done wonders and worked miracles, made Tories WHIGS and washed Blackamores white. He has made a great number of converts here. His stile is plain and nervous; his facts are true; his reasoning just and conclusive. . . . Some time past the idea [of separation] would have struck us with horror; I now see no alterna- tive ; it is SERVIRE AUT DISJUNGE. Can any virtu- ous and brave American hesitate one moment in the choice?" The movement gathered and opinion became more out- spoken. The Hartford Courant, for April 8, said briefly but unmistakably: "A favorite toast in the best companies, is, 'May the INDEPENDENT principles of COMMON SENSE be confirmed throughout the United Colonies.' " Connecticut, officially through her Assem- bly, was an early advocate of separation, but of open individual discussion and "fanning of the flame" there was less than one might look for, and it is in connection with this fact that we insert here in full a letter on the sub- ject from Hale's good friend Robinson. It is a new, hitherto unpublished contribution, and in view of its relation to the public question of the day, as well as of the expressions of the writer's high personal regard, it may be ranked as the most important piece of the Hale correspondence: IN CAMP NEAR BOSTON S5 Robinson to Hale, on the Question of Independence New Haven Feby W^, 1776 Dear Sir I dare say you will readily allow that from my pres- ent studies & my future designs in Life I may claim a right to an equal share with the Soldier in those tender feelings of Friendship which in yours of the 9*^ Inst, you justly observe "oi ght to be his distinguishing char- acteristic" & that I may with equal propriety "converse with my Friends without flattery & write to them with- out apology" — That I have ever since the commence- ment of our intimate acquaintance convers'd with you in this way you are yourself my witness & that I shall still continue the same in my Letters you will need no further proof than you at this instant hold in your hand. You are pleas'd with your conditions & companions & are therefore happy. I rejoice at it with all my heart & sincerely wish that your happiness may continue a long time tho' in some other situation (ie) I wish we may not long need your service in the Field but that our injured bleeding country may shortly be delivered from her present melancholy situation & how my dear Friend shall lue hope this event so much to be desired so ear- nestly to be sought for by everyone is to be brought about? is it by a reconciliation with the (falsly call'd) parent state? that cannot, it is not to be expected. The King is still stretching (as he is pleas'd to call it) his rod of paternal Authority over us — the Ministry seem fully determined upon driving matters to the last extremity — the corrupt & venal Parliament are almost intirely in their interest & have resolv'd to support his sacred Majesty in the full exertion of his royal Author- ity — there is indeed a small minority in our favour, which is indeed but as the small dust of the balance for I'm sure they weigh nothing in the scale which like Homer's 86 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Troy "strikes the sky." from this quarter then we can derive no relief. Since then we must at all events have War & that without any alternative it stands us in hand attentively to consider what steps may be pursued with the great- est probability of success and to go into them without hesitation. Whether we ought in point of advantage to declare ourselves an independent state & fight as independents or still continue to resist as subjects is a question which has of late very much engross'd in these parts the con- versation of every rank more especially since the appear- ance of a little Pamphlet entitled common sense — Ap- propos of common sense have you seen it? Upon my word 'tis well done. — 'tis what would be com?non sense were not most Men so blinded by their prejudices that their sense of things is not what it ought to be. — I con- fess a perusal of it has much reform'd my notions upon several points & I hope it may have the same effect upon many others — I own myself a staunch independent and ground my principles upon almost innumerable argu- ments. — I can see no one advantage we now have that would be less[e]ned by such a declaration, but many that we now have not which we would derive from it, — I sincerely believe that it would be the shortest method of bringing the War to an end and would in fine prove the salvation & glory of the Continent — Dear Nathan the society only of a few old Friends is wanting to render my situation here perfectly agree- able. I study or divert myself as I please & am at Lib- erty from all the World: & now I'm speaking of my old Friends Pray can you forward me a Letter to Rev^. M*". Samson. I'll thank you if you'll take the trouble to inquire for him & if you find it practicable inform me of it. perhaps you may get information from Lieut. Col. Alden of Duxbury whose station the last summer IN CAMP NEAR BOSTON 87 was at Roxbury & in whose regiment M"". Sampson was occasionally Chaplain. — I remain your sincere Friend W Robinson M-" Dwight sends you a subscription paper for printing his Poem. Pray get as many subscribers as possible that we may soon have it out — ^ This letter is especially interesting as showing what people were talking about at the college town of New Haven, It properly belongs to the correspondence of the times. We would not miss the "Dear Nathan," but Robinson's political philosophy is the key-note, and the sidelight he throws upon "conversation" around him and the conservatism and "prejudices" of men is worth having. Robinson was then studying at Yale under the Berkeley scholarship, Sampson not availing himself of it, and within the college circle he must have found the general sentiment in accord with his own. There was "sedition" enough now floating about the seminary halls. The patriotic Daggett, Dwight, Humphreys, Alden, and others were there, doubtless as "staunch independents" as Robinson, and as eagerly absorbing "Common Sense." Our young Captain was with them in spirit. We can imagine the appreciation and enthusiasm with which he answered his classmate's letter. 1 From the collection of the late Mr. W. F. Havemeyer, of New York. The letter is addressed "To Cap*. Nathan Hale, Roxbury Camp — By Cap*. Perrit," and indorsed by Hale. VI WITH THE ARMY AT NEW YORK— DEFEAT ON LONG ISLAND The Boston army marched to New York by brigades, following each other at brief intervals. The first to start was a specially organized command under General Heath and included Hale's regiment, Webb's "Nineteenth." Webb's marching orders, signed by Horatio Gates, then Washington's adjutant-general, have been preserved. Leaving Roxbury March i8 with five days' cooked rations, the troops were to proceed by way of Mann's to Providence and thence by way of Green's and Burn- ham's, well-known inns, to Norwich, a distance of ninety- three miles, which Heath reports, the condition of the roads considered, they covered "with great expedition." On the 26th the troops were at New London and Hale found himself for a third time among the friends of his school-teaching days and in the community from which he had volunteered for the field. But there was little time for greeting or reminiscence, as the local Gazette states that on the following day they all "embarked in high spirits on board 15 transports and sailed for New York." Leisurely floating up the Sound, they reached the East River in the forenoon of the 30th and, as Heath again tells us, disembarked at Turtle Bay, a convenient landing- place at the foot of present Forty-fifth Street, a little south of Blackwell's Island. As Hale stepped lightly ashore with his company and casually took in the surroundings, he saw near by an old powder-house and beyond it perhaps the remains of a WITH THE ARMY AT NEW YORK 89 former garrison camp, while just above stood attract- ively James Beekman's handsome mansion and cultivated grounds. Little did he dream that the shifting events of the next five months and a half would force this same scene upon his view again with a sudden and pitiless real- ity! From that mansion he was to receive his death sentence, and but a mile away from where he was stand- ing, with enemies instead of friends about him, he was to meet his tragic death. From Turtle Bay the troops marched into New York City and quartered in barracks and vacant houses. In the course of two weeks the other brigades arrived. Washington, not trusting to transports, rode down the shore road from New London and reached the city April 13. From this time until the battle of Long Island in August the business in hand for the American forces was to fortify their new position. The military problem pre- sented more complications than at Boston. There the object had been to drive the enemy out of a city; here the effort must be made to prevent them from occupying one. As New York was open to a combined attack at more than one point by the British fleet and land forces, the difficulties of the defense were greatly increased. To protect the city from direct bombardment it became neces- sary to throw one wing of the American army over to the Long Island or Brooklyn side of the East River and by its partial isolation weaken the entire line. This was the defect in Washington's new position, but it was felt, and wisely held both in Congress and the army, that the moral effect of the voluntary abandonment of so impor- tant a center would work more seriously than defeat in attempting to hold it. The enemy were to be met at the coast where they landed and every inch of soil disputed with them. This was the key-note of the campaign of 1776. go NATHAN HALE, 1776 In following Hale's experiences in this new field, we miss the two sources of information and personal inci- dent available for 1775. The entries in his diary for 1776 are few and scattered and most of his correspond- ence has disappeared. Of his own letters for this year, three exist. In various other records, however, his regi- ment is referred to. On April 2, three days after its arrival. General Heath reviewed his brigade "on the green near the Liberty pole." The men, we are told, "made a martial appearance, being well armed, and went through their exercise much to the satisfaction of a great con- course of the inhabitants of the city." The green was the present City Hall Park, then much larger in area and generally called "the fields," or common, while the liberty-pole, which in earlier years Sons of Liberty set up as often as British soldiers cut it down, stood near the spot where Hale's statue now stands. In the review he must have marched over the site. As summer approached and troops kept coming in, they were encamped In tents outside of the city and on the Long Island front. Heath's brigade, which passed successively under Generals Stir- ling's and Sullivan's command and later under General McDougall's, was stationed early in May at about the center of the defenses thrown up across the island along the Bowery at that point, with Webb's regiment appar- ently on the west side of the road. Of the three redoubts it was to man, one was on a high hill known as Bayard's Mount, but which the British during their occupation called Bunker Hill. It was In Its vicinity that Hale would have been found during the greater part of this cam- paign. On July 9 — quoting once more from Heath's valu- able memoirs — "At evening roll-call the declaration of the Congress, declaring the United Colonies FREE, SOVEREIGN, AND INDEPENDENT STATES, waS published at WITH THE ARMY AT NEW YORK 91 the head of the respective brigades in camp, and received with loud huzzas." The inevitable issue was joined at last, a new nation was proclaimed, and no one, we ven- ture to say, gave a more responsive cheer than our young captain, who felt for the first time that whatever sacrifice he might be called upon to make, it could now be made in the name of all that the colonies ought to fight for. None could rejoice more heartily with him than William Robinson, with his faith in the doctrine and counsel of "Common Sense." For a short time, in April or May, Hale's regiment was stationed on Long Island, where there were works to build and tories to watch. Many of the latter were arrested and removed under guard to other parts. Hale entertaining a true Whig's opinion of them. "It would grieve every good man," he writes to his brother Enoch, May 30, "to consider what unnatural monsters we have as it were in our bowels. Numbers in this Colony, and likewise in the western part of Connecticut, would be glad to imbrue their hands in their country's blood." With more satisfaction he touches on other points, June 3 : "It gives pleasure to every friend of his country to observe the health which prevails in our army. . . . The army is every day 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 num- bers the British army for the summer is to consist of — undoubtedly sufficient to cause too much bloodshed." These are brief sentences, but they continue to reflect Hale's unwavering tone. He is observing, stout-hearted, confident, ready to meet the enemy "at any kind of play." Enoch Hale's replies to his "brother Captain," as he 92 NATHAN HALE, 1776 called him, are not at hand. That he wrote to him sev- eral times at this period appears from his own brief diary. Having entered the ministry, Enoch was now beginning to preach, filling pulpits temporarily at different places. As a member of a patriotic family, he was interested in all that was going on and added his encouragement to the cause. "Go to training, pray with the soldiers," is one of his entries. "Preach to the soldiers before they march" is another. On June 19 he notes that his brother John "has received a letter from Nathan, dated 17th at New York; has sent one for me by the way of Norwich — not received yet." From July 23 to 26 he was in New Haven attending Commencement. He called on the President, saw Mr. Dwight, dined with classmate Hillhouse, lodged with classmate Robinson, took tea at "Rev. Edwards" and "Rev. Whittlesey's" and obtained the degree of Master of Arts for himself and the captain. "Write to brother to tell him I have got him his degree." Many questions, of course, these good college friends had to ask about Nathan and how he fared in the army, and probably they heard nothing more of him until the dis- tressing news came in two months later. To the disappointment of the spirited young officers in the American army, no more opportunities for dis- tinguishing themselves in minor affairs offered here at New York than at the siege of Boston. Active cam- paigning did not open until the end of the summer. Pre- liminary skirmishes, dashes at picket posts, bold recon- noitering, and surprises were out of the question before the battle of Long Island. Hale, it will appear, seems to have missed the chances of this kind which warfare usually presents. How much credit, accordingly, is to be given to accounts which make him the leader in a clever exploit early in the season, it is difficult to say. It is stated that he performed the feat of cutting out a sloop WITH THE ARMY AT NEW YORK 93 loaded with supplies from under the guns of the British man-of-war Asia, then lying in the East River, and dis- tributing the clothes and provisions to needy soldiers of the army. That he was capable of such a capture will be taken for granted, but most probably the incident has come down in an exaggerated form or has been confused with some other affair.^ Many of Hale's company being sailors, they were detailed from time to time to man whale-boats patrolling the harbor and surrounding shores, and a few, with one or two officers, are reported as being in the privateering service. Beyond this the regiment was on almost constant duty with the other troops on the lines around the city or on Governor's Island. Presently, on June 28, the enemy arrived. In a few weeks they numbered twenty-five thousand, with a power- ful fleet to cooperate. Their camps were scattered over Staten Island. Washington's force was somewhat larger, but, with its many militiamen, far less effective. The expectation and suspense in the American camp were aggravated by Lord Howe's leisurely delay in prepar- ing to advance. It was not until August 22 that he moved. The last note we have from Hale was dated two days before. To his brother he wrote: "I have only time for a hasty letter. Our situation has been such this fortnight or more as scarce to admit of writing. . . . For about six or eight days the enemy have been expected hourly whenever the wind and tide in the least favored. We keep a particular look out for them this morning. The place and manner of attack time must determine. The event we leave to Heaven." The first collision with the enemy — the battle of Long Island — occurred on August 27. Lord Howe, at Staten Island, had been studying the American position for sev- 1 Some facts in the case are given in Chapter VIII. 94 NATHAN HALE, 1776 eral weeks and rightly concluded that Its vulnerable point lay in the detached left wing on the Brooklyn side. A successful attack there would result in the capture of some thousands of Washington's men, or, if unsuccessful, the British could march on to the vicinity of Hell Gate, and by threatening the American flank and rear at Harlem or beyond, compel the surrender of New York. Accord- ingly, with the bulk of his army, twenty-two thousand or more effectives, Howe crossed the Narrows to Gravesend beach and prepared to push three columns against the Brooklyn outposts and fortified lines. The latter ran through the heart of the present city. One column moved toward the site of Greenwood Cemetery, another to Flatbush and the lower edge of Prospect Park, while the third and strongest, under Howe in person, was held in position further east. As soon as Washington was assured that this was no feint, but a determined advance, he hurried troops across to the exposed flank and engaged the enemy in skirmishes on the roads. On the night of the 26th Howe marched his third column far out to his right, encircled the American pickets, captured the patrol of five ofl'icers looking out for him, and early on the fol- lowing morning reached a point between the American works and the three thousand American troops at the outposts on the grounds of the cemetery and the park. Finding themselves outflanked and almost surrounded, these troops made a dash to the rear to regain their works, and in the running fight that followed and In the stand made here and there by separate parties in the woods and fields we have the battle of Long Island. Washington lost about eleven hundred men that morn- ing, two thirds of them prisoners, and on the night of the 29th, the position proving untenable, he made his famous retreat back to New York. The skill with which this was effected and the chagrin of the enemy at the loss WITH THE ARMY AT NEW YORK 95 of their opportunity compensated partially, in moral effect, for the disaster of the 27th. Hale's regiment did not participate in this battle. McDougall's brigade, to which it then belonged, was one of the commands which had been sent over one or two days before, but it was retained within the works to repel an expected assault by the enemy after their success in the open. Hale and his comrades, however, must have been able to witness much of the fighting, and on the night of the retreat, with the sailors in the companies to dis- tribute among the boats, they probably had their hands full. We should look for some description of these exciting events in the captain's diary, but here that already broken record stops short. The closing entry, dated August 23, as given in his diary among his papers, mentions the skirmishing on Long Island, and, so far as known, this is the last item of military news we have under his own hand. Hale was now twenty-one years old, and commanding a company seventy or eighty strong. It has been ob- served by writers that the Revolution was fought out largely by young men, which is substantially true of all long wars. Our schoolmaster-captain was hardly a veteran as yet, but fourteen months with the army had made him something of a seasoned soldier who under- stood his duties and impressed his superiors. His own company he doubtless held well in hand by firm and kind methods and the force of his own example. Such a spirit would wish for men who could be depended upon in action, and we know that already there was some fight- ing material developing in his little command. His brave boy-sergeant, Fosdick, mentioned in Hale's last letter, could dare to run a fire-raft against a British man-of-war, and presently he will be fighting in Knowlton's Rangers. His ensign, George Hurlbut, subsequently promoted a cav- 96 NATHAN HALE, 1776 airy captain, was to be mortally wounded in saving a store- ship In the Hudson, not far above the scene of Fosdick's exploit. Washington's orders mention him and his com- rades on the occasion as "entitled to the most distin- guished notice and applause from their general." His faithful sergeant, Stephen Hempstead, to be referred to again, barely survived the terrible wounds he received at the defense of Fort Ledyard and In the massacre of Its garrison. What these fine fellows thought of their cap- tain Is a matter of record. All three were happy In serv- ing under him. Hale's new first lieutenant, Charles Webb, Jr., the colonel's son, was to fall some months later In a hand-to-hand whale-boat encounter In the Sound. So, too, as the emergency called for additional troops, there came down to camp several more of Hale's friends — a number having been with him at the Boston siege — filled with the same bright hopes for their coun- try, some of whom were to win laurels. His uncle Joseph and cousin Nathan Strong, mentioned In previous chap- ters, appeared as chaplains for brief terms, and one or more of his brothers and some relatives from Ashford and Canterbury served with the mllltla. General Gur- don Saltonstall and his son Gilbert, Hale's faithful corre- spondent, arrived with a New London county brigade only In time to hear of their friend's cruel fate. Gilbert subsequently entered the privateer service, and was sev- eral times wounded In an action with a British cruiser, which In desperation and casualties recalled the sea-fights of Paul Jones. Among college mates, Tallmadge, like Hale, now broke away from his school desk and took the field as adjutant. He was to become a quite famous major of dragoons, and be taken Into Washington's confidence In the management of Important secret services during the war. Schoolmasters Alden and Marvin, and Mr. Dwight as chaplain, followed In 1777. Wyllys, salutatorlan at WITH THE ARMY AT NEW YORK 97 Hale's Commencement, was also here. When New York fell In September, it was his fate to be captured and held a prisoner in the city at the time his classmate was exe- cuted. Still other friends and acquaintances now in camp were Isaac Sherman, William Hull, and Ezra Sel- den, who, as battalion and company commanders, were to rush with Wayne into the enemy's stronghold at Stony Point — the most brilliant affair of the war. Had Hale lived, the promise of like service and promotion was before him. Not that he would have sought military honors as such, for a professional soldier he never could have become; but with his talents, aptitude, personal presence, and devotion to the cause, he could hardly have retired at the end with less distinction than his compan- ions. He was to be cut down, however, at the threshold, and an unexpected and peculiarly precious remembrance held in reserve for him. The strong purpose and action, which have given to the world its martyrs and patriots, work out their end in their own way and their own time. For Hale the occasion was to come in the next twenty days. VII HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES— CAPTURE AND EXECUTION At no period of the war was Washington oppressed with keener anxieties or a heavier responsibihty than dur- ing the twenty days immediately following the battle of Long Island. As New York was now practically at the mercy of the enemy — their guns on Brooklyn Heights commanding the city — all the preparations of the sum- mer had come to naught. The blow fell with depressing effect on both army and country. To restore confidence, repair losses, and provide against further defeat required herculean exertion. The faithful chief still hoped to maintain the same brave front, and to cling to every foot of the soil he had been called to defend, when a new problem was presented in the changed military situation. It was seen to be full of danger. Within a week, or by September 6, the British had extended their camps on the Long Island side from Brooklyn to Newtown and Hell Gate, a distance of seven miles or more, while their fleet threatened the city from below. Where Washing- ton before had been facing south, with Howe on Staten Island, he now found himself in effect facing east, with the narrow East River alone between him and his antago- nist. Safety seemed to lie in the instant abandonment of New York and all the island below the line of Harlem. Unwilling to retreat until driven by superior force, the American generals held a council of war on the 7th, and determined to defend their entire position, both city and island. This decision, which has been criticized as unmili- HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 99 tary and almost inexplicable, was to be reversed four days later, but the troops were not all withdrawn from the city until the 15th. Washington, more than any one else, recognized the risks involved. Against them he also balanced the chances in his favor, as they varied from day to day and from hour to hour. The imminent danger was twofold. As long as it could be observed that the British were not collecting a flotilla of boats for crossing, the American army was comparatively safe. One tide at night, however, might bring them up from the bay, in which case another surprise would be possible. Three ships, the he Brune, Niger, and brig Halifax, had sailed around from the Narrows into the Sound and anchored above New Rochelle on the afternoon of the battle, and their boats would be available. The American wing about Harlem and the troops below would thus be threat- ened by way of the present Blackwells, Wards, and Ran- dalls Islands, while the entire army might be hemmed in on Manhattan Island by a more northerly move across to the Westchester shore and a rapid march to White Plains or upon Kingsbridge. In either attempt on the part of the British it was of the first importance to antici- pate them. With this critical situation continuing during the first two weeks of September, Washington's suspense in- creased. If he had been anxious to fathom Howe's plans before the latter began the campaign from Staten Island, he was far more so now. It was not enough to keep a ceaseless watch across the East River. Works and camps were here and there in open view, but what was going on behind them? When and where was the next blow to fall? What Washington sought for was information — full, accurate, and speedy information that would throw light on Howe's designs. Like every other commander in his- 100 NATHAN HALE, 1776 tory, all through the contest he came to depend much on intelligence gained through the "secret service."^ Authori- ties on war make the spy an essential of war, especially jus- tifying his utilization by an army defending a great cause and its own soil. This had already been done in the present campaign. As early as July 14, General Hugh Mercer reported his regret to Washington that he could find no one qualified to enter the camp of the British then recently arrived. On August 21, however, General William Livingston relieved him with the despatch: "Very providentially I sent a spy last night on Staten Island to obtain intelligence. He has this moment returned in safety." So now, on September i, the chief urged Generals Heath and George Clinton to establish "a channel of information" through which frequent reports from the Long Island side could reach him. "Perhaps," he writes, "some might be got who are really Tories for a reasonable reward to undertake it. Those who are friends would be preferable, if they could man- age it as well." More anxiously and hurriedly he wrote on the 5th: "As everything in a manner depends on obtaining intelligence of the enemy's motions, I do most earnestly entreat you and General Clinton to exert your- selves to accomplish this most desirable end. Leave no stone unturned, nor do not stick at expense to bring this to pass, as I was never more uneasy than on account of my want of knowledge on this score. . . . Keep con- stant lookouts, with good glasses, on some commanding heights that look well on to the other shore, and espe- cially into the bays, where boats can be concealed, that they may observe, more particularly in the evening, if ^ On this point consult article, "The Secret Service of the Revolution," in Magazine of American History, February, 1882. It there appears how far Major Tallmadge, Hale's classmate, assisted Washington in the business. HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES loi there be any uncommon movements. Much will depend upon early intelligence, and meeting the enemy before they can intrench. I should much approve of small harassing parties, stealing, as it were, over in the night, as they might keep the enemy alarmed, and more than probably bring off a prisoner, from whom some valuable intelligence may be obtained."^ Heath and Clinton promptly responded. The latter attempted something in person, by going to New Rochelle to lead a scouting party of one hundred men to Long Island on the night of the 9th, but he found the Halifax with three sloop tenders lying in his course and he was stopped. The most he could do was to send over two men who solemnly en- gaged "to run every risk to gain the necessary intelli- gence."^ Heath rode down to the shore to see that pickets and outposts were on the watch. It is here, in this emergency, that we come to what proved to be the turning point in Hale's career. As in the case of many other officers in the after years of the war, he was temporarily transferred from his own regi- ment to another command. Ordinarily this would be no more than an interesting fact in his soldier experience, but its relation to the anxieties felt at headquarters and 1 This Interesting letter appears in the "Heath Papers," p. 283, Massa- chusetts Historical Society Collections. 2 "Public Papers of George Clinton," etc.. Revolution Series, Vol. I, p. 343. Washington showed the same anxiety at the close of the campaign when he was forced to retreat through the Jerseys and across the Dela- ware at Trenton. Wishing to know whether the enemy intended to follow him immediately, he wrote to General Ewing, December 14, in the same vein as here to Heath and Clinton; "Everything in a manner depends on the defense at the Water Edge. . . . Let me entreat you to Cast about to find out some person who can be engaged to Cross the River as a Spy, that we may, if possible, obtain some knowledge of the Enemy's Situation, movements and intentions. . . . Expense must not be Spared . . . and will readily be paid by me." 102 NATHAN HALE. 1776 to the situation in which the army was just then placed, unwittingly made the change a matter of vital conse- quence to himself. The new command was a small body then recently organized for special light and scouting service, which will be recognized by those familiar with these movements as "Knowlton's Rangers." Such ran- gers had been effective in the French and Indian War. Among their daring leaders were Captains Robert Rogers and Israel Putnam. They had served as the eyes of the old frontier army under Amherst and Abercrom- bie, and it was just such trusty and fearless men that Washington now needed in his own during the remainder of this campaign. The lack of them was felt on Long Island when Howe stole his night march around the American left. As Putnam had become a rebel general and Rogers a loyalist colonel on the other side, the com- mand of the proposed corps fell to Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Knowlton, of Ashford, Connecticut, who had gallantly defended the rail fence at Bunker Hill, and in the former war had been a ranger himself. For this body about one hundred and thirty men and twenty officers were regarded as sufficient for present purposes. They were divided into four companies, and only the best material was admitted to their ranks. The selec- tions were made largely from the regiments of Knowl- ton's own State, and it is probable that the captains at least were men of his own choice. Two were taken from his own regiment, and of the other two, one was Nathan Hale. Whether the latter volunteered his services, or was invited on account of his recognized fitness, does not appear. We know that he was accepted and served. On the September rolls of Webb's regiment the record is entered that one captain and two lieutenants were "on command," while among the many evidences of service filed away in the Pension Bureau at Washington — the HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 103 diaries, letters, commissions, and sometimes touching statements of old Revolutionary soldiers whom Con- gress had long neglected — may be found the brief re- ceipts of moneys due to "the Company of Rangers com- manded late by Captain Hale."^ And so we reach those few remaining days when our student-captain will break away from regimental routine to seek more active duty; when he will find himself in closer touch with the movements and interests of the army at large; when he will know more of the plans and wishes of his beloved commander; when he will feel the thrill of special responsibility; and when, finally, he will not shrink from taking his life in his hands and, single-handed, attempt a service which he feels the de- mands of the hour require of him. Completed about September i, Knowlton's detachment was quickly scouting at exposed points. One company, certainly, patrolled the Westchester shore, and the others probably the Harlem and Hell Gate flank. They were not engaged on the 15th when Howe finally made his descent on New York, for he crossed some miles below, at Kip's Bay, at the foot of East Thirty-fourth Street. Washington meanwhile had withdrawn the greater part of his force from the city to the northern end of the island, and suffered nothing more serious than a tempo- rary panic and the loss of three or four hundred militia- men. On the following day, however, September 16, the entire body of Rangers succeeded in drawing the van of the British some distance out of their new encampment on the line of One Hundred and Seventh Street, crossing upper Central Park, and then, with other troops, distin- guished themselves in driving it back again with loss. 1 The Battle of Harlem Heights, p. 194; published for the Columbia University Press, New York, 1897. For roster of the Rangers, see p. 189 of that work. 104 NATHAN HALE, 1776 This was the battle of Harlem Heights, fought partly on the present site of Columbia University; and although it proved a costly victory in the death of the brave Knowl- ton, it wonderfully cheered the dispirited army and stirred the young blood of its soldiers to further effort. With what courage and dash would not Hale have en- gaged in this encounter after the long months of drill, trench digging, and company cares in camp ! Here were fire and action that were real and brought results — the kind of service he had been clearly eager for, and which now it seemed that he could render. But Hale was not there. Probably of all the Rangers he alone was absent from the Harlem field — nevertheless to be found some- where on some kind of duty, we may be assured. At the very hour that his comrades were developing the position of the enemy and fighting hard to retrieve the loss and panic of the previous day, he was far over on the shores of Long Island on the point of undertaking the hazard- ous errand with which his name is associated. As Knowlton, in the capacity of partizan leader, received his instructions directly from the Commander- in-Chief, he came necessarily to enter confidentially into his anxieties and wishes. There is no record to follow here, no unearthed reports of interviews and orders, but if Washington had urged Mercer and Livingston and Heath and Clinton to use every means to obtain informa- tion of the enemy, employing spies if they could, he obvi- ously urged the same on Knowlton, in whose military capacity and tact he had great confidence. If it belonged to any one it would belong to an officer whose business it was to keep in close touch with the opposite picket lines, to see what could be done by stealthy means. The office of a spy was doubtless as repugnant to the gallant Ranger leader as to any soldier in the army, but in the present emergency, between the ist and lOth of Septem- HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 105 ber, he could not ignore the call upon him and he broached the subject to one or more of his captains and subordinates. Possibly he was directed to do so by Wash- ington himself. The veil that usually hangs over the transactions of the secret service is tightly drawn in this case, and we are left largely to conjecture as to Knowl- ton's presentation of the matter. Of one thing only have we definite knowledge, and that is, that among his offi- cers Captain Nathan Hale, after conversations with his colonel and a fellow-captain, became deeply impressed with the situation and the unexpected duty which seemed to devolve on some one in his corps. The question broke full upon him, at first perhaps like a shadow, and again like a summons — Shall he become a spy? There could have been no climax or dramatic incidents, as usually represented, connected with Hale's acceptance of this service. Out of keeping with his character, incon- sistent with military usage, and not well authenticated, they may be discarded as impairing the naturalness of the story, ^ It is just at this point that the young patriot reveals himself and shines in his own light. He does not act from impulse. Fortunately, we have an expression of his views in the case, and know what considerations 1 Stuart has generally been followed in his description of a meeting between Knowlton and his officers, where, after an appeal in the name of Washington for a volunteer to enter the enemy's lines, with no response from any one, there presently "came a voice with the painfully thrilling yet cheering words — 7 ^ill undertake it!' That was the voice of Captain Nathan Hale. He had come late into the assembly of officers. Scarcely yet recovered from a severe illness, his face still pale, without his accus- tomed strength of body, yet firm and ardent as ever of soul, he volunteered at once, reckless of its danger, and though doubtless appalled, not van- quished by its disgrace, to discharge the repudiated trust." Stuart prob- ably accepted some tradition to this effect. Hull, however, tells us that Hale had the matter under consideration and sought his advice. Sergeant Hempstead, the captain's attendant, states that he declined the proposi- tion at first on account of recent illness, but accepted on further reflection. io6 NATHAN HALE, 1776 moved him. In so grave a matter he would seek advice, and to no one could he open his mind more freely than to his college associate and fellow-captain, William Hull. From the latter we have the substance of the interview. "There was no young man," writes this officer, "who gave fairer promise of an enlightened and devoted ser- vice to his country than this my friend and companion in arms. His naturally fine intellect had been carefully cul- tivated, and his heart was filled with generous emotions; but, like the soaring eagle, the patriotic ardour of his soul 'winged the dart which caused his destruction.' After his interview with Colonel Knowlton, he repaired to my quarters and informed me of what had passed. He remarked that he thought he owed to his country the accomplishment of an object so important and so much desired by the commander of her armies, and he knew 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." Hull then replied, as he tells us, by laying before Hale the hateful service of a spy, and his own unfitness for the role, as being too frank and open for deceit and evasion, and warned him of the consequences. He predicted, indeed, that should he undertake the enterprise, his promising career would close with an ignominious death. In Hale's reply, spoken, says Hull, with warmth and decision, we have a fitting prelude to his dying words: "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 mate- rial service while receiving a compensation for which I make no return. Yet I am not influenced by the expec- tation of promotion or pecuniary reward; I wish to be useful, and every kind of service, necessary to the public good, becomes honorable by being necessary. If the exi- HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 107 gencles of my country demand a peculiar service its claims to perform that service are imperious."^ Once more Hull urged him, for love of country and of kindred, to abandon the project. Hale paused a moment, then affectionately taking his companion by the hand, added, as he went out: "I will reflect, and do nothing but what duty demands." When Hull next heard of him it was the shocking word that his prediction had come true. That Hale should take so high and unusual a view of the obligations of the service upon him needs no other explanation than one finds in his own words and in his training and moral fiber. It was his view of duty. There was something of what has been called the Puritan inwardness in the process by which he reached his deci- sion. In the previous century he would have made a soldier after Cromwell's own heart — an Ironside who could pray mightily and fight as he prayed. If a service was to be performed which the crisis demanded, in the performance of it all consequences were to be excluded from consideration. In this case the situation seemed to the earnest youth to require his best and most unselfish effort. Washington's latest order, following the retreat from Long Island, called especially upon the officers of all grades "to exert themselves and gloriously determine to conquer or die," and Hale's answer came in the reso- lution he now formed. This question — the momentous question of his life — ■ thus settled, the captain left camp on his perilous mis- sion, with the calm and sustaining courage, we must believe, which such a decision would inspire. The time of his departure can be fixed with some degree of accu- racy through his brother Enoch, who notes in his diary 1 Revolutionary Services and Civil Life of General William Hull, by his daughter, Mrs. Maria Campbell. Further reference is made to this work. io8 NATHAN HALE, 1776 that it was "about the second week" of September, or approximately the loth or 12th of the month. Guided by the recollections of his sergeant, Hempstead, who, at Hale's request, accompanied him a certain distance as an attendant, we can also trace his steps well toward his destination. The safest route lay across the Sound and along the roads of Long Island, around to the rear of the British army on the East River. This was one of the lines of secret communication effectively utilized by Washington in later years, and he may have indicated it for the present initial venture.^ With a general order in his pocket from the Commander-in-Chief to the cap- tains of armed craft to convey him to any point he might designate. Hale proceeded through Westchester County into Connecticut, where no opportunity of crossing offered until he reached Norwalk.^ Had he attempted the start from a point further west — from Throgs Neck, City Island, or New Rochelle — the risks would have been great, for British men-of-war were hovering in the vicin- ity, with their tenders scouring the shores for skiffs and boats. As this was one of the objects of Hale's errand, to ascertain what movement these ships might be trying to blind or directly facilitate, it behooved him, above all things, to avoid them at this stage of his route. At Norwalk, Hale found an armed sloop, in command, as Hempstead states, of a Captain Pond, with whom he 1 Whether Hale received instructions as to his route and the informa- tion required directly from Washington or from the latter through Colonel Knowlton, is not entirely clear. It was necessary for the Commander-in- Chief to give his consent to the enterprise. Hempstead states that the captain twice visited headquarters on the business, headquarters then being at the Mortier house on the west side, above the line of present Canal Street. We believe it safe to follow Hempstead. Younger officers on special duty were generally in the confidence of Washington. It was so with Major Tallmadge for the greater part of the war. Hempstead's article on Hale is given in Chapter VIII. 2 A brief note on the crossing-place is given in the concluding chapter. HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 109 arranged to be set across the Sound at Huntington, Long Island, twelve or fifteen miles distant. We now know that this was Charles Pond, of Milford, Connecticut, one of Hale's fellow-officers in the Nineteenth Regiment, necessarily well known to him, and whose own hardy and daring spirit would lead him to further his comrade's enterprise. How Captain Pond came to be in the naval service and at Norwalk at this particular moment revives some incidents in the exciting warfare of the Revolutionary privateers of which as yet we know but little. In this instance the documents of the time help us to the extent that among the vessels which the Provincial Convention of New York had fitted out to guard the coast were two armed sloops named the Montgomery and the Schuyler, commanded respectively by Captains William Rogers and James Smith. In May, 1776, Smith resigned his com- mission and the Schuyler passed as a Continental sloop under the command of Captain Pond, who, as one of the skilful sailors in his regiment, was detached for tempo- rary service at sea, much as Captain Coit and others had been detached from their regiments for similar service off Boston. During the summer these two small vessels cruised from Sandy Hook to Montauk Point and sent their prizes into Rhode Island and Connecticut, or stranded them in the inlets of the South Shore. On June 19, Pond reported to Washington the capture, off Fire Island, of an English merchantman with a valuable cargo, which Washington in turn was gratified to report to Con- gress. With the defeat on Long Island, the successful run of these vessels was cut short. The enemy's ships — among them the Cerberus, Merlin, and Syren — became more active and drove the American craft into safer waters. The Montgomery and the Schuyler, which at times cruised in company, slipped by these watch-dogs, and about no NATHAN HALE, 1776 September 3 sailed into New London harbor. A few days later one of them certainly, and doubtless both, reported at Norwalk/ Hale would thus find them there on his arrival. The usual ferry to Long Island, run by the Raymonds of Norwalk, had been interrupted by the presence in the Sound, and occasionally in that vicinity, of the British eight- or ten-gun brig Halifax, already mentioned, com- manded by Captain Quarme, and in her unpublished log we find an entry which seems to be confirmatory of the foregoing and may furnish the approximate date of Hale's crossing. Cruising off Huntington on the 17th, Quarme learned that "two rebel privateers" had been seen in the neighborhood. Suspecting that they might be lurking in the inlets of the bay, he armed his boats and tenders and sent them in search of the craft, but 1 That Pond belonged to Hale's regiment appears from a sentence in a letter from Colonel J. Huntington to his father, dated Camp at New York, June 24, 1776: "A small schooner of 4 guns only commanded by Lieut Pond of Captain Perrits Company has taken one of the Scotch Transports with Troops & carried her into a Port on the back of Long Island." MSS. Connecticut Historical Society. Captain Perrit, of Mil- ford, was one of Hale's fellow-captains. The New York Convention received information, September 18, 1776, that "Captain Rogers of the Sloop Montgomerie has left the South side of Long Island and is arrived at Norwalk, Ct." Referring to a proposed naval expedition to attack the British ships off Whitestone, Long Island, Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, wrote, September 12: "There is Capt. Pond, in the Continental privateer, and another one, Capt. Rogers, belonging to the state of New York, which probably could be had." On October 13, he refers to them as being near Norwalk. These and other references from Force's Archives, 5, II, pp. 304, 305, etc. Captain Pond continued on duty with the Schuyler in the Sound until December, 1777, when the sloop was captured off Huntington with part of Colonel S. B. Webb's expedition to Long Island. Later he com- manded the Lady Spencer; then, in 1779, he took charge of the Neia Defence, which, in 1780, surrendered after a desperate action at sea. On the captain's gravestone at Milford, where he died, May 18, 1832, aged eighty-eight, he is described as "an actor in the Revolution and through life Liberty's friend." HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES iii without result/ These privateers could have been none other than the Montgomery and the Schuyler, still keep- ing in company, and to be reported on the 17th they must have crossed on the 15th or i6th. It was from the Schuyler, then — Captain Pond's vessel — we have every reason to believe, that Hale landed on the Huntington shore on one of these dates — the day or night of the loss of New York or of the battle of Harlem Heights. The final preparations, in themselves enough to test both nerve and soul, had been made at Norwalk, and Hale was ready. It is from Hempstead alone that we have the few details. "Captain Hale," he tells us, "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 shoe buckles, saying they would not comport with his character of schoolmaster, and retain- ing 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 till he 1 From "A Log of the Proceedings of Hs. Majesty's Armd Brigg Halifax. . . . Wiling. Quarme, Commander, by Abm. Pulliblank, 2^^ Master & Pilot," London Record Office. Extracts: Sept. 16, "At Anchor off New City Island Long Island Sound." Sept. 17, sailed to Great Head, "at ^ past 9 [p.m.] weighed and Came to sail Tender and Ranger sloop in Company — A.M. at 4 came too in Huntington Bay. Sent the Tenders and Boats Armd to serch the Bay for two Rebel Privateers haveing Interlagence of them." Sept. 18, . . . "the Niger's Tender came down and Anchord Here [4 p.m.] feired a 4 p. and mad the signal for the Boats and Tenders [6 p.m.] the tenders and Boats Returnd not being able to find any Rebel Privateers." For further extracts showing where the Halifax was at the time of Hale's capture, see Chapter VIII. 2 Robinson, Hale's classmate, according to his biographer, used to say that it was Nathan's diploma that betrayed him when arrested. This was conjecture. Onderdonk, the Long Island antiquarian, doubted whether 112 NATHAN HALE, 1776 should return, or I hear from him, as he expected to cross the Sound if he succeeded in his object." A Dutch schoolmaster with a New England diploma ! The pleasantry may have come from the strong and expectant youth, but in any case, Dutch or Yankee, if he was to play his part in broad daylight the schoolmaster's was his natural role. Here on the shores of Huntington Bay, where he landed, until the fatal night of his capture. Hale is com- pletely lost to our view. He had crossed the danger line into the enemy's territory and we cannot follow him further except as the briefest allusions appear from Brit- ish sources. At the point where we would wish to keep pace with him the curtain falls with an abrupt conceal- ment of what must have been a deeply interesting and possibly thrilling experience. One thing may be noticed. Soon after landing he necessarily learned that New York had been captured on the 15th and the Americans de- feated and crowded back to the heights above Harlem. On that date, as stated. Lord Howe had made his delayed attack, and by nightfall was in possession of the city and two thirds of the island. The wearing anxiety as to his movements was over, and Hale was too late for the imme- diate information Washington needed. The situation had materially changed in a day and the question could well force itself upon him whether he should not return to camp, where service with his Rangers might prove more important. The circumstances would seem to have entirely justified this step. But he went on. With his sense of duty as controlling as ever, and his soldierly pride more Immediately touched now that he stood on Hale would have his diploma with him in camp. It was a small parch- ment at that period. Hale no doubt had it with him at his New London school and took it along with various other articles we know he carried in his army baggage. HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 113 hostile soil, he doubtless felt that if another defeat had befallen his comrades, a greater anxiety prevailed as to the enemy's next movements, and that he must continue in his effort for their relief. Beyond noting certain facts and inferences which bear upon the point, there would be little to gain in speculating on Hale's course and methods during the six or seven days in which he was now to play the spy. At Hunting- ton he was still some forty miles distant from his objec- tive point — the main British army on New York Island — and with the caution required in making his way, it would take him one third or more of the time to reach it. There were also the camps on the Long Island side opposite Hell Gate, with the suspicious ships, boats and tenders scattered towards Throgs Neck, and of these he must learn as much as possible. In passing along the roads in the rear of the army from Huntington through Hempstead and Jamaica, or around by Flushing and Newtown, and on to New York City by way of Brooklyn, now Fulton, Ferry — whatever route he fol- lowed — he should have found the moment favorable in one respect. With the battle of Long Island and the loss of New York regarded as crushing defeats for the Ameri- cans, the tories in King's and Queen's counties were in high glee in anticipation of the speedy end of the rebel- lion. The old authority was reestablished. The luke- warm were taking the oath of allegiance. Generals Erskine and Delancey were already suppressing the Whigs. Loyalists were enlisting. There was more going to and fro on the highways. A rebel spy would hardly be looked for there. If Hale were brought up with a round turn to account for himself, he could read- ily explain that he was one of the Connecticut refugees who were just then beginning to cross the Sound singly or in small parties. Without friends, he could claim the 114 NATHAN HALE, 1776 king's protection and seek employment in New York. On the other hand, at times, some untoward circum- stance, some strict regulation, some ungrounded fear putting him on his guard, he may have concealed him- self during the day and moved anxiously along in the shadows of the night. It may also be pointed out that he would be wary as to how he showed himself in the city. Much of the old population, the poorer element especially, unable to leave with the Americans or happy at the change of masters, remained. Hale had been encamped there five months. There were negroes, laborers, loiterers, sharp-eyed boys, market-people, inn- keepers, and others who might recognize and face him at any turn. His open features and athletic form could hardly be disguised. Peculiar dangers as well as oppor- tunities presented themselves. Who can tell how that critical interval was passed? The movements of spies seldom come to light, — the case of Andre, so remarkably consecutive in detail, being a rare exception or more properly a case of a different character. Of this we seem to be certain — the assurance, as will appear, coming from the British themselves — that down to the moment of arrest Hale had conducted his desperate and unfamiliar business with courage, skill, and address. At the time of his capture his observations as a spy had been practically completed. This was an adroit and suc- cessful piece of work. The main body of the enemy, as already stated, then lay across upper Manhattan Island, where they had begun to intrench and fortify after the action of the i6th. If the memoranda which were found on Hale's person included drawings or outlines of works, the works must have been these they were now busily constructing. There were no others. It was a line of five or six redoubts, running east and west, three of which stood on the high ground at the northern end HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 115 of Central Park/ Whether Hale caught glimpses of their outline stealthily, or as an onlooker permitted to visit the camps, can only be conjectured. But if he were actually there, what sensations must have moved him at the moment! From the Central Park site he was but one mile away from, and in full view of, the American outposts near Eighth Avenue and One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Street. To the east of that point were the quarters of his own company of Rangers. Near by, on the heights to the west, lay the field of Harlem battle, of which he may have learned something from the casual conversations of British soldiers. The associations would crowd upon him, and doubly so, for to reach his own army across the plain seemed but a step. The week passed and the end came. On the evening of September 22, the regular daily orders from the British Commander-in-Chief to his army contained an unusual announcement — nothing quite like it to be re- peated during the war — which doubtless afforded the gossip around the camp-fires that night, some of the red- coats listening with merely passing curiosity and others indulging in contemptuous hilarity and satisfaction that the rebels were getting their deserts in whatever game they played. With military brevity the paragraph in the order ran: Head Q'^ New York Island, Sep"": 22^: 1776 Parole, London Count: Great Britain ^ y^ y^ T^ v^ ^ y^ A spy from the Enemy (by his own full confession) apprehended last night, was this day Executed at 11 oClock in front of the Artilery Park — ^ The position of this line and of the British array generally at this date may be seen in the chart opposite p. 50 in the Battle of Harlem Heights. ii6 NATHAN HALE, 1776 The spy was Hale. The end had come In the usual merciless way. War demands the penalty and affixes the stigma, with the result that, as a rule, the spy, whether doomed or not, passes out of view. But with Hale it was not all the end. Were no more to be known of his death, no more of his last hours and moments while in the enemy's hands than Howe's order conveys, his memory, in all likelihood, would have been merged In the aggregate of memories of noble young men who gave up their lives in that cause. Something more would be needed to individualize and distinguish him. And this has come to us, not as a climax, not as the unexpected, not as a new note in his character, but as a most natural conclusion or culmination of the brief life we have been following. The reader in sympathy with his spirit, his integrity, his aspirations and devotion must feel that he would bear himself out to the end as we now know that he did. Word of Hale's fate first reached the American lines through an interesting channel. It came through Cap- tain John Montressor, of the British Engineer Corps, then serving as ald-de-camp to Sir William Howe. This officer was an old campaigner during the French and Indian War, knew something of the provincial or "rebel" character, and just now, as a former resident of New York, his familiarity with the city and environs made him a valuable member of Howe's staff. With a flag of truce he appeared on the evening of the 22d at the American outposts in old Harlem Lane as bearer of a letter to Washington respecting the exchange of prisoners, and was met by Washington's adjutant-general, Joseph Reed, accompanied, as references Indicate, by General Putnam and Captain Alexander Hamilton. At the interview Montressor, referring to the great fire that had just destroyed the lower portion of the city, told Reed that HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 117 several supposed Americans, caught in the act as incendi- aries, were immediately hanged or thrown into the flames by the enraged inhabitants and soldiers, and he further- more stated that one of our own officers, a Captain Hale, had been executed in their camp that morning as a spy. Two days later Washington sent Howe a reply as to prisoners, dated September 23, which was carried down to the front with a flag by Lieutenant-Colonel Tilghman, one of his aids, and, as the same references indicate, another aid, Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel B. Webb, and Captain William Hull went with him. From the ap- pended note the inference is warranted that it was Mon- tressor again who rode up to receive Tilghman's de- spatches and that he, or at best some officer, again told of Hale's fate. The point of interest is that Hale was twice a subject of conversation at the outposts, and that, evidently, at least six American officers met the British aid and probably heard him speak of Hale. From three of them we know that he did so, and one of them obtained Information which is invaluable to our story.^ 1 The three officers were Putnam, Webb, Hull. A lieutenant wrote from camp, September 24, 1776: "We learn by Montressor who told it to General Putnam on Sunday [22d] while he was here with a flag of Truce & Genl. Putnam since has told me that during the fire they caught a number of our people who they had prisoners & threw them into the Flames . . . and yesterday they caught the Captain of a Com- pany of Rangers & hung him immediately for a spy." Pennsylvania Magazine of History, Vol. XVI, p. 204. Adjutant-General Reed must cer- tainly have heard as much. Enoch Hale, in his diary, says that "Aide-de- Camp Webb with a flag, informs" him of the fate of his brother as reported by the British. Captain Hull, more interested than the others, will give us some details. Hamilton, he says, learned of Hale's fate before him, that is, probably at the first interview. Colonel Tilghman wrote to his father, September 25, 1776 [in his "Memoir"], that he had been to the enemy's lines with a flag the day before on the subject of prisoners, but says nothing about Hale. His companion aid, Webb, was doubtless with him, as there is no record of any flags of truce passing between the two headquarters at this time, beyond those of the 22d and the 24th of September. Webb, who came from Weathersfield, must have ii8 NATHAN HALE, 1776 While we would wish to know much more than we do of the arrest of Hale and of the closing scenes of his life, the incidents of the flags of truce assure us that whatever information we have comes down at least from respon- sible sources. Prominent staff and other British and American officers are among our authorities. Assuring, also, and touching in the associations it recalls, is the fact that the information, the substance of the interviews at the picket posts, meager as it may be, was treasured up at the time, and at later dates passed on to our day by two of Hale's bosom friends — his brother Enoch Hale and his fellow-captain, William Hull. It is upon the diary of the former and the memoirs of the latter that we now have to depend largely in completing the narrative. Precisely when, where, and under what circumstances Hale was captured and executed has been a matter of tradition and uncertainty. Until Howe's orders came to light a few years since, settling several of the disputed points, the accounts as given by Stuart and Lossing were generally followed. From the new and final authority, we know that Hale was "apprehended" on the night of September 21, that he was executed at eleven o'clock in the forenoon of the 22d, and that the place of his execu- tion was the camp of the British artillery, wherever its location may have been at that date.^ As to the place of his capture, on which the order throws no light except known Hale personally. During the Boston siege he had been aid to General Putnam, whose quarters Hale occasionally visited. Once Hale dined there. 1 The late Mr. William Kelby, librarian of the New York Historical Society, was the first to discover this important order in an orderly-book of the British Guards, which has since come into the possession of the Society. As an indefatigable student of local history, Mr. Kelby was greatly interested in Hale's career and fate in New York. The writer, well acquainted with him, has had free access to his papers. HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 119 indirectly, Thompson and Stuart were the first writers to attempt to fix it definitely, resting their theories on recol- lections and circumstances gathered in their day. It was then believed that after successfully completing his obser- vations, Captain Hale returned to Huntington, as he had told Hempstead that he expected to do, where he spent some hours in waiting or looking for a boat to convey him back to Norwalk. As he approached the shore at one point, he suddenly found himself the victim of treachery or his own misapprehension, and he was seized. The boat that he saw proved to be a barge from the Halifax, or, according to another account, from the Cerberus, and its crew, with leveled muskets, called on him to surrender as he turned to escape. His arrest followed and he was sent by water to be delivered up at Howe's headquarters in New York. No inherent improbability would attach to the main statement in this account, that Hale returned to Hunting- ton. Taking two or three days to reach New York, two days in the enemy's camp, and two or three days on the way back, and the trip was possible. One line in the British order, however, seems to dispose of this view. As the prisoner was captured on "the night" of the 21st, and was in the hands of the provost-marshal some hours before his execution, it would have been difficult, not to say impossible, to take him from Huntington to New York in any interval that might be left. In addition, the alleged circumstances of his capture are unlikely, vague, and inconsistent. For one thing, neither the Halifax nor the Cerberus was off Huntington at this date. The latter, as its log informs us, was stationed at Block Island. The log of the former, in which every incident appears to be noticed, makes no mention of anything so creditable to her crew as the capture of a spy. 120 NATHAN HALE, 1776 On the other hand, the contemporary references and the probabihties in the case all point to New York or Its immediate vicinity as the place of Hale's capture. This was the earliest report and belief among comrades in camp. Sergeant Hempstead understood that the captain was seized while attempting to escape through the enemy's outposts on their Harlem front. The story ran that the pickets discovered and caught him near a tavern or place called "the Cedars" not more than a mile from the American lines. In the first printed letter, February 13, 1777, referring to Hale's case, the same report was repeated. While this was evidently mere rumor, whether true or not, the general statement that Hale was cap- tured somewhere on Manhattan Island seems to find con- firmation from his brother Enoch, who states in his diary that Colonel Webb brought word, with a flag, that Nathan was "suspected by his movements that he wanted to get out of New York." Subsequently his brother John made this entry in the Coventry town records: "Capt. Nathan Hale, the son of Deac" Richard Hale was taken In the City of New York by the Britons and Executed as a spie some time in the Month of September A. D. 1776." That Hale should attempt escape through the picket lines is entirely probable. The great fire in New York that broke out that morning was laid to rebel incendiaries, and he would keep away from the strictly guarded ferries. Finding that concealment was hourly becoming more difficult, or that a plausible account of himself would be immediately and closely investigated, he may have resolved to make a dash for freedom across the lines. Or, to notice a later supposition, he may have succeeded in crossing the East River and have been arrested on that side. But whether challenged at the picket posts or halted by the patrols of the provost-mar- shal, Hale's fate was sealed. "Apprehended last night" HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 121 is all that we certainly know, but the references seem to limit the locality to the vicinity of the British army. Upon his death a rumor found currency among some of his friends, which has been repeated and accepted by writers to the present day, that Hale was recognized and betrayed by a tory relative then in the British camp. This relative has been placed at both Huntington and New York, according to the supposed locality of his capture. But the rumor has never been traced beyond the stage of probability, and with Mr. Stuart, Hale's first biographer, we are unable to accept it as an explanation of his fate. The point is considered in the concluding chapter, in the light, with other material, of a recently unearthed letter from Hale's father. With the capture of New York, the British generals established their headquarters in the finest country-seats to be found in the neighborhood of the camps. Lord Howe selected the attractive residence of James Beek- man, overlooking the East River at Turtle Bay. Its site was at the corner of Fifty-first Street and First Avenue. Earl Percy was five streets above, on what was then known as the Hurst and afterwards as the Thomas Buchanan estate. Sir Henry Clinton would have been found in a house still further up, near Hell Gate Ferry, and Cornwallis may have quartered in the handsome Apthorpe place on the west side. It was to the Beekman mansion, or one of its outlying buildings, as believed, that Captain Hale was taken on the night of the 21st. Re- ported as a suspicious character, or caught in an attempt to escape to the rebels, it was a case of sufficient impor- tance to lay before Lord Howe himself. A brief exami- nation followed. Pointed questions were put, and then J the prisoner searched for concealed papers. Such were / found, consisting of sketches of fortifications and military notes, and they convicted him. Taken up — examined by 122 NATHAN HALE, 1776 the general — minutes found upon his person — is the con- densed but certain record. So both Hull and Enoch Hale learned through the flags of truce/ There was but one conclusion — the prisoner was a spy; and for a spy no mercy is conceivable, the only mercy lying in the summary punishment meted out. The proofs before him, Howe immediately issued an order for Hale's execution. Suddenly and relentlessly as this examination and sentence came, they were relieved by one bright passage whose deeper meaning the British general could not have appreciated. Four words in his order announcing Hale's fate have a precious value for this story. In telling his troops that this was a spy on "his own full confession," it was doubtless to present It not only as a clear but also as an aggravated case, illustrating the American method of warfare, in which spies confessed to their employment, and thus directly implicating Washington and Congress. But to those who have come to know Hale, "his own full confession" carries in It the ring of his character. His honor and his patriotism asserted themselves In this most trying moment. More than one high-minded British officer must have felt that it was no mean, mercenary fellow who had been hanged that morning, but a brave opponent, after all, who could frankly acknowledge his purpose and stoutly face the consequences. Montressor, for one, must have thought so. Next to having Hale's dying words, we would wish to know how he answered Howe, when confronted with the evidence of his errand. No explanation, no evasion, no base cringing with an offer to enlist In his army, no cowardly cry for pardon could come from him. That he gave his name at once, also his 1 Enoch's diary: "Aide-de-Camp Webb with a flag informs that, being suspected ... he was taken up and examined by the general and some minutes being found with him, orders were immediately given that he should be hanged." HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 123 rank In the Continental army, and stated his object in entering the British. lines, we know through Hull from Montressor ; but what more may he not have confessed — his love for his Washington, his hopes for the new nation, and his conviction of final success? In this full admis- sion it is still the Hale whom we have been following that we see — the true, self-poised, undaunted youth, whose ingrained nobility no circumstance or peril could affect. As tradition goes, the prisoner was guarded that night in the greenhouse of the Beekman gardens. The old sup- position that he was taken to the city jail, then in the present City Hall Park, four miles away, no longer holds. Such a prisoner would be remanded to the keeping of the provost-marshal, whose quarters were near the com- manding general's. This marshal was William Cunning- ham, a man with whom all the cruelties of the prison- houses in New York during the Revolution are asso- ciated. We need not dwell upon his record. As yet he had had less to do with American captives than with British offenders. Perhaps it was the terror of his name in his own camp that made Howe's Newtown orders of September 6 all the more effective: "The Provost Martial has a commission to execute upon the spot any soldier he finds guilty of marauding." In a previous order at Bos- ton he was explicitly directed to take the executioner along with him. Summary hangings may have already become an old story with Cunningham.^ With the next morning — Sunday, September 22, 1776 — we have the closing incidents, the brief prepara- ^ Cunningham's first experience with our prisoners at New York appears to have been with those captured at Fort Washington, Novem- ber 16, 1776. The prisoners taken on Long Island and on September IS were put on transports or sent into the city in charge of commissaries. Cunningham came from England with his family to settle in New York City a year or two before the war. Being a loyalist, the Whigs com- pelled him to leave and he joined Howe's army at Boston, receiving there 124 NATHAN HALE, 1776 tions, and the final scene. Hale's last hours could have been spent only as a man brought up under the Christian influences of the time would spend them. Sleepless they would be, with the great struggle within him — every tender association rushing upon his memory and welling up in his heart; then the fervent prayer, the deep and calm resignation, and the glorious uplifting thought that he was to fall, with so many others before and after him, In a cause worth any sacrifice. As the end nears, let Hull tell us what he had learned of it. Every detail connected with the fate of his com- panion would be fixed in his memory: [Hale] was absent from the army and I feared he had gone to the British lines, to execute his fatal purpose. In a few daj^s an officer [Montressor] came to our camp, under a flag of truce, and informed Hamilton, then a Captain of Artillery, but afterwards the aid of General Washington, that Captain Hale had been arrested within the British lines, condemned as a spy, and executed that morning. I learned the melancholy particulars from this officer who was present at his execution, and seemed touched by the circumstances attending it. He said that Captain Hale had passed through their army, both on Long Island and 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 per- son, betrayed his intentions. He at once declared his name, his rank in the American army, and his object in coming within the British lines. the appointment of provost-marshal. In his petition for a pension after the war he claimed that the New Yorkers had treated him badly and taken his money from him. Hale was probably one of the first "rebels" put in his hands in this vicinity. Being a spy as well, the marshal's resentment toward him may have been intensified. HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 125 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, who was a Refugee, and hardened to human suffering and every softening sentiment of the heart. "On the morning of his execution," continued the officer, "my station was near the fatal spot, and I re- quested 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, the consciousness of rectitude and high intentions. 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 after summoned to the gallows. But a few per- sons were around him, yet his characteristic dying words were remembered. He said "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Hull prefaced this account with his affectionate remem- brance of Hale and the substance of their last interview as given in previous pages of this chapter.^ When, four years later, Major Andre was executed In the American lines, a certain military dignity was ob- served in the parade of troops, the formation of a square, the erection of a gibbet, and in the gathering of specta- tors. But Andre was adjutant-general of the British army and his case Involved the corruption and treason of an Arnold. The occasion was made Impressive. For Hale, a rebel and self-confessed spy, there was no such ceremony. Toward eleven o'clock he was marched off by the provost-guard from Montressor's "marquee" to the place of execution — doubtless to some convenient ^ Hull's "Memoirs," in the history of his revolutionary and civil life, by his daughter, Mrs. Maria Campbell, issued in 1848. Compare his account as printed in Hannah Adams' Summary History of Neiv England, 1799, given in the next chapter. 126 NATHAN HALE, 1776 tree. They would not take him far. The long-accepted tradition that Hale was executed in Colonel Henry Rut- gers' orchard, overlooking the river at the foot of the present East Broadway, then on the outskirts of the city, must give way with other traditions before the official order of September 22. That order informs us unmis- takably that the execution took place "in front of the Artilery Park" ; and from the entries of the same orderly- book and other authoritative records it is possible to fix its site with satisfactory accuracy. As might properly be assumed from what has already appeared, this park could have been at no great distance from the Beekman mansion. It is certain that it was within one mile of the house. Camps changed during these active movements. Refer- ences are made to two sites where artillery was parked — one at Turtle Bay, just south of Beekman's or near First Avenue and Forty-fifth Street, the other up the main road near the "Dove Tavern" at Third Avenue and Sixty- sixth Street. Neither site is mentioned specifically until three weeks or more after the execution, but the recent recovery of maps and other material seems to establish the latter site as the correct one. We may say with entire confidence that Hale met his fate at the Dove Tavern Artillery and that the "front" of the park where he was now brought was a spot approximately on the line of Third Avenue between Sixty-sixth and Sixty-eighth Streets.^ Here Hale stood pinioned and guarded — here, not far from the shore where less than six months before he had landed with his regiment fresh from the Boston success and eager for a greater one at New York. For him the 1 In the first edition of this work, 1901, the author took the view that Hale was executed at the Turtle Bay Artillery Park, about a mile below the Dove Tavern. His reasons for now adopting the latter site are given in the chapter following. HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 127 scene had changed. In the distance were the enemy's battleships ; the field in front was brilliant with the equi- page of the most powerful arm of the king's service. He was facing the overwhelming fact that he was now at the very center of the British army and held in its fatal grip. In this respect at least the youth was not to die obscurely. It was a striking turn of incidents, but for his memory a most happy one, that brought this condemned American spy to his grave under the shadow of Lord Howe's head- quarters. But for this should we ever have been able to be with him in his last moments, to be assured once more of the constancy of his devotion and hear his noble words? It is significant that the closing details come to us through a British staff officer and a witness of the execution. Most fortunate, too, that they were repeated by him under flag of truce to one of Hale's sincerest friends — the friend whose advice he sought before under- taking his mission — the friend whose memory would re- tain and cherish such an interview through life. With the execution occurring elsewhere, in another presence, in or near the city, perhaps before a gaping or brutal crowd, this record we would not be without might never have been preserved — nothing beyond the hardened message that the missing captain had suffered as a spy. The local- ity and surroundings are all-important. Not only do they enable us to fill out the story in the sunlight of its close, but they seem to assure us, also, that no unneces- sary indignities attended the prisoner's death. Whatever the unfeeling Cunningham may have said or done, no insulting throng could have gathered to the spot. A few officers and artillerymen, some camp-followers, the stolid provost-guard, looked on, and the end came with its quick, unceremonious, cruel work. But above its assumed ignominy the end came glori- ously. As for the fated youth, he died as we have been 128 NATHAN HALE, 1776 expecting him to die, as all true souls have died in the loyal performance of duty — calmly, bravely, with one fervent wish for the cause he could no longer serve. There was no scenic effect. Little could Hale have imagined that what he might say to his executioner and his enemies around him would ever reach the ears of his comrades. Not many words would he be allowed or would he care to speak, nor were they to be words of defiance or execra- tion, or of sounding prediction that Britain's efforts would fail. No occasion will he give the spectators to drown his voice with gibes and sneering laughter. His heart was elsewhere, steadfast and absorbed as ever in the great movement in which he and his loved companions were engaged. His enemies will hear something unex- pected — something a few may reflect upon — something Lord Howe's aid will think worth reporting across the lines. In the rebel and the spy before them did they see the enduring faith and unconquerable spirit of America? Hardly could the face and form of this young scholar, teacher, soldier, and now the most devoted of patriots, have impressed them as the embodiment of a senseless revolt. For us Hale stands there as an inspiration — the genius of the new land to which he would devote all and more than he can give. As the moments passed and few remained, the grim preparations — the ladder, the hang- man, the grave at his feet — had no terrors for him. This death, with the traditional infamy men attached to it, he had already accepted, and he faced it heroically. The promptings in his breast were strong and irrepressible. He had something to say, whoever might hear. Among the faces turned upon him was there one with a touch of sympathy in the glance? It mattered little. He told them who he was, and then with the breath that was left him came the inborn sentiment we now carve in bronze and marble — the burning thought and emotion that filled HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 129 his soul and broke out in words that move the souls of all who read them: "l ONLY REGRET THAT I HAVE BUT ONE LIFE TO LOSE FOR MY COUNTRY.'^ Many years elapsed before this martyr-like sacrifice met with any general recognition. It could not have been otherwise. Official mention of the case at the time was out of the question. Hale was engaged on secret and delicate business, and the result, whether favorable or unfavorable, it was not for the army to know. While nothing could be said or done — the execution, under military law, being entirely justifiable — it would appear that Washington was somewhat disturbed by the occur- rence. Did he feel a certain responsibility in the case? Whatever may have passed between himself, Knowlton, and Hale, he alone could give final permission enabling the latter to pass beyond the American lines. Hale was a Continental officer. As the situation, however, justified almost any sacrifice, Washington would entertain no com- punctions on that score. For the moment indignation pre- vailed at headquarters, and officers of the staff would have enjoyed the capture of someone on a similar errand in their own camp to hang in return. Colonel Tench Tilghman, the aid already mentioned, happened to be then engaged in a confidential correspondence with Wil- liam Duer, chairman of a New York Revolutionary com- mittee, in regard to the disposition of certain tories who had been arrested for organizing within the State terri- tory. The State authorities being unwilling to go to extremes in the matter, one will find in Tilghman's manu- scripts this reply which he sent to Duer, October 3, 1776: "I am sorry that your convention do not think themselves legally authorized to make Examples of those Villians 130 NATHAN HALE, 1776 they have apprehended; if that is the Case, the well- affected will be hardly able to keep a watch upon the ill. The General is determined, if he can bring some of them in his hands tinder the Denomination of Spies, to execute them. General Howe hanged a Captain of ours be- longing to Knowlton's Rangers who went into New York to make Discoveries. I don't see why we should not make Retaliation."^ A few of these tories having been taken to camp, Duer implored Tilghman: "In the name of Justice hang two or three of the Villians you have apprehended. They will certainly come under -the De- nomination of Spies." All were in the mood to visit vengeance somewhere, but proofs of guilt were wanting. Not until more than a century after the event does any word come to us of the anguish it brought to Hale's home at Coventry. The stricken father, writing to his brother Samuel, at Portsmouth, a few months later, stating what reports had reached him, expresses his loss in his own homely way, full of the deepest feeling — "a child I sot much by, but he is gone." It was hard to bear — one of the great trials of his life, as he tells us." For years after, we are told, members of the family could not speak of it. Between the brief lines of Enoch Hale's diary we may read how far he himself was overcome. Nathan was his favorite brother. He was riding about the country, visiting and preaching, when the news reached him. On September 30 he makes the entry :^ 1 Italics the author's, who had an opportunity of examining these manuscripts some years ago. - This letter of Deacon Hale's appears in the Appendix. It was long supposed to be lost, but was fortunately recovered very recently. It is one of the more important of the new contributions to the Hale corre- spondence, and is noticed again in the next chapter in another connection. 3 The diary is printed at the end of a published address on Nathan Hale by the late Rev. Edward Everett Hale, delivered at Groton, Connecticut, September 7, 1881. Boston: 1881. HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 131 Afternoon. Ride to Rev. Strong's, Salmon Brook. Hear a rumor that Capt. Hale belonging to the east side Connecticut River, near Colchester, who was edu- cated at college, was sentenced to hang in the enemv's lines at New York, being taken as a spy, or reconnoiter- ing their camp. Hope it is without foundation. Some- thing troubled at it. Sleep not very well. October 15, the rumor was confirmed: Call at Squire William Wolcott's. Get a pass to ride to New York. Saturday returned to Granville. Friend Lyman gone to the Camp at New York. Accounts from my Brother Captain are indeed melancholy! That about the second week of September, he went to Stam- ford, 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 hope that all this is not true ; but it is a gloomy, dejected hope. Time may determine. Con- clude to go to camp next week. Crushed by these reports and anxious to know all, Enoch repaired to Washington's army at White Plains, reaching it two days before the battle and making this final note : October 26. — Go to camp. See Officers of Col. Webb's regiment, and talk some of my brother. He went to Stamford and crossed over the sound to Long Island. The next account of him by Col. Montezuxe [Captain Montressor] with a flag, that one Nathaniel Hale, was hanged for a spy, September 22. Aide-de- camp Webb with a flag, informs that, being suspected by his movements that he wanted to get out of New York, was taken up and examined by the general, and, some minutes being found with him, orders were imme- diately given that he should be hanged. When at the gallows he spoke and told that he was a Captain in the 132 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Continental army, by name Nathan Hale, Some deserters asserted the fact, and described his person. Lieut. said he saw a woman that said she was then in New York, saw and knew him hanging, having been before acquainted with him. . . . The home memorial that appeals with special tender- ness is the earliest one — the quaint and primitive head- stone in the burial-ground of his birthplace, set up about a century ago by the loving hands of Hale's family. Small and unpretentious, cut from the ledges of the neighborhood, and hardly observed in the presence of the public monument on another site, it holds a story in its silent companionship with the graves around and the fading landmarks and traditions of the old town which most of all we would wish to read. Its simple inscrip- tion is impressive : 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. Four years after his death, the slumbering memory of Hale was revived by the capture of Andre. Proofs enough then. While Hale's execution could not have affected the disposition of Andre's case, it is certain that officers of the army placed the two on the same footing. Nearly all of Hale's comrades were still in the field, and he could not be forgotten. If the American captain was a spy, so was this British prisoner, whatever his rank or plea. It was Tallmadge who first reminded Andre of his much-loved classmate and his capture in the British lines in 1776. "Do you remember the sequel of the HALE IN THE BRITISH LINES 133 story?" he asked. "Yes," said Andre, "he was hanged as a spy. But you surely do not consider his case and mine ahke?" "Yes; precisely similar," said Tallmadge, "and similar will be your fate." From that date — 1780 — the names of Hale and Andre have been almost invariably associated by writers on the Revolution, and their characters and mission compared and contrasted. Among our earlier scholars and poets, Dwight remem- bered his lamented student-friend with deep feeling and appreciation. Hale may have heard him read from the pages of his "Conquest of Canaan" while he was com- posing it at the college. The stately epic opens with scenes in the camp of the redoubtable Joshua. Before the chieftain lies a heathen city, and toward it he sends the faithful captain, Zimri, to spy out its defenses. In night's last gloom (so Joshua's will ordained) To find what hopes the cautious foe remained, Or what new strength allied, increased their force, To Ai's high walls the hero bent his course. With him on the enterprise went his trusted companion, Aram. Aram, his friend, With willing footsteps shared the dangerous way; In virtue joined, one soul to both was given. As they approached the city a lurking enemy pierced young Aram to the heart, while Zimri cut the assailant down in a quick but unavailing effort to protect his comrade. "Fond virtue" failed to save. When Dwight heard of Hale's fate, "emotions of regard," as he states, prompted him to associate his memory with the martyr of his own creation; and at this point he inserted the passage in his poem, so often quoted: 134 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Thus, while fond virtue wished in vain to save, Hale, bright and generous, found a hapless grave. With genius' living flame his bosom glowed. And Science lured him to her sweet abode; In Worth's fair path his feet adventured far, The pride of Peace, the rising hope of War; In duty firm, in danger calm as even — To friends unchanging, and sincere to Heaven. How short his course, the prize how early won. While weeping Friendship mourns her favorite gone. With this tribute from one of the worthiest men of the time yvt close these pages. Such testimony to Hale's character, aspirations and promise, and the testimony of friends and foes alike to the brand of his patriotism and the spirit of his sacrifice, present a life to be remembered. The shortness of its years is immaterial — on the contrary, its charm and its suggestion. There can be power in youth as well as In manhood. Historical names and careers commanding our respect and admiration exist In profusion — to the honor of human nature be It said. But with Hale there Is something rarer — he Is endeared to us. We are embalming his memory In the customary forms, but It also appeals most touchlngly as a personal heirloom. VIII PRESERVATION OF HALE'S MEMORY— OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST As there are several points of interest — some of them disputed points — and various minor matters and details connected with Hale's career, not introduced into the main narrative, they are noticed in the present, concluding chapter. We refer to such topics as-the preservation of Hale's memory, his last letter, the Phoenix and the Asia, miniature and profile of him, Hempstead's letter, place and circumstances of Hale's capture and execution, alleged betrayal by a relative, tributes and memorials, and other points. Preservation of Hale's Memory That Hale's name and fate are but infrequently men- tioned in the records of the time is not surprising. The statement sometimes made that Washington's army as such was affected by his death is without foundation. Nor could Washington himself be expected to mention him, as he did not. In 1776 few officers were known outside of their immediate state or regimental commands. Hale's execution as a spy was not likely to place him in the heroic light of to-day, except among his personal friends and some others, who were acquainted with the circumstances. Even in his immediate circle there were doubtless those who felt that he had made a mistake, that the situation did not demand the sacrifice, and that to make much of his martyrdom might appear to be an exaltation of the 136 NATHAN HALE, 1776 role of a spy. Time would do his character justice; and so Hale's fate passed out of mind as one of the sadder "casualties" of the campaign — the casualty list of his Nineteenth Regiment, 1776, bearing the regulation entry: "Nathan Hale — Capt — skilled — 2 2d September." For a time in 1780 and after, as stated, Hale's memory was revived by the arrest of Andre. His comrades recalled him, and possibly it was one of them who con- tributed the following first-known reference to himself, or to the two together, in print. ^ It appeared in the Boston Independent Chronicle for May 17, 178 1, and the fact that it was reprinted in the London Remem- brancer in 1782 adds to its interest. The extract is given as read in England: The generous Americans seemed to forget the nature of [Andre's] attempt, in the regard they paid to his accomplishments as a Man and a Soldier: And as he was supported in his last scene by seeing respect and compassion in every countenance and in every action of those into whose hands he had fallen. — But while we pay the debt of humanity to our enemies, let us not forget what we owe to our friends. About four years ago, Capt. Hale, an American officer, of a liberal education, younger than Andre, and equal to him in sense, fortitude, and every manly accomplishment, though without opportunities of being so highly polished, voluntarily went into the city of New York, with a view to serve his invaded country. He performed his part there with great capacity and address, but was accidentally discovered. In this trying circumstance he exhibited all the firmness of Andre, without the aid of a single countenance around him that spoke either respect or compassion, and though every thing that was 1 An earlier newspaper letter in regard to Hale, noticed later, appeared in February, 1777, but it speaks mainly of his alleged betrayal. One or two brief notices, merely giving the news from camp that one Hale had been executed, were printed in Connecticut and other papers about a week after his death. PRESERVATION OF HALE'S MEMORY 137 said or done to him was adapted to make him feel that he was considered as a traitor and a rebel. Andre appeared great in not contesting the clear grounds upon which he was con- demned, and in refusing to employ the absurd and frivolous pleas that Clinton would have put into his mouth. Hale, though not at all disconcerted, made no plea for himself, and firmly rejected the advantageous offers made him by the enemy upon condition of his entering into their service. Andre ear- nestly wished the mode of his death might have been more like that of a soldier; but consoled himself by observing, that in either way it would be "but a moment's pang." Hale, calm and collected, took no notice of either of those circumstances. Andre as he was going to die, with great presence of mind and the most engaging air, bowed to all around him, and returned the respect that had been and was still paid to him ; and said : "Gentlemen, you will bear witness that I die with the firmness becoming a soldier." Hale had received no such respects, and had none to return; but just before he expired, said, aloud: "I am so satisfied with the cause in which I have engaged, that my only regret is, that I have not more lives than one to offer in its service." This had its passing interest. Hale's case must have been known to several members of the court that tried Andre, and Lafayette is said to have admitted in later life that the former had some influence on the result.^ That the general recalled him appears from this passage in his "Memoirs," published by his family: It is impossible to express too much respect or too deep regret for Major Andre. The fourteen generals [Lafayette, one] who had the painful task of pronouncing his sentence, the Commander-in- Chief, and the whole American army, were filled with sentiments 1 Sargent, in his Life of Andre, p. 354, notices this report but dis- credits it. Some pretended defense made by Andre at his trial, in which he compares his case with Hale's appears in Potter's Monthly Magazine, Vol. VI. It claims to be taken from the official record of the proceedings, but the printed minutes do not contain it and the defense is not accepted as genuine. Andre, though not in New York when Hale was executed, had heard of his case, as he told Tallmadge. 138 NATHAN HALE, 1776 of admiration and compassion for him. The conduct of the Eng- lish in a preceding circumstance had been far from similar. Captain Hale, of Connecticut, a distinguished young man, beloved by his family and friends, had been taken on Long Island under circumstances of the same kind as those that occasioned the death of Major Andre; but instead of being treated with the like respect, to which Major Andre himself bore testimony, Captain Hale was insulted to the last moment of his life. "This is a fine death for a soldier!" said one of the English officers who were surrounding the cart of execution. "Sir," replied Hale, lifting up his cap, "there is no death which would not be rendered noble in such a glorious cause." He calmly replaced his cap, and, the fatal cart moving on, he died with the most perfect composure. In 1785, we have Dwight's tribute in his "Conquest of Canaan," but it will not be for a generation after Hale's death that his name becomes embodied in anything like a permanent historical or literary form. In 1799, Miss Hannah Adams, of Dedham, Massachusetts, published her "Summary History of New England," to which Hull contributed his first account of Hale. This officer, who had served with marked distinction to the very close of the Revolution, 1783, was at this date a resident of New- ton, Massachusetts, a man of affairs In the State, judge of one of the courts and major-general of the militia. It is more than probable that he wrote his account In 1796- 97, hardly more than twenty years after Hale's death, when he was In the prime of life and the events and expe- riences of the war were still fresh In his memory. Miss Adams, one of our pioneer historians, a lover of lltera; ture and history, a quiet, gentle, earnest lady, a pains- taking worker, threatened with blindness, states that she had finished her work two years before publication. Hull wrote In the dignified style of the time, omitting personal references and details, such as he Introduced Into his "Memoirs" years later, and which have been given on PRESERVATION OF HALE'S MEMORY 139 page 124. As this account of 1797-99 was the founda- tion of almost everything written about Hale during the next half-century, and remains our principal authority to-day, we give it in full, although largely a repetition, for the sake of the record: General Washington [says Hull], applied to col. Knowlton, who commanded a regiment of light infantry, which formed the van of the American army, and desired him to adopt some mode of gaining the necessary infor- mation. Col. Knowlton communicated this request to captain Nathan Hale, of Connecticut, who was then a captain in his regiment. This young officer, animated by a sense of duty and considering that an opportunity presented itself, by which he might be useful to his country, at once offered himself a volunteer for this hazardous service. He passed in dis- guise to Long Island, examined every part of the Brit- ish army, and obtained the best possible information respecting their situation and future operations. In his attempt to return he was apprehended, carried before Sir William Howe, and the proof of his object was so clear, that he frankly acknowledged who he was, and what were his views. Sir William Howe at once gave an order to the pro- vost marshal to execute him the next morning. This order was accordingly Executed in the most un- feeling manner, and by as great a savage as ever dis- graced humanity. A clergyman, whose attendance he desired, was refused him; a bible for a few moments devotion was not procured, although he requested it. Letters, which, on the morning of his execution, he wrote to his mother,^ and other friends, were destroyed ; and this very extraordinary reason was given by the provost marshal, "that the rebels should not know that they had 1 As Hale's own mother was not then living, possibly this should be "brother." Enoch or his father would naturally be his first thought. 140 NATHAN HALE, 1776 a man in their army who could die with so much firm- ness." Unknown to all around him, without a single friend to offer him the least consolation, thus fell as amiable and as worthy a young man as America could boast, with this, as his dying observation, "that he only lamented, that he had but one life to lose for his country." Should a comparison be drawn between major Andre and captain Hale, injustice would be done to the latter, should he not be placed on an equal ground with the for- mer. Whilst almost every historian of the revolution has celebrated the virtues, and lamented the fate of Andre, Hale has remained unnoticed, and it is scarcely known such a character ever existed. Miss Adams published an abridgment of her history for young persons, in London, in 1805, and again at Boston, in 1807. On the title-page of the latter the announcement is made that it is "now used in the prin- cipal schools in this town," The account of Hale is not materially abridged and in her apparent desire to im- press his memory upon the pupils, she includes among the questions in the appendix: "When was Captain Hale executed for a spy, and how did he behave in his last moments?" For a few years at this period Hale would seem to have been better known to Bostonian young people than to readers in Connecticut. There followed presently Abiel Holmes' "Annals," Niles' well-known "Weekly Register," and a new history of the Revolution by Mrs. Mercy Warren, of Plymouth, all mentioning Hale. Niles, in 1812, quotes Hannah Adams' account, Hull's, in full, with the remark that it celebrates "the virtues of a character too much forgotten by his countrymen." He also gives Dwight's tribute. In 1829, Mr. Samuel L. Knapp published his "Lectures on American Literature" with notices of prominent charac- ters. Of Hale he says, "It is time that we should be famil- PRESERVATION OF HALE'S MEMORY 141 iar with his reputation. This staking one's life and repu- tation together — and staking them for love of country ... is the highest of all mortal resolves." In 1820, a few old pensioners meeting at dinner at Hartford remem- bered their comrade with the toast: "Captain Nathan Hale; the blood of such martyrs is the sure seed of future patriots and heroes." As we near the middle of the century, or from about 1832 to 1856, we find Hale coming into wider recogni- tion. During this period his name enters more promi- nently into our history and literature. Biography, poetry, and memorial will preserve it. One writer, signing him- self "L" in the American Historical Magazine for Jan- uary, 1836, runs the thread of continuity further back. To quote from his article: "The life, capture, and exe- cution of Nathan Hale, an early and distinguished victim in the cause of his country, was by the early his- torians passed over in silence and neglect. For many years after he met his fate, his name was forgotten, or scarcely remembered, except by his mourning relatives and intimate acquaintances. It is but a few years since (and to her honor be it mentioned) Hannah Adams first embalmed his memory and revived his name and worth in the recollection of his ungrateful countrymen; since which time, the historic muse adorns her page with the name of Nathan Hale, a martyr in the Cause of Liberty. Nor will his youth — his name — his vir- tues — his courage — his devotion to his country, or his cruel and untimely catastrophy, be omitted by any future historian. Now by common consent Hale is placed in the Pantheon." Two others who remembered Hale, contributed to, or are quoted in, the same magazine, as referred to on pages 37 and 38. The Plaindealer, a new weekly journal, at New York, edited by William Leggett, to be recalled as 142 NATHAN HALE, 1776 an associate of William Cullen Bryant, contained a brief but appreciative editorial on Hale, December 24, 1836; and the Knickerbocker Monthly, early in 1838, devoted a general article to him. In the former there was an apt comparison with Andre: "Hale undertook an enterprise that bristled with danger, Andre was stimulated by the promise of high reward." Nothing contributed more at this period toward awakening interest in American his- tory than the "Library of American Biography," edited by Mr. Sparks, later President of Harvard College. His third volume, on Benedict Arnold, 1835, includes some carefully prepared and interesting pages on Hale. Sparks had access to Hale's diary and a few of his letters, and corresponded with Colonel Tallmadge on the subject of his work, Thompson's valuable "History of Long Island," first published in 1839, contains an excellent notice of Hale. He and Mr. Onderdonk, of Jamaica, were among the first to bring out the traditions connected with Hale's alleged capture at Huntington. Following these contributions came, in time, memorials and biographies. In 1835-36 a movement was inaugu- rated to have Congress erect a monument to Hale at Coventry, his birthplace. Failing in this, the people of the town, assisted by the State, in 1846, set up the appro- priate shaft now standing in the Coventry cemetery. Since then two bronze statues have been erected at Hart- ford, tablets may be found here and there, and Hale's schoolhouses at East Haddam and New London have been restored as historical memorials. In 1856, Mr, I. W. Stuart, of Hartford, issued the first biography of Hale, in two editions, which was welcomed and widely reviewed as a timely and worthy tribute to the martyr- spy. The reviewer of the book in Putnam's Magazine, at New York, was impressed with Hale's sacrifice: "His death proved what his life had only indicated. It showed PRESERVATION OF HALE'S MEMORY 143 in him a true heroic greatness, which could, in calm dig- nity, endure to die wronged and unasserted. The com- mon pathway to glory is trodden with comparative ease; but to go down to the grave high-spirited but insulted, technically infamous, unfriended in the last great agony, with an all-absorbing patriotism, baffled and anxious, and burning for assurance of his country's final triumph — thus to have done and borne in unfaltering dignity, was the ultimate criterion and evidence of a genuine nobility of nature. Had this sharp ordeal been spared, the man's strong, true spirit might have remained ever unrecog- nized." At his college Hale has been a bright memory. The traditions and associations of the Linonia Society, in which he was so greatly interested, would alone have kept it so during its long existence. The earliest trib- ute to him from a college student that we have been able to find, is an article in the Yale Literary Magazine for June, 1839, based upon the Coventry address of Mr. Judson, printed two years before. It gives a sketch of his life and fate, and closes with an offering in poetry. On the Commencement program for July, 1844, appears among the subjects, a "Poem, Nathan Hale," by James Austin Sheldon, Rupert, Vermont. Among the sub- scribers to the Coventry monument were Professors Theodore Dwight Woolsey and Benjamin Silliman, Hon. Roger S. Baldwin, Dr. -ZEneas Munson, and other graduates. The event that more firmly welded Hale into Yale literature and remembrance was the centennial anniver- sary of the Linonia Society, held July 27, 1853, during Commencement week. It was a notable affair. The oration was delivered by William Maxwell Evarts, the eminent lawyer of New York, and subsequently Secretary of State under President Hayes. The poem by Francis J 44 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Miles Finch, later judge of the New York Court of Appeals, was the feature of the occasion. Of some length, it dwelt upon distinguished graduates who belonged to the Society. Upon the roll "names gleam lilce pearls." Some won the civic wreath, others crossed "a zone of waters and braved the world," and others fell upon the field. Continuing, Mr. Finch held his audience in rapt attention with the stanzas on Hale so much admired and so often quoted : And one there was — his name immortal now — Who died 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 scafEold. 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. PRESERVATION OF HALE'S MEMORY 145 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. 146 NATHAN HALE, 1776 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 ! In the Linonia account of the celebration, which was held in former Alumni Hall, the compiler says: "The three founders of our Library were honored in the north- west corner of the hall, which was decorated with por- traits of Timothy Dwight, formerly President, and James Hillhouse, for fifty years the Treasurer of Yale College, while the name of Nathan Hale was placed between these portraits, and surmounted by national flags in allu- sion to his patriotic life and death. "^ In the early manu- script lists of books in the library It appears that Hale's contributions were "Travels of Cyrus," "Elements of Criticism," and the "Spectator." He joined with a few others In the purchase of the two latter. The often expressed wish that a bronze statue of Hale might stand on the college Campus is about to be realized. The memorial has been executed by Mr. Bela Pratt, of Boston, and Is to be erected under the auspices of the University Corporation and alumni. 1 These three Linonians were always regarded as the true founders of the Society's library, which is still maintained, on account of their inter- est in it and personal contributions to its shelves. The library was started, however, a few months before Hale's connection with the Society, the first librarian being student Lockwood, elected July 16, 1770. PRESERVATION OF HALE'S MEMORY 147 Beyond his native State of Connecticut, which has thus honored him, residents of New York City, as the place of Hale's execution, have long felt an interest in his fate and have followed with a statue to his memory. Mr. Lossing, in his "Two Spies," speaks of a movement in 1880 with which the present writer was familiar. Dur- ing his visit to this country in 1878, Dean Stanley, of London, was surprised to find no memorial of Andre marking the spot where he was buried. Mr. Cyrus W. Field, the famous projector of the first Atlantic tele- graph cable, offered to erect one. Protests immediately appeared in newspapers, coupled with a call for a memo- rial to Hale, toward which three or four individuals subscribed as many hundred dollars. Mr. Field, himself a member of an old Connecticut family, put up the Andre mark and later came forward for Hale. To the librarian of the New York Historical Society he wrote as follows, September 17, 1880: My dear Sir: I am glad to hear that it Is proposed to erect a monument to Nathan Hale. Many years ago I joined with others in such a memorial at Coventry, Conn., where he was born. But one ought to be erected in this City, and if possible on the very spot where he died. That spot you have, I understand, ascertained to be at, or very near, the Armory of the Seventh Regiment. What an inspiration would a monument there be to our j^oung soldiers! There ought to be inscribed on it his own immortal words, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." If the New York Historical Society will obtain permission to have a monument erected there, I will, with pleasure, bear the whole expense. I remain Very truly your friend Cyrus W. Field. J48 NATHAN HALE, 1776 The Society gratefully acknowledged and accepted the offer. While the erection or care of monuments was beyond its province, it made an exception in this case. "As an occasion," it replied, "for commemoration of genuine patriotism and self-sacrifice in which the sym- pathy of this whole nation is moved by every allusion to the event, the execution of Nathan Hale has no parallel in our history, and offers a theme worthy of the most exalted eloquence, and the most touching historic art." This project was without result, but in 1893 the patri- otic society of the Sons of the Revolution in New York, through its own independent initiative and action, erected the bronze statue of Hale, by MacMonnies, now standing in City Hall Park. The movement found no warmer supporters than the late president of the society, Mr. Frederick S. Tallmadge, grandson of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, Hale's intimate college friend, and the then secretary, Mr. James Mortimer Montgomery, of Revo- lutionary ancestry and now President of the General Society. To the devotion and unwearied energy of the latter, the city is under obligations for this appropriately placed and much-admired memorial. With the writer of 1 836, we may say that through liter- ature and sculpture, spontaneously expressing themselves at intervals since his death. Hale has come Into his destined niche. Hale's Last Letter — The "Phoenix'* and the "Asia" As far as known, the following Is the last of Hale's letters extant. It was written to his brother Enoch, a week before the battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776, and shows his keen interest in all that was transpiring: HALE'S LAST LETTER 149 New York, Aug. 20'^ 1776 Dear Brother, I have only time for a hasty letter. Our situation has been such this fortnight or more 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 favoured. — We keep a particular look out for them this morning. The place and manner of attack time must determine. The event we leave to Heaven. Thanks to God ! we have had time for compleating our works and receiving our reinforcements. The militia of Connecticut ordered this way are mostly arrived. Col. Ward's Reg*^ has got in. Troops from the southward are daily coming. We hope under God, to give a good account of the Enemy whenever they choose to make the last appeal Last Friday night, two of our fire vessels (a sloop & schooner) made an attempt upon the shiping up the River. The night was too dark the wind too slack for the attempt. The shooner 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 burn'd The sloop by the light of the former discovered the Phoenix — but rather too late, — however she made shift to grapple her, but the wind not proving sufficient to bring her close along side, or drive the flames immediately on board, the Phoenix 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 Reg*. The Gen^ has been pleased to reward their bravery with forty dollars each except the last man that quitted the firie sloop who had fifty. Those on board the schooner receive the same. I must write to some of my other brothers lest you should not be at home, remain your friend & Brother N. Hale. Mr. Enoch Hale. [Original in possession of estate of the late Rev. Edward Everett Hale.] ISO NATHAN HALE, 1776 In connection with Hale's account of the attack on the Phoenix, we give that of Sir Hyde Parker, its Com- mander, as entered in the journal or "log" of the ship. This vessel had previously run by our batteries at Fort Washington at 183d Street, New York, covering the passage of the Hudson at that point, and at this time was "at single anchor four miles above the upper Fort York Island." The entry for August 17, 1776, runs: "Light air and Cloudy at 1 1 P. M. discover'd a vessel standing up the River, she being near the Rose's Tender hail'd her and gave orders for her to Fire into the vessel. In Five seconds the Rebel vessel Boarded the Tender, and was set fire to. By the light of this Vessel we discovered another standing towards us at a Cables length distance. Immediately order'd the Cable to be cut & commenced Firing upon the Fire ship; in Ten minutes afterwards she Boarded us on the Starboard Bow at which time the Rebels set Fire to the Train and left her. Set the Fore Topsail and Head sails which fortunately cast the ship and disengaged her from the Fire ship, after having been Twenty minutes with her Jibb Boom over our Gunwhale. The Rose's Tender was totally consumed; the same fate must have Attended the Phoenix had not the Steadiness of the Officers & Ship's Company saved her." — From Captain's Journal, H. M. S. Phoenix, London Record office. The story that Hale cut out a provision sloop under the guns of the man-of-war Asia, referred to on page 93, appears to have originated with Asher Wright, a member of Hale's company from Coventry, and his waiter in camp. It first came out in 1836 when Wright's memory was known to be failing. Stuart describes the alleged exploit and introduces an illustration. It is said to have occurred in the East River, but the Asia moved out of the river the day Hale's regiment arrived in New York MINIATURE AND PROFILE OF HALE 151 and then fell down to the Narrows. The log of the vessel makes no mention of such an attack, and the details of the story, representing Hale as a volunteer and leader without authority, also discredit the account. On May 31 General Putnam wrote to Washington that "our troops have taken a small sloop for going on board the Asia," but this occurred at Far Rockaway — a minor affair where the sloop's crew was seized for trying to smuggle provisions aboard the British ships. It is true that Marvin wrote to Hale, June 1 1, that he was obliged "for your particular history of the adventure aboard the prize." This may not necessarily mean that he was personally concerned in it. Alice Adams and Hale's Miniature — His Personal Appearance — Profile of Him It has been understood that a miniature of Hale was once in the possession of Alice Adams, as widow Ripley, and subsequently for a time, as Mrs. Lawrence. It is also claimed to have been in the hands of one of the latter's descendants until more recent times. Neither Mr. Gilbert, in 1836, nor Mr. Stuart, in 1856, traced it. One version of the fate of the miniature is given in the American Antiquarian for December, 1889: "Mrs. Lawrence possessed the only portrait of Nathan Hale that was ever made so far as known. It was a miniature on ivory. She kept it after she married Mr. Lawrence. One day not long after her marriage this miniature dis- appeared. No trace was ever found of it, and Mrs. Law- rence in her latter days once said that she always sus- pected that her husband destroyed it." Commenting on this, a descendant informed the present writer that "the story of the portrait, as related by the Antiquarian, is substantially correct, except that Mrs. Lawrence did not 152 NATHAN HALE, 1776 suspect her second husband of making away with it; it disappeared in some way, but her allusions to her hus- band's complicity were always made with a laugh. "^ It would be interesting to know when and where such a miniature was painted — possibly in New London when Hale was teaching school there, but hardly in camp after that. The Antiquarian also contains the following reference to Hale's personal appearance: "Mrs. Hastings, now a resident of Brooklyn (1889), is the granddaughter of the woman who was Nathan Hale's betrothed. She heard her grandmother speak many times of Nathan Hale, and remembers many interesting details regarding him, most of which have never reached history. Nathan was, her grandmother used to say, over six feet in height. He had a full and beautifully-featured face and a firm and sympathetic almost benign expression; his complex- ion was rosy; his hair was soft and brown, and his eyes light blue; his form was erect, slender, powerful, and remarkable for grace; he was an athlete in his college days, and could with ease leap out of one hogshead into another placed beside it; his chest was broad for his height and he was a great runner." This corresponds to the description Lossing, in his "Two Spies," states he received from Dr. Munson, who knew Hale, in 1848. There is a reference to a profile of Hale in the corre- spondence in the Connecticut Historical Society Library. 1 At the time of the erection of the Hale Statue in the Capitol building at Hartford, 1887, there were living in that city two granddaughters of Alice Adams — Mrs. Dr. Hastings and Miss Elizabeth B. Sheldon. Our principal information respecting Hale's engagement has come down through these descendants, and the author has followed their versions in this work. In the Hartford Courant for June 16, 1887, there is a brief article on the subject as corrected by Miss Sheldon. The author, also, has MSS. notes from other descendants, and Mr. Stillman, who was personally acquainted with Alice Adams in her later years. MINIATURE AND PROFILE OF HALE 153 Giving facts and traditions for Mr. Stuart's use In 1856, Mr. Ablel Abbot, already referred to, page 10, wrote as follows, his mother, niece of Nathan, having already mentioned it in a letter written about the same time: "The portrait of Capt. Nathan Hale on the chamber door," was merely a profile on the inner side of the only door opening into the north chamber, — near the middle of the upper pair of panels, extending partly on each panel, about the hight of a man standing. It was simply a head showing the front features of the face in profile, drawn about the size of life as though by means of a shadow on the door from a distant light, with one continuous strong line from neck over & to neck again, — black enough for ink yet not ragged as ink lines on wood often are — possibly made with a very black pencil. The door, she [Mrs. Abbot] thinks had never been painted. The house was built many years before ; but parts, still unfinished when she went to live there, were finished at different times after- wards. Allusions were still frequent to "The old house" then torn down, which had stood two or three rods to the southeast. The profile was always regarded in the family as taken for her uncle Nathan ; she does not recollect to have ever heard the fact either doubted or positively stated ; or to have known when or by whom it was taken, or whether considered a good likeness or otherwise ; or to have heard any criticism or even much con- versation respecting it. She says "probably less was thought of such things in those days than at present — besides, his image was so strongly impressed on their hearts they had no need of the profile as a remembrance, and, though sometimes alluded to, it was too nearly connected with his unhappy fate to permit them to say much about it." The profile remained without change so long as she resided there & for many years after, probably so long as any of the Hale family occupied the place. In her visits to Coventry she always went to the old homestead (until after the spring of 1820 the last time she ever remained over night at the house) generally if not always occupying that chamber; and she never noticed any change; if she had, it would have made an impression not to be forgotten. But on the completion of the J54 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Hale monument (1846) she with her son Harris & sister Nelson visited Coventry, and called at the old homestead and, mentioning the profile on the door with a request to see it, were kindly shown up, — when to her surprise she found it invisible; — the chamber, including of course the door, had been painted. Sergeant Hempstead and Hale The following letter from Hale's sergeant, Stephen Hempstead, contributed to the Missouri Republican, in 1827, and reprinted in the Long Island Star on April 5 of the same year, forms part of the Hale material we have to draw upon. This copy is from the Star: Revolutionary Incidents The Capture and Execution of Capt. Hale, in 1776 Most of those who achieved our Independence are no more. The common age of man has passed since the days of '76, and "the time that tried men's souls." But a few have been permitted to live beyond that age, and these few are every year, nay, daily gathering unto their fathers. When the few surviving shall cease to be, the oft-told tale, by eye witnesses, of many interesting inci- dents of that glorious struggle, will soon become a traditional legend — a fable — and a tale; their authenticity lost, by growing time, and the real facts and circumstances clothed with so many accumulating and varying folds of fancy, and imagination, as to be no longer descernible. Impressed with this conviction, I have, Mr. Editor, thought it a duty every survivor of the Revolution owes to himself, and country, to contribute his mite to her glory, in communicating such matters as would be worth preserving ; and as you have already learnt, I had a share in the toils and sufferings of that period. I have noted two incidents, for my own satis- faction and the benefit of my children, which you are at liberty to publish. The first of these, is the capture and execution of Cap- HEMPSTEAD'S ACCOUNT OF HALE 155 tain Nathan Hale, September, 1776, on New York Island — [the other I will communicate hereafter.]^ 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 com- manded the vessel. Capt Hale had changed his uniform for a plain suit of citizens brown clothes, with a round broad-brimmed hat, assuming the character of a Dutch school-master, leaving all his other clothes, commission, public and private papers, with me, and also his silver shoe buckles, saying they would not comport with his character of school-master, and retaining nothing but his Col- lege diploma, as an introduction to his assumed calling.^ Thus 1 The second article was on the capture of the Groton fort by the British when Arnold set fire to New London in 1781. Hempstead was desperately wounded in the affair. The account is given in "Allyn's" book on the Groton fight. Stuart gives a good notice of Hempstead in the Appendix to his work. After the Revolutionary War the sergeant removed to the vicinity of St. Louis, where he lived and was highly respected for many years. 2 As to Hale's "brown clothes," it is interesting to note the request he made of his brother Enoch in the postscript to his letter of June 3, 1776: IS6 NATHAN HALE, 1776 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. The British army had, in the mean time, got possession of New York, whither he also passed, and had nearly executed his mission, and was passing the British piquet guard between the lines of the two armies, within a mile and a half of his own quarters, when he was stopped at a tavern, at a place called the "Cedars." Here there was no suspicion of his character being other than what he pretended, until, most unfortunately, he was met in the crowd by a fellow-countryman, and an own relation (but a tory and a renegado,) who had received the hospitality of his board, and the attention of a brother from Captain Hale, at his quarters at Winter Hill, in Cambridge, the winter before. He recognized him, and most inhumanly and infamously betrayed him, divulging his true character, situation in the army etc. ; and having him searched, his diploma corroborated his relative's statement when, without any formality of trial, or delay, they hung him instanta- neously, and sent a flag over to our army, stating "that they had caught such a man within their lines, that morning, and had hung him as a spy." Thus suddenly and unfeelingly did they rush this j^oung and worthy man into eternity, not allowing him an hour's preparation, nor the privilege of writing to his friends, nor even to receive the last consolations of his religion, refusing to let the "Sister Rose talked of making me some Linen cloth similar to Brown Holland for Summer ware. If she has made it, desire her to keep it for me." — So far as we can confirm Hempstead's account his memory appears to have been quite accurate. We know there was a Captain Pond, commanding a sloop at Norwalk or vicinity and that two "rebel" sloops were in Huntington harbor about the time Hale crossed. We have stated our belief that Hale had his diploma, A.B. or A.M., with him in camp. Neither of his diplomas has come to light. His brown suit may have been made from the "Brown Holland" he mentions. Enoch Hale states that his brother crossed the Sound from Stamford. Hempstead says Norwalk, and he has been followed as being Hale's attendant. Enoch obtained his information in camp near White Plains, at a time in October when Hempstead was with the Rangers above Harlem. He could not have seen him then. The sloops were at Norwalk. PLACE OF HALE'S CAPTURE i57 chaplain pray with him, as was his request. After parting with Captain Hale, of all these circumstances, I was authentically informed at the time, and do most religiously believe them. Such was the melancholy fate of Capt. Hale. While the stern rigor of military law justified his execution, (betrayed as he was, most foully, by this ungrateful relation and villainous tory,) yet, who that knew him as I did — embarked in the same hazardous enterprize, and had been together in the perilous service of the field — but would drop the tear of pity for his worth? It is true he died upon the "inglorious tree," not the death of the soldier; but it is likewise true, he suffered for his country's sake. And Andre died also the "death of a spy," but did he fill an inglorious grave? I do not mourn at the sympathy for the man, which was felt for Andre — in Europe and America — by the fair, and the brave — the friend and the foe — by America and by Briton. No! God forbid! — But I do think it hard, that HALE — who was equally brave, learned, young, accomplished, and honorable — should be forgotten on the very threshold of his fame, even by his countrymen ; that while our own historians have done honor to the memory of Andre, HALE should be unknown; that while the remains of the former have been honored, even by our own country, those of the latter should rest among the clods of the valley, undistinguished, unsought and unhonored. Stephen Hempstead, Sr. Note by Hempstead. — "The only historical notice I can find of this event, is in Mrs. Warren's History of the Rise and Progress of the American Revolution. Vol. H, p. 264." Hempstead then gives the Warren extract, which is of a general character, comparing Hale with Andre. Hempstead's letter was also reprinted in the Supplement to the Hartford Courant, for April 2, 1827. It omits the first few sentences and the quotation from Mrs. Warren's History. Place of Hale's Capture and Execution The people of Huntington, Long Island, patriotically honored the name of Hale in 1894 with the erection of a memorial column and fountain. The tradition that he was captured there on his way back to the American J 58 NATHAN HALE, 1776 camp has been generally followed since Thompson's and Stuart's accounts appeared. Stuart's story based on local statements made out in his time, about 1846-50, is to the effect that upon his return to Huntington from the British camp. Hale went to a tavern at a place called the Cedars and there waited for a boat to take him across to Con- necticut. A boat presently appearing he hurried down to the shore only to find that it belonged to a British man- of-war whose crew, with leveled muskets, brought him to a halt and conveyed him back to their ship. In the boat there was a tory relative of Hale's who betrayed him and assisted in his capture. The captive was then sent to Howe's headquarters at New York. Thompson, Onder- donk, a well-known Long Island antiquarian, and two or three old men had previously given the boat incident with- out the tavern elaboration or the particular movements of the relative. The old men, Solomon Townsend, William Ludlam, and Solomon Wooden, represented that they heard of the capture at the time. One of them is said to have had the story from the very crew that arrested Hale. In 1776 these men would have been boys from ten to fifteen years of age. The main difficulty in the case is the presence, or rather absence, of the ship-of-war. The vessel named was the Halifax, already referred to, commanded by Captain Quarme. We have had its "log" in the London Record Office carefully examined and find nothing con- firmatory of the Huntington theory. At the time Hale would be making his way to that place, September 20 and 21, the Halifax was sailing away from there and on the night of the 21st, when Howe's order states that Hale was "apprehended," she was at anchor at her previous moorings off City Island, some twenty-five miles distant up the Sound — her boats and two tenders with her. Her consorts, the Niger and Le Brune, were in the same vicin- ■ PLACE OF HALE'S CAPTURE 159 ity. At the mouth of the Sound, off Block Island and Montauk Point, the Cerberus, Merlin and Syren, were cruising "in company" on the dates named, as they had been for some time before. There were no other British ships in the Sound. We have seen in the previous chapter, page no, that the Halifax was off Huntington on September 17 and 18, looking for two rebel privateers. It was her first visit to that harbor. Finding nothing, to quote from her log, she "weighed and came to sail" on the i8th to return to City Island. On the 19th she was "turning to the West w*^," "Tacking occasionally" toward Hempstead Bay. On the 20th, under "Remarks at anchor off White- stone Point," we read: "First part fresh Breezes and Hazey middle and Latter light Breezes and Fair. P. M. at 3 came too off Hampsted Bay." Saturday, the 21st: "P. M. at 4 Weighed with the Kitty & Swift Tenders in company at 5 came too off Whitestone Bay . . . Lewis's House South — . . . at 1/^ past 1 1 came too off New Citty Isl^ - - Tenders in C°.''' The log makes no mention of the capture of a prisoner or a spy, although minor occurrences are given. The log of the Niger, then moored "off Whitestone," contains the entries, September 18: "At 8 A. M. Came on board two Deserters from the Rebel army sent them to Head Quarters"; September 20: "At 7 P.M. was hail'd from y^ N. Shore sent a Boat to D° which Return'd with a Rebel Officer a Deserter from their army. A. M. anchored here the Halifax from y^ E* w"^ sent y^ Rebel Officer Head Quarters." Clearly the log of the Halifax would have mentioned such a capture as the Huntington tradition makes out. Furthermore, the story, with its tavern scene, the mys- terious relative and Hale's joy on hearing of an approach- ing boat and walking down to meet it, requires good day- i6o NATHAN HALE, 1776 light for its setting. Howe says the spy was seized in the "night." And as to the relative, if he were then a Commissary of Prisoners why should he be posted there, with no troops or ships guarding the place and rebel privateers hovering on the opposite shore? The Huntington tradition, in which Stuart himself does not appear to have had entire confidence, and for which Thompson gives as his authority "it is said," could well have been constructed out of hearsay from two different points. First, the Halifax was occasionally moored off Huntington from November, 1776, until about 1778. In 1779 she was condemned as unserviceable. Captain Quarme may have heard of Hale's capture and execu- tion and spoken of it on shore at Huntington during these later visits. In after time a belief, founded on hazy and contradictory recollections, may have been current that he was the captor. Second, Sergeant Hempstead states in his account, already given, that he heard and believed at the time that Hale was captured at a tavern, at a place called the "Cedars," near the British picket lines on the Harlem front and that a tory relative recognized and betrayed him there. The letter of 1777, given under a following heading, is to the same effect, that is, that Hale was arrested and betrayed at the British lines on New York Island. In these statements we have the gist of the Huntington story — a tavern, the "Cedars," Hale attempting to escape, and betrayed by a relative. Hemp- stead's account, reprinted in the Long Island Star and the Hartford Cotirant, in 1827, several years before Thomp- son or Stuart wrote on Hale, associated with what Quarme might have said, could easily supply material for a local tradition. Stuart, in the preface to his work, mentions having statements or affidavits from one or more of the old men referred to, and "especially" the statement of Teunis SITE OF HALE'S EXECUTION i6i Bogart and Andrew Hegeman, who claimed to have seen Hale hanged on an apple tree near Colonel Rutgers' mansion, surrounded by spectators, including women who "sobbed aloud." But we now know that this statement is worthless — Hale having been executed nearly four miles above Rutgers'. We need more than such state- ments or affidavits. In the Huntington tradition everything depends upon the presence of the Halifax or some other ship. It is shown that there was no ship there. The weight of evi- dence is in favor of New York Island, or its immediate vicinity, as the place of Hale's capture. It is difficult to interpret Aid-de-Camp Webb's information differently, namely, as he told Enoch Hale, that Nathan "being sus- pected by his movements that he wanted to get out of New lork, was taken up and examined by the general and some minutes being found with him, orders were immediately given he should be hanged." The earliest mention of Hale's fate appears in a letter written from the Harlem Camp, September 26, only four days after his execution. The extract, published soon after in one or more Connecticut papers, reads: "One Hale, in New York, on suspicion of being a spy, was taken up and dragged without ceremony to the execution post, and hung up — Gen. Washington has since sent in a flag sup- posed to be on that account." In all the first references to Hale's fate there is no suggestion of the Huntington locality. As to the site of Hale's Execution — we have referred to the interest and significance attaching to it. It was within a short mile of Howe's headquarters at the Beek- man mansion, and in front of the Artillery Park of the army. As we have said on page 126, artillery was parked at two places, neither of them being mentioned until three weeks after the execution. Howe's orders first locate 1 62 NATHAN HALE, 1776 such a park at the Dove Tavern, Third Avenue and Sixty-sixth Street, on October 1 1 ; on the 29th, Earl Percy orders certain regiments to apply for cartridges "to the Artilery at Turtle Bay." As Turtle Bay was the site of a garrison artillery camp in 1766, as the Beekman mansion was much nearer to it than the Dove Tavern, as Montressor would naturally be, with other aids, at the mansion, or in "a marquee" on the grounds, and as Hale was taken from the marquee to the gallows, the natural inference would be that Turtle Bay was the site of the execution. This was the site given in the first edition of this work. Since its publication, however, in 1901, the author has found, among the maps in the British Museum, a topo- graphical sketch or survey of the greater part of New York Island and Brooklyn, showing the position of the British army during September-October, 1776. Although without date, names or description, its character and im- portance as throwing light on the point in question are obvious. It bears all the marks of the work of Captain Montressor, who made many such maps before and dur- ing the first years of the war. This survey shows, what was already known, that after landing on New York Island, September 15, Howe's army encamped in two lines between Turtle Bay, at Forty-fifth Street and Harlem. The first line or division, commanded by Sir Henry Clinton, encamped at different points from about Eighty-second Street to McGowan's Pass and westerly toward the Hudson. It was the advance of this division that took part in the battle of Harlem Heights, fought on the 1 6th. The second line, commanded by Earl Percy, and consisting of the Second and Sixth Brigades and the Brigade of Guards, ten regiments in all, encamped on the line of Seventy-third Street, between Third Avenue and Site of Hale's Execution, New York September 22, 1776 References: 1. Turtle Bay, Forty-fifth Street and East River, New York, where Hale's regiment landed on arrival from Boston, March 30, 1776. 2. Beekman mansion, Howe's headquarters. Fifty-first Street and First Avenue. Hale probably condemned here. 3. Quarters of Earl Percy, commanding second division, British Army. 4. The Dove Tavern, Sixty-sixth Street and Third Avenue, where the Royal Artillery was parked. HERE HALE WAS EXECUTED. 5. Brigade of British Guards 'as supposed), part of Percy's command. 6. Second and Sixth brigades, under Percy, about Seventy-third Street, west of Third Avenue. 7. Third and Fourth brigades, first division under General Clinton, about Eighty-second and Ninetieth Streets. 8. Quarters of Sir Henry Clinton, "near Hellgate," as per order book. 9. Clinton's advance troops: Light Infantry, Grenadiers, Highlanders and Hessians under Cornwallis. Some encamped above the line of the sketch. a a. Old post-road. New York to Albany and Boston, bb. Old Bloomingdale road, now Broadway. N. P..— Above map, a slightly enlarged photographic reproduction of original in British Museum. \'id. pp. 126, 162-163. SITE OF HALE'S EXECUTION 163 the lake in Central Park. The Guards, apparently, en- camped by themselves a short distance below, on the line of Seventieth Street, near the present Normal or Hunter College. Just below the Guards on the main road and on the level ground adjoining the Dove Tavern, an encampment is marked, composed of two bodies, which we take to be the reserve Artillery and Engineer Corps. All the other troops and bodies in Howe's army are otherwise accounted for. No camps are marked below the tavern site — none at Turtle Bay. It is to be regretted that the map bears no legend or references, but the infer- ence seems to be justified that the encampment at the Dove was the Artillery Park at that date and the park in front of which Hale was executed. The sketch is drawn on too small a scale to represent artillery, as usual, with figures of guns. Furthermore, it is probable that Montressor, although an aid to Howe, still occupied his quarters, or marquee, with his own Engineer Corps, which usually accompanied the artillery. He did this at times in the next campaign. This would explain his presence at the Dove Artillery Park when Hale was executed. It would also appear that the quarters of Provost-Marshal Cunningham were at the same camp or park, his paraphernalia, evidently, being at hand there. During the campaign against Philadel- phia m 1777, the execution of British deserters and marauders took place, almost without exception, at the Artillery Park, which was generally near headquarters. Hale thus suffered at the usual site and in the usual way. The provost-guard around him was composed of a de- tail from Percy's division. The same division furnished the daily detail of guards for Howe's own quarters and Turtle Bay. A pen-sketch of one section of the new map, with the i64 NATHAN HALE, 1776 author's references added, is here inserted for illustra- tion/ Hale's Betrayal by a Relative Following the news of Hale's execution, a report imme- diately spread among some of his friends in camp that he had been recognized and betrayed by a tory relative, then with the British army at New York. It is still repeated and credited. While the rumor has never been traced to a responsible source, its prevalence can readily be ex- plained. Mr. Stuart, Hale's first biographer, rejected the story upon what appeared to him satisfactory grounds. The present writer took the same view in his first edition, and finds confirmation in the references to the point that have since come to light. The report first appeared on February 13, 1777, in the Essex Journal, published at Newburyport, Mass., and was reprinted in the New London Gazette, of March 14 following, and in one or two other papers. The account reads: The following is a genuine specimen of tory benevo- lence and may be depended upon as real matter of fact: Samuel Hale, late of Portsmouth N. H., after his elopement from thence, visited an uncle in Connecticut, where he was hospitably entertained ; but as his uncle was a Whig, and had a son, a young gentleman of liberal education, and most amiable disposition, who strongly felt for his bleeding country, and being active in the mili- tary way was urged and prevailed on to take a commis- sion in the Continental Army; consequently Samuel was 1 This map goes to confirm Mr. Kelby's discovery of the location of an artillery camp at Dove Tavern (page 118). Through him and Mon- tressor, we are novf assured beyond question of the site of Hale's execu- tion. Mr. Kelby's interesting letter on the subject may be found incor- porated in Mr. John Austin Stevens' account of Hale in the New York Herald, for November 25, 1893, when the MacMonnies statue of the young patriot was dedicated at City Hall Park. ALLEGED BETRAYAL OF HALE 165 obliged to conduct with caution and counterfeit, as well as he could, a Whiggish phiz, while he tarried, which was, however, but a short time before he made his escape to General Howe in New York. Sometime after this Captain Hale, at the request of the General, went into New York in disguise, and having nearly accomplished his designs, who should he meet but his above-said cousin Samuel, whom he attempted to shun ; but Sam knew him too well. Captain Hale soon found he was advertised, and so particularly described, that he could not get through Long Island. He therefore attempted to escape by King's Bridge and so far succeeded as to get to the outer guard, where he was suspected, apprehended, car- ried back and tried, and yet would have been acquitted, had not his afFectionate and grateful cousin Samuel ap- peared and made oath that he was a captain in the Contin- ental Army, and that he was in there as a spy ; in conse- quence of which he was immediately hung up. However, at the gallows, he made a sensible and spirited speech ; among other things, told them they were shedding the blood of the innocent, and that if he had ten thousand lives, he would lay them all down, if called to it, in defence of his injured, bleeding Country. The relative referred to was Nathan's cousin, Samuel Hale. He was the eldest son of John Hale, of Glouces- ter, Massachusetts, or "Cape Ann," as the locality was often called. In the records of Harvard College, where he graduated in 1766, the date of his birth is given as March 29, 1746, making him nine years older than Nathan. The latter states in his diary, November 22, 1775, that he tried "to obtain a furlough to go to Cape Ann and keep Thanksgiving, but could not succeed." He would probably not have found his cousin in his uncle's family there, as Samuel Hale was then married and an established lawyer at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where his uncle, Major Samuel Hale, lived. Nathan's i66 NATHAN HALE, 1776 visit to this uncle in 1773 is mentioned on page 40 and he must have seen something of his cousin Samuel then. When the Revolution broke out this Samuel opposed the movement and became a pronounced loyalist. What we know of him thereafter is gathered from the summary of his case as a pensioner in England after the war, given in the loyalist records of which the New York Public Library possesses copies. In Vol. II, "Temporary Sup- port — Old Claims," for October-December, 1782, Samuel Hale is represented as having been a practicing barrister in New Hampshire before the war, with an estate of £500, and an income of £200 or more. He had been a member of the town council at Portsmouth and deputy register to the probate court. He "quitted" his profession in 1775, being compelled to leave "after having been repeatedly confined" and, with other loy- alists, made his way to the British army at Boston, Upon its evacuation of the town and departure to Hali- fax, Hale went with it. A news item in the Connecticut Journal, April 3, i']"]6, received from Cambridge, says: "We hear that J. Wentworth, Esq" [loyalist Governor of New Hampshire] . . . Edward Lutwyche; Samuel Hale, of Portsmouth, Attorney, and about fifty others, "in the grand ministerial flight of the 17th instant, all went off from Boston in a fishing schooner." Subse- quently, in 1776, he followed Howe's army to New York and was there appointed "Deputy Commissary of Prison- ers," remaining in the service about two years. Going to England he sought for occupation and was offered a judgeship in South Carolina, then partly occu- pied by British troops; but declining this on account of the climate, he applied for the office of Solicitor General at Quebec. He was recommended as "very fit for it," but apparently his ignorance of the French language pre- vented his appointment. Among those who certified to ALLEGED BETRAYAL OF HALE 167 his loyalty were Governor Wentworth, Mr. Galloway, and a Mr, Livins, the latter stating that he had known Samuel Hale many years and thought him "a very sensible man." Occasionally, "as she wants them," he sent remit- tances to his wife in America. His death occurred in England in 1787, the same year his father died at Gloucester. He appears to have been a man of ability and character, with promise of distinction. It was evidently known by Nathan Hale's companions that his cousin was in the British Camp. Bitterness against tories ran high at the time, and in their grief and indignation over their comrade's fate his friends could readily indulge in conjectures or suspicions as to the pos- sible conduct of the cousin. A renegade tory relative and traitor, as they would regard him, could be charged with anything. The rumor gathered and took more than one form. Enoch Hale had heard, October 15, through a letter written by Dr. Waldo, that Nathan had been "be- trayed," though the relative was not mentioned. This was Dr. John Waldo, then surgeon in Colonel Huntington's regiment. As he came from Coventry, his interest and anxiety would lead him to notice, and perhaps credit, reports of this kind. Hempstead, as we have seen, heard a story of Hale's betrayal at the British picket lines and declared that he religiously believed it. Then came the Essex Journal account, quoted above, and finally, sixty or seventy years later, the Huntington version. All may be referred to contemporary rumors and beliefs in camp; none of them stand on any tangible basis. The recently recovered letter from Deacon Richard Hale, Nathan's father, referred to, is important as show- ing that the Newburyport account of February 13, 1777, was not wholly based on "fact," as the writer alleged. Deacon Hale says to his brother, to whom he was writing: "You desired me to inform you about my son Nathan — i6S NATHAN HALE, 1776 you have doubtless seen the Newberry Port paper that gives the acount of the conduct of our kinsman Sam" Hale toards him at York — as to our kinsman being here it is a mistake." We have seen that Samuel Hale was a refu- gee in Howe's Boston camp nearly a year before. He did not visit Coventry as stated, and there put on "a Whiggish phiz." It may be noticed also that Hempstead had heard something to the same effect, that Samuel Hale had visited and been hospitably entertained by Nathan at his quarters in the American camp. Hale says nothing about this in his diary, and upon the face of it, it could not be true. So far the story is materially weakened. Furthermore, Deacon Hale wrote that, as to Samuel's alleged conduct, or betrayal, of Nathan at New York, "Mr. Cleveland of Cape Ann first reported it near us I sopose when on his way from the Armey where he had been Chapling home as what was probley true." This was Rev. Ebenezer Cleaveland, chaplain of Colonel Jonathan Ward's Massachusetts regiment, who had just left camp on a furlough. The returns show that he was present with his regiment on September 21, the day before Hale's execution, and that on October 4 he was absent on leave. As he was a native of Canterbury, Connecticut, he doubtless knew of the Coventry Hales and would inquire for particulars as to Hale's fate. Among other current rumors, he heard of the betrayal, but could report it on his way, near Coventry, as being only prob- ably true. This is a material point brought out by the father's letter. Evidently the betrayal was accepted as what one might expect from a tory relative. There is no evidence that the story came across the lines. The whole seems to have rested on a willing disposition to believe it. We have no more than what was then regarded as the probability in the case. On the other hand it may be pointed out that neither ALLEGED BETRAYAL OF HALE 169 Captain Hull nor Enoch Hale mentions this belief. These two, our best authorities, tell us that Hale, like Andre, was condemned on the evidence of the papers found on his person, in connection with his suspicious movements which led to his arrest. "Some minutes being found with him, orders were immediately given that he should be hanged." The report was investigated at the time by Hon. Sam- uel Hale, of Portsmouth, uncle to the loyalist Samuel, who came to the conclusion that it was "a malicious fabri- cation without the least shadow of foundation" [Ports- mouth Journal, September 23, 1826]. Some of the Cov- entry relatives refrained from speaking of the matter, feeling that it was "buried in uncertainty" and could be traced to nothing beyond "mere report." The late Rev. Edward Everett Hale makes this reference to it in a note to his Groton, Connecticut, address on Hale, Memorial Day, September 7, 1881 : "In the rage and distress of the excitement of the time, the rumor spread that Hale was betrayed by a tory kinsman. ... I know no evidence for It beyond ' 'tis said.' I know that my father did not be- lieve the story of treachery; I do not think his father did." In the Appendix to Mr. Stuart's work, there is an inter- esting correspondence in the matter, including a letter from the "kinsman" Samuel Hale himself, to his wife, in which among other things, he denounced the infamous newspaper publication charging him with "ingratitude," referring obviously to the betrayal accusation. Officers as Spies — Major Edmonston Very few officers are known to have acted as spies, on either side, during the Revolution. Hale and Andre ap- pear to have been the only ones, regularly commissioned 170 NATHAN HALE, 1776 in the American Continental or the regular British army, who were executed. A Lieutenant Palmer was hanged by General Putnam's orders In 1777, but he was a tory. A few private soldiers and civilians were caught and suf- fered, A case of some interest comes to light through the records of the "American Loyalists," preserved In Lon- don, copies of which have been made for the New York Public Library. It there appears that Major, subse- quently Lieutenant-Colonel, William Edmonston, of the British Forty-eighth Regiment of Infantry, stationed in Canada, served as a spy for General Howe in 1776-77. Before the war Edmonston owned a large farm near Ger- man Flats, New York. In September, 1776, he was made prisoner by the Tryon County Committee and sent to General Schuyler, at Albany, who In turn reported his case to General Washington. The latter ordered his de- tention until he could be regularly exchanged. In reality he was a spy at that time or later. The above records show that: "Lt. Col. Edmonston was employed on very special & Secret Services by S"" W™ Howe on the same footing as the late Major Andre, was several times taken prisoner & frequently In eminent danger of his Life, & his estates would have been secure, but from a discovery of the services he had performed being made public by 51" W™ Howes Correspondence being laid before the House of Commons. He claims £650 for money ex- pended by him when on Secret Services." Also: "S"" W" Howe certifies as to his exertion In the Army & being sent out by him to S*" G. Carleton & that his fortune was con- fiscated. — Many Certificates as to his services & that he would have been executed If he had been taken by the Rebels." — American Loyalists. Audit office Transcripts. Vol. II, p. 103. — N. Y. Public Library. In the Saratoga Campaign, 1777, Captain Thomas Scott of the British Fifty-third Regiment, went in dis- HALE NAMESAKES 171 guise, as a messenger from Burgoyne to Sir Henry Clin- ton at New York. He passed through the territory occupied by our troops under Gates and Putnam, and, if captured, could have been treated as a spy. His letter giving his experiences appears in Fonblanque's "Bur- goyne." Nathan Hale, Class of ij6g In the year Nathan entered college another Nathan Hale graduated, class of 1769. No relationship between them has been traced. The latter came from Long- meadow, Massachusetts, and subsequently settled as a lawyer at Canaan and Goshen, Connecticut. In the first edition of this work, pp. 38-39, the author credited our Hale, the younger, with the ownership of two works on divinity, which it appears, however, must have belonged to his namesake. The latter before taking up law had fitted himself for the ministry and would naturally possess such works. ^ On the fly-leaf of one there is written Nathan Hale's Book, 1768, and in the other the same, with the year 1771. The autograph in the latter, a "Treatise on Regeneration, by Peter Van Mastricht," closely resembles that of the younger Hale at that date, and seems to have misled one of its early owners and subsequent purchasers. It was catalogued in the famous Brinley collection as having once belonged to the martyr- spy, and was sold and bought as such. The author has since been shown two other books with similar fly-leaf entries, but the writing in these is clearly not that of our Hale. Still another contemporary Nathan Hale was the colonel of a New Hampshire regiment during the Revolution. 1 Dexter, Yale Biographies, etc., Vol. Ill, p. 338. APPENDIX HALE'S CORRESPONDENCE, ARMY DIARY, ETC., BIBLIOGRAPHY, INDEX This Is the correspondence of young men — most of them, Hke Hale, hardly past the age of twenty-one. It Is an exceptional collection, never Intended for publi- cation, but for that reason of much Interest to-day. How- ever expressed — It was the style and habit of the time — the letters are full of fact and sentiment and often curious in punctuation and phraseology. We have here both the college and the everyday youth of 'Seventy-six. Hale's Letters and Papers Hale to His Classmate Thomas Mead at New Haven^ This is the first opportunity I have had of acknowledging your favour of last winter. I was, at the receipt of your letter, in East Haddam (alias Modos), a place, which I at first, for a long time, concluded inaccessible, either by friends, acquaintance or letters. Nor was I convinced of the contrary untill I re[cei]ved yours, & at the same time, two others from Alden and Wyllys. Which made me, if possible, value your letter the more. — It was equally or more difficult, to convey anything from Modos. True, I saw the bearer of yours (Mr. Medcaff) some few days before he set out for New Haven, and desired the favour of se[n]ding some letters by him. Accordingly I had written letters to you, Alden and Wyllys with one or two others; but upon enquiry, I found that Mr. Medcaff was gone too soon for me. Since which I have scarce had an opportunity of sending towards N. Haven, — I want much to receive a letter from you and a full history of the transactions of the winter. I have heard many flying reports, but know not what to conclude as to the truth of them. Upon the whole I take it for certain, that the Quintumviri have been massacred, but in what manner I have not been sufficiently informed. — From what I can collect, I think probable you have had some high doings this winter, but expect a more full account of these matters in your next." I am at present in a School in New London. I think my situa- tion somewhat preferable to what it was last winter. My school is by no means difficult to take care of. It consists of about 30 scholars; ten of whom, are Latiners and all but six of the rest are 1 Throughout this correspondence the long "s" of the time was gen- erally used by the writers. For the sake of uniformity the modern short "s" is substituted in the print. 2 This probably refers to incidents at college, perhaps connected with his society, Linonia. i-je NATHAN HALE, 1776 writers. I have a very convenient school-house, and the people are kind and sociable. — I promise myself some more satisfaction in writ- ing and receiving letters from you, than I have as yet had. I know of no stated communication, but without any doubt, opportunities will be much more frequent, than while I was at Modos. — For the greater part of the last year, we were good neighbours, and I always thought, very good friends. Surely so good on my part, that it would be matter of real grief to me, should our friend- ship cease. — The only means for maintaining it is constant writing: in the practice of which I am ready most heartily to concur with you; and do hope ever to remain, as at present, Your Friend and Constant Well-wisher New London, May 2^ Nathan Hale A.D. 1774, Mr. Mead. [From the original now in possession of Mr. William A. Read, of New York.] Hale to His Brother Enoch [New London, Se]pt 8'^ 1774 Dear Brother, I have a word to write and a minute to write it in. I received yours of yesterday this morning. Agreable to your desire I will endeavour [to] get the cloth and carry it over Saturday. I have no news. No liberty-pole is erected or erecting here; but the people seem much more spririted than they were before the alarm. Parson Peters of Hebron, I hear, has had a second visit paid him by the sons of liberty in Win [d] ham. His treatment, and the concessions he made I have not as yet heard. I have not heard from home since I came from there. Your loving Brother Nathan Hale. M-- E Hale Lyme. [Original in possession of estate of the late Rev. Edward Everett Hale.] APPENDIX 177 Hale to His Uncle, Samuel Hale, Portsmouth, New Hampshire New London, Conn. Sept 24th, 1774 [This letter is given in full on page 49.] Hale to Dr. JEneas Munson, New Haven New London, November 30, 1774. Sir, I am 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. [From Lossing's "Two Spies," where the last sentence is given in facsimile. Mr. Lossing states that he copied it from the original in possession of Dr. Munson, son of the person to whom the letter is addressed.] Hale to the Proprietors of Union School, New London John Winthrop Esq*" Cap* Joseph Packwood Cap* Guy Richards Cap* William Packwood Duncan Stewart, Esq^ Cap' Richard Deshon Capt Robin" Mumford M^ John Richards M"" Roger Gibson Richard Law Esq"" Winthrop Saltonstall Esq*" M"" Timothy Green J78 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Cap* David Mumford M'' Samuel Belden Thomas Mumford Esq"" Jeremiah Miller Esq. M'- Silas Church Cap* Russell Hubbard Cap* Michael Mellaly M-" Nath^ Shaw, Jun"" Cap* Thomas Allen Cap* John Crocker Cap* Charles Chadwick Docf Thomas Coit Gentlemen Proprietors of Union School are desired to meet at the School House next Friday Evening (Feb, 24*^) 6 O'clock, agreable to adjournment from the 3*^ Inst, to the rising of the Court. The matters proposed to be considered were, the Act of Incorporation — the choice of proper Officers as Committee Clerk &c, — procuring a Bell, and what else might be thought proper. The occasion of the Adjournment was the smallness of the Num- ber present, — That there might not be the same occasion for another, more early Notice was directed to be given, by. Gentle- men Your Humble Servant N Hale Wednesday Feb. 22^ A.D. 1775 No Meeting on account of bad Weather.^ [From the original in possession, 1901, of the late Mr. W. F. Havemeyer, New York.] Hale to the Proprietors of Union School 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 favour 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 1 In the correspondence respecting Hale, Connecticut Historical Society archives, mention is made of a school-meeting call issued by him in December, 1773. He was then at East Haddam. APPENDIX 179 think ft best there should be a general meetting of the Proprietors. The time talked of for holding it, is 6 O'Cl this afternoon at the School House. 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. Schoolkeeping is a business of which I was always fond ; but since my residence in this Town, every thing has conspired to render it more aggreeabble. I have thought much of never quitting it but with life ; but at present there seems an opportunity for more extensive public service. The kindness expressed me by the people of the place but espe- cially the proprietors of the School, will always be very gratefully remembered by your Humble Serv* Nathan Hale Friday, July 7'^ [1775] [From the original now in possession of Hon. Simon Gratz, Philadelphia, Pa.] Hale to Betsey Christophers, at New London Camp Winter Hill Oct^ W^ 1775 Dear Betsey I hope you will excuse my freedom in writing to you, as I cannot have the pleasure of seeing & 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 onece 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 fur- i8o NATHAN HALE. 1776 lough wer[e] 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 have 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 Y"" Sincere Friend & Hble Svt. N. Hale [Original now in possession of Yale University Library.] Hale to His Brother Enoch at Coventry New York, May 30^^, 1776. Dear Brother Your favor of the 9th. of May, and another written at Nor- wich, I have received — the former yesterday. You complain of my neglecting }'0u; I acknowledge it is not wholly without rea- son — at the same time I am conscious to have written you more than once or twice within this half year. Perhaps my letters have miscarried. I am not on the end of Long Island, but in New York, encamped about one mile back of city. We have been on the Island, and spent about three weeks there, but since returned. As to Brigades: we spent part of the Winter at Winter Hill in Genl. Sullivan's — thence we were removed to Roxbury, and annexed to Genl Spencer's — from thence we came to New York in Genl Heath's; on our arrival we were put in Genl. Lord Sterling's; APPENDIX i8i here we continued a few days, and were returned to Genl. Sulli- van's; on his being sent to the Northward, we were reverted to Lord Sterling's, in whose Brigade we now remain. In the first detachment to the Northward under Genl. Thomson, Webb's regiment was put down ; but the question being asked whether we had many seamen, and the reply being yes, we were erased and another put down in our place. We have an account of the arrival of Troops at Halifax, thence to proceed on their infamous errand to some part of America. Maj, Brooks informed me last evening, that in conversation with some of the frequenters at Head Quarters he was told that Genl. Washington had received a packet from one of the sherrifs of the city of London, in which was contained the Debates at large of both houses of Parliament — and what is more, the whole proceedings of the Cabinet. The plan of the summer's campaign in America is said to be communicated in full. Nothing has yet transpired ; but the prudence of our Genl. we trust will make advantage of the Intelligence. Genl Gates (formerly Adjt. Genl. now Maj'' Genl) is gone to Philadelphia, probably to communi- cate the above. Some late accounts from the northward are very unfavorable, and would be more so could they be depended on. It is reported, that a fleet has arrived in the River ; upon the first notice of which our army thought it prudent to break up the siege and retire — that in retreating they were attack'd and routed. Numbers kill'd, the sick, most of the cannon and stores taken. The account is not authentic: We hope it is not true. It would grieve every good man to consider what unnatural monsters we have as it were in our bowels. Numbers in this Colony, and likewise in the western part of Connecticut, would be glad to imbrue their hands in their Country's Blood. Facts render this too evident to admit of dispute. In this city such as refuse to sign the Association have been required to deliver up their arms. Several who refused to comply have been sent to prison. It is really a critical Period. America beholds what she never did before. Allow the whole force of our enemy to be but 30,000, 1 82 NATHAN HALE, 1776 and these floating on the Ocean, ready to attack the most unguarded place. Are they not a formidable Foe? Surely they are. [Nathan Hale.] [As given in Stuart.] Hale to His Brother Enoch at Coventry New York, June 3^ 1776. Dear Brother, Your Favour of the 9* of May and another written at Nor- wich I have received — the first mentioned on the 19'^ of May ult— You complain of my neglecting you — It is not, I acknowledge wholly without Reason — at the same time I am consscious to have written to you more than once or twice within this half year. Perhaps my letters have miscarried. I am not on Long Island, as you suppose; but in New York, encamped about 1 mile back of the City. We have been on the Island, and spent about three weeks there but since returned. As to Brigades; at the beginning of the Campaign we were at Winter Hill in Gen^ Sullivan's; from thence we were removed to Roxbury & annexed to Gen' Spencers; we marched from that place here in Gen' Heath's; on our arrival we were put in Gen' Lord Sterling's; here we continued a few days and we returned to Gen' Sullivan's, on his being ordered to the northward we reverted to Lord Sterling, in whose Brigade we still remain. In the first detachment to Canada under Gen' Thomson, Webb's Regiment was put down; but the question being asked whether we had many Seamen & the answer being yes, we were erased and another put down in our place. — Our Continuance or removal from 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. Docf Eli (Surgeon of our Reg*^) told me a few days since, there was not a man in our APPENDIX 183 Reg*^ but might upon occasion go out with his Firelock. Much the same is said of other Regiments. The army is every day improving in Discipline & 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 & there is a Sergeant recruiting who I hope has got the other 10 which compleats the Company. We are hardly able to judge as to the numbers the British army for the Summer is to consist of — undoubted sufficient to cause us too much bloodshed. Genl. Washington is at the Congress being sent for thither to advise on matters of consequence. I had written you a compleat letter in answer to your last but missed the opportunity of sending it. This will probably find you in Coventry — if so rem [em] her me to all my friends — particularly belonging to the Family. For- get not frequently to visit and strongly to represent my duty to our good Grand-mother Strong. Has she not repeatedly favoured 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 M"^ Huntington & shall write to him if time admits. Pay M"" Wright a visit for me. Tell him Asher is well — he has for some time lived with me as a waiter. I am in hopes of obtaining him a Furlough soon that he may have opportunity to go home, see his friends, and get his summer clothes. Asher this moment told 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 Reg^ I intend to see him today and if possible by exchanging get him into my company. Yours affectionately N. Hale. P. S. Sister Rose talked of making me some Linen clothe similar to brown Holland for summer ware If she has made it, desire her to keep it for me. My love to her the Doctor and Little Joseph. [Original in possession of estate of the late Rev. Edward Everett Hale.] i84 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Hale to His Brother Enoch at Coventry New York, August 20, 1776 [This letter appears on page 149.] Hale's Address before the Linonia Society valedictory to the ''sirs'' Kind Sirs, Sorrow which hath for a long time spared to molest this peace- ful society with its disagreeable presence, has we see at length approach'd it and bedim'd your countenances, with an unusual kind of sadness. Sorrow is indeed unpleasing; yet, when the cause of it is so just as at present, how shall we attempt to restrain it? That the Gentlemen who have now taken their leave of us were very much beloved by us, our inward emotions, as well as counte- nances, do very strongly testify. They have been rendered dear to us, not only by a long and intimate acquaintance, but by the strict- est bonds of unity and friendship. How shall we ever forget the many agreeable evenings we have spent in their company? or by what new revolutions, do we hope to arrive to that happy period, when contented with our happiness, we shall wish no more the return of such delightful scenes? The high opinion we ought to maintain of the abilities of these worthy Gentlemen, as well as the regard they express for Linonia & her Sons, tends very much to increase our desire for their longer [conjtinuence. Under whatsoever character w^e consider them, we have the greatest reason, to regret their departure. As our patrons we have shared their utmost care & vigilence in supporting Linonia's cause, & protect- [ing] her from the malice of her insulting foes. As our bene- factors we have pertaken of their liberality, not only in their rich & valuable donations to our library, but, what is still more, their amiable company & conversation. But as our friends, what inexpressible happiness have we experienced in their disinter [est] ed love & cordial affection? We have lived together, not as fellow- students, and members of the same college but as brothers & APPENDIX 185 children of the same family; not as superiors & inferiors, but rather as equals & companions. The only thing which hath [given] them the pre-eminence, [is] their superior knowledge in those arts & sciences, which are here cultivated, & their greater skill & prudence in the management of such important affairs as these which conce[rn] the good order & 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 & literature. But why should I expatiate upon past pleasures & enjoyments? We are all sensible, alas! too sensible of [them] so greatly are our minds impressed, with the remembrance of them that the thought of their now ending, is almost insupportable. But, why have our friends been so unkind, as to add to our sorrow, by representing to our minds, in the most affecting light, our former intimate friendship, & inflaming in our breasts a still greater desire for their longer continuance? We wish for it, but in vain. This day has brought about the unwel- come period, the mela[n]choly prospect of which has so long sadden'd our Hearts. We must now take leave, a final leave, of our dearest friends. Fain would we avoid undertaking; but it cannot be we are obliged to perform it. Since therefore it must be so, let us submit. Let us if possible for a moment put on cheer- ful & benevolent countenances, while we shall return return to our parting friends, for the last time, our sincerest thanks for the numberless kindnesses they have shewn us, since we have the honour of being called Linonia's Sons. Kind and generous Sirs, It is with the greatest reluctance, we are now all oblig'd to bid a last adieu to you our dearest friends. Fain would we ask you longer to tarry, but it is otherwise deter- mined, and we must comply. Accept then our sincerest thanks, as some poor return for your disinterested zeal in Linonia's cause, & your unwearied pains to suppress her opposers. I understand that at the time, when you were receiv'd by our Ancestors into this society, our best beloved Linonia was brought very low, by the oppressive hand of her numerous opposers. But since the time of your admission she hath been continually encreasing both in i86 NATHAN HALE, 1776 dignity & power, arising from step to step, toward her antient Splendor. And hath at length arrived to that flourishing condition in which we now behold her. To you is owing, in a great measure, our present prosperity. (What adequate returns can we make for these signal favours?) But in addition to all the rest you have now given us those instructions, by the observation of which, we may make Linonia still to flourish, & shine forth with superior splendor. Receive kind Sirs as a very poor return our sincere thanks for your numberless kindnesses. Be assur'd that we shall be spirited in Linonia's cause & with steadiness & resolution strive to make her shine with unparalleled lustre. And althoug[h] Plutonia should make use of every sordid & low-Hv'd scheme, to raise herself & rival our fame, rely upon it, that we will exert ourselves in the use of all proper means to humble her pride & reduce her to her nothing. And you may firmly believe, we will do our best endeavours to render ourselves worthy our illustrious Ancestors. Be assured Gentlemen, that your memory will always be very dear to us: that although hundreds of miles should inter- fere, you will always be attended with our best wishes. May providence protect you in all your ways, & may you have pros- perity in all your undertakings. May you live long & happily, & at last die satisfied with the pleasures of this world, and go hence to that world where joy shall never cease & pleasures never end. Dear Gentlemen farewell ! [From the Linonia MSS. records, Yale University Library, among which is a book containing a number of similar addresses delivered by students on other occasions. Hale at this date, the spring of 1772, was closing his Junior year, and the above is his reply to the parting address of Billings, who represented the outgoing "Sirs."] Hale to His Classmate, Benjamin Tallmadge (in Rhyme) Friend Tallmadge, Although a first attempt prov'd vain, I'm still resolv'd my end t' obtain. My temper's such I can give out. In what I 'tempt for one bad bout. APPENDIX 187 Were this the case, you'd never see Lines, formed to feet and rhyme from me. But being sadly mortify'd At thoughts of laying it aside; Reviv'd a little by your letter, With hopes of speeding better, At length I venture forth once more, But fearing soon to run ashore. My thoughts had once convey'd you home In safety to your wonted dome; But gladly went a second time, Attended by your muse and rhyme. That you are there, the single proof, You bring, to me, is quite enough. 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. As soon as stop'd, away he trips (And that without or spurs or whips) 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. 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. Whene'er with friends I correspond, I seek for food of which they're fond. But if my bests' of meaner kind, I strive to dress it to their mind, \ For this I leave my wonted course. With you, and seek for aid from verse. [From the original in possession of Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes, Yale University. Now first published.] i88 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Hale^s Description of Camp Scenes^ 1775 (in Rhyme) You make a small request, (Perhaps sincere perhaps in jest, But which is neither here or there, For what you do is not my care.) Yet what you ask I'll think sincere, Untill the contr'y truth appear. With chearfulness, be sure, I'll grant As far as able what you want. If letters, any of you choose I'll send as many as you please. So far at least, whene'er at leisure, I write them with the utmost pleasure Could you but take a full survey. On this & that & t'other way You'd see extended far and wide Our camps both here & Roxbury side. The hills with tents their whiteness show Resembling much Mid winter's snow. (For some such cause perhaps the same, Our hill is known by winter's name). Some the top, some the bottom take, Those for health, these for safety sake. For health we all do value high. And safety too when danger's nigh. — When coming here from Watertown, Soon after ent'ring Cambridge ground. You spy the grand & pleasant seat, Possess'd by Washin[g]ton the great. It looks so neat, so good the plan, You'd think it made for that good man. [Erased line reads: "You'd choose it for that worthy man."] APPENDIX 189 In better times it was enjoy'd By Col'nel Vassell, who prov'd void Of love for his Country, which gave Him all that Heart could wish to have. Of evjsfry joy of life possess'd With Riches & wi[t]h honours bless'd, He's not content, but fled to Gage And with his country war did wage. Not many rods from hence is clearly seen The house that Captain Coit lives in. The Widow Vassell lays a claim To this, and gardens round the same. In passing on appear some domes Both large & high, with numerous rooms. In former times, as I am told, This splendid place was College call'd^ The muses here did once reside. And with the ancient muses vy'd. E'en shaming Greek and Roman pride. The Sons of Science here pursu'd Those peaceful arts that make men good. But now, so changed is the scene, You'd scarce believe these things had been. Instead of sons of Science sons of Mars And nothing's heard but sound of Wars. I [n] stead of learning what makes good, They learn the art of spilling blood. But now it gives me joy to hear That when her ruin seem'd so near. From dange[r] having swiftly fled; At Concord she erects her head. From College as you pass along You soon will meet a throng 1 Harvard College. As Hale says at the close, it moved to Concord during the army operations. igo NATHAN HALE, 1776 Of Soldiers; over which brave band, Old Gen'ral Putnam holds command. This (by the w^ay) is on the right, And scarce from College out of sight. But if you think it worth your while, To take the North for near a mile, [Unfinished.] On the inner margin of the sheet these lines are added: Let not the Ladies wish a spark To cheer their spirits in the dark. The school which once unequal'd shone Appears deserted & undone Her genuine sons all being gone. The last three lines could apply to the "College," and may have been intended for insertion in their proper connection in a complete copy of the poem. Hale evi- dently wrote this piece for some of his New London pupils or friends. [From the original in possession of Mr. George D. Smith, New York. Now first published.] Hale to "Alicia'' — Love Poem 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 joined Great without pride, and 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 1 In the original the word is "clouds." APPENDIX 191 Let empty follies build the 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[s] 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 joined 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 nea'r shall take my thoughts from home Nor time efface my due regards for thee. [From the original, without date, in possession of Mr. George E. Hoadley, of Hartford. Now first published. Mr. Hoadley also owns a diary written by Mrs. Alicia (Adams) Lawrence, with some of her china, silver, furniture and books; also, a tall clock which belonged to Nathan's brother, Judge John Hale, and afterwards to Mrs. Lawrence.] Hale to W. Saltonstall — ^A School Bill Sr, £ s d My Bill for Schooling your Son the last Quarter is — 12 — Y^ H : ble Svt. N Hale W. Saltonstall Esq"" [From the original in possession of Mr. Arthur Hale, of New York. Hale drew up three of these bills on a small piece of paper, but slightly differing from each other. He seems to have been trying to get the best wording before sending a bill. Winthrop Saltonstall was one of the proprietors of the New London School. The above is the second form — the date probably the summer of 1774.] 192 NATHAN HALE. 1776 Hale''s Commission as a Continental Captain In congress. The Delegates of the United Colonies of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode-Island, Connecticut, New-York, New- Jersey, Pennsjdvania, the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, and South- Carolina, to Nathan Hale Esq We reposing especial trust and confidence in your patriotism, valour, conduct and fidelity, DO by these presents constitute and appoint you to be Captain in the Nineteenth Regiment of foot Commanded by Colonel Charles Webb in the army of the United Colonies, raised for the defence of American Liberty, and for repelling every hostile invasion thereof. You are therefore care- fully and diligently to discharge the duty of Captain by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto belonging. And we do strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers under your command, to be obedient to your orders, as Captain And you are to observe and follow such orders and directions from time to time as you shall receive from this or a future Congress of the United Colonies or Committee of Congress, for that purpose ap- pointed, or Commander in Chief for the time being of the army of the United Colonies, or any other your superior officer, accord- ing to the rules and discipline of war, in pursuance of the trust reposed in you. This commission to continue in force until re- voked by this or a future Congress. Attest Cha^ Thomson Sec.^. By Order of the Congress, January the first 1776 — John Hancock President^ [The original now in possession of Mr. William A. Read, of New York.] 1 The names and writing printed in italics are written in the original. APPENDIX 193 Hale's Linonia Minutes Hale became a member of this once famous Society at Yale College, November 7, 1770, early in his Sophomore year. He appears as secretary or "scribe" in January, 1771, serving as such the greater part of the year. One of his first entries in the minute- book, January 2"*^, runs: "This Honorable Society met at Mead's Room, the meeting v^^as opened vi^ith a Narration, spoken by Alden, then the Members proceeded to elect Gould a Chancellor [Presi- dent] and after a few Questions they appointed Williams ^^* to deliver an Oration at the next Anniversary, they likewise appointed Sir Dwight, Sir Davenport, Sir Williams, Cutler, Gould, Barker, ^d Hall, Alden, GuUey, Hays, Lyman, Merwin & Wil- liams, 2d whom they design'd should take their Parts, in acting a Comedy call'd the Conscious Lovers, and they appointed the fol- lowing to act a Farce call'd the Toy Shop, (viz) Cutler, Barker, ^J Billings, Cob, Hall, Welch, Williams, i^t Hale, i^t Hale, 2d Leonard, Mead & Woodbridge, Test Nathan Hale Scribe" January 9*^ "This venerable Club met at Alden's Room. The Meeting was open'd with a Narration spoken by Welch; and after some questions was clos'd with a Dialogue spoken by Lyman & Robertson." The next scribe, E. Williams, makes the entry, December 18, 1771: "This Illustrious Society Met at Hale's Room." Few Members Present, the meeting closing with a speech delivered by "M-- Nathan Hale."— November 26, 1772: "Narration deliv- ered by Hale very instructive." — December 30; "Very agreeable and entertaining extemporary Dispute delivered by Hale 2nd" ^^id three others. Hale was elected Chancellor in the latter part of his Senior year. For further reference to his connection with the Society, see pages 31, 143-146. [Original in Yale University Library.] 194 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Letters from Hale's Father and Brothers Deacon Richard Hale to His Sons Enoch and Nathan IN College^ Dear children, I Rec^ your Letter of the 7"^ 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 and be sure above all forget not to Learne Christ while you are busy in other studies. I intend to send you some money the first opportunity perhaps by Mr. Sher- man 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 their and send me word. If I Don't here from you I shall depend upon sending Horses to you by the 6* of May, — if I should have know oppertunity to send you any money till May and should then come to New Haven and clear all of 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 Rich'' Hale, Coventry Dec"" 26* A.D. 1769 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 Prayrs 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 1 The first three letters from Hale's father have been slightly modern- ized by division into sentences, etc. The fourth letter to his brother follows the original MSS. ' :^''\/A^^ -"<'' '^D/^j. ^; ^-'^'•^.. /J IZ-'-JZ^^i^ ^ 'i^ Autographs of Nathan Hale and his father, Richard Hale APPENDIX 195 but hope when S"^ Strong comes to Coventry to be able to send by him what you want. . . . from your Loving Fath — RiCH° Hale Coventry, Dec^ 17^^ 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 firthest. I know of no opporttunity 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 mesure 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 don't 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 RiCH° Hale Coventry August 13'^ 1771. [From originals in possession of estate of the late Rev. Edward Everett Hale.] Richard Hale to His Brother Samuel, Portsmouth^ New Hampshire Dear Brother I Rec^ your favor of the 17*^ 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 196 NATHAN HALE, 1776 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 wee 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 preapre 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^^ Hale toard him in 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 [Cape Ann] 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 22"^^ of Sepetember 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 Z^^ 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 Richard Hale Coventry March 28'^ 1777 [From the MSS. letter in possession of Mr. George M. Thornton, Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Now first published in its original form. This valuable letter, supposed to be lost, was recovered a few years since by Hon. Frank L. Howe, of Barrington, New Hampshire, and printed in modernized form in the Hartford Courant, August 26, 1911. It is the letter referred to by Mr. William Hale, Nathan's cousin, in some correspondence printed in the Appendix of Stuart's book.] 1 Deacon Hale may have wished to say that it was the second greatest or sorest trial he ever met with, the previous trial being the loss of his first wife [?]. APPENDIX 197 Enoch Hale to Nathan at New London Lyme May 10'^, A.D. 1774 Dear Brother, A few words by the hand of friend Noyes. You see I am at Lyme: but I could not come by New London. I left home last Thursday. Mother and Sally in a poor way, I fear not so well as when you was there. I came by the way of Lebanon, left Billey with Mr. Huntington to learn the Blacksmiths trade. I b[r] ought no books for you, I had no conveniency but left word to have them sent to you, if opportunity presented, Pope's Iliad & the 5*^ Vol. of the late war, which I found among the books and placed in my chest. I stand in need of a pair of breaches, I know of no better place to purchase cloath than at New London. If you will oblige me so much as to go with Noyes & get as good & fashionable as you can but not too costly: for it is for every day, therefore cheeper the better, & likewise trimmings. Squire Noyes would be glad to see the History of the late war, so if you will send some of the Volumes if you don't want them, you will oblige him & me, Enoch Hale [From original in possession of estate of the late Rev. Edward Everett Hale.] John Hale to His Brother Nathan Coventry 20*^ March 1775 Dear Brother I send you these lines to acquaint you that I am in good health at Present tho some of our folks are not at last Richard is very sick with the Canker but I hope not the worst sort he was taken last Monday his throat is very much sweald so that he cant swallow but a very little but I hope he will get better sone but I am very much concern about him the rest of us are in as good health as we were when you was at home Enoch Larrebe has lost three cheldren lately with the Throat Destemper and two or three others that have been very sick but are geting better igS NATHAN HALE. 1776 I want you should get M'' Green to put an advertisment in his paper for me and I will satisfy you for it — I would have the Advertisment be something after this sort without you can alter it for the better All Persons having Accounts against the Estate of M"" Elijah Rip [ley] late of Coventry Deceased are desired to bring in the same to the subscriber who will attend said Business at the Dwell- ing house of Eph"^ Root Esq Inkeeper in said Coventry on the first Tuesday of April next and so on every Tuesday till the first of June next and all Indebted to said Estate are desired to make speedy payment to John Hale Administrator I shall write no more at Present so remain your Loving Brother John Hale. To M"" Nathan Hale New London [Original in Connecticut Historical Society.] Letters from Hale's Classmates Roger Alden to Hale^ Newhaven Evening after Fast Friend Hale I feel very much refreshed, it was not many Hours since, that I seemed to be cursed, with a dull, sour Melancholy Temper, which seemed to communicate the Contagion to every thing that I either wrote or thought of, but however my writings may dififer, my mind feels very much changed — I hope you have spent 1 Alden was a native of Lebanon, Connecticut. Leaving his school in 1776 he became Adjutant and Aid-de-Camp to General Huntington and served till 1781. In 1785 he became Deputy Secretary to the Con- tinental Congress, and in his later days held a post position at West Point, where he died in 1836. "Yale in the Revolution," p. 282; Dexter's Yale Biographies, Vol. HL APPENDIX 199 this Day in such a Manner as that you will not be troubled with any Convictions of Conscience — you must excuse me for the present, as I am interrupted — Thursday Morning after Fast I suppose that 3'ou rose very early this morning have been per- using some agreeable as well as profitable Book, & not many minutes since, felt for your watch Chain, with your eyes intent on your Book, until you had brought your memento about the length of your Book from its Habitation & found it to be just 59 minutes after 8 OClock, if that was not the most disagreeable Time in all the Day, tell me in jour next, it seems to me that you pictured out at once all the Troubles that you was to encounter — This I am certain that your reading after that did not profit much — especially if you was in the middle of some diverting scene in either History, Plays, Novels, Romances or whatever you please, it is not the Trouble of keeping School that brings this uneasiness, but being confined to particular Hours, I have fre- quently experienced all these Feelings, & have as much dreaded the Hours of Nine & Two, as ever I did the morning prayer Bell, or Saturday noon Recitation, but Friend Nathan what is it that makes things that are real good & agreeable in themselves, so unpleasing to us, every delightsome Diversion every profitable Study we see oft disaiifects & disgusts us, not you & myself, but every rational Creature on Earth, I mean those that are called rational to distinguish them from lower Orders of created Beings but methinks we have as small Pretences to it, as the meanest animal living, for such Principles & Practice, which we experience every Day we live, contradict common sense & basely degrade what is so frequently stiled the greatest Excellence of human Nature, human Reason — But is a common Observation & as true as it is old, that mankind may be led, but will never be drove — this we may observe in every stage of Life, from the Infant to fourscore years & Ten — this which seems to be innate & born with us, appears to me the greatest proof of universal Depravity & Original Sin, that I can conceive of, but is so always was & always will be — I would not have you think that I send 200 NATHAN HALE, 1776 this as a sample of my good writing, or good sense, not that [it] is deficient in either of these Points, but rather a Proof of my Friendship when you have read all this Srole, I hope you will think necessary to give me some kind of an Answer, when you have Leisure — from your best Friend — Roger Alden — To M^ Nathan Hale New London pr Mr Hull [In Connecticut Historical Society Library.] Same to Same N Haven Nov^^ 28*^ 1775 Dear S^ If you had only once thought, how much Pleasure it would have given me, to receive a Letter from you, in your present Character & Situation, I am sure you could not have neglected writing to me by Capt Leavenworth — If the Life & Business of a Soldier has worn off all that Friend- ship & Tenderness for me, which you have so often expressed by words & Actions — I shall try to reconcile myself to the misfortune, & promise myself no more Happiness & Satisfaction, from him whom I once esteemed among the number of my best Friends. — It is very hard for me to entertain such an Opinion, of a Person of your Frankness & Sincerity, nor will I allow myself to indulge such a Thought, or be guilty of such an Odious Jealousy. The Cares, Perplexities, & Fatigues of your Office, are Matters sufficient to vindicate your conduct, & the Duty, which you owe to your own Honour & the Interest of your Country, is sufficient to employ your whole Time, & to justify you in the Dispensing with the Obligations of your old Friends & Acquaintance. — Reason, perhaps may convince me of this Truth, but w[e]re I to be Judge in the affair, I am very sure that I should be very partial in my own Favour — I expect, that you will impute this long Chasm in our Corre- APPENDIX 201 spondence to me, should you ever take it in your Head to write — but I pray that you will give equal Partiality to my Faults, & ascribe it to some strange, & hidden Cause in the Natural or Political System, & conclude that after the Revolution of months & years, Things have returned to their former Order & Regu- larity — but then I would only remind you, that you must be very careful to use your utmost efforts to preserve them in [?] situa- tion, in respect to their motions & Conjunctions. — I almost envy you your Circumstances, I want to be in the Army very much, I feel myself fit to relish the Noise of Guns, Drums, Trumpets, Blunderbuss, & Thunder; & was I qualified for a Birth, & of influence sufficient to procure one I would accept it with all my Heart ; I would accept of a Lieutenancy but should prefer an Adjutancy but other more fortunate Young Persons are provided for, & poor I, must make myself contented where I am — think of my Condition, & then Imagine how high I estimate Yours — Give my best Love & Compliments to Keyes & Wood- bridge, tell them I shall be very careful to answer all their Letters as well as [yo]ur own — After you have thought over all this, tell yourself that no one loves you more than — Roger Alden. Cap* Nathan Hale — in the Army — Cambridge — p"" Cap*^ Leavenworth [In Connecticut Historical Society Library.] Elihu Marvin to Hale^ -^ „ Norwich, April 8*^ 1774 Dear Sr. I have at present only just time to acknowledge the Receipt of yours as I did not know that Waterman by whoom I send 1 Marvin was a native of Lyme, Connecticut. Like Alden, he dropped his teaching and joined the army in 1777. After the war he settled down as a physician at Norwich. His devotion to his profession led to his death from yellow fever in 1798. "Yale in the Revolution," p. 292. Dexter's Yale Biographies, Vol. HL 202 NATHAN HALE, 1776 intended for N. L. till about 4 minutes agone, he is now rigging — Why ha[v] nt you had one wrote before you say? I'll tell you since I received I have ben extreem busy preparing for Quarter- Day which was yesterday I have not time to give particulars we had various kinds of exercises among the rest speaking — The Dia- logue between Humphrey & Pounce was Delivered to the great satisfaction of spectators — After exercises I had the pleasure to drink tea with an agreeable circle of young Ladies — Then went to Wedding at a near Neighbours spent the evening in brisk exer- cise — sometimes eating, sometimes Drinking — sometimes Danc- ing — & at almost all time sweating as 'twas very warm — so that this morning I feel not a great difFeren from what is customary after Quarter — so you will excuse me the trouble of correcting and pointing — you mentioned to me a grammar which you have by you — if I mistake not the British instructor but whether I have got the Name right or not if you can spare it a few days as well as not, & will send it up by Capt. Waterman today — I shall be much obliged to you — I believe I need not tell you I will be care- ful of it — I would not have you put yourself out of the way about it. If you can as well spare it a few days as not with the Book send me a line how long you can & I'll endeavour to send it by the time — Im Your Serv* El. Marvin To M"" Nathan Hale N. London [Original in possession of Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes, Yale University.] Same to Same Norwich 15*^ DeC". 1775 S^ Three month at Cambridge and not one line. Well I can't help it, if a Capt^ Commission has all this effect, what will happen when it is turned into a Colonel's — APPENDIX 203 Polly hears of one and another at New London who have letters from M"" Hale but none comes to me Polly says Mrs. Poole was at Norwich sometime since and desired me to enclose a letter for her which I engaged to do, but I was unfor- tunately taken sick the night before the man sat out, and through that indolence which you know is so natural to me I had neglected to write sooner so was disappointed of fulfilling my engagement My disorder proved to be the Throat distemper with which I was severely exercised for about a week but Blessed be God I have now recovered my health pretty well — The fortifications are going on briskly at New London and Groton — I hear at Stonington they are preparing to make the mos vigorous defence. James Hilhouse writes me they are preparing to give them a suitable reception at New Haven. The assembly is now sitting nothing of their doings have as yet transpired but it is said the Governor call'd them together to see what shall be done with some Tories who are said to be troublesome in the Western part of the Colony you know they are plenty there. We hear that a number of the settlers on the Susquehannah purchase are taken prisoners by the Pennymites — That assembly have taken up the matter and seem determined to proceed to blood-sh[ed], A sad Omen to the happy union that has as yet subsisted between the Colonies, Could our internal enemies wish for a more favourable event on their side. I make no doubt of its being a plan of the Tory party in the Pennsylvania assembly. What will be the event I know not but hope the allwise disposer of afifairs will not suffer it to proceed to a rupture between the Two Colonies — I am now Trespasing on my school hours so must conclude your's Elihu Marvin To Nathan Hale P. S. Miss Polly's complies to Mr. Hale — ^A letter would not be disagreeable [In Connecticut Historical Society Library.] 204 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Same to Same Norwich 26 Feb. 1776 S*" Received yours by M"" Richards, I did not send by the post however I wrote and expected it would have gone sometime since. The reason I did not send by the post was I understood he rode by subscription and that nonsubscribers paid Postage, which I supposed you would think dear. But I find he brings letters for me and demands nothing however the matter is I intend to know soon and be able to send in a Constitutional way . . . One piece of news ; I have set out to manufacture salpetre, hope the Army in future will be in no want of powder for I have extracted at least half a pound. It is said in Letterwriting it is best to write what comes upper- most — But what think you had I best tell you how mad I have been to day or not? . . I rather doubt it; and yet since I have raised your curiosity I believe I must in some measure gratify it. I think as we were walking down street I told you something of our affairs in the Light Infantry Company . . We have this day been pretending to exercise and manoeuvre, and as is usual mustered one Commission Officer and for matter of what he knew about discipline we might as well have been without him . . . To put one's self to some considerable cost to fix to have raised expectations of making some appearance, to attract the attention of men of skill and judgment, as well as to equip our- selves to serve our Country, and then to be haw'd about by a set of Ignoramus's and made the sport and ridicule of spectators you may well think will stir old Adam especially in a person whose vanity tells him if the Tables were turned matters would not work just so. . . — What scheme shall now poor Corp^ lay Since Polly's gone, an still doth stay; If there I knock they bid me walk in But Polly's not in hall or kitchen. Then out he goes and does not tarry Whilst Cretia cries "pray what's your hurry; By that time this is fairly done APPENDIX 205 P. S. Lo ! Tom. replies the Corps's gone, He's gone 'tis true replete with cheer But hardly knows which way to stear. When musing thus within himself "Near by lives Nathan's other self, "Poor girl she's left almost alone, "Since neighbour Hale's been gone from home "By Nature's laws we are directed "To visit such as are afflicted." Then onward strait directs his course To seek and find the weeping house. When there: the Lady drown 'd in tears With sad complaints doth fill his ears. "Behold (she cries) the Cap* cruel "Hath left me neither food nor fuel; "Oh more than frozen, guilty heart, "That could with so much ease depart "And leave me here, as yet untried "A poor, forsaken helpless bride." Her heart to ease, her mind to calm. He then pours in the friendly balm Of honor gaind, of service done A treasure which he'll sure bring home The side is full the rhyme is bad So I'll leave of? and go to bed Of this if you are quite observant You'll find I'm still your humb' Serv* E. Marvin forwarded directly to N. London by M"" Richards. [Original in possession of Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes, Yale University.l Same to Same Norwich 17'^ March 1776 Reciev'd yours of the 10*^ Inst: obliged for the news 1 am sorry since to hear that the attempt to secure the Point has failed, 2o6 NATHAN HALE, 1776 and especially that it was through the misconduct of our own people If I have been rightly informed it is a direct instance to shew the necessity of discipline which (between you and 1)1 fear is greatly wanting among our Troops that it should as yet be wanting is not strange but if we who are indulging ourselves in ease here at home, may be allowed to judge from hearsay, I think we have but too much reason to fear, that the true notion of discipline is but very little relish'd or understood even by officers - - if this is the case surely so long as it continues so obedience and subordination can never be rationally expected from the soldiers I was going on further with my sentiments in regard to disci- pline, but as my time is short and the subject copious I will defer it for the present. We hear you are like to be sent this way Transports are preparing in great haste at the Landing - - I[f] you are hope to have a social chat or so It is too dark to write E. Marvin P. S.. wanting. To Cap* Nathan Hale Roxbury [In Connecticut Historical Society Library.] Same to Same Norwich, 11 th June 1776 Kind Sr, Am obliged for your particular history of the adventure aboard the prize ; wish you would acquaint me with every incident of good or ill fortune which befals you in your course of Life. The whole journal I hope some time or other to peruse — you are sensible that I am not in a way to meet with adventures new or interesting. Teaching, scolding and Floging is the continual APPENDIX 207 round. I am surprised when I reflect on my situation ; once I could enter my school and spend my hours with pleasure, but them scenes are now past — in short I have come to be one of your fretting teasing pedagogues and think hard of Quiting. For these some Months I have been like a person half distracted. I know not what to do with myself. I think of this, that and the other calling, and know not which to prefer, then my bleeding Country awakes my attention and seems to demand me in the field, then I look at my scarified half famish'd supporter and am discouraged, Figure to yourself an entire stranger set down in the Central point of an hundred paths in which he can scarce discern a track by reason of briers and thorns yet through some of which he must pass or starve on the spot, and you will see your friend. For News I shall refer you to Mr. Nevins. My hearty prayer to God for my Country is that he would preserve peace and harmony among ourselves. I greatly fear some of America's great- est and most dangerous enemies are such as think themselves her best friends. In what other light can we consider such men as profess themselves firm friends to her cause and yet are spiriting up their neighbours to fall on the Merchant and compel him to sell his own goods at their own price. Had we virtue to deny ourselves our foolish passions, and assist each other to the end I think we need not fear the Boasted power of Britain with all her train of Confederate Mercenaries. What an appearance must Britain make in the eyes of other Nations, who, even whilst she is loudly proclaiming her kindness in nourishing and protecting her infant offspring in America, is, upon the first notice of peevish- ness and ill humor obliged to intreat, and even hire her neigh- bours to assist in correcting it. — Alas ! degenerate Britain no longer boast thyself mistress of the World ! — E. Marvin N. B. Nevins is on the hill every night. Polly says she writes by him. The Ladie's are all in good spirits. [In Connecticut Historical Society Library.] 2o8 NATHAN HALE, 1776 William Robinson to Hale at East Haddam^ Windsor (not east) Jany 20^^ 1773 [1774] Sir In my present unlucky situation, I have just rec*^ yours of Day after Thanksgiving; from v^^hich I am at a loss to determine whether you are yet in this Land of the living, or removed to some far distant, & to us unknovim region; but thus much I am certain of, that if you departed this Life at Modos, you stood but a narrow chance for gaining a better; At the top of the page I denomenate my present situation unlucky, in one sense it is so; but upon many accounts I can't but say that I am well pleas'd with it; By confining myself to a School I am deprived of the pleasure, of many agreeable rides, among my Friends about the country, in which I had determined to spend the Winter; with this farther aggravation, that till now, you have not known where to direct for me, & perhaps have entertained suspicions, that I was careless about returning an Answer to yours; on the other hand, my school is not large, my neighbours are kind & clever (& summatim) my distance from an house on your side the river, which contains an object worthy the esteem of everyone, & I conclude has yours in an especial manner, is not great; such being my situation why should I complain? for no other reason but that I cannot enjoy the com- pany of yourself, with some other 'special Friends. I have lately seen your Brother, the other side of the river, who informs me that he is well pleas'd with his Schools & further, that Lyman tarry'd with him the Sabbath before last, in his return home from Hatfield, by whom rec^ intelligence, that being occasionally at Sunderland not long since (to use his own expression) "I was there informed, that our Friend Cooley had left his school at Deerfield, & had taken one at Sunderland, where he was married to one Polly Clary, & lived with his Father in Law — I did myself the honor (you may be sure) to pay the old gentleman and his lady a Visit; at first sight of me he seem'd much disconcerted; but soon recol- 1 Robinson became a prominent minister in Connecticut. For a full account of him, see Dexter's Yale Biographies, Vol. III. APPENDIX 209 lecting himself he put on as bold a countenance as possible ; but his Glory is departed from him, he cannot (as you may well guess) appear before his old intimates as he used to do, You may perhaps wonder how all these things come to pass," But "that secret I am somewhat jealous a Boy will come next month to tell us," Thus far, sir, I conclude by wishing you, in your business, the greatest success. Your sincere friend & huml. sert. W^ Robinson [In Connecticut Historical Society Library.] Same to Same New Haven Febv 19^^ 1776 [Printed in full on page 85.] Ezra Selden to Hale^ RoxBURY Camp June 25*^ 1775 Sir I just have remembrance of my engagement to you as well as to Numbers of others which I cannot fulfill We came into Rox- bury on Sunday about Five o Clock they have been firing upon Roxbury a great Part of Saturday killed one Man June 24 have 1 Selden, one of Hale's classmates, was at this time orderly sergeant in Colonel S. H. Parsons' Connecticut regiment. He remained in the service to the end of the war, rising to the rank of captain. At the storming of Stony Point in 1779 he was severely wounded. He was a native of Lyme. Two more of his letters, written in much better style, appear in "Yale in the Revolution," Yale Biographies, etc., Vol. HI, p. 505. 210 NATHAN HALE, 1776 been firing upon Roxbury Saturday afternoon and killed two Men with small arms which throug presumtion attempted to set on fire their guard house but they ran in great numbers from behind the house fired upon them both of which were taken one of them was run throug with Bayonets and carried of in that manner none others hurt they made some shingles fly and some dust & a small matter of Dust with their Bums though our people fear'^ them but tryfling one marched up and pulled out the fuse carried the Bum to head Quarters the chief of Ball would be taken up before they had done roling. The Inhabitance have done comeing out of Boston almost The number of those Slain in the Battle between Putnam and the Gagites is uncertain By letters from Gentlemen in Boston Gage has his Army sixteen hundred worse than before the engagement. Putnam by the Doctors Account has and will lose 150 Men some number of those Provin- tials that were taken Prisoners have sent out letters by way of the Guards both ways. The Contents if any I cannot Procure fur- ther than that they are very well treated Sunday night June 25*^ A number of Rhode Hand Men under took to set on fire their Guard house upon Boston neck but were prevented some fires were exchanged on both sides but I dont learn as any were hurt on either side The Soldier live in houses as many as can & more also But are not so healthy as those in Tents of which number we are I don't learn anything worth mentioning our fort upon the hill near the meeting house contains about 1 & 1-3 acres of Land we have another Batery where the rodes part that comes out of Boston have also two more upon the neck one of them against the Burying Yard Ezra Selden N. B. Capt Ely's & Clefs Companies came in on Sunday To M'" Nathan Hale New London in Connecticut [Original letter in possession of the Boston Public Library. Printed in its "Monthly Bulletin," November, 1900.] APPENDIX 211 Benjamin Tallmadge to Hale.^ N2 Friendly Sir,^ In my delightsome retirement from the fruitless Bustle of the noisy, with my usual Delight, &, perhaps, with more than com- mon attention, I perused your Epistle — Replete as it was with Sentiments worthy to be contemplated, let me assure you with the strongest confidence of an affectionate Friend, that with noth- ing was my Pleasure so greatly heightned, as with your curious remarks upon my preceding Performance, which, so far from carry- ing the appearance of a censureing Critick's empty amusement, seemed to me to be wholly the result of unspoted regard & (as I may say) fraternal esteem. Equall certain (If I know you[r] Disposition) That the same liberty will be allowed on your Part; I shall always (in Terms not unworthy of a friend) take the Liberty to inform you wherever our Judgments materially dis- agree Nevertheless, as your Permission has not been expressly granted me on this head, & nothing, essentially different from my own opinion, appearing in your Letters, I have no occasion at present, of pointing out any Inaccuracy in your own Composition. Still, assuming the Privilege (which no Person, either accused or condemned, can reasonably be denyed), viz. of defendinging my own assertions, I hope to make reasonable, what before seemed somewhat needless. You intimated in your last, that my using the Comparative De- gree was somewhat needless, alledging that the sincerity of my friendship would not be rendered more conspicuous by the use of the Comparative. Had I endeavoured in good earnest to leave it as an undoubted Truth, that I exceeded you in regard & esteem 1 Tallmadge, at this date a Junior or Senior at college, was a native of Setauket, Long Island. As major of Dragoons he distinguished him- self during the Revolution. Subsequently member of Congress. His career is well known. More of his letters appear in "Yale in the Revo- lution" and his "Memoir," as reprinted with notes, by the Society of Sons of the Revolution, New York, in 1904. Yale Biographies," etc., Vol. Ill, p. 506. 2 "N2" is in Hale's hand, meaning, apparently, letter No. 2 from Tallmadge. See p. 20. 212 NATHAN HALE, 1776 as much as I did in comparison, I allow it would have been bor- dering upon arrogance, & needless superfueties ; But I assure you this was far from being my intent & Design — True, I would be glad to be ranked in the number of your best & most intimate Friends, but I did not think that method would be any ways con- tributory to that end. I therefore stiled myself in that manner, for want of a better Epithet (not deeming it of great Importance whether there be any or not) & perhaps with a view to conclude with a Compliment somewhat jocose. Retracting, partly, what I before said about criticising upon your own performances I can't but acquaint you with one observation You seemingly dis- like the Character which I assumed & immediately after refuse to change yours; rightly thinking that my judgment will not be founded on the Character which j'ou apply to yourself. Allowing that the Term by which a person is called ought to be esteemed of no Importance, you still, mildly, & curiously, reprimand me for using a particular Term. If I ought to look upon yours to be of no importance, you ought to be as favourable to me & esteem mine of as little. My applying the reasons, offered for not corresponding, as motives for my undertaking this particular employment you also think somewhat needless. — The end of my former Epistle was mostly to offer the reasons which had induced me to correspond; now had I omited one of the most powerful motives to this under- taking, you would not have been fully acquainted with my views, & the advantage which I hope to receive, & so perhaps would not have been equally contributory to my proposed schemes & real Profit- Thus much have I wrote, more out of curiosity than anything else, not supposing that you absolutely condemned what I have been defending. But still this method of writing is not wholly destitute of every advantage In the first Place, it affords an oppor- tunity, as well as gives a Person a Disposition, carefully to scruti- nize into all manner of w^riting; while it will be a monitor to himself to avoid defects manifest in the same. And secondly it may be of advantage to us, in causing us carefully to consider what we assert, that so we may be able to defend the same, APPENDIX 213 against the captious wills Sc the insidious words of our adversaries — To obtain advantage myself, & to be contributor}", as much as I am able to your improvement, was certainly my whole Design in undertaking this exercise; & I doubt not but that the same reasons were your greatest Inducements — To this End, I make no doubt, you freely gave me your Judgment in your last Epistle, 6c with the same views I make you this return : which may perhaps answer your reasonable expectation & yet fall wholly short of your Desire — I have so far exceeded my design in treating upon the preceed- ing Topics, that I must omit many things, which I determined to have discoursed upon at this Time — to be considered in some future Paper. In haste From Yours Sec Damox B— T— . . To M"" Nathan Hale N. South Stairs [In Connecticut Historical SocietA- Librarj-.] Same to Same Dear Sir the Reception of your Epistle, dated June 25'^^ as sensibly encreased my happiness, as perhaps any one accidental Circum- stance which hath hapened to me since my first arrival. Although my Company & present Condition, is far from tending to Melan- choly & Dulness; yet in a place where few intimate Friends, or even acquaintance are at first to be found ; that absolute contented- ness of Mind, which is so necessary to true Happiness, is not so readily obtained. But perhaps I am more than commonly de- lighted with the Perusal of such friendly Epistles. Indeed I know of no one Circumstance which would tend more directly, to make me contented in my particular Place than the Correspond- ence which I should hope to maintain with some of my most inti- 214 NATHAN HALE, 1776 mate Friends. That which has for some time subsisted between you & myself, I desire may never have an End; and although I have not so much Time as I could desire, in order that I might make my letters both e[n]tertaining & instructive to my absent Friend, yet I hope you will by no means sufFer your pen to be in Poleness (if by such frequent use you have learnt it to work of its own accord) so long as you can be both contributory to my advantage, & happiness. My present Situation is very agreable, & I think more so than what I expected. Perhaps, in no Place is there more distinction with regard to Company. The Pedagogues of this Place, have the Honour to be admitted into the Number of those who are of the first Rank. In such Company we have not only the advan- tages of friendly Intercourse, Jollity, & Mirth; but it may also be rendered very useful & instructive — The female part, is very agreable — Singing I think is by no means the least agreable Exer- cise of the Lords Day — My School is indeed very large, about 60 : 70 : 80 : & 90 but I hope soon to have a Collegue (of the fair sex) settled under me, (or rather over me,) for She will dwell in the 2^ loft — I, at present dwel with Mrs. Lockwood, where I have all things convenient. But Time would fail me to enumer- ate all my Circumstances; what remains I must reserve for the next Epistle. These Lines come in greate haste & with much love & regard, from your sincere Friend, & constant Well-wisher Damon - B : T — Weathersfield July 9^^ 1773— P : S : tell Shelton not to fail of writing me a letter & I will send him an answer. Give my regards to your Room-mates, & tell them to write. By all means let me know the Day of the Examination. To M"- Nathan Hale Student at Y' College pr fav. of M"" Lockwood — [From original in possession of the New York Public Library.] APPENDIX 215 Same to Same Dear friend actuated by Principles of the most sincere regard, & called on by the ties of Gratitude & friendship, I have set apart an hour of this far declining evening for the purpose of writing an Epistle to one whose regard I highly prize, whose welfare I shall always endeavour to promote. Mr. Richard's Determination to ride early in the morning makes it necessary for me to improve the present moments [which for certain reasons I could gladly spend in a different way] for the purpose before mentioned. You may perhaps have heard of my late Journey to the East- ward, Would time permit I should give you some history of my late travels, the state of our military arrangement, & the wonder- ful Phenomena observable by every gaping Spectator. However the barrenness of these parts for News & my own disposition at present [which can hardly afford from its treasure things new & old] must excuse this neglect. Let such currency pass; I have things of more importance to treat of; a subject wherein you are by no means unconcerned, & the community has a vote among the rest. By your good Landlord I am informed that you are honoured by the Assembly with a Lieutenant's commission. I can't say that you will hesitate a moment in your own mind about accepting or refusing; but you have a matter of no trifling consideration which presents itself for calm reflexion, mature deliberation, & a wise con- clusion. Private Interest must be far removed, & the community, with the good thereunto accruing by your present choice, must sway your mind. Good indeed had it been for mankind if such principles as these had influenced their conduct. Hardly, my friend ; hardly had we seen the present awful & gloomy day : a Day big with some great Event ; a Period which will decide the fate of millions, & productive of great Emolument to but few. But not to digress, I shall endeavor to suit myself to your condition & situation in life, & a [d] vise you as I think I should act myself. You must already be considered as acting in a publick capacity, and in a sphere which no one can say is of no avail to the Publick. Lib- erty is closely connected with learning ; and when I peruse the Vol- 2i6 NATHAN HALE, 1776 umes of Antiquity, and see how the greatest absurdities have found a good & welcome reception, when assisted by profound ignorance, I can heartily thank my God [though not with the Pharisee of old] that we are not in this land, ignorant beyond measure, sense- less dupes, &c By this I am not for asserting that we rise immod- erately high in the lists of the Learned, but that there is a greater equality among the People, & consequently a more equal share in the current useful knowledge of the Day. But this by the bye. When I consider you as a Brother Pedagogue, engaged in a calling, useful, honorable, & doubtless to you very entertaining, it seems difficult to advise you even to relinquish your business, & to leave so agreeable a circle of connections & friends. But when I con- sider you as acting in that capacity to the good acceptance of all con- cerned, & to your own applause [and far be it from me to flatter a friend] the difficulty is still greater. On the other hand when I consider our country, a Land flowing as it were with milk & honey, holding open her arms, & demanding Assistance from all who can assist her in her sore distress, Methinks a Christian's counsel must favour the latter. You have I conclude some turn for the military art, which being greatly improved by practice, may render you highly serviceable to act in that Department. Since our late distresses have come upon us, I have turned my attention somewhat into the same channel, & find myself highly entertained in such pursuits. Was I in your condition, notwith- standing the many, I had almost said insuperable, objections against such a resolution, I think the more extensive Service would be my choice. Our holy Religion, the honour of our God, a glorious country, & a happy constitution is what we have to defend. Some indeed may say there are others who may supply your place. True there are men who would gladly accept of such a proposal but are we certain that they would be likely to answer just as good an end? Could this be certainly known, though we all should be ready to step forth in the common cause, I could think it highly incumbent on you not to change your situation. These hints, thrown together in great haste, proceed from a heart ever devoted to your welfare, & from one who shall esteem it his happiness to promote yours. I hope to hear from you soon & to APPENDIX 217 know your determination ; in the mean time I remain your constant friend &c &c Wethersfield, July 4, 1775 B. Tallmadge Per Mr. Richards To Mr. Nathan Hale New London [From original in possession of Hon. Simon Gratz, Philadelphia.] Ebenezer Williams to Hale^ [New Haven 20'^ April, 1775] [Letter, printed in part on page 69. The extract appeared in a Philadelphia sale catalogue in May, 1913.] Timothy Dwight to Hale^ Dear Sir, The many civilities I have already received at your hands, em- bolden me to trouble you with the inclos'd. The design you will learn from a perusal of it. As such a publication ["The Conquest of Canaan"] must be founded on an extensive subscription, I find myself necessitated to ask the assistance of my friends. To a person of Mr. Hale's character (motive of friendship apart) fond- ness for the liberal arts would be a sufficient apology for this application. As I was ever unwilling to be under even necessary obligations, it would have been highly agreeable, could I have transacted the whole business myself. Since that is impossible I esteem myself happy in reflecting that the person, who may confer this obligation, is a Gentleman, of whose politeness and benevolence I have already experienced so frequent, and so undoubted assur- 1 For notice of Williams, see Yale Biographies, Vol. III. 2 A comprehensive notice of Dr. Dwight, later President of Yale College, is given in Dexter's Biographies, Vol. III. 2i8 NATHAN HALE, 1776 ances. If you will be so kind, my Dear Sir, as to present the inclos'd to those Gentlemen & Ladies, of the circle with which you are connected, whom you may think likely to honour the poem with their encouragement, and return it with their Names, by a convenient opportunity, it will add one to the many instances of esteem with which you have obliged your very sincere Friend, and most Humble Servant Timothy Dwight, Jun Mr. Nathan Hale Feb. 20, 1776. Comp's to Capt. Hull, Mr. E. Hunt'g [Lieut. Ebenezer Hunt- ington] & the rest of my acquaintance in Camp. I would beg the favor of you to forward a letter which will be delivered to you by Capt. Perit for Doct Brackett of Portsmouth, as you have connections there you may probably do it without inconvenience [In Connecticut Historical Society Library.] Letters from Hale's Friends at New London and IN THE Army [The originals of the following letters, with the exception of two other- wise credited, are in the possession of the Connecticut Historical Society Library.] Thomas U. Fosdick to Hale at Camp New London, Dec' 7, 1775 Dear Sir, Ever since the uneasiness, which I have heard, persisting amongst the Connecticut Troops, I've form'd a Resolution to go down to the assistance of my countrymen, to facilitate which I have re- signed my office as Serjeant in Col. Saltonstall's Com'y — I make no doubt. Sir, but you can assist me to some such office, as I should choose to be in that station, under you in particular; if not, I am determined to come down — a hearty Boy, undaunted APPENDIX 219 by Danger. Ensign Hurlbut will write you concerning the above. Your in haste very hum'^'^ Serv' Tho^ Updike [Fosdick] Timothy Green to Hale at East Haddam New London, DeC^ 21. 1773. I have shewed M'' Huntington's Letter and the Sample of your writing enclosed in it to several of the Proprietors of the School in this Town ; who have desired me to inform you that there is a Probability of their agreeing with you to keep the School: and for that Reason desire that you would not engage yourself elsewhere till you hear further from them. But should you think proper to ride to this Place immediately upon the Receipt of my Letter, the matter might be sooner deter- mined ; and in which Case I will see that you are at no Charge while here. Your very Hleservt TiMO Green P.S. Dec'' 23<^ S"" Since writing the above M"" Phineas Tracy of Norwich, has took our School for 3 months, but I dont think it probable he will continue in it longer than that and should you take a ride here it might be to your advantage To M''. Nathan Hale at East Haddam Same to Same N London, Feb - 4 - 1774 Mr Hale s-- I received your Fav'' by M*" Belding, and observe the Con- tents. 220 NATHAN HALE, 1776 In Case you had not wrote I shou'd have sent you a Line this Week, which I think was agreeable to my promise when you were here, but was glad to receive a line from you as it may serve to quicken the Proprietors of the School to act upon the matter. You may remember it was said, that soon after the rising of the Gen. Assembly you shou'd receive a definitive answer from the Proprietors of the School — Those of them who were at Hartford have returned, but as Rh. Law (who is Judge of the County Court which is now sitting at Norwich) was obliged almost immediately to attend the Court there, it has so happened that we have not as yet had a meeting of the Proprietors; but expect that some- thing will be determined by the time M*" Belding goes from hence next week; if so, you may depend on hearing from me then, and I cannot but hope you'll wait one week more before you engage in another School. I shall communicate your Letter to the Proprietors and conclude at this time (in great Haste) by subscribing myself S'' Your moHleservt TiMo Green Same to Same N. London, Feb. 10: 1774. s-- Since my last to you, the Proprietors of the new School House in this Town have had a meeting, and agreed that you should take the School for one quarter, at the rate of $220. Dols. pr. ann. to be paid at the end of the qtr. of which I am desired to acquaint you. Am not able to inform you when Mr. Tracy's quarter will expire, but this I will do when I'm acquainted by a Line from you whether we may depend on your taking the school, which j^ou will please to write me pr. first oppo. — It is the desire of the Proprietors that j^ou would come down two or three days before Mr. Tracy's quarter expires that they may be certain of the school's being immediately supplied with a APPENDIX 221 master — In which case it is agreed that your Wages shall com- mence from the Time of your arriving here. — I am, Sr, Your mo Hble Servt, TiMo Green Mr. Tracy's Time will be up about the middle of March. John Hallam to Hale in Camp New London Oct^ 9*^ 1775 Dear Sir I rec^ your two Letters by Cap^ Packwood & the post, am extremly glad you bore travelling & arriv'd at the Camp so well — • I wrote you to send by the Last Post but he omitted calling, which I have now sent by Col' Sage you must excuse the Letters as I had no more paper I wrote you that it was reported that CoP Guy Johnson was dead, which is a mistake it is Mathias Johnson that was com- mander of the Escort of 13 Waggon Load of provisions which we defeated at Chambli & took all the Provision — On Saturday a ship who sail'd from N. Y^ Bound for Falmouth with 8000 bush'^ of Wheat — put in for Stonington but run a ground of the mouth of the Harbour She lost her chain & mizen mast in the storm on the 10"^ of Sep"" & these easterly winds drove her in to Ston- ington) our Committee sent Cap*^ Niles in the arm'd schooner & Several Other Vessels to her assistance after Loading two Lighters she floated & they are towing of her in here to send to Norwich — we have Ace* from Liverpool by Way of N. York as late as the 7*"^ of Aug*^ which says a fleet has sailed from Eng- land to Embden to take in 10000 Hanoverians. & that several more Reg*^ from England & Ireland with one of Scots High- landers Commanded by Gen'^ Murray who may be expected in the Course of this month Your ace* of Church's Villiany made me shudder. Heav'ns what a scene of Villiany this it seems to me is sufficient to con- vince one there is an overuling hand of Providence — We have 222 NATHAN HALE, 1776 had a Copey of his Letters in Town I expect to be with you within a Fortnight desire the Maj*" to send me an order on the Commissary for a Drum, he refuses Give me one without — Sir am y''^ Sincere Friend P. S. Sally has gone home M" Hallam Betsey & the rest of the Family's Comp^^ to you J. H. To Lieu* Nathan Hale Maj Latimers Comp^ CoP Webb's Regt in Camp at Winter Hill Same to Same New London Dec'- 2^ 1775 Dear Sir How is this? my messingers has come back & not aline from you? I've almost [as Agrippa said] a mind to brake of & not write a word to you, & for the good I shall do I had better; I feel like a Fool & of course my Letter must be nonsince, I write, not with a view of edifying you, nor of telling you news the first I can't do, & for news I've none to tell, well, what do I write for? Why to take this oppertunity to let you know that I am well hoping that these few Lines will find you in the same state of health. Ha, ha, ha, I'm fast aground; not another word can I remember when I began I tho* I could have fill'd half aside at least of good old fashion'd Letter stuff which has serv'd our honest ancestors (without altering a Single word) but Just transcribing for at least a Century I suppose you've had the particulars of Montreal's being in our possession, if not before you'll have it in our papers I am y'-^— J — H — APPENDIX 223 give my comp*^ to Ensign Hurlburt tell him I have sent another p'' Buckles by the Post. Sunday noon George Hurlbutt has just arriv'd shall not send the Buckles — Cap* Nathan Hale Coll Webbs Regt p"" Post Winter Hill Same to Same p , „ . New London Dec"" 10'^ 1775 bunday Evenmg Dear Sir I rec*^ yours by the Post, which tho' short, believe me was very acceptable; your being on Picquet is a sufficient excuse that you wrote no more — I must make an excuse for the shortness of mine of a similar kind ; we have at length concluded to intrench along our Street, from Cap* N. Douglass's to Cap* W'" Packwood, which we began Friday afternoon, on Saterday we work'd, & likewise all this Day occasion'd by an alarm ; & tomorrow & next Day we expect our Country Friends in to help us; we've had upwards of 200 Volunteers to work. The Alarm /I mention'd/ was thus. Early this morning we rec^ an Express from Stonington, that a Ship & Tender was coming into their Harbour & several more was seen in the Offing, a few Hours after she made her appear- ance rond Eastern Point; Judge you of the confusion, I never saw greater nor did I ever see Men work with such spirit & prepare to fight with more resolution. I think it impossible that the same number of Men in the same time could do more work tho' most of us unus'd to the spade & Pick ax as witness my hands all of a Blister; the particulars of our proceedings I ned not mention, but you may depend on't we did every thing we could; but (to our great joy) by means of a spy Glass, as the ship drew nearer we discover'd her to be a Merchantman. Our assembly is call'd this week it's said to raise 2000 men /to supply the place of our Tr'oops that come away/ till the army can be form'd 224 NATHAN HALE, 1776 A Letter from M'' Vendervert says about 12 ton of Powder the Last week arriv'd at Philadelphia I had like to forgot to tell you that about 100 Men all Volun- teers have been at work this week past on the Ledge of rocks about half way from the waters edge to the top of Groton Hill down by Chester which Place they mean to fortify well, the Co' is likewise with his Men building a good Battery on Winthrops Neck, at the same time our intrenchments go on Briskly; thus you see We have at Length wak'd from our Lethargy — we have so many demands for men that your Comp^ fills slow Your Enf" has in all about 16 Your Lieut but few what George tells me he has wrote you is perhaps the reason of your Lieu* Poor success — the Col' Compy is not quite full. Shaw & Mumford by permit of the Congress have near a dozen vessels fitting out for Powder, Dudley Saltonstall beating up for volunteers as he is appointed Cap* of a thirty Gun Frigate by the Congress, Cap* N. Saltonstall is his first Lieu* there is a number of recruiting officers among us besides yours so that Your success is as good as you can expect — every Day brings ace*® of some Damage done our vessels by the Gale of the 9^^ to the Eastward, 10*^ on our Coast, & ll*'' of Sep"" to the Southward ; the southward the damage is almost incredible — when I sat down I did not expect to write so much, so I shall make no farther excuse for writing no more — am S^ Y« J. H. P. S. Comp*® from our Family — Ensign George Hurlbut to Hale at Camp New London Decem*" 11 *h 1775 Kinde Sir — After Returning You My Sincere Thanks I would Inform You I Receiv'd Your Oblidging Letter Which was Dated of the 7*'* Instant wherein You Informb me the Soldiers was going Home A Sunday, I should be very Glad sir, if You would Inform me how The Minds of our Soldiers is when I came away They ware very Backward About Staying, When I was at Roxbury, they ware all in Confusion, they had About 30 Under Guard that was bound APPENDIX 225 home, I was Almost Discou^ they ware all our Conneticut men, you May Depend upon it. Sir, they will all Return Again, their friends will Receive them Very Cool, they all Blame them very Much hear, their is some in our Company will Return Again I am very certain, their Parents has Enquired About them and should Be very Glad to see them, but not to stay Long, if they Don't Return Again they will be houted at all Along Street — I wrote you A Letter By John Holt concerning Fosdick I have Listed him A Private, he Listed upon these Tirms, if he could Git A Birth I was to Release him. He has had the offer of A Serj*^ in Roxbury But Inclin, if you Sir have not engage yours I Should be Glad if you would be kinde enough to Give him the Chance, he is a Good hearty fellow, And them are the Men we want, I will acquaint You A Little how they Go on hear, when I was at Breckfast Yesterday the news Come that their Was 4 ships Turn- ing Round fisher Island and The Old women began to Preach and Cry, we shall all Die, — By the Great Gun Bullets, I Have not took so much Pleasure since I Have Been hear, as I did Yeaster- day, I Long"^ for You to be hear, they all hands workt a Sunday — They have Begun to Intrench all A Long street But Least I should weary Your Patience I will Conclude with my Compliments to Capt Hull and the Maj'" if he is their From Your sincere Friende HURLBUT N. B. M"" Mumford has got Rum at 3 p"" gallon And Like- wise Sugar if you think it will Answer I will engage it, you must Let me Know By the next Post it is as cheap as any hear. [Letter not addressed nor endorsed.] Same to Same New London — Decern'- 17*^ 1775 Dear Sir This Sarves to Inform you I Receivd yours of the IS*'' Date wherein you Inform'^ me you was upon Guard I Long to be with you, and hope to before Long. I Lott [ ?] out For to set of from 226 NATHAN HALE, 1776 N L on Tuesday with Death and the Cobler, I have the Advan- tage Of Them, for I Can Travel night and Day, the old white horse is better to Me Than A Lanthorn — our Soldiers, have All Arrived to the famous City of N L all Safe, they feel as big as Lord North as for Pat he Struts About Street Like Abore Pigg, with his tale Cut off You will expect news but their is but very Little hear excepting Last Thursday Departed this Life old Patrick Robertson, I must Inform you that I have not Seen Lieut Chapman But since I wrote you Last I must Also Inform you, that all hands is to work to Day upon the Neck by Dudly Salstonstall I have Got 2 loves of Sugar of Ned Hallam he tells me he will Supply me with the other Articels as Cheap as any one But Least I Should weary your Patience I will Conclude with my Regards to Corp Woodbridge And bothe James Ward and James Dennis and any other that Enquire after me From Your Sincere friend — Geo, H P. S. My farther and Mother Joines Me in Love to You To Cap* Nathan Hale David Mackduel has been put into the Brig N L | for Gitting Old Nat Williams Daughter with Child I was Informb to Day that the Soldiers Brok open the old Brig and Let him Loose, James Ward Can tell You the Vessels name — I have Seen David to Day and I Believe he will Come with me he Begs the favor of you if he Comes that you will make him your waiter To Capt Nathan Hale att Winter Hill Same to Same Camp Winter Hill Dec"" 28, 1775 Evening Dear Sir This Serves to Let you know that I Joind our Company Last Sunday and found them all In Good Spirits, I was very much APPENDIX 227 Disappointed in not Seeing you Hear, I am now A Going to Set Out for Bunker Hill But I Shant Go with So much Pleasure as if you was to Be With me I have Drawn our Blank Money and Our Advance Pay and Left it with Capt Hull I am in Great Haste and So must Conclude with my Regards to You and any that you take to be my friends From your sincere friend G. Hurlbu[t] P. S. Give My Love to M"" Hallam and wife Likewise to John And Betey Remember my Love to Nat Richards and any other that Enquire after me — From your Good Old Friend G— H To Cap* Nathan Hale N L Please to Deliver the within Same to Same Camp Winter Hill Jan^ 4*^ 1776— How Fairs it Cap* — I have waited with A Great Deal of Patience expecting every Post would bring me a letter, as you are in Debt to me for one, I thought I Could not Dispense with my Duty unles I wrote you a few Lines to Let you Know how we Gos on hear we are all well Hear and in Good Spirits as ever I was very much unwel when Serj* Hempsted went away It was nothing but the effects of Bunker Hill I took a very Bad Coald that night Sir I hope the next Time I See you, it will be in Boston, a Drinking a glass of wine with me If we can but have A Bridge we shall Make a Push to Try our Brave Courage — I have Bad news to tell you Brown is Confind for Attempting to Run one of our men through the Heart with A Bag* His Behaviour is been so bad that I could not put up with it any Longer and I have Con- find him The Col,o has been to all the Cap* and says every One that behaves in Such a Manner Shall be Whipt and Drumbd out 228 NATHAN HALE, 1776 of Camp and, he has Desird me to write to you for To be Care- ful who you Inlist he was Confind Last week and would have been whip and Drumbd out of Camp if it had not been for theese orders It Come out in General orders that all Prisoners Should Be Dismist I have Got Clar of Deorrity and I Have Inlisted A Fifer and Could have Inlisted a Genteel Drummer if it had not have been For Remblington I wish*^ Chapman further of for Inlisting of him, but I am in hopes Remblington Will Learn the Ravillee yet — I have nothing worth Taking up Your Time to Read And So will Conclude with my Love to you From Your Sincere Friend G H P. S. Please To Give my Love to M""^ Latimer and Robert Like- wise to Nat Richard Except the Same to your self Due write as often as you can and you will oblidge your hum' Serv* G H — Let me know where Fosdick is and Maynard he is Loth to Come but you must Send him A Long I have Returnd Him their is Alpheus Chappel I Inlisted at N L if you think him worth Bringing You must Stop Browns wages to Pay For what he has Receivd out of The Continental Store I have Paid him Thirty Shillings and 6 s I Lent Him He will be Whipt and Drumb,d out of Camp I wish you A Happy New Year To Cap* Nathan Hale New London p'" fav"" of Corp' Woodbridge Robert Latimer to Hale at Camp Dr Sir, as I think myself under the greatest obligations to you for j^our care and kindness to me, I should think myself very ungrateful!, if I neglected any oppertunity of expressing my gratitude to you APPENDIX 229 for the same. And I rely on that goodness, I have so often expe- rienc'd to overlook the deficiencies in my Letter, which I am sensi- ble 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 prac- tis'd but very litle 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 y"" Sincere friend & very H'ble S* Dec'''- 20th 1775_ Rob^ Latimer. P. S. My Mammy & aunt Lamb [ ?] presents Complim*^ My Mammy would have wrote, but being very busy, tho't my writing would be Sufficient — My respects to Cap' Hull Addressed to Capt. Hale "att Winter Hill" per fav*" of Ens. Hurlbut. Same to Same New London March 5^^ 1776 Dear Sir, as my letters 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'^ your kind letter S"" pr the post & can't deny but your approbation, of my writing, gives me the greatest pleasure, & should be afraid of its rais.K my pride ; did I not Consider that your intention in praising my poor performance, must be with a design, of raising 230 NATHAN HALE, 1776 in me an ambition, to endeavour to deserve your praise — & I hope that instructions convey'd in such an agreeable manner, will not, be throw^n away upon me You write S"" 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 S"" with Respect Y*" friend & S't, Robert Latimer. P.S. My Mammy & Aunt Present Comp*^^ &c — Capt. Hale To (Endorsement) Capt Nathan Hale Att Roxbury — R. Latimer March 5th 1776 "This endorsement is in the hand writing of the celebrated Capt Nathan Hale — "^ [Original in possession of George Dudley Seymour, Esq., New Haven, Conn. Now first printed.] David Mumford^ Jr., to Hale at Camp To Capt Nathan Hale Philad^ Nvem' 26 1775 Sir Inclosed you have the Bill of the Breaches you desir'd me to get you when I was at Winter Hill, the B[r] caches I sent to my Fathers & I suppose he has forward'd befor this — 1 The above note is in the handwriting of Dr. Sprague, the well- known collector of autographs about the middle of the last century. APPENDIX 231 Nothing new transpiring only the Congress have fitted out a Ship of 30 guns which will be along your Coast 'er long — Conclude with giving my love to all Friends & Interim Remain Your Hble Servant David Mumford Jun'' P. S. Please write p every Opportunity that I may know what is going forward — Gilbert Saltonstall to Hale at Camp [New London, Oct. 2^ 1775] Esteemed Friend, Yours of 28'*^ duly Rec<^ am obliged for the Information therein, hope you will continue to inform me of anything new that turns up, for you know Hempsted retains nothing — By a Rhode Island Packet w** arriv'd here from N. York w^ Flour for the Camp we learn, y* General Schuyler had attack S* Johns and carried the outworks, that Guy Johnson was kill'd in the Engagem*. We every Hour expect to hear they are in pos- session of S*^ John, w'' Charlton &c. I enclose you a New York Paper by w'^ you'll see how matters go on to the Northward. If 3'ou can handily, should be oblig'd if you would send me the Rank of the Regim*^ in the Continental Army ; I hear it is settled, and handed about in Printed Handbills — I went to Lyme last Week to se[e] David &c the Girls ex- press'd a regard for you which I thought but a few removes from love. My Compliments to Ensign Nevins and any other old Friend of mine you shou'd chance to stumble upon As to Home News we are quite barren — We are extremely dull — Sunday reigns thro' the week — I am with Sincerity Your Friend &c Gilbert Saltonstall Lieut: Nathan Hale Roxbury 232 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Same to Same New Lond'' Oct.° 9^^ 1775 Dear Sir By yours of the 5*^ I see your're Stationd in the Mouth of Danger — I look upon y'' Situation more Perilous than any other in the Camp — Should have tho't 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 w*'^ Wisdom no doubt — The Affair of D'' Church is truly amazing, from the acquaintance I have of his publick Character I should as soon have suspected M"" Hancock or Adams as him. Last Saturday a ship of 200 tun run aground off Stonington loaded w'' Wheat, its the Ship that some time ago purposely fell into the Hands of Wallace at Rhode Island w'* a load of Flower, she is owned by Christ° Champlin of Newport, when the Fishing Boats hail'd them they gave no reply, and soon after run on the Shoals as above, the Coms'" of Stonington went to unloading her immediately, & sent off per Cap* Niles who lay in this Harbour to come round to Stonington to protect her aganist any small Tender that shoud happen that way, he up Anchor and went round forth- with; the Ship is now in this Harbour (came in this morn.) her Cargo is principally taken out in lighters and sent to Norwich, where She will follow as soon as the Wind permits, for she can't beat up, having lost her Masts in the Gale of 10**^ Sepf. [Here follow extracts from a paper of October 7, which "young Doc* Mumford" had just brought from New York. They refer to army matters on the Canada line.] I have extracted all the material News should have sent the Paper but it's the only one in Town and every one is Gaping for News. You'll excuse the writing, as I am in a great hurry I scratch away as fast as I can — [Newspaper again mentioned.] Maj"" Mifflen pass'd thro' this Town Saturday last on his way to the Congress. Your Sincere Friend Gilbert Saltonstall APPENDIX 233 Same to Same New London Oct° 16*^ 1775 Dear Sir Inclose you the New York Paper — We have no Publick News — Nor private neither, save that yesterday the Parson declared, Marriage was intended between Thomas Poole and Eliz*^ Adams You must not charge the shortness of my Letter to a disinclina- tion of writing, but to the Real Cause, the Barreness of the Times I am with Esteem your Sincere Friend Gilbert Saltonstall To Lieu*^ Nathan Hale Winter Hill Same to Same New London Oct° 23^ 1775 Dear Sir I give you a Copy of a Paragraph in Th° Mumfords letter to my Father "We have intelligence from S*^ Johns as late as the 7*^^ Ins* our Troops were recruited much, were in good Spirits, Bom- barding the Fort; a Nagotiation was on foot between the Besieg- ing and Besieged, Col° Allen was wounded and taken Prisoner near M* Real, & 20 of his Party out of Eighty missing." The Assembly have agreed upon an Association for every Man in the Colony to Sign, or have his name return'd to the next Assembly. They have Ordered the Company under Fathers Command to be enlisted again and to continue 'till the first of December — have Ordered the Battery Finish'd and the Guns bro't in — And Em- power'd him to draw upon the Treasurer for £100 to Compleat the Platform &c The follow^ is a list of the Nominations for Councillors Oct° 1775, Reported by the Comt^*^ as duly Returned. 234 NATHAN HALE, 1776 Honb'^ Jonath" Trumbull 4144 Joseph Spencer 3692 Math^ Griswold 4325 Oliver Wolcott 3614 Jab^ Hamlin 3098 Sam' Huntington 3887 EHsha Sheldon 2778 Erastus Wolcott 2153 EHph^ Dyer 3658 Sam' H. Parsons 2129 Jab^ Huntington 3638 Will'" Williams 2875 Willa Pitkin 4180 Rich'' Law 2926 Roger Sherman 3772 Dan' Sherman 1853 Abra™ Davenport 3395 Silas Deane 1403 W'" S. Johnson 991 Titus Hosmer 1061 The Assby have Order'd a Tun of Pounder for the N. Lond" Battery — Nothing further of Publick Import — Sheriff Christo- phers is at the Point of Death. This w^ill be handed you by D. Mumford who is upon a visit to the Camp — Y"" &c G. Saltonstall Lieut* N. Hale Same to Same Esteemed Friend Your various letters duly Received, it was no unwillingness in me that prevented my answ"" them in course — The honest Reason though not a reputable one, I know will excuse me to you, I'll therefore give it. I defer'd and defer'd to the last mom*^ and then something turn'd up tantamount to a sore Finger and in fact pre- vented me. The Gov*" & Council of Safety gave orders last Week for the Company in this Town to be continu'd to the sitting of the next Assembly, or 'till further Orders from S*^ Council — They ap- pointed a Comt^ to set about erecting Fortifications at Win- throp's Neck, Groton Hill, & Shaws Neck. The above Company to be improvd in raising the Works &c — the Comt^ are "Co'° G. S. Ebenez*" Ledyard Esq'' M'" Park Avery, Mr. Jn° Deshon M' Nath' Shaw J'" and M'' Josiah Waterous." The last the Council seem to rely on as an Engineer but as Sam' Whittemore say'd, I Quere &c for he says that Fifty Men will raise a proper Fortifica- APPENDIX 235 tion at either of S*^ Places in three Weeks from this; which you know is impracticable at this advanced Season of the year. Commodore Hopkins has gone to Phil^ to take charge of the Fleet, the Report is that Gov""^ Dunmore and Martin are to be convoy'd by him to Phil^ — Success attend him. Docf Church is in close Custody in Norwich Goal, the Win- dows 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 Goaler, and then to Converse in no Language but English. Good God what a fall — You saw in the Paper the Address to the King from the Merch*^ &c of Manchester — Notwithstanding their pretending their Re- sources are many, and so large that the American Nonimportation & exportation will be like the light dust of the Ballance, yet to every one who will turn it in his Thoughts, it's utterly impossible but that y*= prodigeous Consumption of British Wares & Merchan- dize from Georgia to Nova Scotia, encluding Canady, the Reduc- tion of w'' I consider as already completed must affect them sensi- bly, and they must recognize the consequence of America — I wish New York was either ras'd to the Foundation, or strongly garison'd by the American Forces; I greatly fear the Virtue of the Yorkers whose Religion is Trade, & whose God is Gain. When the Army is new modled send me a List of the Ar- rangem*^ Are any of the Connecticut Companys to be disbanded? the Majors &c what are to become of them? My Compliments to S. Webb, and Hull and other Friends — Hempsted will wait no longer — Good b'y'e write me all the News you Can muster y*" &c Nov^ 27*1^ 1775 Gilbert Saltonstall Same to Same New London Dec-- A^^^ 1775. Dear Sir Hempsted tells me he did not see you the last Week, but by Sergeant Hurlbut who got home yesterday forenoon I learn you 236 NATHAN HALE, 1776 are well, & conclude that Business of importance took up your time. The behaviour of our Connectic* 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 & Publick 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 tary — 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 Ace* of the Situation of the Camp than I have been able to obtain, I rely wholly on you for information — Sally was Married last Night Docf Coits wife is very ill — dangerous. We have nothing of importance in Town in the military way to acquaint you of, expect the ships that are at New Port along this way, whenever the Maggot takes them. My Compliment to Hull &c— Your G. Saltonstall Same to Same New London Dec-" 18*^ 1775 D^ Sir Yours of the 13*^ Ins* duly rec'l for which am greatly obliged. The Post was not in fault for not handing you a letter from me last Week, he could not deliver what he never was possess'd of. — 1 There are several references in these letters to the conduct of some of the Connecticut soldiers in November and December, 1775. It appears that they complained of poor food, unkept promises, and a detention in camp beyond their term of enlistment. They went home on their own account, and were ridiculed, hooted at and branded as deserters. Most of them, however, returned, and the Connecticut regiments were as large as any in the new army. APPENDIX 237 last Post Day I was at Wethersfield w^ occasioned y"" having no letter from me I wholly agree with you in y^ 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 propos'd going with Dudley, who is appointed to Comm^ 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. In speaking of Company you say "We may have that of our equals, or more know^ and some ean of less knowing." Am I to apply the latter clause to those (I would not choose to name them) who prefer Grogg and Noise to the calm Disquisitions of Wisdom & Instruct", or to a certain Major who has not a capa- city to improve? Tho' I have been absent this week past, yet I can give you a Detail of Transactions in that Time Yesterday week the Town was in the greatest confusion imag- ineable; 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, none pleas'd, some flinging up an Intrenchment, some at the Fort preparing y^ Guns for Action, Drums beating. Fifes playing; in short as great a Hubbub as at the confusion of Tongues; all this occasioned by the appearance of a Ship and two Sloops off the Harbour, suppos'd to be part of Wal- laces Fleet. — When they were found to be (Friends) Vessels from New Port with Passengers y^ consternation abated, and all fell to work at the Intrenchment, which runs from N. Douglasses to S. Bills Shop, they have been at work eversince Yesterday Week when the Weather would permit, they work'd Yesterday at Win- throps Neck and are [at] it there today. — In some respects we are similar to a Camp, for Sunday is no Day of rest now. — You would hear the small Chaps (who mimick Men in everything they can), cry out "Cut down the Tories Trees" there is not one of Cap* Jo: Coits Willows remaining in his Lot back of his House, they are appropriated to a better use than he would ever have put them to — The Breastwork is much the better for them. I might inform you of many little bickerings that occur daily, but as those who raise them are of no importance, and the Evils 238 NATHAN HALE, 1776 (if any) are only local, it is not worth while to repeat them: Be- sides, you know y^ Genius of the Town is a restless discontented Spirit. When I have observ'd the Malice and Envy which rages to a Flame in so many Breasts, the Slander, the illeberal & ungenerous Reflections which serve as Fuel to those Hellish Vices, I lament the Depravity of the Human Heart, and fall little short of a Misanthropist: But when I come across a Person of Candour, Reason, Justice and Sincerity with their attendant Virtues (I'd almost said a Person of either of those Endowments.) I feel a generous glow within me despise the base light in w*^ I view'd Human Nature, & become reconcil'd to my species. I have frequently desir'd you would send me an arrangement of the Continent' Army, but as you have omitted it, conclude it is not yet compleated. What Brigadier has quitted y^ Service, I learn there is a Vacancy ? The Soldiers can give no other Reason for not Enlisting, than the old woman's, they wou'd not, cause the[y] wou'd not. My Compliments to Cap* Hull, am very sorry to hear of his Illness, hope this will find him recruited. I am with Sincerity Your Friend Gilbert Saltonstall P. S. the young Girls, B. Coit S. & P. Belden have frequently desir'd their complim*^ to Master, but I've never thought of mentioning it till now — ^You must write someths in your next by way of P. S. that I may show it them. Capt N. Hale Same to Same [New London, March 18, 1776] [A Saltonstall letter of this date was sold at auction at Phila- delphia, April 15, 1913.] APPENDIX 239 Church & Hallam, of New London, to Hale Sir M"" Shaw has promis'^ us to pay some money in New York, which if you receive in whole or in part Apply in the following manner, viz. pay M'' David Seabury mercht. £50. Lawfull money, to Mess-- Van Vleck & Kip, £ 37 - 10 in lawful which is £50 York The Ball^ £ 62 . . 10 — pay to Elias Desbrosses Esq"" mercht, if you do not receive but £100 Lawfull in stead of £150. omit paying to Van Vleck & Kip any Thing, if you will call on M"" Shaw and transact the Business for us you will do us a kindness, pleas to take Rec'^ of those you pay to, on our Account & send them us p'' the first Opportunity p'" post — which will much o^l^g^ c- u Ule c t bir your humbl*^ berv"^ Church & Hallam Cap* Nath" Hale New London 26^^ March 1776— Lieutenant John Belcher to Hale jj. Stonington, July 27'*^ 1775. oir, These may inform you that since I saw you, Ensign Hillard and myself have enlisted Twenty two Men, and as my cash is pretty much exhausted, should be glad of a Supply as soon as pos- sible, and should be glad you would inform me by a Line what progress you have made in the Enlisting Way, and when I must stop my hand, and should be glad if our Company is not near compleated, you would send me over some more Blanks, as I expect next Monday, to make my Number, 30, at least, and I understand we are to march next week, and the greatest part of the Men I have enlisted are destitute of Guns, suitable to carry, which we ought to make timely provision for. These from your humb'^ serv* ,. „ John Belcher — ,. Addressed: "To Lieu. Nathaniel Hale | New London." [Original in possession, 1901, of the late Mr. W. F. Havemeyer, New York.l 240 NATHAN HALE. 1776 Hale's Army Diary, 1775-76 [The original diary is in possession of the Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford. Stuart includes it in his work, but it is reprinted here as corrected from the MSS. A leaf or two may be missing at the begin- ning, as the first entry shows that he had been on the march two or three days — Waterman's, where he stopped September 23, 1775, being near the Rhode Island line. Owing to the font of type in use, the periods and commas under the small superior letters, Colo, etc., have been omitted.] [Sept. 23^1, 1775] Cannon 40 or 50 heard from the last stage to the present march'd Zy^ O'O arr'' Watermans (a private house and entertain- ment good) after a stop or two 6^/2 O'O 6 m [6 miles] — tarryed alnight 24th Mchd 6 O'O & at 8 OO reach'd Olneys 4 m. 10 O'O- mch"^ from Olneys 2 miles & reach'd Providence but made no stop. Having march'd thro the town with music, & mde a sht stp at the hither part, in the road, came 4 miles further to Slack's in Rehobo[th] where we dined. 4 O'O- mch'^ from Slack's 6 m and reach^ Daggetts in Attleborough & put up, depositting our arms in the mtt^ House — Soon after our arrival join'd by the Maj"" who set out from home the nt bef — ^ 25*'^ March'd soon after sunrise — & came very fast to Dupee in Wrentham 9 m to Breakfast, arv^^ 9 O'O. 11 set off & 1>4 P M arv^ Hidden Walpole & there din'd and tarried till 4^ O'O then march'd to Dedham — 7 m and put up. Tuesday 26''^ mch'd 5 m before Breakfast to — For Dinner went 4^/2 m to Parkers — which is within a mile & a half from Camp At our arrival in Camp found that 200 men had been draughted 1 Among Hale's cash items, September 24, 1775, is the receipt by Eliphalet Slack, at Rehoboth, from "Nathan Hale Lieut, of Majr Lati- mer's Company five shillings and ten pence lawful money for the use of my house & other trouble by sd. Company." APPENDIX 241 out that morning for a fishing party — Pitched our tents for the present in Roxb^ a h'ttle before sunset — ^ Wednesday 27'^ Went to some of our lower works — 12 or 15 of y^ fishing party return & bring 11 Cattle & 2 horses — Thursday 28 Fishing party return'd Friday 29*'' mch^ for Cambridge, arv'd 3 O'C & encamped on the foot of Winter hill near General Sullyvans 3 com'^^ [com- panies] Maj''^ C* [Captain] Shipmans, Bostw[ick] Sat. 30*'' Considerable firing upon Roxbury side in the fore- noon & some P. M. No dam^^ done as we hear. Join'd this day by Cp*^ Perrit & Levnwth [Leavenworth] about 4 O'C- — Octo. 6*'' 1775 Near 100 Can^ fired at Roxbury from the Enemy. Shot off a man's arm & kill'd one cow — 7*^^ Some firing from Boston neck, nil mat. 8 Sab. A. M. rainy no meets M"" Bird pr. [preached] Watertown. P. M. went to meet^ on the hill M"" Smith p"" 9 Mon. Morns Clear & pleas* but cold, exers^ men 5 O'C- 1 h — Tuesday 10*^ Went to Roxbury, dined with Doc*"" Wolcott at General Spen- cer's Lodgs^ P. M. rode down to Dorchester, with a view to go on upon the point ; but Col' Fellows told us he could give us no leave as we had been informed in town. Return'^ to Camp 6 O'C- Wed. llfi Bro"" Joseph here in the morning — went to Cam^^ 12 O'C- sent a letter to Bro"" Enoch by Sam' Turner Inform'd by Jop'' ^ At Wrentham, Hale paid 6 shillings for the use of Mr. Charles Dupee's house; at Walpole, 5 shillings to Jonathan Hide [?]; at Attle- borough, 6 shillings to Thomas Daggett for house and firewood; at Roxbury, 26*^, paid Ebenr Whiting Jun^ 12 shillings for use of house and dinner for the Company. 242 NATHAN HALE, 1776 that he was to be examin'd to day for p*".^ Saw Royal Flynt. pr<^ to write him. Rec'^ a letter from Gil. Salt' & w*^ inf"^ y^ Schooner by S* Johns taken, all y« men kll<^ & y*^ 8000 bush'^ wheat had bn taken & carried to Norwich f"^ Chris [topher] Champlin's ship run agr'l at Ston^^" Reed letter 9^^ from Gil. Salt' Do 9th fm John Hallam 8th E Hale A heavy thun"" shw*" in y^ evens Thurs. 12 Wrote 6 letters to N. L. saw O [Colonel] Sage, inf™'^ Mon- treal held by Montgomery St. Johns ofif*^ to Capitulate but refus- ing to Deliver Guns Johns" ['s] terms were refused: but must soon surrender — P. M. went into Cambridge. Took the Camb^e Paper p<^ 3 Coppers. Friday 13 Infmd by ]J Col' [Hall] that CoP Webb last night gave orders that Field Officers Lieutenants shou'*^ ware yellow Ribbons — put in one accordingly. wlk4 O'O at 11 O'O arv^ a Firkin's by Ashford Meeting House where left the horses.^ 12^^ O'O mch^ 3 3^ arvd Gros- venor's 8 m & 4^ at Grosvenor's Fomfret 2 m. and put up. here met 9 Sold""^ f"" Windham 25 Thursday 6^ OC mch^ from G. and came to Forbs 7"" but another Co. havs engaged breakfast there we were obliged to pass on to Jacobs, (fr. Gros" 10"^) — After Breakfast went 8 m to Hills & dr*^ some bad Cyder in a worse tavern. 7 — O'C^ arvd Deacon Reeds. 5 m Uxbridge & ^ Com^ put up — myself w*^^ the remain- der passed on to Woods 2m. 26 Friday 7 O'C fr. Woods 4 m to Amadons Mendon & breakfasted. 17 m. to Clarkes Medfield & put up — Co — put up 5 m back. 27 Saturday Breakfasted at Clarkes 10 O'O mch^ about 11>4 O'O arv p. 279. Memoir of Rev. William Robinson. By his son, Edward Robinson, New York, 1859; p. 71. Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings. Vol. XVIII, p. 270. Connecticut Historical Society Collections. Vol. VIII, pp. 28-31. Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution. By B. J. Lossing. New York, 1859. Vol. I, pp. 425, 758. Vol. II, p. 609. History of New London, Connecticut. By Frances M. Caulkins. 1860; p. 515. Centennial Sketch of New London. Starr; pp. 15-16. Diary of the American Revolution. By Frank Moore. New York,, 1860. Vol. I, p. 314; Vol. II, p. 428. HALE BIBLIOGRAPHY 273 History of the City of New York. By Mary L. Booth. New York, 1860; p. 501. Life and Career of Major John Andre. By Winthrop Sargent. Boston, 1861; pp. 341, 354. Westhampton, Massachusetts, Reunion, 1866; pp. 33-35. Battles of the American Revolution. By Gen. H. B. Carrington. New York, 1876; pp. 78, 227. Campaign of 1776 Around New York and Brooklyn. By Henry P. Johnston. L. I. Historical Society, Brooklyn, 1878. Part I, p. 262. By same author, Yale in the Revolution. New York, 1888; pp. 52-55; 286-90. By same author, Battle of Harlem Heights. New York, 1897; pp. 29-31. History of the City of New York. By Martha J. Lamb. New York, 1880. Vol. n, p. 136. Commemorative of Nathan Hale. Pamphlet issued by the "Sons of the Revolution," New York, 1887, to promote proposed statue of Hale. Reprint of Harper's Magazine article. May, 1880, and other material. Narrative and Critical History of America. By Justin Winsor. Boston, 1888. Vol. VI, p. 333. Genealogy of the Strong Family. Vol. I, pp. 332, 350-52. History of Tolland County, Connecticut. By J. R. Cole. 1888; p. 110 and Chapter XL Yale Biographies and Annals. By F. B. Dexter. New York, 1885-1912. Vol. HI, p. 483. History of Connecticut. By E. B. Sanford. Hartford, 1889; pp. 204-5; 210. History of the United States. By George Bancroft. Edition 1890. Vol. V, p. 48. The American Revolution. By John Fiske. Boston, 1891. Vol. H, p. 228. Memorial History of the City of New York. By James G. Wilson. New York, 1892. Vol. H, pp. 528-29. History of the City of Brooklyn and Kings County. By S. M. Ostrander. Brooklyn, 1894. Vol. I, p. 267. The Literary History of the American Revolution. By Moses Coit Tyler. New York, 1897. Vol. H, pp. 183-86. Records of Town and Churches in Coventry, Connecticut. By Susan V^hitney Dimock. New York, 1897; p. 53. Historic New York. First Series Half Moon Papers. New York, 1899; pp. 250, 298, 315. American History Told by Contemporaries. By A. B. Hart. New York, 1901. Vol. H, p. 484. 2T4 HALE BIBLIOGRAPHY The Story of Manhattan. By C. Hemstreet. New York, 1901 ; p. 157. Landmark History of New York. By Albert Ulmann. New York, 1901; pp. 117-19. Connecticut. By Alexander Johnston. "American Commonwealth" Series, 1903; pp. 295-96. Connecticut as a Colony and State. By Forrest Morgan. Hartford, 1904. Vol. II, pp. 89-91; 186-88. The Story of Nathan Hale. By Rev. A. J. Haynes. New Haven, 1907. Story of Nathan Hale. By Pauline C. Bouve. "American Heroes," pp. 129-38. History of the United States and Its People. By E. M. Avery. Cleve- land, 1909. Vol. VI, pp. 27-30. The Borough of the Bronx, 1659-1913. By H. T. Cook. New York, 1913; pp. 212-18. A History of Connecticut. By Rev. George L. Clark. New York, 1914. New York. (Commonwealth Series.) By E. H. Roberts. Vol. II; p. 438. HALE IN POETRY AND DRAMA In addition to the pieces quoted or referred to in the present work at pages 37-38, 133-34, 144-46, 260-64, the following may be mentioned: Nathan Hale. Stanzas suggested by the movement to erect a monument at Coventry. By "F." [Jerusha Foote?] In Hartford Courant, June 20, 1842. "Yes! rear the marble — let it rise! ******* Not as the soldier loves to die But as the felon dies, — Hale gave with self-devotion high Mind's noblest sacrifice." ******* Verses Written for the Ladies' Fair at Coventry, May 1, 1844. By Jerusha Foote, of Andover, Connecticut. Also another piece of six verses. Copies in Hale Collection, Connecticut Historical Society. Article on Hale in the Yale Literary Magazine, June, 1839, closes with a poetic tribute. Nathan Hale. By Arthur Hale. Poem read by him at banquet of "Sons of the Revolution," New York City, November 25, 1893, after the unveiling of the MacMonnies statue of Hale in City Hall Park. Printed in Boston Advertiser, November 27, and in Boston Com- monvjealth, December 2, 1893. HALE BIBLIOGRAPHY 275 The Romance of the Schoolhouse. By Bertha P. Attwood, of East Haddam. Read on "Nathan Hale Day," June 6, 1900, at East Haddam, Connecticut, on the occasion of the transfer of the Hale Schoolhouse to the State Society "Sons of the Revolution." Printed in the Connecticut Valley Advertiser, June 8, 1900; also in Hartford papers. Nathan Hale. By Joseph Cone. Poem read on above occasion. Printed in same papers. Nathan Hale's Day. By Ella Beardsley, of Moodus, Connecticut, June 6, 1900. Nathan Hale. By Sara King Wiley. Nathan Hale. By William Ordway Partridge. Harper's Weekly, November 9, 1901. Nathan Hale, the Martyr-Spy. By I. H. Brown. St. Louis. Our Ivy. By Claes Martenze [Richard Henry Greene]. Privately printed and illustrated. New York, 1902. Suggested by associations with Hale's East Haddam schoolhouse. Nathan Hale. By Genevieve Hale Whitlock, New Haven. Dedicated to the Norwalk Chapter D. A. R. Connecticut Magazine, May-June, 1900. Also, "Hale Day," in same. Nathan Hale's Statue. By J. I. C. Clarke. In "The Fighting Race and other Poems and Ballads," by the same writer. American News Company, New York. The Death of Capt. Nathan Hale. A Drama in five acts. By David Trumbull, for the Hale Monument Association, Hartford, 1845. Nathan Hale. Four-Act Play. By Clyde Fitch. Presented at New York, January-March, 1899. Nathan Hale of 73. A drama in four acts. By C. C. S. Cushing. Yale Publishing Association, New Haven, 1908. Among the paintings exhibited at the American Art Union at New York in 1848 was one entitled, "Nathan Hale just before Execution," by O. A. Bullard. It became the property of Dr. G. G. Bischoff, of Reading, Pa. F. O. C. Darley, the well-known engraver, of New York, about 1850- 70, designed an effective piece representing the same scene. ADDRESSES ON HALE— MAGAZINE AND PRESS ARTICLES Nathan Hale Association. Address at South Coventry, Connecticut, before the Association, November 25, 1836, by Hon. Andrew T. Judson. Norwich, 1837. (Pamphlet.) Congress and Hale. In 1835 residents of Coventry petitioned Congress to appropriate a sum of money for the erection of a monument to 2^6 HALE BIBLIOGRAPHY Hale at that place, his native town. A select Committee of the House, headed by Mr. Judson, presented a report in favor of the project on January 19, 1836. In the Senate the petition was pre- sented, February 1, 1836, by Hon. John M. Niles. The movement failed, as it did again in 1842. The resolutions and speeches on these occasions appear in the official records. Andre and Hale. Address by Henry J. Raymond, founder of New York Daily Times, at Tarrytown, New York. The Times, October 8, 1853. Centennial of the Capture of Major Andre. Oration by Hon. Chauncey M. Depew. New York, 1880. (Pamphlet.) Nathan Hale. By Edward Everett Hale. Address at Groton, Con- necticut, on "Nathan Hale Day," September 7, 1881. Includes Enoch Hale's Diary. Boston, 1881. (Pamphlet.) Nathan Hale. Address at unveiling of the Hale statue at the State Capitol, Hartford. By Charles Dudley Warner. Hartford Courant, June 16, 1887. Nathan Hale. Address by Edward Everett Hale before the "Sons of the Revolution," New York, November 25, 1893. Boston Common- ivealth, December 2, 1893. Nathan Hale. Schoolboy, Teacher, Martyr-Spy. Address to the Pupils of the Public Schools of the City of New York. By Jacob Cox Parsons, New York, April 10, 1894. (Pamphlet.) Nathan Hale. Address by Robert Lenox Belknap at unveiling of Hale memorial at Huntington, L. I., July 4, 1894. In Suffolk Bulletin, July 7, 1894. Nathan Hale Schoolhouse. Address by Judge Julius Attwood, on Hale and his school associations at East Haddam. Connecticut Valley Advertiser, June 8, 1900, and Hartford papers. Hale and Lincoln. Address by Governor Simeon E. Baldwin, of Con- necticut, at the Hale Schoolhouse, East Haddam, June 14, 1913. In Connecticut Valley Advertiser of June 20. Early Reference to Hale. American Magazine. 1788, p. 564. Nathan Hale. Editorial in Plaindealer, a New York weekly journal. December 24, 1836. Hale's Service and Sacrifice. The Knickerbocker or New York Monthly Magazine (1838), Vol. XI, p. 54. Review of Stuart's Life of Hale. Putnam's Magazine, Vol. VII (1856), p. 476. Cunningham and Hale. American Historical Record, Vol. II, p. 443. See p. 123, ante. Hale and Andre's Defense. Potter's American Monthly (1876), Vol. VI, p. 295. See note, p. 137, ante. HALE BIBLIOGRAPHY 277 Hale's Name. Neix) England Historic Genealogical Register, Vol. 37 p. 339. Nathan Hale. Harper's Magazine, May, 1880. Nathan Hale. The Independent, New York, November 30, 1893. Hull Genealogy. By Samuel C. Clarke. Neiv England Historic Genealogical Register, April and July, 1893. Hale School, East Haddam. By F. H. Parker. Connecticut Magazine, Hartford, May-June, 1900. Alice Adams, Nathan Hale's Sweetheart. By Edward Hale Brush. The Churchman, July 5, 1913. The Yale Statue of Nathan Hale. By George Dudley Seymour. Magazine of History (1907), Vol. VI, p. 171. Hale-Site. Privately printed, brief pamphlet by George Taylor, Hunt- ington, L. I., 1897. Relating to Hale's capture at that place. Hale Memorials. The American Architect and Building Neivs. New York, April, 1888. Encyclopaedias and American school histories very generally contain sketches of or mention of Hale. Articles are noted in the volumes of Poole's Index; also in "Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature," ed. by Anna L. Guthrie, 1905. Vol. I, p. 629; Vol. II, p. 978. References to Hale in magazines and newspapers have been numerous, appearing mainly in connection with anniversaries or the erection of Hale memorials. The more interesting and important are in: The Hartford Courant, Supplement, February 9, 1835; New York Journal of Commerce, July 10, 1846; New York World, September 22, 1876; do., February 4, 1879; New York Sun, December 30, 1878; do., January 4, 1879; Harper's Magazine, "Editor's Easy Chair," March, 1879; New York Mail and Express, June 15, 1887; Hartford Courant, June 16, 1887; New York Times, June 18, 1887; New York Evening Post, June 15, 1887; New York Commercial Advertiser, June 16, 1887; Har- per's Weekly, June 11, 1887; New York Evening Sun, July 17, 1894. No Hale event was the subject of so many descriptions and editorials as the unveiling of the statue in New York. Papers in distant cities pub- lished accounts. See all the city papers for November 25 and 26, 1893; Harper's Weekly, December 9; Boston Traveller, November 18; Brook- lyn Eagle, November 25 ; Schenectady Union, November 25 ; Rochester Herald, November 27; Baltimore Sun, November 27; New Haven Pal- ladium, November 27; Springfield Republican, November 28; Kansas City Star, November 28 ; Providence Journal, November 28 ; Worcester Spy, November 28; Boston Advertiser, November 27; Columbus (Ohio) Despatch, November 28; Boston Transcript, November 29; New Orleans Picayune, December 2; Philadelphia Enquirer, November 2S; Portland Oregonian, November 25, 1893. Celebrations elsewhere: Suffolk, L. I., 27S HALE BIBLIOGRAPHY Bulletin, July 7, 1894; The Norwalk Hour, April 19, 1901; Connecticut Valley Advertiser, June 8, 1900; do., June 20, 1913; Hartford Times, June 6, 1900; Hartford Courant, June 8, 1900; New London Day, June 17, 1901. Hale Homestead: Hartford Courant, July 9, 1913. Hale Statue: Yale New, March 2 and 3, 1899; The Critic, Vol. XXIH, p. 366; on Yale Campus, Hartford Courant, October 1, 1914. Proposed national statue at Washington, D, C, Courant, July 18, 1914. INDEX Abbot, Abiel, Hale homestead, lOn; profile, 153. Abbot, Elizabeth, homestead, 9; room and profile, 153. Adams, Abigail, Deacon Hale, 56. Adams, Alice, Hale's love for, 56; qualities, 57; marries E. Ripley, 57; book, 57n; widow, 58; engaged to Hale, 59; tribute to, 59; Marvin's reference, 59; marries W. Lawrence, 60; recollections of, and por- trait, 60; Hale miniature, 151; descendants of, 152n; Hale to "Alicia," 190. Adams, Betsy, 233, 243. Adams, E., 243. Adams, Hannah, historian, 125n, 138; account of Hale, 139, 141. Adams, Joseph, 183. Adams, and Dr. Church, 232. Adams, Capt., privateer, 253. Adams, Samuel, father of Alice, 56. Adams, Samuel, independence, 64. Adams, Sarah, marries J. Hale, 56. Alden, Roger, 34-36, 42; quoted, 78; independent, 87; in the army, 96; to Hale, 175, 193; sketch of, 198n; letters to Hale, 198. Alden, Lieut. Col., Duxbury, 86. Allen, Ethan, Col., wounded, 233. Amadon's, inn, 255. Andre, John, Maj., 38n; case of, 114; executed, 125; compared with Hale, 132, 136-138, 140, 157, 170. Arnold, Benedict, 125, 253. Artillery Park, British, Hale executed at, 115, 126; site, 161. Ashford, Conn., Knowlton from, 102; inn, 256. Asia, ship, Hale and sloop, 92, 150, 250. Attleboro, Mass., 71 ; inn at, 240. Atwater, Thomas, Student's Comedy, 33. Avery Park, New London Committee, 234. Babcock, J. S., on Hale, 51, 263. Baldwin, Eben., tutor, 19. Baldwin, Roger S., Coventry shaft, 143. Baldwin, Simeon E., Gov., Hale and Lincoln, 265. Barker, student, 193. Bates, Albert C, Hale archives, ix. Bayard's Mount, N. Y., Hale's camp, 90. "Beaux' Stratagem," play at Yale, 32. Beckwith, B., student, 34. 28o INDEX Beebe, Christopher, soldier, 250. Beekman Mansion, N. Y., 89; Howe's headquarters, 121; Hale, 89, 121, 126. Belcher, John, Lieut., recruits, 70; letter, 239, 258. Belden, P. and S., Misses, Hale's pupils, 78, 238, 245. Belden, Samuel, school proprietor, 178, 218-219. Berkeley Scholarship, Yale, 28, 87. Beverly, Mass., 6, 7. Bill, S., New London, 237. Billings, E., "Sir," 31, 193. Bird, Rev. Mr., preaches, 241-242, 248-249. Blue Laws, Conn., 63n. Boston, massacre, 64; siege, 66, 71, 76; evacuated, 82; damage to, 83; American army leaves, 88; Chronicle, 136, 140, 166; "Gagites" in, 210; Neck, 241, 247, 250. Bostwick, Capt., 241. Bourbank, Lieut., 247. Bowers, John, gunner, 253. Brackett, Dr., Portsmouth, 217. Bradley, C. P., Hale material, 52n. Branford, Conn., 67. Breton, Cape, 40. Brookhaven, L. L, 16. Brooklyn, defenses, 89, 94, 98; Hale's route, 113; map, 162. Brooks, Maj., 181, 246, 253. Brothers in Unity, Yale Society, 31. Brown, Chas., privateer, 253. Brown, John, Yale, soldier, 24. Brown, soldier, 227-228, 248. Brown's, Cambridge, 244. Bulkley, Capt., 252. Bunker Hill, 5, 71, 73-74, 81, 90, 102, 227, 254. Burnham's, inn, 88. Bushnell, Ezra, Sergt., 258. Butler, Col., massacre, 33. Campbell, Maria, Mrs., biographer, 107n. Cambridge, Mass., American headquarters, 71, 75, 188; Hale at, 240- 241, 244, 250-254. Canaan, Conn., 171. Canterbury, Conn., 56. Carver, William, privateer, 253. Catlin, Lieut., 246, 254. Caulkins, Miss, on Hale, 52. Cerberus, ship, 109, 119, 159. Chadwick, Charles, Capt., school proprietor, 178. INDEX 281 Chamberlain, Mr., 252. Chambli, fort, 221, 245. Charaplin, Chris., 232, 242. Chapman, Alpheus, Hale's company, 226, 228, 247, 251; dismissed, 259. Chappel, Alpheus, recruit, 228. Charlestown, Mass., 5. Charlestown Neck, 5, 73. Chelsea, Mass., 251. Christophers, Betsey, Hale to, 77, 80, 179. Christophers, Sheriff, New London, 234, 245. Church, Dr., defection of, 221, 232; in jail, 235. Church and Hallam, to Hale, 239. Church, Silas, school proprietor, 178. Clarke's, at Medfield, 256. Clary, Polly, married, 208. Cleaveland, Eben., Chaplain, Hale's betrayal, 168, 194-195. Clef, Capt, 210. Clinton, George, Gen., 100; scouting, 101, Clinton, Henry, Sir, at New York, 121. Cobb, M., student, 193. Cobble Hill, 74, 83, 248, 254. Coit, B., pupil, 78, 238. Coit, Joseph, Capt., 237. Coit, Thomas, Dr., school proprietor, 178, 236. Coit, William, Capt., Lexington alarm, 66; at sea, 109, 189, 244; prizes, 246-247. Colchester, Conn., 252. Columbia University, battlefield, 104. "Common Sense," Paine's, 83-84; Robinson on, 86-87, 91. Concord, Mass., Harvard at, 189. Congress, Continental, 16, 40, 63, 79, 89; independence, 90, 122, 142; Washington at, 183; Hale's commission, 192; monument, 266. Connecticut, Assembly, 2; towns, 2, 3, 5, 8 ; deputies, 11, 16; Journal, 34; schools, 41-42; dragoons, 45n, 47, 59; Lexington alarm, 61-62, 63; troops, 66-67, 70, 79; independence, 84; tories, 91, 109, llOn, 140, 147; militia, 149; tories, 181; soldiers, 218, 224; Association, 233; councillors, 233, 234-235. Connecticut Hall, Yale, 20. "Conquest of Canaan," Dwight, 29, 87; eulogy of Hale, 133-134, 138. Cooley, D., student, 208. Coventry, Conn., 1, 2; Hale's birthplace, 3; father settles at, 7, 8, 9; farm, deputies from, 11; school, 12; church, 13; parsonage, 16, 26, 57, 62; record on Hale, 120; gravestone, 132; monument, 142, 147; 150, 153-155, 167-168, 183, 193-194, 196-197; tribute, 264-265. Coventry, R. L, school, 46n. Cutler, T., student, 193. 282 INDEX Daggett, Naphtali, Yale President, 19. Daggett, Thomas, inn, 241n. Davenport, Abraham, vote for as Councillor, 234. Davenport, John, 193. Day, George Parmly, Treasurer, Yale, ix. Deane, Silas, vote for as Chancellor, 234. Dedham, Mass., 71, 138, 240. Deerfield, Mass., school, 208. Delancey, Gen., Long Island, 113. Dennis, James, soldier, 226. Deorrity, soldier, 228. Derby, Conn., 67. Deshon, Richard, Capt., school proprietor, 177. Dexter, Franklin B., Prof., Yale in 1750 and 1907, 21; Enoch Hale, 54; Yale Annals, ix. Dodd, Robert H., Hale material, ix. Doolittle, Col., 247, 253. Dorchester lines, 73 ; Hale visits, 241. Douglas, N., New London, 223, 237. Dove Tavern, N. Y., Hale executed near, 126, 162-163. Duer, William, on tories and spies, 129. Dunmore, Gov., of Virginia, 235, 254. Dupee's, inn, 240. Dwight, Samuel, teacher, 42. Dwight, Timothy, tutor at Yale, 19, 54; "Conquest of Canaan," 29, 36; on Hale, 36, 87; Chaplain, 96; tribute to Hale, 133-134, 191; letter, 217. Dyer, Eliphalet, vote for as Councillor, 234. East Haddara, Conn., Hale's school at, 42; described, 42-44, 175; Hale's lodging, 45n ; schoolhouse, 142, 268. East Wilton, N. H., 10. Edmonston, Maj., British spy, 169-170. Edwards, Mr., Rev., 92. Elderkin, John, Lieut., 258. Eli [Ely], Dr., surgeon, 182. Ellis's, inn, 256. Ely, Capt., in camp, 210. Erskine, Gen., Long Island, 113. Essex Journal, Hale's betrayal, 164. Evarts, William M., orator Linonia, 143. Evelyn, William, Capt., British officer, and Hale, 74. Ewing, Gen., and spies, lOln. Fairchild, J., student, 34. Fairfield, Conn., 41. INDEX 283 Fellows, Col., Dorchester lines, 241. Field, Cyrus W., Andre and Hale memorials, 147; letter, 147. Finch, F. M., poem on Hale, 144-146. Fitch, E., college play, 33n. Fitch, J., Yale steward, 35. Flatbush, L. I., fighting at, 257. Flint, Royal, 34; and Hale, 242. Flushing, L. I., 113. Forbs, inn, 256. Fosdick, T. U., Hale's sergeant, 95, 259; attack on Phoenix, 149; letter, 218, 225, 228. Fox, Louisa, Hale's pupil, 81. Fraser, quartermaster, 251-252. Gates, Adj.-Gen., orders, 88, 181. Gay, Alice M., Miss., Hale transcripts, ix. Gerhardt, Karl, sculptor Hale statue, 266. Gibson, Roger, school proprietor, 177. Gilbert, Jasper, Hale material, 56. Goodwin, James J., Hale statue, 266. Goshen, Conn., 171. Gould, W., student, 193. Gove, Mable, sewing for Hale, 81. Gratz, Simon, Hon., Hale letters, viii. Green, James, Capt., East Haddam, 45n. Green, Samuel, pupil, 51. Green, Timothy, school proprietor, 177; engages Hale, 45-47; 198; letters to Hale, 219-221. Greene, Gen., letter to, from President Stiles, 46n. Greene, Richard H., Hale relic, 45n. Green's, inn, 88. Greenwich, Conn., 67. Gridley, Isaac, Hale's roommate, 20. Griswold, Matthew, Gov., vote for as Councillor, 234; in camp, 242, Grosvenor's, inn, 256. Groton, Conn., 67, 155n, 169. Gully [Gurley], W., student, 193; in camp, 245. Hale, Arthur, Mr., Hale MSS., 191n; poem, vid. Bibliography. Hale, Billy, 4, 197. Hale, brothers and sisters named, 3-4. Hale, Coventry homestead, 9, lOn, 153. Hale, David, Rev., 3; pastor, 11, 54; farm, 11; David H., nephew of Nathan, 14. Hale, Edward E., Rev., Hale correspondence, ix, 149, 176, 183; address, 130n; betrayal story, 169; vid. Bibliography. 284 INDEX Hale, Elizabeth, 3; marries, 49; family, 83; Hale visits, 255. Hale, Ellen D., Hale correspondence, ix. Hale, Enoch, Rev., 4; at college, 15, 25-26, 28, 31; teacher, 42, 50; pastor, 54, 92; M. A. degree, 92; brother's fate, 117; diary quoted, 130; brother's capture, 161; betrayal story, 167-169, 196; letter, 197. Hale, John, 3, lOn; marries, 56; Lexington alarm, 62; letter, 197. Hale, John, Rev., ancestor, 6. Hale, Joseph, 4; Lexington alarm, 62; in army, 196. Hale, Nathan, letters and papers, vii-x; birth, family, 1, 3; ancestry, 4-9; homestead, 9, lOn; farm, 11; school, 12; church, 13; death of mother, 14; recollections of, 14; college preparation, 14; our special interest in, 17; at Yale, room, friends, 18; life, father's advice, expenses, clothes, studies, 25; literary tastes, Tallraadge, 29, 30, 36; Linonia Society, 31; farewell to "Sirs," 31, 184; plays, epilogue, 32; Commencement exercises, 34; college friendships, 35; description and eulogy of, 37, 39; at Portsmouth, 40; schoolmaster at East Haddam, 42; methods and society, 43; at New London school, 45; correspond- ence on, 45-47; proprietors, 48; success as teacher, 48, 51-53; letters from, 49; friends, SO; G. Saltonstall, 53; reengages to teach, 54; brothers as pastors, 54; Alice Adams, 56-58; engaged to her, love poem, 59; her qualities, 60; war opens, 61; Parson Peters, 62; speech on independence, 65; army commission, 67; advice from Tall- madge, 68; resigns school, 69; recruiting, 70; marches to Boston, 73; Camp Winter Hill, incidents, 73-74; described in verse, 75; Harvard "domes," 75; duties, 76; correspondence, 77; remains in service, new company, 79; furlough, 80; at home, 81; returns to camp, 81; "Common Sense" and independence, 83; marches to New York, 88; camp, 90; tories, army, 91; M. A. diploma, 92; battle, Long Island, 93; Hale not engaged, 95; promise as a soldier, 95; with "Knowlton's Rangers," 102; approached on spy service, 104; Hull's advice, 106; Hale's reply, 107; Washington's instructions, 108n; in enemy's lines, 108, 111; disguise. 111; risks, 113; observa- tions, 114; suspected and executed, 115; news of his fate, 116; place of capture, 119; examined by Howe, 121; his "full confession," 122; Cunningham, 123; Montressor and Hull on execution, 124; hanged at Dove Tavern, 126; last moments and words, 127-129; indignation at headquarters, 129; father's grief, 130; Enoch's account, 131; Coventry inscription, 132; Andre's case, 133; Dwight's eulogy, 134; preservation of Hale's memory, 135; compared with Andre, 136-138; Hannah Adams on, 138; writers and historians on, 142; college remembrance, 143; poem by F. M. Finch, 144; statue at Yale, 146; remembrance at New York, letter from Cyrus W. Field, 147; New York statue, 148; Hale's last letter, 149; the Asia episode, 150; miniature of, 151; description, profile, 152-153; Hempstead's account of, 154; place of capture, 157; site of execu- tion, 161; new map, 162; betrayal of, 164; first account, 164; INDEX 285 Samuel Hall, the tory cousin, 165; hearsay versions, 167; father's letter on, 167; Hale namesake, 171; Hale correspondence, 175- 239. [Vid. title below, "Letters" to and from Hale, with sum- mary of contents.] Hale's commission, 192; Linonia minutes, 193; army diary, 240; company officers, 258; tributes, 260; memorials, 266; bibliography, 270. Hale, Richard, Nathan's father; birth, marriage, 3-5; at Coventry, 7; deacon and deputy, 11; farm, 11; advice to sons, 25-26; grief over Nathan's fate, 130; on the betrayal story, 167; letters from, 194-196. Hale, Robert, first settler, 5. Hale, Samuel, Nathan's grandfather, 7. Hale, Samuel, uncle, Portsmouth, 7, 40; Nathan visits, 40; letter to, 49; rejects betrayal story, 169; letter on, from Deacon Hale, 196. Hale, Samuel, Portsmouth, loyalist cousin, 121 ; charged with betrayal, 164-169; sketch of, 165-166; letter on, 196. Hale, William, Hon., on Nathan, 40. Halifax, British sail to, 82, 181. Halifax, ship, connected with Hale's capture, off New Rochelle, 101 ; off Huntington, 110, 160; log of, llln, 159. Hall, Capt., 242. Hall, Lieut.-Col. of Hale's regiment, 242-249. Hall, student, 193. Hallam, Edward, 226; writes to Hale, 243. Hallam, John, New London, letters to Hale, 80, 221-224, 180, 242-243; in camp, 244, 248; Hale writes to, 249. Hallam, Mrs. and Betsey, compliments to Hale, 222, 245. Hamilton, Alex., Capt., and Hale, with flag of truce, 116, 117n. Hamilton, British countersign, 244. Hamlin, Jabez, vote for as Councillor, 234. Hammon, Isaac, soldier, 250. Hammons, inn, 255. Hancock, John, President of Congress, house not despoiled by British, 83 ; signs Hale's commission, 192, 232. Hanoverian troops for America, 221. Hanover, N. H., 52n. Harlem Heights, battle, 104, 115. Hartford comrades, on Hale, 141. Hartford, county towns, 41, 51, 56; statues at, 266. Hartford Courant and "Common Sense," 84; Hale letter, 196n. Harvard, College, commencement, 24n; Hale on, 75, 189. Hastings, Mrs., and Alice Adams, 152. Hatch, William, soldier, 250; dies, 251, Hatfield, Mass., 208. Havemeyer, W. F., Hale letters, ix, 87n. Hays, student, 193. 286 INDEX Heath, Gen., Hale in brigade of, marches to New York, 88-90, 180; memoir quoted, 90; Washington to, on spies, 100-101. Hebron, Conn., and Parson Peters, 62, 176. Hempstead, L. I., 113. Hempstead, Sergeant, 96; attends Hale, 108; account of Hale's attempt and fate, 120, 154-157, 160, 227, 231, 235, 254; in Hale's company, 259. Hewit, Reuben, Sergeant Hale's company, 258. Hill's, inn, 256. Hillard, Ensign in Hale's company, 239, 258. Hillhouse, James, classmate, Yale treasurer, 146; writes to Hale, 203. Hoadley, George E., Hartford, possessor of Hale poem, ix, 191 ; receipts of Hale's soldiers, 82n; Alice Adams relics, 191n, Holmes, Abiel, "Annals" and Hale, 140. Holmes, John, soldier, 250. Holt, John, 225. Hopkins, Commodore, at Philadelphia, 235. Hopkins' Grammar School, New Haven, 42. Hosmer, Titus, vote for as Councillor, 234. Howe, Frank L., Hale letter, 196n. Howe, Joseph, tutor at Yale, 19 ; death of, 245. Howe, Sir William, Gen., evacuates Boston, 82; opens campaign at New York, 93; battle of Long Island, 93-95; headquarters, 121; orders Hale's execution, 115, 122, 124-125, 131, 116-119; Provost-Marshal Cunningham, 123, 127-128, 130, 251; camp at New York, 162. Hoyt, Captain, 250. Hubbard, Russell, Captain, school proprietor, 178. Hubbel, Captain, 248-250. Hull, William, Captain, Hale's close friend, 67-68, 97; advises Hale to decline spy service, 106-107; learns of his fate, 117-118; account of his capture and execution, 124-125, 139-140; compliments to, 218, 225-229, 235, 238; Hale mentions, 244, 249, 253. Humphrey, Daniel, teacher, 42. Humphrey, Marvin's pupil, Norwich, 202. Humphreys, David, 42, 87. Huntington, Andrew, Norwich, 83. Huntington, Ebenezer, Lieut., 218. Huntington, Jedediah, Col., evacuation of Boston, 83 ; death of wife, 251. Huntington, Joseph, Rev., Hale's pastor and teacher, 16; recommenda- tion from, 45, 219; Hale calls on, 255. Huntington, Long Island, Hale crosses to, 109-111; place of capture, 157- 161; memorial at, 267. Huntington, Samuel, Hon., 16; vote for as Councillor, 234. Hurlbut, George, Sergt., Hale's company, 235, 258; Ensign, 81, 95, 219, 223, 247, 250-252, 258 ; camp letters, 224-228. INDEX 287 Independence, Hale on, 63-65; supposed speech on, 66; Paine's "Common Sense," 83-84; Robinson on, 85-87; Declaration of, read to the troops, 90-91. Independent Chronicle, Boston, on Hale, 136. Jackson's, inn, 255. Jacobs', inn, 255-256. Jamaica, L. I., 113, Jamaica Plain, Mass., 256. Johnson, Guy, 221; reported killed, 231, 241. Johnson, Mathias, with enemy's escort, dead, 221. Johnson, William S., vote for as Councillor, 234. Jones', inn, 255. Jones, Thomas, Judge, denounces his College, 25. Joshua, Mohegan Sachem, and the Coventry tract, 2. Judson, Andrew T., Hon., address on Hale, Coventry, 13, 143. Kane, Grenville, Hale letter, ix, 50n. Keith's, inn, 255. Kelby, Robert H., librarian, Hale material, ix. Kelby, William, site of Hale's execution, 118n, 164n. Keyes", inn, 255. Keyes, classmate, 34, 201. Kindal's, inn, 255. Kingsbury, Deacon, Coventry, 245, 255. Knapp, Prof., on Hale, 140. Knowlton, Thomas, Col., organizes "Rangers," 102; Hale joins, 102-103; Washington and, 104; Hale and spy service, 104-105; death in battle, Harlem Heights, 104; Hull's reference to, 139. Lady Spencer, ship, llOn. Lafayette, Gen., and Hale, 137, Lafayette, Gen., on Hale, 137. Lane, Mr., tailor, Coventry, 81, Lathrop, 9. Latimer, Jonathan, Major of Hale's regiment, 67, 81, 222, 240, 250-257. Latimer, Mrs., 227; compliments to Hale, 229-230. Latimer, Robert, Hale's pupil, 52-53; letters to Hale, 228-230; in camp, 250. Law, Richard, Judge, school proprietor, 177, 220; vote for as Coun- cillor, 234. Lawrence, William, marries Alice Adams, 60. Learned, Mr., Rev., preaches in camp, 244. Leavenworth, Capt., 201, 241-254. Lebanon, Conn., 47, 197. Lechmere's Point, 73, 254. 288 INDEX Ledyard, Ebenezer, New London Committee, 234. Lee, Charles, Gen., Hale visits, 76, 251; at New York, 82, 245, 249, 25L Leggett, William, on Hale, 141. Leonard, S., student, 193. Letters from Hale — to his uncle, family items, school described, 49; to his brother Enoch, army news, attack on the Phoenix, 149; to class- mate. Mead, East Haddam, correspondence, school, 175 ; to his brother, liberty-pole. Parson Peters, 176; to Dr. Munson, his school, 177; to school proprietors, notice of meeting, 177; to same, resigns position, 178; to Miss Christophers, friendly note, 179; to his brother, army situation at New York, critical period, 180; to same, with similar contents, family references, 182; Linonia Valedictory, 184; to classmate Tallmadge, lively vein, in rhyme, 186; to (un- known), description of his camp, Washington, Harvard, etc., 188; to his affianced, Alicia, love sentiments, in poetry, 190; to W. Salton- stall, school bill, 191. Letters to Hale — from classmate Tallmadge, Hale in love, 58; from classmate Robinson, friendly, the King, Paine's "Common Sense," independence, 85; three notes from his father, advice, expenses, clothes, etc., 194-195; from brother Enoch, personal items, 197; from brother John, illness at home, E. Ripley's estate, 197; from class- mate Alden, Fast day, 198-199; reflections, 199; Hale's indifference, wishes to enter the army, 200-201 ; from classmate Marvin, Norwich, quarter day at his school, 202; news items, the Pennymites, 203; company drill, 204; Hale's "other self," poetry, 204-205; lack of army discipline, 206; dislikes teaching, America and Britain, 207; from Robinson, his school, Cooley's marriage, 208; from classmate Selden, the fighting at Roxbury, 210; from classmate Tallmadge, reply to Hale's criticisms, 212-213; his school at Wethersfield, 214; advice to Hale on joining the army, 215-216; from Mr. Dwight, appreciative of Hale, "Conquest of Canaan," 217; from Thomas U. Fosdick, de- cides to join army, 218; three notes from Timothy Green, invitation to teach at New London, 219-220; from John Hallam, news from New London, Dr. Church, 221; fortifying the town, 223-224; from Ensign Hurlbut, soldiers returning, cool reception of, alarm, 224- 225; the soldiers, fortifying, 226; Bunker Hill picket, camp items,. 227-228; from Robert Latimer, Hale's pupil, obligations to his teacher, 229; from D. Mumford, brief, 230; from G. Saltonstall, seven letters, sends war news, 231; Hale's exposed camp, marine events, 232; military affairs at New London, 233-234; fortifying, Dr. Church, the King's address, vote for Councillors, 234-235; con- duct of Connecticut soldiers, 236; excitement in town, 237; genius of the people, 238; from Church and Hallam, New York business matter, 239; from Lieut. Belcher, recruiting at Stonington, 239; from Tallmadge, school items, 269. INDEX 289 Lexington alarm, 61 ; Hale and, 65-66, 69. Liberty-pole, New London, 62; New York, 176. Linonia, Yale Society, Hale secretary of, 31; exercises, 31-32; comedies, 31-33; anniversary of, 143; library, 146; Hale's farewell to "Sirs," 184; minutes, 193. Livingston, William, Gen., and spies, 100. Lockwood, Mr., 214. Lockwood, Mrs., Wethersfield, 214. "London Remembrancer," on Hale, 136. Long Island, Hale stationed on, 91; battle of, 93-94; Hale not engaged in, 95 ; Washington and situation after, 98-101. "Long Island Star," Hempstead on Hale, 154. Louisburg, siege, 40. Lounsbury, Gov., Hale statue, 264. Lyman, G. C, student, 193, 255. Lyman, J., tutor at Yale, 19. Lyme, Hale at, 57, 67, 197, 231, 259. Mackduel, David, New London, 226. MacMonnies, F., sculptor, statue of Hale, 148, 267. MacMullen, John, tribute to Hale, 263. McDougall, Gen., Hale in brigade of, 90, 257. Manly, Capt., captures prize, 254. Mann's, inn, 88. Martin, Gov., 235. Marvin, Elihu, classmate, 42, 50, 57; Hale's engagement, 59, 78; at Norwich, 81; joins the army, 96, 151; letters to Hale, 201-207. Mary and John, ship, 8. Matthews, Mr., Hon., Continental Congress, 254. Maynard, L., Hale's drummer, 80, 228. Mead, Thomas, classmate, 34-35; Hale to, 50, 175, 193. Medcaff, Mr. 175. Mercer, H., Gen., and spies, 100. Merlin, ship, 109, 159. Merwin, N., student, 193. Mifflin, Maj., 232; Col. and quartermaster, 252. Milford, Conn., 67. Millaly, Michael, Capt., school proprietor, 178. Miller, Jeremiah, school proprietor, 178. Minard, J., soldier, 250. Mohegans, and the Coventry tract, 1-2. Montgomery, Gen., 242. Montgomery, James M., Hale statue at New York, 148. Montgomery, sloop, 109-111. Montreal, 227. 2go INDEX Montressor, John, Capt., word of Hale's execution, 116-117; account of, 124-125; quarters of, 163. Moodus (East Haddam), Conn., Hale at, 42, 175-176; Robinson, 44-45, 208. Morgan, Forrest, tribute to Hale, 264. Mumford, David, Capt., school trustee, 178. Mumford, David, Jr., letter to Hale, 230, 234, 244, 245. Mumford, Mr., 224-225; Dr. M., 232. Mumford, Robinson, Capt., school trustee, 177. Mumford, Thomas, school trustee, 178, 233. Munson, Dr., and Hale, 38-39, 70, 143, 152. Murray, Gen., 221. Nevins, Mr., 207; Ensign N., 231. New Defence, ship, llOn. New Haven, Conn., 26, 38, 41; schools at, 42; soldiers, 67; Hale at, 69, 70. New London, Conn., Hale's school, 45, 47; Grammar school, 48; families, 48, 51-53; history, 52, 54; liberty-pole, 62; Gazette, 63, 65; public meeting, 65; Lexington alarm, 66; recruiting at, 70; troops march, 71, 77-78, 80, 81; Gazette, 84; troops at, 88; Washington at, 89; Hale's letters from, 175-179; Union School proprietors, 177, 195-196; letters from, to Hale, with local items, 220-237 ; alarm, trenches at, 222; recruiting, 223-224; fortifying, 225, 231-232; powder at, 233; Saltonstall's company, 233; military committee, 234; alarm and confusion, 236; town spirit, 237; schoolhouse, 267. Newtown, L. L, 113. Newtown, Mass., 255. New York, military base, 82; army marches to, 88; defense of, 89; camps, 90, 92; enemy arrive, 93; problems and anxieties, 98; Howe cap- tures, 103, 112-113; Hale, spy at, 113-115; captured and executed at, 115, 120; British quarters, 121, 123; Dove tavern, site of execution, 126; statue at, 147-148; 158, 160, 161-164, 180, 182, 234, 238, 267. Niger, ship, log of, 159. Niles, Capt., in armed schooner, 221, 232. Niles Register, on Hale, 140. Northampton, Mass., 8, 19. Norwalk, Conn., 67; Hale crosses from, 108-111, 119, 155-156. Norwich, Conn., school, 42, 46, 92; Marvin's letters to Hale from, 201- 207. Norwalk, Conn., Hale crosses from, 108, 110-111, 156; memorial at, 268. Norwich, Conn., Hale at, 81, 88, 92; Marvin at, 201n; letters from, 201- 207. Olney's, inn, 240. Onderdonk, Henry, on Hale, llln, 142, 158. Owen, John, teacher. New London, 48. INDEX 29 1 Packwood, Joseph, Capt., school proprietor, 177. Packwood, Wm., Capt., school proprietor, 177, 221, 223. Page, Joseph, Hale's sergeant, 258. Paine, Thomas, "Common Sense," 83-84; Robinson on, 86, 87, 91. Parker, Sir Hyde, attack on the "Phoenix," 150. Parker's, inn, 240, 256. Parliament, 63; Robinson on, 85, 181. Parsons, S. H., Col., 183, 209n; vote for as Councillor, 234, 245. Partridge, William O., sculptor. Hale statue, 267. Peake, Alvan, precocious pupil, 43-44. Pennymites, 203. Pequots, 61. Percy, Earl, at New York, 121, 162. Perrit, Capt., of Milford, 110, 218, 241, 242. Peters, Samuel, Rev., treatment of, 62; Hale on, 176. Phoenix, ship, attack on, 149, 150. Philip, King, 61. Pirkin's, inn, 256. Pitkin, William, vote for as Councillor, 234. Pixley, E., student, play, 33. Plaindealer, on Hale, 141. Ploughed Hill, Hale at, 73, 248. Pomfret, Conn., inn at, 256. Pond, Charles, Capt., conveys Hale to Huntington, 108-110, 155; 246. Poole, Elizabeth, Hale as teacher, 51-52n. Poole, Thomas, published, 243. Porter, Noah, Yale President, 27. Portsmouth, N. H., Hale at, 40, 49, 162, 165-166. Pounce, Norwich pupil, 202. Pratt, Bela, sculptor. Hale statue, 146, 267-268. Prentis, Sergeant, 250. Princeton College, drama at, 33n. Prospect Hill, 73, 77; wrestling match, 244, 247. Providence, R. I., Hale marches through, 71, 88, 240. Putnam, Gen., Hale visits, 76; former ranger, 102; Hale's execution, 116-117n; in camp, Cambridge, 190, 244-245, 252, 254. Quarme, Capt., brig Halifax, 110-111; Hale's capture, 158, 160. Quarter Day, at Yale, 33; at Marvin's school, 51, 202. Quebec, 13, 253. Randall, J, W., tribute to Hale, 262. Randolph, Peyton, death of, 245. Read, William A., possessor of Hale material, ix. Reed, Deacon, Uxbridge, 255-256. Reed, Joseph, Adj.-Gen., and Hale, 116. 292 INDEX Rehoboth, Mass., Hale marches through, 71, 240. Remblington, drummer, 228. Richards, Guy, Capt., school proprietor, 177; R., Jr., 257. Richards, John, 48, 53n; school proprietor, 177, 204, 215, 217. Ripley, Elijah, marries Alice Adams, 57; estate, 196. Ripley, Mrs., see Alice Adams. Robertson, Daniel, 246. Robertson, Patrick, 226. Robinson, aunt, 255. Robinson, Capt., 255. Robinson, William, Rev., classmate, 26; Commencement, 34; Hale's friend, 35, 42, 50, 54, 58; letter on "Common Sense," 84-87; Hale's capture, llln; to Hale, 208. Rogers, teacher, 46n. Rogers, Robert, old ranger, 102. Rogers, William, Capt., sloop Montgomery, 109-llOn. Root, Ephraim, inn, 198. Rose, Dr., 49. Rose, Samuel, marries Hale's sister, 49, 255. Roseter, Dr., 242. Roxbury, Mass., 71; Hale visits, camps at, 75, 82, 87, 180, 188, 241, 243, 254, 256. "Rule Brittania," American version, 65. Rutgers' orchard, N. Y., Hale's execution, 126, 161. Sage, Col., 221, 242; Lieut. S., 255. Salmon Brook, Conn., 15, 131. Saltonstall, Dudley, Capt., navy, 77, 80, 224, 226, 237. Saltonstall, Gilbert, friend and correspondent, 53, 57, 77 \ joins army, 96; letters to Hale, 231-237, 242, 245, 257; Hale writes to, 243, 249. Saltonstall, Gurdon, Col., Gilbert's father, 96, 218, 233, 237. Saltonstall, N., Lieut., navy, 224. Saltonstall, Winthrop, school proprietor, 177, 191. Saltonstall, W. W., on Hale, 52n. Sampson, Ezra, Rev., 28, 35, 86-87. Sargent, Winthrop, Andre and Hale, 137n. Saybrook, Conn., 67. Schools in Connecticut, 1773, Trumbull on, 41; district, grammar and private, 41-42; Humphrey's, 42; Hale's, East Haddam, 43-45; Wood- stock, 43 ; Union School, 48 ; Owen's, New London, 48 ; proprietors, 177-178; Alden's, 198; Marvin's, 202, 206-207; Robinson's and E. Hale's, 208; Tallmadge's, 214, 219-221. Schuyler, Philip, Gen., 231. Schuyler, Pond's sloop, captures prizes, 109-llOn; Hale crosses to Hunt- ington in, 110-113; Hempstead's mention, 155. Scott, Thomas, Capt., British spy, 170. INDEX 293 Seabury, David, merchant, New York, 239. Selden, Ezra, 35; in army, 97; letter to Hale, 209. Seymour, George D., Hale letters, ix, 230, 269. Shaw, Nathaniel, Jr., school proprietor, 178; New London Committee, 234; Shaw's "Neck," 234, 239. Sheldon, E. B., Miss, and Alice Adams, lS2n. Sheldon, Elisha, vote for as Councillor, 234. Sheldon, J. A., poem on Hale, 143. Shelton, message to, 214. Sherburne, Mr., house in Boston, 83. Sherman, Daniel, vote for as Councillor, 234. Sherman, Isaac, in army, 97. Sherman, Judge, 26, 194. Sherman, Roger, vote for as Councillor, 234. Shipman, Capt., Hale's regiment, 241. Silliman, Benjamin, Prof., and Hale monument, 143. Slack, Eliphalet, inn, 240. Smith, George D., Hale poem, ix, 190. Smith, Mr., Rev., sermon in camp, 241. Sons of American Revolution, Hale schoolhouse, 268. Sons of Revolution, Hale statue, N. Y., 148, 267; schoolhouse, 268. Sparks, Jared, on Hale, 142. Spencer, Joseph, Gen., Hale visits in camp, 76; dined with, 241; in brigade of, 180-182; vote for as Councillor, 234, 245, 254, 256. Spies, officers as, 169-170. Sprague, Dr. Rev., Hale material, 230n. St. Paul, Hale statue at, 267. Stamford, Conn., 67; crossing place, 131, 156n. Stanley, Dean, Andre memorial, 147. Staten Island, British army at, 93. Sterling, Lord, Gen., Hale in brigade of, 90, 180, 182. Stewart, Duncan, school proprietor, 177. Stiles, Ezra, Yale President, to Gen. Greene, 46n. Stokes, Anson Phelps, possessor of Hale letters, viii. Stone's, inn, 255. Stonington, Conn., 67; alarm at, 70, 203, 223, 232; Hale recruits from, 239. Strayton's, inn, 255. Strong, Elizabeth, Hale's mother, birth and marriage, 3, 5; qualities, 8, 11; Nathan's education, 14-15; death of, 14. Elizabeth S., Hale's grandmother, qualities, 7-8, 9, 183. Strong, Elnathan, settles in Connecticut, 8. Strong, John, Elder, Hale's ancestor, earliest settler, 8. Strong, Joseph, Coventry settler, 8; Rev. Joseph, 14; chaplain, 96; cousin Joseph, 247. Strong, Nathan, Hale named after, 4; Rev. Nathan, Coventry pastor. 294 INDEX 15, 255; Rev. Nathan, latter's son, 15; tutor at Yale, 19, 54; chap- lain, 96. Strong, Phineas, 63. Strong, Preserved, 9. Strong homestead, Coventry, 9. Strongs, The, Hale's ancestry, 5, 8-10. Stuart, I. W., biography of Hale, vii; quoted, 11-12; Hale volunteering as a spy, 105n, 142, 266. Sullivan, Gen., Hale in brigade of, 71, 180-182, 241; visits to, 76, 247, 250-252, 256. Sunderland, Mass., school, 208. Susquehannah purchase, dispute over, 203. Syren, British ship, 109, 159. Tallmadge, Benjamin, classmate and schoolmaster, 15, 42; as to Hale's college room, 20n, 213; the Berkeley prize, 28; corresponds with Hale in college, 29-30, 211-214; on Commencement stage, 34; friend- ship for Hale, 35-36; school at Wethersfield, 42; describes it, 51, 53n, 214; charges Hale with being in love, 58; advises Hale as to enter- ing the service, 68-69; joins the army, 96; reminds Andre of Hale's fate, 132; letter from Hale in rhyme, 30, 186; public services of, 211n; letter to Hale, school items, 269. Tallmadge, Frederick S., and Hale statue, 148. Temple's house, 248. Thompson, B. F., historian, on Hale, 142; place of his capture, 158, 160. Thomson, Gen., 181-182. Thomson, Charles, Secretary of Congress, attests Hale's Captain's com- mission, 192. Tilghman, T., aid to Washington, flag of truce and Hale's execution, 117; on spies and Hale's case, 129-130. Tisdale, Nathan, noted schoolmaster, Norwich, 47, 54. Tolbot, Daniel, privateersman, 253. Tracy, Phineas, teacher, 46-47, 219, 221. Trenton, New Jersey, lOln. Trumbull, Gov., and school in Connecticut, 41; Norwich school pro- prietor, 47; vote for as Councillor, 234. Trumbull, John, tutor at Yale, 19; "Progress of Dulness" quoted, 44. Trumbull, Joseph, Col., illness of, 243; on trial, 254. Turner, Samuel, 241. Turtle Bay, New York, Hale lands at, 88; artillery park at, 126, 162-163. Tuttle, Captain, 243. Union School, New London, Hale invited to, 45-47; takes charge, 47; proprietors of, 48, 177-178; described by Hale, 49; his success, 50-54; resigns, 69, 178-179. Uxbridge, Mass., Hale stops at, 256. INDEX 295 Vandervert, Mr., powder at Philadelphia, 224. Van Vieck, Mr., merchant, New York, 239. Van Wyke, Capt., killed, 257. Varnum, Col., Hale and "Young's memoirs," 246; 250. Vassell, Col., loyalist, Cambridge, Hale on, 189; Widow V., 189. Virginia, Fairfax Co., war meeting, Washington presides, 64. Waldo, Dr., Hale's betrayal, 131, 167. Wallace, Commodore, British navy, 232, 237, 242. Walpole, Mass., 71, 240. Ward, A., Col., 149. Ward, James, 226. Warner, Chas. D., address on Hale, 266. Warren, James, oration by, 64. Warren, Mrs., historian, on Hale, 140. Washington, Gen., war meeting, 64; college escort, 70n; commands at Boston, 70, 73; Hale's reference to, 75; new army, 79; permits furloughs, 80, 83 ; sends army to New York, 88-89 ; force, 93 ; battle of Long Island, 94, 96; anxieties, 98-99; letters from, 100-101; the "Rangers," 102; Knowlton, 104-105; Hale, 108n, 112, 116; to Howe, 117; Hale's case, 129; Knowlton and Hale, 139, 155, 165, 181, 188, 243 ; officers' petition to, 245. Waterman, Capt., 201-202. Waterman's, inn, 240. Waterous, Josiah, New London Committee, 234. Watertown, Mass., 75, 188, 255. Webb, Charles, Col., Hale joins regiment of, 67; recruited from coast towns, 67; ordered to Boston camp, 70-71; stationed at Winter Hill, 73; regiment. Nineteenth Foot, 79; marches to New York, 88; camp at, 90; on Long Island, 91; not engaged in battle, 95; Enoch Hale visits regiment, 131; ordered northward, countermanded, 181-182; referred to, 242-256. Webb, Charles, Lieut, 96; in Hale's company, 259. Webb, Samuel B., aid to Washington, on Hale's fate, 117, 131, 161, 235. Welch, M., student, 193. Westhampton, Mass., Enoch Hale pastor at, 54. Wethersfield, Conn., Tallmadge at, 42, 51, 53, 68, 117, 214, 217; Hale refers to, 187. Whitestone Bay, 159. Whiting's, inn, 241n, 256. Whitney, Capt., 249. Whittemore, Samuel, New London, 234. Whittlesey, Mr., Rev., 92. Whittlesey, Ensign, 254. Wieners, Godfrey, Maj., Hale letters, ix. Williams College, 33n. 2g6 INDEX Williams, E., 35; letter to Hale, 69, 193. Williams, Nat., 226. Williams, William, vote for as Councillor, 234. Windham, Conn., Hale at, 81 ; Sons of Liberty of, 176, 256. Windsor, Conn., 8; Robinson at, 42; E. Hale near, 42; Wolcott family. East Windsor, S8n. Winter Hill, camp near Boston, Hale at, 71, 73, 180-182, 222-223, 227; point of danger, 77; stumped by Prospect Hill, 77; Hale refers to, 241-256. Winthrop, John, New London, 48 ; school proprietor, 177. Winthrop's Neck, New London, 234. Witchcraft, Rev. J. Hale on, 6. Wolcott, Dr., in camp, 241, 257. Wolcott, Naomi, East Windsor, 58n. Wolcott, Oliver, college customs, 23; vote for as Councillor, 234. Woodbridge, J. L., student, 193 ; in camp, 201, 226-228, 244. Woods', inn, 256. Woods, Enoch S., sculptor of Hale statue, 265. Woodstock, Conn., school, 43. Woolsey, Theodore D., Prof., and Hale monument, 143. Wooster, Gen., 249. Wrentham, Mass., 71, 240. Wright, Asher, Hale's waiter; the Asia story, 150-151. Wyllys, John P., 32; on Commencement stage, 34-35; in the army, 96-97; corresponds with Hale, 175. Yale College, in 1769-73; Hale material at, ix; Hale enters, 16; Presi- dent, tutors, students, 19; college buildings, 20; compared with the modern university, 21; standing rules, offenses and fines, 22; customs and costumes, treatment of the Freshmen, 23 ; student life, attitude on the home revenue measures, 24; Hale and father's advice, 25; expenses at, homespun worn, 25-27; studies and curriculum, 27; the Berkeley scholarship, 28 ; Latin pronunciation and English literature at, 27-30; literary societies, "Linonia" and "Brothers in Unity," 31- 32, 193; diversions, plays and dramas, 32-33; quarter days, 33; commencement exercises of Hale's class, 34-35; student friendships, 35-36; military company at, 69-70; Yale Literary Magazine on Hale, 143; College remembrance of Hale, Linonia centennial, 143-146; Hale statue at, 146, 267. y ~%>0^ v" ^z. .-^'^ "^^. ^ -^t. o 0^ w*--^ # -^.s^- - ^--,. ^ ' M'^ ^ "^, v-i^ >■ V .^:^ --c ;) ^^. .^' ^ <^^ ^Z- >^' ^, ^ \ 1 ^a 0^ vO o ^ .^ ''•K ■f .'^ ^ V- ^^. 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