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THE    IDEAL    PATRIOT 


&  £>tui>?  of  tSljaractrr 

3Y 

WILLIAM    ORDWAY    PARTRIDGE 

With  Vieivs  of  the  Author's  Statue  of  Nathan  Hale  ^ 

Portraits  of  Hale' s  Contemporaries  and  of 

Kindred  Characters  ; 

ALSO 
Three  Drawings  by  W.  R.  LEIGH 

TOGETHER  WITH  AN 

Introduction  by  George  Gary  Eggleston 


NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

FUNK   &   WAGNALLS    COMPANY 

1902 


COPYRIGHT,  1902, 
By  FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 


{Printed  in  the  United  States  of  A  merica} 
Published  in  March,  1902 


EDeDtcation 

TO   THE    MEN    OF   YALE    AND    TO    ALL    MEN    WHO    HAVE 

THE    TRUE    LOVE    OF    COUNTRY   IN  THEIR    HEARTS 

I      DEDICATE      THIS     BIOGRAPHICAL      SKETCH 

OF     OUR     IDEAL      AMERICAN     PATRIOT 

NATHAN   HALE 

WILLIAM  ORDWAY  PARTRIDGE 


Contents 


PAGE 

AUTHORS'  PREFACE,  .        .        ...        .13 

NATHAN  HALE,  A  POEM,         .        .        .        .        .        19 

FOREWORD,  .        .        .        ,        .        .      '.        .23 

THE  CREATION  OF  AN  IDEAL  WORK,      .        .        .        31 
LIFE  OF  NATHAN  HALE  : 

ANCESTRY  AND  EARLY  LIFE,        .        ...        .45 

THE  BATTLE  OF  LONG  ISLAND,        .        .        .        59 

THE  SECRET  EXPEDITION, 67 

THE  CAPTURE,  .......        77 

COMPARISON  OF  HALE  AND  ANDRE,   ...        .91 

CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE,       .        .        .        .       105 

INDEX, 129 


Nathan  Hale  on  the  Way  to  the  Scaffold,     Frontispiece 

PACK 

Statue  of  Nathan  Hale  (Front  View) ,      ...     19 

Bust  of  Edward  Everett  Hale,       .        .        .  «        31 

Life  Mask  of  a  Typical  Yale  Student,       .        .  .36 

George  Washington,        .        •        .        .        .  .        40 

Jonathan  Trumbull,    .        .        .        .        .  .54 

General  Howe,                -.                 ,        .        .  .         59 

Interview  between  Washington  and  Hale,       .  .    67 

Parting  of  Hale  from  his  Friend,  Captain  Hull,  .        74 

Mother  Chichester's  Tavern, 78 

The  Capture  of  Hale,      .        .        ...  .        82 

Major  Andre,       .        .        .        .        .        .        ,  .94 

Statue  of  Nathan  Hale  (Profile  View) ,          .  .       106 

Facsimile  of  Writing  of  Nathan  Hale,       .        .  .   113 


8utf)cir'$  ^preface 


'g  preface 

THIS  book  is  not  a  conventional  biography 
of  a  Revolutionary  hero,  with  cuts  of 
tombstones  and  dry  historical  data.  It  deals 
with  the  living  present.  In  my  statue  and 
studies  of  this  heroic  life  I  have  attempted 
to  give  the  very  spirit  of  one  of  America's 
foremost  patriots — one  who  became  a  martyr 
on  the  threshold  of  his  manhood  and  who  died 
that  we  might  be  free. 

It  is  a  sculptor  who  has  wrought  for  five 
years  or  more  over  the  face  and  form  of  Nathan 
Hale,  and  who  has  found  in  this  subject  an  in- 
spiration not  to  be  put  into  words,  that  is  moved 
to  write  the  simple  story  of  the  short  and  brave 
life  of  a  man  who  has  not  yet  received  his  meed 
of  honor  from  his  countrymen.  I  have  looked 
with  great  interest  over  the  lives  of  Hale  that 
have  been  written  by  men  of  scholarly  attain- 
ments, and  have  found  them  of  interest  mainly 

[13] 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE 


to  students  of  history,  but  they  seem  to  me 
not  inspired  or  vital  to  the  living  present.  To 
these  biographers  this  heroic  life  could  not 
have  meant  as  much  as  to  the  sculptor  of  the 
statue ;  wherefore  the  latter  has  undertaken  to 
put  into  book  form  for  the  great,  warm-hearted 
American  people  the  data  which  he  has  gath- 
ered from  relatives  of  Nathan  Hale  and  from 
studies  made  of  the  young  patriot's  short  life- 
history.  A  sculptor  living  with  his  statue  and 
seeing  it  grow  from  day  to  day  gets  very  close 
to  the  spirit  of  his  subject,  and  such  a  one 
hopes  to  say  in  this  biography  a  few  words 
which  those  lips  of  bronze  might  utter  could 
they  open  and  speak,  and  which  all  his  fellow 
officers  and  friends  would  say  were  they  alive 
to  speak  for  him. 

It  is  a  strange  fact  that  there  has  been  no 
great  poem  about  Nathan  Hale,  altho  men  no 
less  eminent  than  Timothy  Dwight  have  essayed 
their  hands  at  such  a  work.  The  attempts  all 

[14] 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE 


smack  of  the  stage,  of  brass  buttons,  of  the  pro- 
fessor and  the  academy,  and  do  not  touch  the 
soul  of  Hale's  sacrifice  and  martyrdom.  They 
sound  as  if  Pope  or  some  understudy  of  Pope's 
might  have  written  them.  Hale  is  too  great  for 
these  little  flights  of  fancy  or  the  dry  facts  of 
the  historian.  It  is  unfortunate  that  not  one  of 
our  great  poets  has  felt  inspired  to  write  some 
sublime  ode  to  the  memory  of  this  ideal  hero. 
For,  while  English  literature  is  full  of  elo- 
quence and  poetry  in  memory  of  the  fate  of 
the  ill-starred  Andr6,  it  is  a  strange  fact  that 
neither  Bryant,  Whit  tier,  Longfellow,  nor 
Lowell  has  felt  inspired  by  the  man  who  so 
notably  stood  in  the  fore  of  all  his  heroic  con- 
temporaries. 

The  time  is  just  dawning  for  America  when 
her  people  are  beginning  to  appreciate  the  great 
souls  that  have  created  the  republic.  The  sac- 
rifice of  Nathan  Hale  is  one  that  we  must  not, 
can  not  forget,  unless  we  write  our  own  con- 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 


demnation  as  a  republic.  The  heroic  deeds  of 
a  people  live  in  its  monuments.  Greece  is  pre- 
eminently great  because  of  her  sculpture,  and 
her  sculpture  commemorates  the  deeds  of  her 
national  heroes.  So  Egypt,  Persia,  Assyria, 
— what  are  they  but  the  Pharaohs,  Cyrus, 
Sargon  immortalized  in  stone  ? 

"  All  passes  into  dust 

Save  deathless  Art  alone; 

The  bust 
Survives  the  ruine'd  throne." 

So  wrote  Thdophile  Gautier.  We  have  a 
purer  and  higher  civilization  to  commemorate 
than  that  of  thrones  and  empires,  and  therefore 
we  should  not,  as  Matthew  Arnold  feared  for 
us,  let 

"  Slowly  die  out  of  our  lives, 
Glory,  and  genius,  and  joy." 

WILLIAM  ORDWAY  PARTRIDGE. 

Studios,  January  4th,  1902, 
New  York  City. 

[16] 


jlatfjan  Hale 

A   POEM 


STATUE  OF  NATHAN  HALE  (FRONT  VIEW) 

By  William  Ordway  Partridge 


One  hero  dies — a  thousand  new  ones  rise, 

As  flowers  are  sown  where  perfect  blossoms  fall ; 

Then  quite  unknown,  the  name  of  Hale  now  cries 
Wherever  duty  sounds  her  silent  call. 

With  head  erect  he  moves  and  stately  pace, 
To  meet  an  awful  doom — no  ribald  jest 

Brings  scorn  or  hate  to  that  exalted  face : 

His  thoughts  are  far  away,  poised  and  at  rest; 

Now  on  the  scaffold  see  him  turn  and  bid 

Farewell  to  home,  and  all  his  heart  holds  dear. 

Majestic  presence! — all  man's  weakness  hid, 
And  all  his  strength  in  that  last  hour  made  clear : 

"  My  sole  regret,  that  it  is  mine  to  give 

Only  one  life,  that  my  dear  land  may  live." 

WILLIAM  ORDWAY  PARTRIDGE. 


[19] 


jForetoorU 

By  GEORGE  GARY 
EGGLESTON 


foretooth 

DURING  half  a  dozen  years  or  more  Mr. 
Partridge  the  sculptor,  and  Mr.  Partridge 
the  patriot,  and  Mr.  Partridge  the  poet — the 
three  combined  in  one  personality — has  been 
engaged  in  a  close,  loving,  and  minute  study 
of  the  character  of  Nathan  Hale.  Mr.  Par- 
tridge the  sculptor  has  interpreted  Hale  most 
nobly  and  inspiringly  in  clay  and  bronze.  This 
interpretation  is  to  stand  forever  on  the  college 
green  at  New  Haven,  over  which  Nathan  Hale's 
footsteps  so  often  fell  during  his  student  days. 

Mr.  Partridge  the  man  of  letters  has  in  this 
book  undertaken  to  interpret  Nathan  Hale  in  a 
text  that  can  not  fail  to  interest  all  who  read. 
He  has  sought  here  to  put  into  literature  that 
which  he  has  already  so  nobly  put  into  sculp- 
ture. The  result  of  his  labors  will  appeal  with- 
out doubt  to  every  patriot,  to  every  reader  of 
literature,  and  especially  to  every  man,  woman, 

[23] 


FOREWORD 


and  child  who  appreciates  self-sacrifice  in  behalf 
of  a  great  cause,  or  who  recognizes  the  truth 
which  forms  the  basis  of  all  religions  from  that 
of  Gautama  to  that  of  Jesus :  namely,  that  the 
sacrifice  of  oneself  for  the  benefit  and  the  sal- 
vation of  others  is  the  worthiest  use  that  any 
man  can  make  of  that  life  and  of  those  privi- 
leges which  have  been  given  to  him  by  a  gra- 
cious God. 

With  that  breadth  of  mind  which  inspires 
the  artist,  Mr.  Partridge,  tho  a  patriot,  is  in 
no  sense  a  partizan.  In  that  of  course  he  is 
right ;  but  in  the  interest  of  the  truth  of  history 
it  could  be  wished  that  he  had  made  even 
stronger  that  which  he  has  made  strong: 
namely,  that  between  the  case  of  Nathan  Hale 
and  the  case  of  Major  Andre  there  is  no  com- 
parison, but  a  contrast  rather. 

Nathan  Hale  was  technically  a  spy,  and  as 
such  he  suffered  the  death  which  a  cruel  mili- 
tary law  imposes  for  that  miscalled  crime. 

[24] 


FOREWORD 


Nathan  Hale  went  into  the  enemy's  lines  a  pa- 
triot bent  upon  finding  out  what  force  the 
enemy  had  and  what  its  dispositions  were. 
Major  Andre's  mission  was  a  different  and  a 
degraded  one.  He  came  into  the  American 
lines  not  as  a  scout — which  Hale  was  in  essence 
— charged  with  the  duty  of  finding  out  the 
forces  and  the  position  of  his  enemy,  but  as  a 
corrupter  of  men,  with  money  and  with  entic- 
ing offers  of  official  preferment.  He  came  into 
the  American  lines  to  hire  major-generals  to 
betray  their  trusts,  to  forfeit  their  oaths,  to  per- 
jure themselves,  to  make  of  themselves  the  most 
infamous  creatures  in  existence  for  the  sake  of 
such  reward  as  he  could  offer  them. 

Nathan  Hale's  mission  was  one  of  honor; 
Andre's  mission  was  one  of  infamy.  Nathan 
Hale  was  hanged  upon  a  technicality  which 
military  men  find  it  necessary  to  maintain  and 
enforce.  Andre — high  born  and  highly  con- 
nected as  he  was — was  hanged  for  about  the 

[25] 


FOREWORD 


most  infamous  crime  that  it  is  possible  for  any 
man  to  commit — the  crime  of  suborning  perjury 
— the  crime  of  purchasing  perfidy — the  crime 
of  betraying  trust — the  crime  of  treason  in  its 
most  infamous  form. 

A  certain  soppy  sentimentality  has  sur- 
rounded Andre"  with  a  halo  of  regret.  Nothing 
of  the  kind  is  justified  by  the  facts.  Andre" 
was  an  infamous  scoundrel,  caught  in  the  act  of 
doing  the  work  of  an  infamous  scoundrel. 

Between  these  two  men  there  was  never,  and 
there  never  can  be,  anything  like  a  comparison. 
Between  these  two  men  there  is  and  must  al- 
ways continue  to  be  the  radical  distinction  be- 
tween a  patriot  engaged  at  the  risk  of  his  life 
in  serving  his  country  and  a  despicable  scoun- 
drel engaged  in  bribing  others  to  dishonorable 
courses. 

Perhaps  it  was  a  dull  and  unenlightened  in- 
stinct that  prompted  the  blowing  up  of  the  An- 
dre* monument  on  the  Hudson  River,  but  that 

[26] 


FOREWORD 


instinct  was  right  in  its  ultimate  inspiration, 
Andr6  was  deserving  of  infamy.  Nathan  Hale 
was  deserving  of  eternal  admiration. 

Let  us  not  confuse  these  things.  Let  us  not 
confound  the  good  with  the  bad.  Let  us  not  for 
one  moment  institute  comparisons  where  con- 
trast only  is  suggested  by  the  historical  facts, 

Mr.  Partridge  has  studied  the  character,  the 
purposes,  and  the  personality  of  Nathan  Hale  as 
no  other  man  has  done  since  that  patriot  of  the 
Revolution — educated,  refined,  and  full  of  en- 
thusiasm for  his  country's  cause — sacrificed  his 
life  in  behalf  of  those  great  principles  of  hu- 
man right  and  the  right  of  self-government 
among  men  for  which  our  nation  stands,  and 
upon  which  it  rests  as  its  secure  foundation. 
Surely  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other 
Mr.  Partridge's  interpretation  of  this  great  pa- 
triot-martyr will  command  not  only  assent  but 
enthusiastic  applause. 

GEORGE  GARY  EGGLESTON. 

[27] 


Creation 
of  an  f  tieal 


Arthur  T.  Hadley,  President  of  Yale,  said  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Ives-Cheney  Gateway,  October 
21,  1901,  as  reported  in  The  Bicentennial  Alumni 
Weekly  (page  179,  fourth  column): 

' '  Of  all  the  memorials  which  are  offered  to  a  University  by 
the  gratitude  of  her  sons,  there  are  none  which  serve  so 
closely  and  fully  the  purposes  of  her  life  as  these  monuments 
which  commemorate  her  dead  heroes. 

"  The  most  important  part  of  the  teaching  of  a  place  like 
Yale  is  found  in  her  lessons  of  public  spirit  and  devotion  to 
high  ideals  which  it  gives.  These  things  can,  in  some  meas- 
ure, be  learned  in  books  of  poetry  and  in  history.  They  can, 
in  some  measure,  be  learned  from  the  daily  life  of  the  College 
and  the  ideals  which  it  inculcates.  But  they  are  most  sol- 
emnly and  vividly  brought  home  by  visible  signs,  such  as  this 
gateway  furnishes,  that  the  spirit  of  ancient  heroism  is  not 
dead  and  that  the  highest  lessons  of  College  life  are  not  lost." 


BUST  OF  EDWARD  EVERETT  HALE 

By  William  Ordivay  Partridge 


Creation  of  an  31&eal 

SOME  years  ago  the  suggestion  for  a  Nathan 
Hale  statue  was  made  to  me  by  several  of 
the  alumni  of  Yale,  who  felt  that  Hale  was 
their  typical  hero  and  ought  to  have  a  place  on 
New  Haven  green  or  on  the  University  campus. 
Strangely  enough,  Yale  has  been  slow  to 
honor  the  man  who  was  her  first  patriot.  I 
think  it  was  about  five  years  ago  that  I  com- 
menced work  on  my  Hale  models  and  tried  to 
inform  myself  about  this  subject.  When  I 
began  my  statue  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  I  was 
obliged  to  make  a  careful  study  of  the  Colonial 
epoch,  tho  the  period,  with  its  costumes  and 
accessories,  was  not  new  to  me.  I  gladly  cpn- 
fess,  however,  that  the  work  on  the  figure  of 
Nathan  Hale  has  been  to  me  not  only  a  revela- 
tion but  an  inspiration.  When  one  thinks  of 
that  young  fellow  so  full  of  life,  so  full  of  joy, 


THE    CREATION    OF 


so  full  of  physical  and  moral  strength,  just  on 
the  threshold  of  manhood,  giving  his  life  at 
twenty- one  for  his  country's  sake,  giving  it  so 
gladly,  so  freely — we  feel  that  it  can  not  help 
but  inspire  the  whole  American  people,  as  they 
turn  from  office,  shop,  and  plowshare,  and  im- 
pel them  to  consider  the  ideals  that  make  for 
manhood.  We  have  run  a  long  race,  we 
Americans,  since  Columbus  came  here  in  his 
galleys,  and  we  have  only  now  stopped  to 
breathe  and  think  of  those  great  lives  of  our 
ancestors  that  have  made  this  modern  life  of 
ours  possible. 

"  Thoughts  great  hearts  once  broke  for,  we 

Breathe  cheaply  in  the  common  air; 
The  dust  we  trample  heedlessly 

Throbbed  once  in  saints  and  heroes  rare." 

As  we  look  back  through  the  records  of  the 
past,  especially  through  this  Colonial  epoch,  we 
find  no  man  more  worthy  to  be  put  in  enduring 
bronze  and  to  stand  forever  on  a  college  green, 

[32] 


AN    IDEAL   WORK 


than  Nathan  Hale.  He  is  primarily  Yale's 
hero  and  patriot;  and  the  sons  of  Yale  are 
turning,  with  an  enthusiasm  that  can  scarcely 
be  understood  by  those  who  do  not  follow  the 
growth  of  this  university,  toward  symbolizing, 
in  some  permanent  form,  the  man  whose  mem- 
ory represents  so  much  to  his  college,  to  his 
State,  and  to  his  country. 

It  has  been  suggested  to  me  that  it  would  be 
interesting  to  the  public  to  know  something  of 
the  creation  of  an  ideal  work.  Originally  I  had 
Hale  standing  on  the  scaffold,  but  abandoned 
this  idea  to  follow  the  suggestion  made  to  me 
by  the  late  Phillips  Brooks.  This  was,  that  a 
man  does  not  remain  all  his  life  at  a  university, 
but  passes  on  to  something  higher  and  more 
worthy  of  his  powers  and  of  his  larger  man- 
hood. I  have  therefore  attempted  to  depict 
Hale  in  motion,  but  in  a  motion  which  inspires 
rather  than  fatigues.  I  represent  him  on  his 
way  to  the  scaffold,  and  my  thought  is  that,  as 

[33] 


THE   CREATION    OF 


the  statue  stands  on  the  college  green,  it  shall 
be  the  possession  not  only  of  the  University  of 
Yale,  but  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  and  of 
the  whole  country;  that  it  shall  be  an  inspi- 
ration to  every  young  man  who  comes  up  to  the 
university — a  lesson  of  that  higher  patriotism,, 
which,  eliminating  self,  and  impelled  by  prin- 
ciple, gives  itself  unreservedly  for  the  good  of 
its  country. 

So,  as  these  young  men  look  upon  this  statue, 
the  sculptor  trusts  that  they  will  be  inspired, 
as  Phillips  Brooks  suggested,  to  pass  on  to  that 
larger  life  of  the  world,  which,  without  forget- 
ting the  precious  associations  of  their  Alma 
Mater,  shall  lead  them  into  the  actual  world 
of  men,  and  to  some  ideal  worthy  of  our  ripest 
manhood. 

As  there  is  no  portrait  of  Hale  in  existence, 
I  went  about  making  one  in  the  following  way. 
Of  its  wisdom  the  reader  must  judge,  but  in  any 
case  it  was  my  way  of  working.  I  remembered 

[34] 


AN    IDEAL  WORK 


one  thing  especially — a  thing  which  Phillips 
Brooks  said  to  me  when  he  came  to  my  studio 
to  see  my  Shakespeare — that  the  men  of  any 
one  epoch  look  alike.  It  is  not  difficult  for  the 
reader  to  see  that  there  is  a  certain  Colonial 
type  represented  by  Washington,  Jefferson, 
Adams,  Hamilton,  and  others,  that  is  in  a  way 
different  from  our  own ;  and  the  suggestion  of 
an  epochal  face  is  one  that  artists  may  dwell 
upon  with  all  seriousness.  First  of  all  I  stud- 
ied the  life  and  such  fragments  of  the  work  of 
my  hero  as  remain,  and  I  have  been  in  com- 
munication with  three  lineal  descendants  of 
Hale,  that  I  might  learn  all  that  I  could  about 
the  man. 

Realizing  his  spiritual,  moral,  and  physical 
make-up,  I  began  to  think  of  the  face  as  it 
must  be,  keeping  before  me  the  Colonial  type. 
Among  my  studies  I  made  use  of  a  cast,  which 
is  here  depicted,  of  a  typical  Yale  man,  one 
who  thought  and  worked  along  the  lines  of  Na- 

[35] 


THE    CREATION    OF 


than  Hale,  who  was  willing  to  go  into  the  ranks 
of  the  enemy  and  die  there  gladly  if  his  coun- 
try called  him  to  do  so.  Of  course  I  did  not 
use  this  face  as  the  life-mask  showed  it,  but  it 
helped  to  make  up  the  Nathan  Hale  toward 
which  I  was  working.  Then,  too,  I  used  in 
part  the  bust  of  Edward  Everett  Hale  which  I 
made  for  the  Union  League  in  Chicago,  since 
that  distinguished  man  of  letters  is  related  to 
Nathan  Hale.  It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine 
that  this  last  of  the  great  Bostonians  of  the 
Emersonian  epoch  has  in  his  veins  the  same 
blood  which  quickened  the  youthful  patriot; 
indeed,  his  story,  "  The  Man  Without  a  Coun- 
try," testifies  plainly  to  this  fact.  All  this  will 
be  interesting  to  the  public  who  crave  to  know 
how  an  artist  gets  a  likeness  which  does  not 
actually  exist  in  form  or  color.  First  of  all,  he 
finds  the  spiritual  type  of  the  man — the  class  to 
which  the  man  may  be  assigned.  Then,  by 
a  careful  study  of  his  words  or  of  his  history, 

[36] 


LIFE    MASK    OF    A    TYPICAL    YALE    STUDENT 


AN    IDEAL   WORK 


he  arrives  at  an  idea  of  the  face  that  tallies  with 
his  thought  or  with  his  heroism,  for,  as  Drum- 
mond  and  Browning  have  well  said, 

"  A  man  is  what  he  thinks." 

The  face  itself  suggests  the  trend  of  a  man's 
thought.  After  this  study  of  a  man's  thought 
and  work,  the  artist  uses  such  natural,  tangible 
methods  as  I  have  suggested — casts,  family 
likenesses,  and  the  sagacious  criticism  of  his 
fellow  artists. 

Of  course  this  is  only  a  brief  outline  of  the 
immense  labor  and  time  that  go  to  make  up  an 
ideal  statue — work  which  is  the  test  of  a  sculp- 
tor's ability,  since  an  artist  can  often  do  a  very 
good  portrait  statue  from  life  when  he  would 
utterly  fail  with  an  ideal  work.  Such  a  cre- 
ation means  not  only  a  study  of  history,  but 
conversation  with  the  men  who  are  making  the 
times  and  who  are  able  to  give  intellectual  and 
intelligible  criticism. 

[37] 


THE    CREATION   OF 


In  the  historical  records  we  find  no  account 
of  the  three  important  months  in  the  life  of 
Nathan  Hale  from  September,  1776,  until  the 
first  of  January,  1 777,  other  than  the  data  given 
in  this  biography.  On  consulting  these  men  of 
our  time  who  have  made  the  most  careful  re- 
searches into  this  epoch,  and  into  these  three 
all-important  months  to  Washington  and  the 
new  republic,  I  find  that  it  is  uncertain  if  Na- 
than Hale  managed  to  convey  across  the  river 
to  his  commander-in-chief  any  of  the  valuable 
information  he  acquired  in  the  fortnight  he 
spent  in  and  about  the  enemy 'scamp. 

Men  who  have  argued  that  he  kept  in  con- 
stant communication  with  Washington  have  not 
been  able  to  furnish  the  author  with  any  other 
evidence  than  their  own  beliefs  on  the  subject. 
This  fact,  of  course,  in  ri6  way  detracts  from 
the  greatness  of  Hale  and  from  his  sacrifice ;  in 
reality  it  only  emphasizes  the  greatness  of  the 
man  who  can  accept  such  a  death  as  his,  know- 

[38] 


AN    IDEAL   WORK 


ing  that  all  the  information  he  had  obtained 
had  been  utterly  destroyed,  and  that  his  mis- 
sion was  practically  a  failure.  It  emphasizes 
that  victory  of  the  vanquished — a  victory  which, 
as  Browning  well  says, 

"The   world's   coarse    thumb    and   finger   fail  to 
plumb." 

There  are  three  scenes  in  the  life  of  Nathan 
Hale — which  in  all  covered  a  score  of  years — 
that  fix  themselves  indelibly  in  the  mind  of  the 
student  of  his  life.  The  first  is  where,  with 
beating  heart  and  face  flushed  with  the  un- 
daunted purpose  that  animated  it,  he  presents 
himself  before  his  commander-in-chief,  to  take 
from  the  lips  of  Washington  himself  the  final 
directions  which  were  to  determine  his  move- 
ments and  the  duration  of  his  stay  in  the 
enemy's  camp.  What  a  picture  for  an  artist ! 
Hale  abandons  the  picturesque  costume  that  he 
wore  as  an  officer  in  the  Continental  army  for 

[39] 


THE    CREATION    OF 


the  plain  homespun  dress  of  the  schoolmaster 
he  is  about  to  impersonate,  and  which  he  has 
actually  worn  in  the  capacity  of  teacher  at  New 
London  and  East  Haddam. 

We  can  imagine  his  reception  by  the  digni- 
fied and  rather  reserved,  but  at  this  time  most 
anxious,  commander  of  the  American  forces, 
and  how  strangely  its  calm  contrasted  with  the 
youth,  animation,  and  alertness  of  the  trim  and 
tried  athlete — known  for  the  agility  of  his 
physical  powers  as  well  as  for  his  natural  and 
simple  manners,  and  for  that  gift  of  personality 
which  has  held  the  world  spellbound  in  the  time 
of  warfare  as  of  peace,  and  which  has  never  yet 
found  definition  in  words.  Washington  bids 
him  to  be  seated,  and  there  in  the  twilight,  be- 
fore Hale  starts  out  upon  his  fatal  mission,  dis- 
cusses with  him  the  route,  the  men  to  be  seen 
and  marked,  the  manner  of  despatching  infor- 
mation (if  possible)  before  his  return,  and  the 
length  of  time  he  is  to  remain  in  that  hostile 

[40] 


By  courtesy  of  the  Taber-Prang  Art  Co.,  ff.  Y 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON 

From  the  Painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart 


AN    IDEAL  WORK 


camp.  Then  in  the  silence  and  in  the  twilight 
the  young  man  rises,  and  as  he  stands  before 
Washington's  powerful  and  well-knit  figure, 
strong  and  staunch,  altho  well  into  middle 
life,  it  does  not  require  a  prophet's  vision  to 
see  that  the  eyes  which  Stuart  has  so  faithfully 
rendered — gentle,  reserved,  determined — are 
glistening  as  the  great  and  kindly  soul  ponders 
over  the  thought  that  this  may  be  his  last 
glimpse  of  one  of  the  most  versatile,  able,  and 
courageous  of  his  officers.  With  a  low  and 
dignified  bow,  receiving  in  return  the  silently 
expressed  blessing  of  the  anxious  commander- 
in-chief,  the  young  man  departs  on  his  errand. 
Here  is  a  scene  for  a  painter — a  memorable  one 
in  the  annals  of  American  history. 


[41] 


iltfe  of  jUartmn  f|aie 

ANCESTRY 
AND  EARLY  LIFE 


ana  Catty  JUfe 

IF  we  look  at  Hale's  ancestry  we  find  that  he 
was  born  of  good  substantial  stock,  a  thing 
that  the  Greeks  considered  essential  to  great- 
ness. His  father,  Deacon  Richard  Hale,  of 
Coventry,  Connecticut,  was  a  serious  man.  He 
went  to  bed  with  the  swallows  and  arose  with 
the  lark,  and  if  his  boys  were  not  up  as  early 
as  he,  he  wanted  to  know  the  reason  why. 

Hale  had  the  simple,  manly  training  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  He  was  born  June  6, 
1755,  and  his  whole  life  ran  through  scarcely 
twenty-one  short  years.  To-day  we  consider 
a  man  young  at  thirty,  in  face  of  all  there  is 
for  him  to  learn.  Then  life  was  simpler,  and 
greater  because  of  its  simplicity.  His  mother 
seems  to  have  had  artistic  and  literary  incli- 
nations, which  afterward  showed  themselves 
strongly  in  her  son  Nathan.  From  his  father 

[45] 


NATHAN    HALE 


came  that  firmness  of  purpose,  that  determi- 
nation, which  enabled  our  ancestors  to  carry  on 
the  war  against  England  in  the  face  of  such 
fearful  odds.  Authorities  differ,  but  it  is 
stated  that  Hale  entered  Yale  at  sixteen  during 
the  presidency  of  the  elder  D wight.  His  col- 
lege record  is  a  fascinating  one.  He  was  an 
all-around  man,  an  ideal  character,  physically, 
spiritually,  and  intellectually  developed.  The 
jump  he  made  on  the  campus  marked  him  for 
many  years  as  the  best  all-around  athlete  the 
college  had  produced,  and  the  space  he  covered 
was  shown  for  years  after  he  left  college.  Of 
deep  interest  is  the  fact  that  he  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Linonian  Society;  that  he  was 
considered  an  able  debater,  possessing  a  force 
and  logic  in  argument  which  rendered  him  a 
formidable  opponent.  He  possessed  not  only 
ideal  proportions,  but  a  grace  and  charm  which 
attached  all  people  to  him. 

It  is  also  recorded  that  he  was  a  very  good 

[46] 


NATHAN    HALE 


amateur  actor  and  enjoyed  all  the  healthful  de- 
lights of  his  contemporaries.  Curiously  enough 
we  find  among  his  classmates  Benjamin  Tall- 
madge,  that  colonel  of  the  Revolutionary  Army 
who  had  charge  of  Andre"  during  his  imprison- 
ment. Another  of  his  intimate  college  friends 
was  the  famous  General  Hull,  one  of  the  char- 
ter members  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  to 
which  the  sculptor  of  this  statue  stands  close, 
Bishop  Partridge,  his  elder  brother,  holding  the 
one  membership  allotted  to  each  line  of  de- 
scendants of  the  founders  of  the  Society. 

While  Hale's  college  standing  may  have  been 
of  little  moment,  we  have  reason  to  believe  it 
was  high  in  merit.  It  was  his  standing  before 
the  world  that  we  care  about.  The  terseness 
of  his  motto  suggests  the  Latin  precept  "  Carpe 
diem."  It  was,  "A  man  ought  never  to  lose  a 
moment."  In  Hale's  short  life  there  was  no  day 
that  did  not  count  for  something.  He  gradu- 
ated when  he  was  eighteen,  but  in  those  days, 

[473 


NATHAN    HALE 


of  course,  the  curriculum  was  easier.  Men 
were  more  mature  then  than  we  find  them  to- 
day. His  parents  intended  him  for  the  minis- 
try, evidently  not  appreciating  that  larger  min- 
istry of  life  in  which  a  man  serves  his  God  best 
when  he  uses  his  own  talents  and  genius.  Let 
it  be  said  to  the  glory  of  East  Haddam,  Conn., 
that  he  was  a  schoolmaster  there.  It  was  this 
honor,  perhaps,  that  has  rescued  the  town  from 
oblivion. 

There  was  a  love  episode  which  makes  his 
death  the  more  tragic.  His  father,  having  mar- 
ried, brought  into  the  family  a  step-daughter 
Alice,  to  whom  Hale  became  strongly  attached, 
but  strangely  enough  the  Deacon  was  opposed 
to  the  marriage.  He  had  other  ambitions  foi 
his  son  Nathan,  and  therefore  ordered  his  step, 
daughter  to  marry  a  merchant  of  the  village 
In  those  days  people  were  guided  by  the  advice 
of  their  parents ;  but,  alas  !  Hale's  heart  ached 
sorely  when  Alice  was  given  over  to  Elijah 

[48] 


NATHAN    HALE 


Ripley  in  that  holy  sacrament.  As  we  see 
Hale  on  the  way  to  the  scaffold  there  is  some- 
thing in  his  face  that  makes  us  feel  he  is  think- 
ing not  only  of  his  duty  to  his  country,  but  of 
the  woman  he  loved. 

We  next  hear  of  Hale  in  New  London  as  a 
teacher  in  one  of  her  union  grammar  schools. 
There  are  many  letters  extant  which  bear  testi- 
mony to  the  fact  that  he  was  loved  by  all  his 
contemporaries.  There  is  a  description  of  him 
given  by  a  certain  Samuel  Green,  one  of  his 
pupils  in  New  London,  which  may  be  of  inter- 
est. I  will  quote  part  of  it:  "His  manners 
were  engaging  and  genteel;  his  scholars  all 
loved  him.  While  he  was  not  severe,  there  was 
something  determined  in  the  man,  which  gave 
him  a  control  of  the  boys  that  was  remarkable. 
He  had  a  way  of  imparting  his  views  to  others 
in  a  simple,  natural  method,  without  ostenta- 
tion or  egotism,  which  is  a  rare  gift."  In  fact, 
he  had  that  gift  of  personality  which  Dr.  Ed- 

[49] 


NATHAN    HALE 


ward  Everett   Hale  says  is  the  rarest  of  all 
gifts. 

Regarding  Nathan  Hale's  physical  propor- 
tions, it  may  be  said  that  he  was  of  an  ideal 
height,  about  six  feet,  with  broad  chest  and 
graceful  figure.  His  features  were  regular,  and 
his  face  showed  intelligence  and  strength.  His 
eyes  were  blue  and  large,  and  his  hair  brown. 
All  his  contemporaries  speak  of  his  manly 
beauty.  His  usual  expression  was  serious ;  in 
his  dress,  strangely  enough,  he  was  almost 
fastidious,  altho  he  led  a  simple  life.  His 
salary  was  seventy  pounds,  a  generous  one  for 
those  days ;  and  he  added  to  it  by  tutoring  at 
night,  so  that  he  was  enabled  to  live  well.  His 
athletic  abilities  made  him  very  popular  with 
the  boys  and  young  men.  It  is  recorded  that 
he  could  put  his  hand  on  a  fence  as  high  as  his 
head  and  clear  it  easily  at  a  bound.  As  soon 
as  the  Continental  troops  began  to  gather  in 
New  Haven,  Nathan  Hale  took  an  interest  in 

[So] 


NATHAN    HALE 


their  maneuvers.  When  news  came  of  the 
fight  at  Lexington,  there  was  a  mass- meeting 
held  at  Miner's  Tavern,  where  Hale  made  an 
impassioned  speech  in  favor  of  marching  at 
once  to  Boston,  saying,  "  Let  us  not  lay  down 
our  arms  until  we  have  gained  independence. " 
A  declaration  for  independence  in  those  days 
meant  either  realization  or  the  hangman's  noose : 

"Then  to  side  with  truth  is  noble,  when  we  share 
her  wretched  crust, 

Ere  her  cause  bring  fame  and  profit,  and  'tis  pros- 
perous to  be  just; 

Then  it  is  the  brave  man  chooses,  while  the  cow- 
ard stands  aside, 

Doubting  in  his  abject  spirit  till  his  Lord  is  cru- 
cified, 

And  the  multitude  make  virtue  of  the  faith  they 
have  denied." 

Hale  immediately  secured  a  leave  of  absence 
from  school,  and  at  daylight  the  next  morning 
marched  with  the  New  London  troops  to  Massa- 
chusetts. He  soon  received  word  that  he  had 


NATHAN    HALE 


been  selected  as  an  officer  of  one  of  the  com- 
panies, and  resigned  his  position  as  schoolmas- 
ter. His  first  active  service  seems  to  have 
been  at  New  London  in  the  defense  of  that 
place  against  the  attack  of  the  British  man-of- 
war.  It  was  here  that  Hale  showed  his  bearing 
as  a  soldier.  He  was  one  of  those  men  that  are 
born  to  rule.  On  September  24,  Washington 
called  the  Connecticut  troops  to  Boston,  and 
Hale  went  with  them.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  he  was  introduced  to  Washington  by  Jona- 
than Trumbull,  and  that  he  had  the  personal 
affection  and  confidence  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  to  the  day  of  his  death. 

While  there  was  no  fighting  at  Boston  at  that 
time,  Hale  spent  his  leisure  in  disciplining  his 
men,  by  whom  he  seems  to  have  been  idolized. 
An  instance  of  his  patriotism  and  generosity 
was  shown  at  the  time  when  his  troops,  ill-fed, 
ill-paid,  and  dissatisfied,  became  mutinous,  and, 
like  certain  heroes  of  antiquity,  he  paid  them 

[52] 


NATHAN    HALE 


from  his  own  pockets.  It  is  not  difficult  to  see 
that  we  are  summing  up  the  character  of  a  man 
greater  even  than  Xenophon  or  Brutus,  more 
humane,  more  just,  and  more  tenderly  conscious 
of  his  duty  to  God  and  to  man.  We  have  al- 
ready spoken  of  him  as  a  social  favorite,  and 
now  we  are  telling  of  a  real  man — not  the  cre- 
ation of  a  poet's  brain.  In  his  diary  we  find 
notes  as  to  his  having  dined  with  General  Put- 
nam, Dr.  Wolcott,  Captain  Hull,  and  other  men 
of  distinction.  In  fact,  he  seems  to  have  been 
feted  wherever  he  went. 

Another  element  of  romance  now  enters  into 
his  life.  Alice  Ripley,  his  first  love,  had  be- 
come a  widow  with  one  child,  and  it  was  evi- 
dently understood  that  she  and  Hale  were  to  be 
married  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Correspond- 
ence was  kept  up  between  them  until  his  death ; 
and  while  she  lived  to  a  great  age,  and  he  died 
so  young,  she  remained  true  to  her  first  love. 
Her  last  wandering  words,  as  she  died  years 

[53] 


NATHAN    HALE 


afterward — an  old  woman — were,  "  Write  to 
Nathan." 

While  on  a  furlough  to  New  Haven  visiting 
one  of  his  friends,  word  was  sent  to  him  that 
he  had  obtained  a  captain's  commission  in  the 
army.  There  seems  to  have  been  one  idea  in 
his  mind  at  that  time,  which  is  expressed  in  his 
own  rendition  of  the  words  of  the  Latin  poet, 
"  How  sweet  and  fitting  to  die  for  one's 
country." 

We  find  an  interesting  entry  in  his  diary, 
viz.,  that  he  cut  evening  prayers  for  a  wres- 
tling match.  It  is  even  recorded  that  Washing- 
ton himself  was  present  on  this  occasion. 

Now  comes  an  enterprise  in  which  Hale 
shows  his  abilities  as  a  leader.  At  the  evacu- 
ation of  Boston  a  British  sloop  anchored  in  the 
East  River,  and  this  was  carefully  guarded  by  a 
man-of-war.  Hale  conceived  and  carried  out 
the  idea  of  capturing  this  sloop,  but  the  risk 
and  danger  attending  the  undertaking  were  so 

[54] 


WHO    INTRODUCED    HALE    TO    WASHINGTON 


NATHAN    HALE 


great  that  he  dared  not  confide  his  scheme  even 
to  his  fellow  officers.  He  knew  that  the  boat 
was  filled  with  clothing  and  eatables,  and  the 
thought  of  his  ill-fed,  poorly  clad  Continental 
soldiers  outweighed  his  fears.  He  chose  a  few 
men  from  his  own  company  and  started  out 
without  orders.  They  noiselessly  crossed  the 
river  to  the  hostile  shore  just  before  the  day 
began  to  break.  It  was  still  dark  enough  for 
them  to  move  about  without  being  seen.  They 
heard  the  watchman  on  the  man-of-war  cry, 
"All's  well."  Hale  awaited  his  opportunity, 
climbed  over  the  edge  of  the  sloop,  seized  the 
tiller,  and,  leaving  part  of  his  men  to  watch  the 
unconscious  guards,  steered  for  the  American 
wharf,  arriving  just  at  dawn  in  time  to  receive 
the  cheers  of  the  patriot  camp.  Had  he  failed 
he  would  have  been  severely  censured.  As  it 
was  he  received  thanks  for  his  enterprise  and 
was  forgiven.  He  became  more  and  more  the 
idol  of  his  men. 

[55] 


Htfe  of  Hartmti  flale 

THE   BATTLE 
OF   LONG   ISLAND 


'Battle  of  JLong  3ljsianD 

AFTER  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  General 
Howe  sailed  to  Halifax,  and  on  the  nth 
of  June,  1776,  began  the  memorable  expedition 
whose  objective  point  was  New  York.  The 
importance  of  this  city  was  thoroughly  under- 
stood by  both  the  English  and  the  American 
forces.  Situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson 
River,  the  chief  seaport  of  the  Atlantic  coast, 
it  was  the  main  roadway  to  Canada.  General 
Howe's  plan  of  campaign  and  his  motto,  "  Di- 
vide to  conquer,"  involved  a  scheme  to  seize 
New  York  and  despatch  his  fleet  up  the  Hud- 
son River  to  meet  his  army  from  the  north. 
This  program  would,  if  carried  out,  lead  to  the 
absolute  isolation  of  the  New  England  States 
from  the  so-called  Middle  States,  which  latter 
he  thought  would  fall  an  easy  prey  when  be- 
yond the  help  of  the  other  colonies.  He  also 

[59] 


NATHAN    HALE 


intended  at  the  same  time  to  attack  the  South- 
ern colonies,  and  hoped  that  the  whole  rebel- 
lion would  thus  be  speedily  crushed.  But  the 
sturdy  Washington  had  anticipated  in  a  measure 
his  thought,  and  had  hastily  erected  fortifica- 
tions on  the  present  Governor's  Island,  Red 
Hook,  Fort  Green,  and  Brooklyn  Heights; 
while  his  main  camp  was  on  Long  Island  and 
in  Brooklyn.  He  had  obstructions  placed  in 
the  East  River  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the 
British  fleet. 

On  the  29th  of  June  the  British  fleet  arrived 
in  the  lower  bay,  and  on  the  Qth  of  July  Howe's 
army  was  landed  on  Staten  Island,  where  it  re- 
mained a  month  and  a  half,  receiving  reenforce- 
ments  almost  daily. 

The  American  troops,  all  told,  reckoned  but 
14,000  fighting  men,  and  their  commander, 
General  Nathaniel  Greene,  being  suddenly  pros- 
trated with  a  fever,  was  superseded  by  General 
Israel  Putnam  and  General  John  Sullivan  in 

[60] 


NATHAN    HALE 


command  of  the  Long  Island  forces.  The 
American  lines  extended  from  Kingsbridge, 
Manhattan  Island,  to  the  Battery,  and  from 
Wallabout  Bay  to  Gowanus  Meadow  many 
miles  away. 

It  was  not  until  the  22d  of  August  that  the 
British  army  was  transported  from  Staten  Is- 
land to  a  point  near  the  present  Fort  Hamilton. 
Washington  hurried  reenforcements  to  Bro.ok- 
lyn,  the  threatened  point  of  attack.  The 
British  advanced  in  three  columns  toward 
Brooklyn  Heights — the  Hessians  under  General 
De  Heister  through  the  old  village  of  Flat  bush, 
and  the  right  wing  under  General  Clinton,  with 
Lords  Percy  and  Cornwallis  along  the  road  run- 
ning from  Bedford  to  Jamaica;  while  General 
Grant  with  the  Highlanders  took  the  more  dan- 
gerous shore  of  the  bay.  The  British  plan  of 
attack  was  well  conceived.  They  thought  to 
throw  the  first  two  columns  against  General 
Stirling  near  the  shore  and  General  Sullivan  in 

[61] 


NATHAN    HALE 


the  center,  while  the  right  wing,  swinging 
about,  would  outflank  the  Americans  attacking 
in  the  rear.  The  British  without  difficulty 
seized  the  Jamaica  road  and  the  village  of  Bed- 
ford, and  the  retreat  of  the  American  forces  was 
almost  cut  off.  In  the  mean  time  the  High- 
landers had  engaged  General  Stirling's  com- 
mand, while  General  Sullivan  was  holding  the 
Hessians  valiantly  at  bay.  At  the  same  time 
the  British  fleet  bombarded  the  defenses  of  Red 
Hook  on  the  right  of  General  Stirling. 

It  was  a  precarious  moment  for  the  Ameri- 
can forces,  for,  in  the  midst  of  his  defense  of 
the  center,  General  Sullivan  learned  that  the 
British  flank  was  in  his  rear,  and  he  immediate- 
ly ordered  a  retreat.  His  forces  became  en- 
tangled in  the  woods  and  were  attacked  by  the 
English  on  the  one  hand,  by  the  Hessians  on 
the  other.  Many  of  his  men  were  killed,  many 
were  captured,  and  a  few  escaped  to  the  enemy's 
camp.  In  the  same  way  the  forces  under  Gen- 

[62] 


NATHAN    HALE 


eral  Stirling  were  taken  unawares  and  routed, 
and  but  few  managed  to  escape.  The  loss  on 
the  American  side  exceeded  3,000  men  killed, 
wounded,  and  taken  prisoners.  Among  the  lat- 
ter, alas !  were  Generals  Sullivan  and  Stirling. 
The  English  loss,  all  told,  was  less  than  100. 

On  the  same  night  the  British  army  en- 
camped within  the  former  American  lines, 
throwing  up  entrenchments  within  six  hundred 
yards  of  the  enemy's  works  and  opening  a  bom- 
bardment on  Fort  Putnam.  It  was  a  critical 
moment  for  the  American  army.  Attacked  by 
a  superior  force  in  the  front  and  their  retreat 
likely  to  be  cut  off  by  the  fleet  in  the  rear,  sur- 
render seemed  inevitable.  At  a  council  of  war 
it  was  decided  by  Washington  and  his  generals 
that  the  evacuation  of  Long  Island  must  be 
effected.  By  a  very  skilful  piece  of  maneuver- 
ing this  evacuation  was  accomplished  on  the 
night  of  August  29,  the  troops  being  with- 
drawn in  small  detachments  with  no  confusion 

[63] 


NATHAN   HALE 


or  alarm — evidently  without  the  British  being 
aware  of  what  was  going  on.  A  heavy  fog, 
fortunately  for  the  American  forces,  enveloped 
the  East  River  and  concealed  the  movements 
of  the  American  forces  from  the  English  fleet. 
So  Long  Island  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British 
and  remained  in  their,  control  until  the  end  of 
the  war. 

I  have  given  this  brief  sketch  of  the  battle  of 
Long  Island  to  show  the  almost  helpless  condi- 
tion of  the  American  forces  at  the  time  when 
Washington  called  upon  some  one  of  his  officers 
to  go  into  the  enemy's  country  and  ascertain 
certain  details  regarding  their  movements  and 
ammunition  which  he  felt  were  essential  to  their 
success. 


Htfe  of  jUatfmn  Hale 

THE 
SECRET   EXPEDITION 


INTERVIEW    BETWEEN    WASHINGTON    AND    HALE 

Drawn  by  W.  R.  Leig 


IT  was  a  troublous  time  for  the  American 
cause  when  Washington  lay  before  the  city  of 
New  York  in  1776  with  14,000  ill-fed,  unpaid, 
discouraged,  inexperienced  men,  awaiting  the 
attack  of  25,000  well-equipped  veterans.  One 
can  grasp  the  situation  in  a  moment.  Many 
difficult  questions  now  came  up.  Would  the 
British  attack  the  city  of  New  York  directly  or 
would  they  cross  from  Montressor's  Island  to 
Harlem?  Would  they  pass  higher  up  the 
Sound,  land  at  Morrisania,  or  perhaps  sail  along 
Long  Island  and  land  at  some  point  even  farther 
east?  Was  it  their  intention  to  cut  off  the 
communications  of  the  American  army  with 
the  country?  Would  they  simultaneously  land 
parties  in  the  North  River  and  the  East  River, 
stretch  across  Manhattan  Island,  and  hem  in  the 
town  ? 

[67] 


NATHAN    HALE 


Upon  the  solution  of  these  questions  de- 
pended the  fate  of  the  American  army.  Some- 
thing had  to  be  done.  Washington  realized 
that  a  spy  must  be  sent  into  the  British  lines  to 
learn  their  intentions.  He  requested  Colonel 
Knowlton  to  call  his  officers  together,  make 
known  the  desperate  state  of  affairs,  and  ask  for 
a  volunteer  to  enter  the  British  lines.  Natu- 
rally a  man  of  education  was  needed,  one  who 
understood  the  technical  side  of  military  plans 
and  could  make  the  necessary  drawings.  Hale 
was  ill  and  arrived  late  at  this  meeting.  When 
Knowlton  stated  the  object  of  the  call  no  one 
responded.  Men  of  honor  felt  it  an  indignity 
to  act  the  part  of  a  spy.  Knowlton  made  an 
impassioned  speech,  but  to  no  avail.  Just  then 
Hale  entered,  and  in  a  cheerful,  determined 
voice  said,  "  I  will  undertake  it." 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  Hale  visited 
Hull,  his  college  chum,  and  told  him  what  had 
happened.  Hull  urged  his  friend  against  the 

[68] 


NATHAN    HALE 


undertaking,  saying  that  his  detection  was  cer- 
tain, and  that  it  would  mean  the  loss  of  a  good 
soldier  to  the  country.  But  no  argument  could 
deter  him,  not  even  the  advice  of  his  nearest 
friends — not  even  the  prospect  of  the  death  of  a 
dog.  He  felt  that  serving  his  country,  no  mat- 
ter in  what  manner,  was  noble,  and  added,  "  I 
am  fully  sensible  of  the  consequences  of  dis- 
covery and  capture  in  such  a  situation."  All 
his  fellow  officers  urged  him  against  the  enter- 
prise, but  without  result.  Hale  then  called 
upon  Washington,  received  his  instructions, 
and,  accompanied  by  two  soldiers  from  his  own 
company,  Sergeant  Hempstead  and  Ansel 
Wright,  who  had  begged  permission  to  accom- 
pany him  as  far  as  it  was  deemed  advis- 
able, prepared  to  start  on  the  dangerous  expe- 
dition. 

But  this  was  not  the  last  farewell  that  was  in 
store  for  Nathan  Hale ;  he  has  scarcely  left  the 
quarters  of  the  Commander-in-chief  when  he  is 

[69] 


NATHAN    HALE 


met  by  his  sturdy  and  faithful  friend,  Captain 
John  Hull — a  chum  of  old  standing  whom 
Hale  loved  with  all  his  heart.  They  were  such 
friends  as  David  and  Jonathan,  as  Alfred  Ten- 
nyson and  Arthur  Hallam.  Hull  has  deter- 
mined at  any  cost  to  persuade  his  friend  to  give 
up  the  errand  which  he  clearly  foresees  will  re- 
sult in  failure  and  death.  He  throws  all  his 
powers  of  persuasion  in  the  balance.  He  calls 
to  mind  Hale's  position  in  the  army,  and  the 
loss  of  dignity  he  would  sustain  with  his  brother 
officers,  even  were  he  successful  in  his  hazard- 
ous undertaking;  then  in  a  softer  voice  he 
places  his  hand  upon  the  shoulder  of  his  friend 
and  softly  mentions  the  name  of  one  whose 
heart  must  break  if  Hale  should  never  return, 
and  to  whom  his  ruin  means  unspeakable  sad- 
ness. Hale  drops  his  head  and  is  moved  by 
this  last  appeal  even  more  than  by  the  words  of 
his  Commander-in-chief.  Hull  sees  his  ad- 
vantage and  follows  it  up  quickly  with  other 

[70] 


NATHAN    HALE 


persuasive  arguments ;  but  the  tears  that  have 
started  into  the  eyes  of  the  patriot  are  dashed 
away,  and,  straightening  himself  to  his  full 
height  of  six  feet,  he  looks  his  friend  steadily 
in  the  eye  and  tells  him  that  his  determination 
can  not  be  shaken  even  by  the  mention  of  a 
name  for  which  he  would  lay  down  his  life  had 
he  not  before  him  the  first  and  greatest  need 
of  his  country.  And  so  the  two  pass  on 
arm  in  arm  soon  to  be  joined  by  Rale's  con- 
federates, and  Hull  accompanies  him  far  out 
upon  his  journey.  They  speak  to  one  an- 
other as  the  heart  speaks  in  the  presence  of 
that  silence  which  may  fall  at  a  moment's  no- 
tice and  without  warning  close  the  most  prom- 
ising life  that  was  ever  devoted  to  the  cause 
of  liberty. 

Of  the  three  men  who  started  out  from  town 
but  one  returns,  Captain  Hull  in  his  uniform 
with  bowed  head,  and  we  do  not  wonder  that  all 
night  he  turned  in  his  sleep  with  a  strange  rest- 


NATHAN    HALE 


lessness  which  his  companion  officers  could  not 
understand. 

How  far  Hempsteadand  Wright  accompanied 
Hale  we  do  not  know.  They  left  him,  on  that 
memorable  eve  of  September  15,  1776,  late  at 
night  and  in  an  impenetrable  fog.  But  a  light 
passed  into  that  fog  which  has  never  been 
quenched,  and  which  must  burn  brightly  so  long 
as  the  American  Republic  endures. 

Clothed  in  the  garb  of  a  schoolmaster,  in 
which  dress  I  have  attempted  to  show  him  in 
my  statue,  and  taking  with  him  his  college  di- 
ploma in  order  to  bear  out  the  character,  Hale 
walked  about  forty  miles,  and  crossed  from 
Harlem  Heights  to  Long  Island.  At  nightfall 
he  boarded  a  boat  and  started  back  across  the 
Sound.  The  place  where  he  landed  is  now 
called  the  "  Cedars. "  Near  by  a  certain  Widow 
Chichester,  known  as  "  Mother  Chich,"  kept  a 
tavern,  a  rendezvous  for  the  Tories  of  the 
neighborhood.  However,  Hale  passed  here  in 

[72] 


NATHAN    HALE 


safety.  He  moved  on  until  he  finally  reached 
the  city  of  New  York. 

The  Continental  officers  wore  long  faces  when 
Hale  went  out  from  their  midst  upon  an  errand 
that  they  knew  meant  life  or  death.  Many  of 
his  most  intimate  friends  knew  nothing  of 
where  he  was  going.  If  before  he  returned  the 
army  moved  off  with  his  belongings  he  was 
quite  willing  to  take  his  chances  of  rejoining 
his  command.  He  had  one  great  purpose  and 
motive  before  him,  and  all  material  matters 
were  subordinated  to  it.  Of  one  thing  we  may 
be  sure,  that  he  passed  through  the  entire  Brit- 
ish army ;  for  the  drawings  found  in  his  shoes 
and  the  Latin  notes  show  an  accurate  descrip- 
tion of  all  its  fortifications  and  plans. 

Whether,  previous  to  his  capture,  Hale  had 
managed  to  convey  any  information  to  Wash- 
ington, is  a  matter  of  pure  conjecture.  If  he 
did  so,  the  knowledge  of  it  died  with  himself 
and  Washington.  It  would  have  been  a  state 

[73] 


NATHAN    HALE 


secret  not  to  be  given  to  the  public  ear.  But  it 
is  very  possible,  but  not  probable,  that  he  was 
in  almost  constant  communication  with  General 
Washington,  and  that  despite  his  untimely 
death  the  information  he  was  able  to  send  to 
Washington  about  General  Howe's  movements, 
through  the  confederates  he  found  everywhere, 
must  have  been  of  great  service  to  the  Father 
of  our  country,  at  that  critical  time  when  he 
was  puzzled  and  anxious  as  to  the  movements 
and  equipment  of  the  British. 


[74] 


PARTING    OF    HALE    FROM    HIS    FRIEND,  CAPTAIN    HULL 

Drawn  by  IV.  R.  Leigh 


Htfe  of  jEaflmn  Hale 

THE  CAPTURE  AND 
EXECUTION 


Clje  Capture  ann 

HALE  had  virtually  accomplished  his  work. 
He  had  been  for  nearly  two  weeks  within 
the  enemy's  lines;  he  had  shown  a  rare  sagacity 
in  passing  by  the  different  guards ;  he  had  met 
and  recognized  and  been  recognized  by  men 
who  knew  him  in  the  months  that  had  passed ; 
he  had  made  designs  of  all  the  fortifications  of 
General  Howe ;  he  had  formed  so  just  an  esti- 
mate of  the  strength  and  numbers  of  the  enemy 
as  to  astonish  and  surprise  Howe  when  after  his 
capture  it  was  spread  out  before  him ;  his  work 
was  actually  accomplished,  and  he  was  now 
about  to  return.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  he  grew  a  little  reckless  and  over- confident 
as  he  sat  in  the  tavern  of  Widow  Chichester, 
the  resort  of  the  officers  and  Tories  of  the  town. 
It  was  a  picturesque  scene.  There  were  the 
English  officers  each  with  his  brilliant  uniform, 


NATHAN   HALE 


gilded  breastplate  and  gold  epaulets,  white 
trousers  and  leggings  and  three-cornered  hat, 
with  deep- blue  coat,  having  the  brass  buttons 
of  King  George  in  evidence,  or  clad  in  blue  coat 
with  brilliant  red  trimmings  and  gold  epaulets, 
the  hair  caught  at  the  back  in  the  picturesque 
and  simple  manner  of  the  times ;  the  cavalry- 
men with  high  boots  and  long  curved  sabers, 
and  the  infantry  with  their  long  guns  stacked 
up  against  the  corner.  Then,  too,  we  see  a 
Tory  or  two  in  civilian  costume,  with  light- 
blue  or  red  satin  coat  faced  with  gold,  with 
satin  breeches,  white  stockings  and  low  shoes 
with  silver  buckles — all  so  picturesque  and 
brilliant  and  attractive  to  the  man  who  thought 
he  had  accomplished  his  mission,  and  in  his 
mind's  eye  pictured  a  safe  return  and  the  wel- 
come he  would  receive  at  the  hands  of  his  sol- 
diers, his  home,  and  his  sweetheart.  Is  it  a 
wonder  that,  under  the  influence,  perhaps,  of 
an  extra  glass  of  Mother  Chichester's  ale,  he 

[78] 


NATHAN   HALE 


grew  a  little  reckless,  and  perchance  was  pos- 
sessed by  an  over- confidence  that  we  may  ac- 
cord to  men  of  his  years  rather  than  of  his 
mind ;  that  perhaps  he  entered  into  a  conver- 
sation with  such  animation  that  his  flashing  eye 
and  ready  speech  were  recognized  by  some 
Tory  passing  through  the  room,  who  paused 
only  long  enough  to  make  sure  that  it  was 
Nathan  Hale,  the  rebel,  who  was  haranguing  or 
listening  to  these  English  officers  over  their 
glasses,  and  then  went  out  to  betray  unto  death 
the  man  with  whom,  it  is  said,  he  was  con- 
nected by  ties  of  blood  ? 

It  was  not  long  after  the  departure  of  the 
betrayer  that  Madame  Chichester  entered  the 
room,  excitedly  exclaiming  that  a  boat  was  ap- 
proaching the  shore.  Hale  sprang  from  his 
seat,  seized  his  schoolmaster's  hat  of  dull  brown 
or  black,  caring  for  neither  soldier  nor  civilian, 
passed  out  of  the  tavern,  down  to  the  shore 
where  he  expected  to  meet  the  boat  that  was  to 

[79] 


NATHAN    HALE 


carry  him  safely  to  his  own  camp.  So  sure  was 
he  that  this  boat  bore  his  friends  that  he  gestic- 
ulated and  even  shouted  to  it,  and  it  was  not  un- 
til he  reached  the  very  edge  of  the  water  that 
he  suddenly  found  a  number  of  muskets  leveled 
at  his  breast  and  was  commanded  to  surrender. 
How  dramatic  and  fearful  the  scene!  How 
quick  the  transition !  How  terrible  the  change 
that  must  have  come  over  his  heart!  A  few 
moments  before  he  had  been  building  his  cas- 
tles in  the  air — now  he  looked  into  these  Eng- 
lish muskets  and  knew  that  all  hope  was  over 
forever.  The  picture  fastens  itself  indelibly 
upon  the  mind,  with  a  pathos  that  is  almost  ap- 
palling, did  we  not  keep  before  us  the  thought 
that  Hale,  with  all  his  healthy  love  of  life,  still 
looked  on  death  as  not  the  greatest  evil  that 
could  befall  one — nay,  as  even  glorious  when 
met  in  the  round  of  duty. 

Hale  was  taken  immediately  on  board  the 
guard-ship  Halifax^  and    it  must  be  said  that 

[80] 


NATHAN    HALE 


Captain  Quarne  of  this  ship  treated  him  with 
more  kindness  than  he  ever  received  afterward. 
He  was  immediately  sent  to  the  headquarters  of 
General  Howe,  and  it  is  interesting  to  know 
that  he  was  confined  in  the  greenhouse  of  the 
old  Beekman  mansion  at  Fifty-first  Street  and 
First  Avenue — this  house  being  Howe's  head- 
quarters at  this  time — until  that  general  could 
see  him  and  arrange  for  his  execution. 

Howe  was  thunderstruck  when  the  memor- 
anda which  Hale  carried  in  his  shoes  were  spread 
before  him,  and  with  the  extent  and  accuracy 
of  the  prisoner's  work.  It  is  certain  that  the 
English  commander  was  so  impressed  with  the 
prisoner's  personality  that  he  offered  him  a  full 
pardon  if  he  would  enter  the  British  army. 
We  now  find  Hale  the  simple,  frank  American 
officer  that  he  was  before  he  went  on  his  errand, 
refusing  any  bribery,  and  making  a  full  and 
frank  confession  of  all  that  he  deemed  was 
right.  There  was  only  one  thing  for  Howe  to 

[81] 


NATHAN    HALE 


do,  and  we  must  consider  his  action  with  the 
mercy  that  is  due  to  those  critical  periods  of 
history  that  try  men's  souls.  We  believe  that 
he  was  no  more  willing  to  execute  Hale  than 
Washington  was  to  sign  the  death-warrant  of 
Major  Andre,  but  nevertheless  he  wrote  a  for- 
mal order  to  William  Cunningham,  Provost- 
Marshal  of  the  royal  army,  to  receive  into  his 
custody  the  body  of  Nathan  Hale,  a  captain  of 
the  rebel  army,  and  at  daybreak  the  next  morn- 
ing, September  22d,  1776,  to  see  him  hanged 
by  the  neck  until  dead.  The  old  jail  stood  not 
far  away  from  what  is  now  the  eastern  bound- 
ary of  City  Hall  Park,  near  the  Hall  of  Records. 
Cunningham's  character  has  been  analyzed 
and  set  forth  by  many  writers.  He  was  a 
brutal  man,  most  of  the  time  intoxicated,  and  he 
took  a  malevolent  delight  in  torturing  those  who 
came  under  his  care.  He  even  drew  from  his 
prisoners  the  pay  which  the  British  army  al- 
lowed them  for  rations.  One  of  his  chief  de- 

[82] 


THE    CAPTURE    OF    HALE 

Drawn  by  W.  R.  Leigh 


NATHAN    HALE 


lights  was  to  torment  his  victims  when  they 
stood  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  gallows ;  but 
in  the  case  of  Hale  it  had  no  effect.  His 
thoughts  were  "poised  and  far  away."  He 
listened  quietly  to  the  death-warrant,  and  his  re- 
quest for  a  Bible  was  brutally  refused.  But 
there  seems  to  have  been  some  kind-hearted 
guard  who  furnished  him  with  writing  materials 
after  Cunningham  had  fallen  into  a  drunken 
sleep. 

That  solemn  night  was  spent  in  prayer  and 
writing  letters,  which  were  to  be  destroyed  the 
next  morning  by  this  same  Cunningham,  who 
was  enraged  by  their  sentiments,  and  deter- 
mined that  the  world  should  not  know  how 
nobly  a  rebel  could  die ;  or,  to  quote  his  exact 
words,  that  "  the  rebels  should  never  know  they 
had  a  man  who  could  die  with  such  firmness. " 

Mr.  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  in  an  interesting 
essay  of  twenty-odd  years  ago  which  led  to  a 
revival  of  interest  in  the  name  and  deeds  of 

[83] 


NATHAN    HALE 


Nathan  Hale,  dwelt,  as  many  historians  have 
done,  on  the  last  hours  of  the  patriot.  What 
they  were  we  know  only  from  hearsay.  If  it  be 
true  that  the  Provost- Marshal  Cunningham  was 
the  brute  that  history  has  depicted  him,  it  is 
gratifying  to  know  that  the  guard  who  had  Hale 
in  charge  when  Cunningham  fell  into  his 
drunken  slumbers  did  not  deny  him  the  Bible 
which  Cunningham  had  forbidden;  and  did 
testify  to  the  letters  of  farewell  to  his  mother 
and  to  his  fiancee,  which  we  have  before  de- 
scribed. 

The  hanging  probably  took  place  at  Cham- 
bers Street  in  an  old  graveyard,  and  was  as  cruel 
and  brutal  as  one  could  imagine.  The  custom 
was  to  have  the  prisoner  march  from  the  jail 
under  an  armed  guard  to  the  graveyard,  Cun- 
ningham with  a  squad  of  officers  bringing  up 
the  rear,  and  by  his  side  the  black  hangman, 
Richmond,  with  a  ladder  over  his  shoulder  and 
a  coil  of  rope  about  his  neck.  At  the  foot  of  a 

[84] 


NATHAN   HALE 


tree  stood  a  long  pine  box,  which  was  to  hold 
all  that  remained  of  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
and  courageous  spirits  that  ever  trod  this 
American  soil.  Near  by  was  a  freshly  dug 
grave,  but  it  had  no  terrors  for  Nathan  Hale. 
These  things  with  which  Cunningham  used  to 
terrify  his  captives  might  have  affected  men  of 
a  different  order. 

We  must  look  upon  the  city  as  scarcely 
awake;  the  sunshine  just  breaking  across  the 
horizon,  crowds  of  lower-class  people,  soulless 
and  heartless ;  women,  children,  and  teamsters, 
who  had  gathered  with  the  curiosity  natural  to 
mankind,  to  see  the  hanging  of  a  spy.  When 
Hale  turned  toward  them  with  that  far-away 
look,  it  made  no  difference  to  him  that  he  con- 
fronted not  one  friendly  face.  His  interests 
had  passed  beyond  the  things  of  this  earth,  and 
were  at  rest  with  God  and  those  he  loved. 
When  at  last  he  stood  on  the  ladder  waiting  for 
the  rope  to  be  thrown  over  the  limb  of  a  tree, 

[85] 


NATHAN   HALE 


Cunningham  demanded  a  confession.  Hale's 
concise  reply  to  that  command  has  made  him 
immortal.  It  reveals  him  as  one  of  the  great- 
est heroes  in  the  history  of  any  nation.  The 
exact  words  as  we  know  them  are,  "  I  only  re- 
gret that  I  have  but  one  life  to  give  for  my 
country. "  And  that  was  spoken  more  to  pos- 
terity than  to  the  jeering  mob  around  him. 
We  can  imagine  the  flabby  and  bedraggled  Cun- 
ningham staggered  by  an  order  of  heroism  that 
he  could  not  understand.  Enraged  by  this  re- 
ply, and  fearful  of  its  influence  on  the  crowd, 
he  cried  out,  "  Swing  the  rebel  off ! "  And  the 
negro  pushed  him  from  the  ladder  to  his  death. 
One  quick  death-struggle,  and  all  was  over. 

There  is  a  report  that  there  was  one  Bogert, 
a  Long  Island  farmer,  present  with  his  wagon, 
who  was  asked  to  see  a  man  hanged  as  late  as 
1784.  "No,"  he  replied,  "I  have  seen  one 
man  hanged  as  a  spy  and  that  is  enough  for  me. 
That  old  devil-catcher,  Cunningham,  was  so 

[86J 


NATHAN    HALE 


brutal  and  hung  him  up  as  a  butcher  would  a 
calf.  I  have  never  been  able  to  efface  that 
scene  of  horror  from  my  mind. "  We  are  not 
surprised  to  hear  that  the  women  witnesses 
sobbed — they  had  women's  hearts — and  the 
brutal  Cunningham  swore  at  them,  telling  them 
they  would  have  the  same  fate. 

A  few  hours  later  a  British  officer  came  into 
the  American  camp  under  a  flag  of  truce  and 
told  Hamilton,  then  a  captain  of  artillery,  that 
Captain  Hale  had  been  arrested,  condemned  as 
a  spy,  and  executed  that  morning.  His  brother 
officers  discussed  his  sorrowful  fate,  feeling  that 
a  precious  life  had  been  sacrificed  and  that  noth- 
ing had  been  gained  in  return ;  but  there  was 
not  a  man  in  the  Continental  army  who  was  not 
strengthened  by  that  noble  patriotism  and  un- 
selfish devotion  to  his  country.  One  hero  may 
die  in  silence,  but  a  thousand  will  rise  where 
these  fair  blossoms  of  manhood  fall. 


[87] 


Comparison  of 
anti 


Comparison  of  ^alc  ana 

F)ERH  APS  the  most  touching  chapters  of  the 
Revolutionary  epoch  are  those  which  deal 
with  the  deaths  of  Hale  and  Andre" .  It  is  an  in- 
teresting matter  to  contrast  with  the  Connecti- 
cut schoolmaster  the  cultured  and  distinguished 
British  colonel,  fresh  from  the  salons  of  Paris 
and  London,  a  litterateur,  an  artist  of  no  mean 
accomplishment,  and  a  gentleman  of  refinement 
and  taste.  Washington  has  been  severely  criti- 
cized for  permitting  this  brilliant  young  officer 
to  suffer  the  death  penalty;  but  we  can  not 
doubt  that  he  carried  out  the  same  inexorable 
duty  in  regard  to  a  spy  found  in  the  enemy's 
camp,  that  caused  General  Howe  to  sign  the 
death-warrant  of  Nathan  Hale. 

John  Andr6  rose  in  the  ranks  as  rapidly  as 
did  Hale,  by  means  of  that  magnetism  which 
men  call  personality.  From  the  position  of 

[91] 


HALE   AND   ANDRfi 


aide-de-camp  he  advanced  to  the  position  of 
Adjutant- General  of  the  British  forces.  It  was 
at  this  time  that  the  traitor  Arnold,  finding  this 
ready  clay  so  plastic  in  his  hands,  and  seeing  in 
the  bright  and  lively  spirit  of  this  young  Eng- 
lishman the  very  stuff  to  trade  and  traffic  with, 
used  him  in  his  proposition  to  the  British  to 
sell  to  them  the  important  fortress  of  West 
Point  on  the  Hudson  River,  the  key  of  the 
American  position. 

It  was  a  curious  affair,  Andrews  going  out  on 
a  vessel  bearing  a  flag  of  truce  to  have  an  inter- 
view with  the  American  General  Arnold.  Be- 
fore that  interview  or  negotiation  had  termi- 
nated, an  American  fort  had  opened  fire  on  the 
vessel  and  caused  her  to  drop  down  river.  An- 
dr£  was  in  a  dilemma.  He  could  not  return 
by  the  way  he  had  come,  and  was  forced  to  pass 
the  night  in  the  American  lines  at  the  house  of 
his  guide,  and  to  set  out  the  next  day  by  land 
for  New  York.  The  quick-witted  Arnold  had 

[92] 


HALE   AND   ANDRfi 


provided  him  with  passports  which  carried  him 
through  the  American  outposts  unmolested. 
The  next  day,  however,  when  he  grew  reckless 
amid  danger,  and  his  guide,  Smith,  had  left 
him  in  sight  of  the  English  lines,  he  was  sud- 
denly stopped  by  three  militiamen  of  the  enemy 
and  carried  back,  as  we  know,  a  prisoner,  never 
to  return.  He  came  in  the  course  of  events  be- 
fore Washington  and  a  court-martial.  He  made 
a  spirited  defense ;  the  remonstrances  were  ac- 
corded all  due  weight ;  everything  was  done  to 
save  him ;  but  perhaps  the  story  of  the  way  in 
which  Nathan  Hale  was  suspended  from  that 
apple-tree,  and  of  the  tearing  up  by  the  brutal 
Provost-Marshal  Cunningham  of  the  letters 
which  Hale  had  written  to  his  own  friends  and 
family,  was  present  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of 
the  American  officers. 

And  yet  it  was  without  hate  that  Major  An- 
dre" was  executed  as  a  spy  on  October  2,  1780. 
The  sentence  was  justified  by  martial  law;  and 

[93] 


HALE   AND   ANDRfi 


posterity  has  passed  its  quiet  and  unbiased  ap- 
proval of  the  act.  Andre  tried  to  bribe  a  major- 
general,  and  in  fact  perjured  himself  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  make  his  position  beyond  that  of 
a  mere  spy  found  in  an  enemy's  country.  One 
only  regrets  that  the  traitor  Arnold  escaped  while 
the  tool  he  used  paid  such  a  fatal  penalty.  Andre 
was  no  doubt  a  man  of  rare  courage  and  distin- 
guished military  attainments.  His  mind  had 
been  well  cultivated.  He  also  showed  consider- 
able poetic  and  musical  talent,  if  not  genius,  but 
he  should  never  have  gone  on  such  a  criminal 
mission,  so  unworthy  of  a  gentleman  and  a  soldier. 
A  bit  of  romance  here  touches  our  hearts 
most  keenly.  When  stripped  of  everything  by 
the  militiamen  who  had  seized  him,  he  managed 
to  conceal  in  his  mouth  a  portrait  of  Miss 
Sneyd,  which  he  always  carried  on  his  person. 
Perhaps  it  was  fortunate  that  his  fiancee  had 
breathed  her  last  some  months  before  his  cap- 
ture, altho  this  news  had  not  reached  his  ears. 

[94] 


From  an  Engraving  by  W.  G.Jackman 


HALE   AND   ANDRfi 


His  unhappy  fate  excited  the  sympathy  of 
Europe,  and  the  whole  British  army  went  into 
mourning  for  him.  A  sculptured  relief  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  placed  there  by  the  British 
government  in  1821,  testified  to  the  admiration 
they  had  for  this  brilliant  and  courageous  soldier. 

The  comparative  merits  of  the  characters  of 
Nathan  Hale  and  Major  Andre  will  be  the  sub- 
ject of  dispute  for  many  years  to  come.  But 
we  are  inclined  to  look  upon  the  subject  in  a 
more  lenient  way  than  our  able  historian  Henry 
Cabot  Lodge,  who  calls  Andre  a  spy  and  a 
traitor  who  sought  to  ruin  the  American  cause 
by  bribery.  We  are  more  inclined  to  believe 
that  a  man  of  Andre's  refinement,  culture,  and 
abilities  would  stake,  in  the  same  way  that  Na- 
than Hale  did,  his  own  life  in  the  service  of  his 
country,  knowing  that  the  penalty  meant  death 
if  he  were  discovered  or  caught.  Mr.  Lodge 
says  Andre  sought  his  ends  by  bribery ;  but  do 
rot  all  spies  seek  their  ends  by  bribery,  and  is 

[95] 


HALE   AND   ANDRfi 


not  this  part  of  their  business  and  the  business 
of  war?  "However  we  may  pity  his  fate,  his 
name  has  no  place  in  the  great  temple  at  West- 
minster where  all  English-speaking  people  bow 
with  reverence,"  is  too  strong  language  for  Mr. 
Lodge  to  venture  upon,  and  he  must  furnish 
sufficient  historical  data  to  prove  his  words. 
This  he  has  scarcely  done;  and,  moreover,  if 
he  could  furnish  such  data,  he  would  have  to 
prove  that  a  man  of  high  spiritual,  moral,  and 
intellectual  attainments  had  suddenly  become  a 
scoundrel,  which  is  hardly  conceivable  to  the 
mind  of  the  common- sense  thinker. 

We  do  not  detract  from  the  glory  of  Nathan 
Hale  in  giving  Andr£  what  praise  is  due  him 
for  undertaking  a  mission  of  such  dangerous 
character,  knowing  full  well  that  his  life  hung 
in  the  balance. 

An  artist  comes  to  know  men  not  by  what 
is  said  about  them  or  even  by  what  they  say 
about  themselves,  but  by  the  writing  of  life 

[96] 


HALE   AND    ANDRfi 


upon  their  faces,  and  after  thirty  years  of  ex- 
perience with  the  human  face  he  learns  to  read 
it  like  a  book.  A  man  may  conceal  for  a  mo- 
ment the  trend  of  his  thought,  but  it  is  only  a 
swerve  in  the  current  of  the  river, — the  water 
will  soon  bear  on  again,  and  the  thoughts  and 
feeling  of  the  man  will  reveal  themselves  in  the 
eye  and  general  expression  of  the  face.  Any 
one  who  has  studied  the  refined  and  gentle  face 
of  Andre"  knows  that  the  words  of  Mr.  Lodge 
are  too  strong. 

It  is  unfortunate  for  Andre,  that,  without  re- 
gard to  physiognomy,  his  life  does  not  exhibit 
the  nobility  and  straightforwardness  that  the 
life  of  Hale  bears  on  its  face.  There  is  a  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  the  metal  in  Andre's  charac- 
ter was  pure  gold  or  not,  but  that  question  can 
never  be  raised  with  the  character  of  Nathan 
Hale.  We  do  know  that,  while  Andre  was 
quartered  at  the  house  of  Benjamin  Franklin  in 
Philadelphia  where  there  was  an  excellent  por- 

[97] 


HALE   AND    ANDRfi 


trait  of  that  great  statesman,  he  took  away  the 
picture,  saying  that  he  would  hang  that  at  pres- 
ent as  he  hoped  later  to  hang  the  man  it  de- 
picted, and  that  he  also  took  away  two  boxes  of 
valuable  books  belonging  to  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin. We  know  that  later  this  portrait  was  found 
in  possession  of  an  earl  in  England,  and  it  is 
fair  to  assume  that  Andre"  had  sold  it,  together 
with  the  books.  We  know  that  his  taking  of 
this  property  was  contrary  to  the  rules  of  war- 
fare and  can  not  be  excused  even  under  the  plea 
that  we  were  rebels,  and  not  such  a  foe  as  Eng- 
land might  have  had  in  a  war  with  France  or 
Germany.  By  the  code  of  the  English  army  this 
deed  laid  Andre"  open  to  being  court-martialed  and 
perchance  shot,  had  he  been  detected,  or  had  he 
not  had  sufficient  influence  to  cover  this  theft. 

Of  course  the  greater  criminal  in  the  act  for 
which  he  was  executed  was  Benedict  Arnold, 
into  whose  hands  Andre"  fell  and  by  whom  he 
was  used  as  a  tool  to  carve  out  the  traitor's 

[98] 


HALE   AND   ANDRfi 


execrable  plans.  How  unfortunate  it  was  that 
Andre"  was  led  to  abandon  his  uniform  and  put 
on  a  citizen's  dress  when  he  left  Benedict 
Arnold,  while  the  latter  knew  that  Andre's 
capture  meant  death !  It  would  have  been  an 
easy  matter  for  Arnold  to  have  sent  him  down 
the  river  in  a  boat  and  placed  him  safely  upon 
the  Vulture,  an  English  war-ship  that  was 
anchored  below. 

We  must  remember  that  Major  Andre"  was 
twenty-nine  when  he  was  executed,  and  Nathan 
Hale  had  just  touched  the  threshold  of  manhood 
and  was  scarcely  twenty- one.  Andre  was  more 
a  man  of  the  world,  altho  Hale  was  welcomed 
everywhere  because  of  his  frank  and  pleasing 
personality.  But  with  all  his  personal  charm 
he  could  not  have  appeared  in  the  salons  of 
London  or  Paris  with  the  same  poise  and 
savoir  faire  that  Andre"  had  at  his  command. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  world  had  little  time  to 
work  its  ill  upon  the  face  and  form  of  Nathan 

[99] 


HALE   AND    ANDRfi 


Hale.  He  must  have  stood  beneath  the  gal- 
lows tree  a  magnificent  specimen  of  physical 
manhood,  with  a  clear,  transparent  face,  and  an 
expression  that  a  child  could  read  as  he  runs. 
He  had  the  deep-set  eye  of  the  student  and 
introspective  thinker.  He  went  on  that  mission 
understanding  thoroughly  its  dangerous  import, 
not  from  mere  bravado,  but  with  a  sense  of  the 
loftiest  courage  inspiring  him  to  serve  his  coun- 
try at  any  cost. 

Compared  with  Andre,  Hale  was  more  vigor- 
ous, more  virile;  stouter  of  limb  and  body, 
more  intellectually  honest,  but  without  the 
brilliancy  of  intellect  or  that  ripe  culture  which 
comes  from  association  with  quick-witted  men 
in  a  great  metropolis  like  London  or  Paris. 
This  in  no  way  detracts  from  his  character. 
He  was  simple  and  single-hearted,  noble,  un- 
trammeled  by  the  usages  of  society  or  the  de- 
mands of  the  social  world. 

The  last  words  of  Major  Andre  are  said  to 

[100] 


HALE   AND   ANDRfi 


have  been :  "  I  request  you,  gentlemen,  that  you 
bear  me  witness  to  the  world  that  I  die  like  a 
brave  man. "  These  are  fine  words,  worthy  of 
the  gentleman  and  soldier  that  he  was,  but  con- 
trast them  for  a  moment  with  the  sublimity  of 
those  of  Hale,  when  he  exclaims :  "  I  regret 
that  I  have  but  one  life  to  give  for  my  country." 
Had  Andre  succeeded,  he  would  have  had  the 
applause  of  his  king,  and  one  of  the  highest 
offices  in  the  army  to  crown  his  efforts  as  a  spy. 
Even  in  his  failure  he  had  all  that  England 
could  give — a  tablet  in  Westminster  Abbey 
among  her  illustrious  dead.  Where  are  the 
ashes  of  Nathan  Hale  ?  Scattered  to  the  four 
winds  of  heaven !  Perhaps  it  is  better  so,  for 
he  rests  in  our  hearts  to-day.  He  is  an  ideal 
and  undying  patriot.  We  can  place  our  hands 
on  no  spot  and  point  to  no  tomb,  saying,  "  Here 
lie  the  ashes  of  Nathan  Hale."  But  this  whole 
country  pulses  with  one  great  heart-beat  at  the 
mention  of  his  name. 

[101] 


Character  of 
Jiatfjan  Hale 


Character  of 

OUR  American  world,  given  so  much  to 
commerce,  is,  of  necessity,  only  begin- 
ning to  appreciate  the  service  of  those  men  who 
have  gone  on  before,  and  who  have  made  this 
great  and  wonderful  republic. 

Among  all  the  patriots  the  name  of  Nathan 
Hale  stands  brightly  out  in  the  darkness  of  the 
nation's  struggle  for  her  independence.  The 
traffic  of  this  great  city  sweeps  over  the  spot 
where  his  body  was  rudely  thrown  by  that  cruel 
provost-marshal,  who,  too,  has  found  in  the 
opinion  of  posterity  his  due  compensation. 

If  it  be  true  that  Howe  had  decreed,  which 
the  author  greatly  doubts,  that  "  Hale  should 
die  like  a  dog,"  it  is  certainly  a  fact  that  Pro- 
vost-Marshal Cunningham  saw  that  Hale  had  as 
bad  a  death  as  any  dog  could  suffer.  But  we 
are  inclined  to  think  that  the  half -drunken 

[105] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

officer,  jealous  of  the  heroism  which  he  had  not 
the  soul  to  appreciate,  wanted  to  blot  the  patriot 
from  the  face  of  the  earth  as  did  Nero  the 
Christians  who  folded  their  arms  before  him 
and  died  with  a  faith  that  the  Roman  emperors 
had  no  soul  to  appreciate  or  understand. 

If  the  British  hoped,  or  the  rough  men  who 
surrounded  the  young  American  officer  at  that 
moment  dreamed,  to  obliterate  the  name  and 
deeds  of  Captain  Hale,  they  certainly  have  been 
unsuccessful,  for 

"Unto   each   man   his  handicraft,   unto  each   his 
crown, 

The  just  Fate  gives." 

Nathan  Hale,  when  he  stood  under  that  tree, 
had  no  wrong  feeling  for  the  mob  about  him,  for 
even  the  drunken  provost-marshal  who  had  de- 
stroyed his  letter  to  her  whom  he  loved  and  had 
refused  his  latest  hours  the  Christian  consola- 
tion of  a  Bible.  Unstintedly  and  unreservedly 
had  he  given  his  life  to  his  country,  and  amid 

[106] 


STATUE    OF    NATHAN    HALE    (PROFILE    VIEW) 

By  William  Ordway  Partridge 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

these  wretches  we  see  him  self-centered  and 
sublime. 

There  was  no  room  in  the  character  of  Nathan 
Hale  for  the  pride,  scorn,  and  pettiness  of  a  lit- 
tle man.  It  is  not  where  the  cannon  booms  or 
the  thrills  of  battle  stir  the  blood,  that  the 
greatest  heroes  are  to  be  found,  but  where  men 
and  women  die  in  silence,  with  God  only  to  wit- 
ness their  heroism. 

Hale  had  everything  to  expect  from  his 
army.  No  one  stood  higher  in  the  regard  of 
his  superiors.  He  knew  that  by  succeeding  he 
might  save  the  American  army,  and  that  his 
failure  meant  the  most  shameful  death;  but 
some  men  are  greatest  in  their  death,  and  no 
doubt  his  heroic  sacrifice  produced  more  effect 
on  those  discouraged  troops  than  if  he  had  re- 
turned with  all  the  information  the  British  took 
away  from  him.  He  knew  that  he  would  be  re- 
membered as  a  spy,  but  he  could  wait  calmly 
for  the  "  afterword  "  of  posterity,  when  he  would 

[107] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

take  his  own  place,  and  men  would  understand 
that  he  had  gone  forth  with  one  simple,  direct 
purpose — to  serve  his  country  and  his  God  in 
whatever  capacity  was  demanded  of  him.  In 
Lowell's  "  Present  Crisis  "  are  words  that  seem 
applicable  to  this  heroic  death-scene : 

"  Count  me  o'er  earth's  chosen  heroes — they  were 

men  who  stood  alone 
While  the  crowd  they  agonized  for  hurled  the 

contumelious  stone; „ 
Stood  serene  and  down  the  future  saw  the  golden 

beam  incline 
Toward  the  side  of  perfect  freedom,  mastered  by 

their  faith  sublime, 
By  one   man's  plain  truth  to   manhood  and   by 

God's  supreme  design." 

Swinburne  in  his  "  Rivers  of  Babylon  "  has 
expressed  the  same  sentiment : 

"  Unto  each   man  his  handiwork,  unto   each   his 
crown, 

The  just  Fate  gives; 

[108] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 


Whoso  takes  the  world's  life  on  him  and  his  own 
lays  down, 

He,  dying,  so  lives. 

Whoso  bears  the  whole  heaviness  of  the  wronged 
world's  weight, 

And  puts  it  by, 

It  is  well  with  him  suffering,  tho  he  face  man's 
fate. 

How  should  he  die, 

Seeing  death  hath  no  part  in  him  any  more,  no 
power 

Upon  his  head? 
He  hath  bought  his  eternity  with  a  little  hour, 

And  is  not  dead. 
For  an  hour  if  ye  look  for  him,  he  is  no  more  found, 

For  one  hour's  space; 

Then  ye  lift  up  your  eyes  to  him  and  behold  him 
crowned, 

A  deathless  face, 

On  the  mountains  of  memory,  by  the  world's  well- 
springs, 

In  all  men's  eyes, 

Where  the  light  of  the  life  of  him  is  on  all  past 
things, 

Death  only  dies." 


[109] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

This  same  thought  is  echoed  in  Browning's 
"Grammarian's  Funeral."  The  master-poets 
love  to  deal  with  the  victory  of  the  vanquished, 
which  the  world's  thinkers  know  to  be  greater 
than  the  victory  of  the  victorious. 

In  his  address  commemorative  of  Yale's  two 
centuries  of  achievement,  Justice  Brewer  of  the 
Supreme  Court  thus  referred  to  that  institu- 
tion's debt  of  honor  to  Nathan  Hale,  her  first 
patriot : 

"Will  Yale  prove  equal  to  the  emergency  ? 
She  herself  has  grown.  Organization  has  a 
foothold  in  her  life.  The  struggling  little  col- 
lege with  a  single  curriculum  has  broadened 
into  a  great  university  with  various  departments 
and  a  multitude  of  courses  of  study.  Hundreds 
of  instructors  and  thousands  of  students  gather 
here.  She  dwells  in  princely  habitations. 
Her  educational  appliances  and  facilities  are 
wonderful.  Are  all  these  things  which  wealth 
has  gathered  about  her  but  the  decoration  of 

[no] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

the  mausoleum,  or  are  they  the  appliances  and 
facilities  for  a  larger  work  of  training  and 
service?  Watchful  and  loving  eyes  are  upon 
her.  Will  the  dying  words  of  her  martyred  son 
Hale  become  simply  a  motto  written  on  a  pic- 
ture panel,  a  fossil  curiosity  in  her  museum,  or 
remain  the  inspiring  thought  of  all  her  instruc- 
tors and  students  ?  If  the  one,  the  funeral  ode 
may  as  well  be  written.  If  the  other,  then  all 
the  magnificences  of  her  present  equipment  will 
be  but  the  tools  of  great  usefulness  and  the 
habiliments  of  an  ever- advancing  glory.  Will 
that  thought  of  public  services  vanish  from  her 
halls  ?  From  out  the  silence  of  God's  acre  I 
hear  her  sainted  founders  reply  '  God  forbid.' 
From  the  great  army  of  instructors  and  grad- 
uates now  numbered  with  the  silent  majority 
comes  the  earnest  answer,  '  Never ! '  while  from 
the  lips  of  ten  thousand  living  instructors  and 
graduates  rolls  thunderingly  the  solemn  oath  of 
President  Jackson,  '  By  the  Eternal,  Never ! '  " 

[in] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

There  is  no  Yale  student,  no  young  American, 
who  has  any  pride  in  his  country,  no  patriot 
of  any  country,  whose  heart  does  not  beat  more 
quickly  as  he  reads  of  the  simple  and  noble 
sacrifice  of  Nathan  Hale.  The  annals  of  Greece 
and  Rome  show  nothing  finer,  nothing  nobler. 

Hale  was  constituted  to  be  successful  in  any- 
thing he  undertook.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
add  that  he  was  a  Christian  gentleman,  and  one 
of  the  last  requests  he  made  of  the  brutal  Brit- 
ish jailer  was  for  a  Bible.  He  seems  to  have 
had  the  sanity  of  the  Greek  mind. 

Edward  Everett  Hale  has  told  us  that  Wash- 
ington was  not  the  man  of  the  school-book  or- 
der, but  a  natural  human  being  and  dearer  to  us 
for  the  fact ;  so  it  takes  nothing  from  the  glory 
of  Hale  to  say  that  he  was  of  the  same  mold. 
He  enjoyed  his  friends,  his  wine,  and  his  cards, 
but  all  with  moderation  and  sanity.  In  fact  he 
was  a  man  of  the  world  in  the  Christian  accept- 
ance of  the  word. 

[112] 


^ 


^ 


I 

X 

(5*  ? 

II 


f^ 


i 


v» 


\ 


« 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

It  has  been  suggested  by  some  pessimist  that 
"  Republics  forget  and  kings  only  are  grateful." 
But  this  epigram  is  self-contradictory.  If  the 
time  ever  comes  when  we  do  forget,  as  a  people, 
these  heroic  spirits, — we  shall  have  signed  and 
sealed  the  death-warrant  of  this  Republic. 
There  can  be  no  true  cosmopolitanism,  despite 
much  idle  talk,  without  true  patriots. 

There  are  few  men  who  will  question  the  in- 
sight of  the  great  seer  and  philosopher,  Cole- 
ridge, and  there  are  few  inspired  critics  who 
can  be  compared  with  him.  What  he  says  in 
his  short  essays  is  definitive.  He  has  the  gift, 
that  rare  gift,  of  finding  the  heart  of  his  subject 
and  laying  it  bare  before  you.  He  has  the  art- 
ist soul  speaking  through  the  philosophic  mind. 
Writing  of  the  Greek  he  says  :  "  History  shows 
us  that  the  Greek  attained  to  the  highest  in  art 
and  literature  when  he  was  free, — when  his  pa- 
triotism was  at  its  intensest  enthusiasm.  The 
moment  she  lost  her  independence  her  arts 

["4] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

fell  into  decadence,  and  her  artists  were  scat- 
tered over  the  civilized  world."  And  what 
he  says  is  true,  not  only  of  yesterday,  but  of 
to-day. 

With  Hale  it  was  another  case  of  the  soul  of 
Greece  against  the  bulk  of  Persia.  He  stood 
out  for  fourteen  thousand  half -starved,  poorly 
clad  men,  against  twenty-five  thousand  of  the 
best-disciplined  men  and  veterans  England 
could  send  to  our  shores.  He  had  talked  long 
and  earnestly  with  Washington  and  he  knew 
the  depth  and  import  of  his  mission.  He  did 
not  wear  his  heart  on  his  sleeve ;  consequently 
we  know  little  of  that  serious  conversation  that 
he  had  with  the  commander-in-chief  before  he 
started  on  that  mission  from  which  he  was  never 
to  return. 

Hale  forsook  all !  He  had  the  scorn  not  only 
of  the  British  but  of  his  own  people.  But  his 
life  stands  out  in  something  more  enduring 
even  than  bronze  to  testify  to  that  order  of 

["5] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

heroism  which  we  call  "  the  victory  of  the  van- 
quished. " 

We  must  go  back  to  the  time  when  our  fore- 
fathers came  to  this  land.  We  do  not  forget, 
but  we  glory  in  the  fact  that  we  are  English. 
The  author  comes  of  a  race  who  held  their  com- 
missions from  Washington,  but  who  are  still 
English  in  blood  and  feeling.  He  knows  that 
the  heart  of  every  true  Englishman  will  respond 
to  the  story  and  noble  sacrifice  of  one  who  was 
essentially  English  altho  fighting  for  the  mo- 
ment against  his  motherland.  The  time  is 
coming  when  there  will  be  no  Englishman  and 
no  American,  but  when  the  people  of  one  com- 
mon blood  will  have  one  common  name,  one 
common  tongue,  and  hearts  that  beat  in  unison. 
Our  forefathers,  having  conquered  the  material 
forces  of  nature,  made  their  homes  here,  built 
their  stockades  against  the  red  man,  and  called 
themselves  free.  That  they  were  not  actually 
free,  they  learned  when  Lincoln  made  his  sub- 

[116] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

lime  proclamation  in  1862.  It  took  nearly  an 
hundred  years  to  teach  this  larger  lesson  of  the 
freedom  of  the  spirit — to  lift  freedom,  as  it 
were,  out  of  the  possessive  case. 

But  we  must  remember,  as  Coleridge  sug- 
gests, that  patriotism  is  the  true  nurse  of  the 
cosmopolitan,  and  that  men  who  say,  in  a  large 
way,  that  their  country  is  the  world,  are  gener- 
ally like  the  character  of  whom  Edward  Everett 
Hale  has  written,  "  without  a  country."  The 
doors  of  their  hearts  and  souls  are  closed  to  the 
revelations  of  the  oracle  of  patriotism  and 
the  hearthstone.  They  are  men  away  from  the 
main  stream  and  current  of  their  country  and 
time.  They  are  either  voluntary  exiles  spend- 
ing their  lives  in  foreign  travel,  or  professors 
whose  horizons  are  bounded  by  the  little  college 
towns  they  live  in. 

There  are  many  men  who  will  look  back,  as 
they  think  of  a  heroic  life,  to  their  own  careless 
youth  lying  like  an  oasis  in  the  waste  of  the 

["7] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

desert,  and  who  would  give  all  the  world's  tri- 
fling honors  for  one  day  of  clear-eyed,  daring, 
sublime  martyrdom.  There  are  some  men  to 
embody  whose  spirit  word-language  seems  in- 
adequate and  only  enduring  bronze  is  fit. 

So  the  historian  and  socialist  turn  to  the 
artist  and  say,  "  Art  is  a  safeguard. "  In  these 
days  when  the  physical  sciences  threaten  to 
sweep  away  all  places  of  man's  relationship 
with  the  heroic  and  divine,  one  heroic  statue 
with  its  uplifted  face  establishes,  as  nothing 
else  can  do,  the  fact  that  duty  is  forever  be- 
yond and  above  the  physical  senses,  and  that 
there  is  something  in  man  beyond  the  appetites 
of  the  body.  Even  the  Alaskan  savage  sets  up 
his  totem  pole  to  convey  the  idea  that  the  soul 
of  heroism  must  sometime  escape  from  the  limi- 
tations of  the  body. 

The  lesson  of  a  life  like  Nathan  Hale  is  one 
of  temperance  and  balance.  It  shows  us  what 
can  be  accomplished  silently  in  the  freedom  of 

[118] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN   HALE 

the  spirit.      It  teaches  us  the  truth  of  what  the 
truest  poets  of  this  epoch  have  written : 

"  Thou  hast  but  to  resolve,  and  lo,  God's  whole 
Great  universe  shall  fortify  thy  soul." 

One  of  the  saddest  sights  in  life  is  to  see  a 
man  who  has  drifted  from  his  purpose,  at  the 
mercy  of  wind  and  tide — a  helpless  derelict  on 
the  ocean  of  life,  a  slave  of  the  forms  and  for- 
malism of  his  time.  And  one  of  the  most 
magnificent  examples  to  stand  between  man  and 
such  disintegration  is  a  hero  like  Hale,  to  speak 
silently  from  the  bronze  the  words  of  the  poet : 

"Beneath  this  starry  arch 

Naught  resteth  or  is  still ; 
But  all  things  hold  their  march, 
As  if  by  one  great  will." 

That  Hale  had  a  deep  religious  feeling  and 
was  a  true  Christian  gentleman  goes  almost 
without  saying;  and  we  may  also  infer  that 
dogma  played  little  part  in  his  life.  Walt 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN   HALE 

Whitman  speaks  to  this  people  with  a  living 
voice  when  he  says : 

"  Your  facts  are  useful  but  they  are  not  my  dwelling, 
I  but  enter  by  them  to  an  area  of  my  dwelling." 

Whitman  knew  that  man  and  his  purpose 
were  greater  than  talk  or  institutions,  greater 
than  creed  or  any  visible  accomplishment. 

Twenty  years  ago  it  would  have  been  impos- 
sible to  erect  a  statue  of  Nathan  Hale  that 
would  have  in  any  way  represented  him  as  our 
ideal  patriot.  We  had  neither  the  technique 
nor  the  right  appreciation  to  do  so.  But  now 
the  hour  seems  ripe  for  its  performance.  We 
are  beginning  to  consider  the  world  of  ideals  as 
well  as  the  world  of  facts  which  underlies  it; 
that  is,  we  are  studying  the  background  of  life 
as  well  as  the  pleasing  foreground  which  satis- 
fies the  senses. 

My  moral  conception  of  Nathan  Hale  is  a 
different  one  from  that  of  other  sculptors  who 

[120] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

have  represented  him  as  an  aristocrat  defying 
the  mob  of  soldiers  and  half -awakened  citizens 
who  surrounded  that  apple-tree  in  the  early 
morning.  He  has  followed  in  the  footsteps  of 
his  divine  Master  and  of  men  like  Giordano 
Bruno,  who  accepted  the  fate  of  a  martyr  not 
only  with  faith,  but  gladly  for  country  and  God. 
As  our  poet  Lowell  writes : 

"By  the  light  of  burning  heretics,  Christ's  bleeding 

feet  I  track, 
Toiling  up  new  Calvaries  ever  with  the  cross  that 

turns  not  back, 
And  these  mounts  of  anguish  number  how  each 

generation  learned 
One   new  word  of   that   grand  Credo  which    in 

prophet-hearts  hath  burned 
Since  the  first  man  stood  God-conquered  with  his 

face  to  heaven  upturned." 

The  names  of  Achilles,  Hector,  and  the  storied 
heroes  of  Homer  pale  before  the  simple  self- 
sacrifice  of  the  Christian  hero,  Hale.  We  need 
a  new  order  of  poets  to  record  the  heroic  deeds 

[121] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

of  such  men.  The  high-sounding  phrases  of 
the  Greeks  are  not  sincere  enough  for  our  pur- 
pose, and  America  has  begun  to  place  the  form 
of  her  ideal  patriot  before  her  citizens  in  that 
language  of  form  which  is  understood  by  all 
nations  and  all  people.  And  the  time  is  not  far 
distant  when  some  new  Whitman  or  Whittier, 
Bryant  or  Lowell  will  record  the  deeds  of  Na- 
than Hale  in  verse  which  is  worthy  of  his  lofty 
achievement. 

It  is  true  that  Andre*  has  had  all  the  honor 
that  the  English  nation  can  pay  to  one  of  her 
heroes.  He  has  a  place  in  Westminster  Ab- 
bey, that  most  sublime  of  all  mausoleums,  but 
we  must  believe  that  Nathan  Hale  has  still  a 
greater  place  in  the  hearts  of  his  people.  Stone 
by  stone,  bit  by  bit,  that  vast  mausoleum  of 
Westminster  is  crumbling  away,  but  the  name 
and  character  of  Nathan  Hale  are  growing  and 
are  transmitted  from  father  to  son.  We  must 
believe  with  the  Greek  that  "  character  is  des- 

[122] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

tiny,"  and  that  the  name  and  fame  of  Hale  rest 
upon  a  pedestal  more  enduring  than  granite  or 
bronze. 

The  sorrowful  death  of  Hale  and  the  cruel 
way  in  which  he  was  treated  in  comparison  with 
the  soldier- like  treatment  which  Andre"  received 
at  the  hands  of  Washington  and  his  generals 
had  no  effect  upon  him.  His  thoughts  were 
far  away  and  at  rest. 

What  if  he  were  thrust  into  a  noisome  dun- 
geon in  a  sugar-house,  what  if  the  last  letters 
he  had  written  to  his  beloved  were  destroyed 
before  his  eyes,  and  the  Bible  he  revered  were 
taken  from  him — nothing  could  shake  his  faith 
any  more  than  his  fellow  officers  could  shake 
his  determination  to  give  his  life,  if  it  need  be, 
for  his  country's  sake.  He  was  no  longer  living 
the  life  of  the  outside  world.  If  they  had  put 
him  upon  the  rack,  it  would  have  been  the  same 
with  him.  The  curious  crowd  in  the  early 
morning,  the  ribald  teamsters,  the  scornful  sol- 

[123] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

diers,  the  half-drunken  women  of  the  streets 
who  had  gathered  about  that  apple-tree  to  see 
the  execution — all  these  things  were  nothing  to 
a  man  whose  soul  was  fixed  on  God. 

A  resident  of  Hale's  native  town,  Coventry, 
John  S.  Babcock,  Esq.,  and  a  poet  of  no  mean 
reputation,  has  written  a  touching  tribute  to 
Hale's  memory,  from  which  we  quote  the  fol- 
lowing verses : 

"  He  fell  in  the  spring  of  his  early  prime, 

With  his  fair  hopes  all  around  him ; 
He  died  for  his  birth-land — a  glorious  crime, 
Ere  the  palm  of  his  fame  had  crowned  him. 

"  He  fell  in  her  darkness,  he  lived  not  to  see 

The  morn  of  her  risen  glory; 
But  the  name  of  the  brave,  in  the  heart  of  the  free, 
Shall  be  twined  in  her  deathless  story." 

I  give  below  an  epitaph  which  was  written 
thirty  years  ago  by  George  Gibbs,  who  was  at 
one  time  the  librarian  of  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society: 

[124] 


CHARACTER  OF  NATHAN  HALE 

Stranger,  Beneath  this  Stone, 
Lies  the  Dust  of 

A  Spy 
Who  Perished  Upon  the  Gibbet ; 

Yet 
The  Storied  Marbles  of  the  Great, 

The  Shrines  of  Heroes, 
Entombed  not  one  more  Worthy  of 

Honor 

Than  him  who  here 
Sleeps  his  last  sleep. 

Nations 

Bow  with  Reverence  before  the  Dust 

Of  him  who  dies 

A  Glorious  death, 

Urged  on  by  the  Sound  of  the  Trumpet 

And  the  shouts  of 

Admiring  thousands. 

But  what  Reverence,  what  honor, 

Is  not  due  to  one 

Who  for  his  country  encountered 

Even  an  infamous  death, 

Soothed  by  no  sympathy, 

Animated  by  no  praise. 


[125] 


PAGE 

America  and  England,  Kinship  of, 116 

Andr6,  Major  John  : 

Capture  of, •       «:       .       .       .       .      93 

compared  with  Hale,          .       .       .       »       .       •     24,91,97,99 
Court-martial  of,         .       .       .       .      .       .       .       .       .93 

Dealings  of,  with  Arnold,         .       ......       .      92 

executed  as  spy,    .        .       .        .'       .       .       .-       •       •       -93 

Henry  Cabot  Lodge  on  character  of,     .       .;'  •'  .       .       .      95 
Last  words  of,       .       .       .       .       ,       .       .       .       .       .    100 

Looting  of  Franklin's  house  by,       .       .       .       .       .       .97 

Love  of,  for  Miss  Sneyd,    .       .       .       .       ....        .      94 

Monument  to,  in  Westminster  Abbey,          .       .       .94,  122 

Monument  to,  on  Hudson, 26 

Arnold,  Benedict,  Dealing  of,  with  Andre,        ...        92,  98 
Arnold,  Matthew,  on  memorials,          .       .       .       .       .       .16 

Artist  reads  faces,  How  an,     .       .       .  :.       .       .       .96 

Babcock,  John  S.,  Poem  of,  on  Hale,   .       .       .       .       .       .124 

Bogert ,  witness  of  Hale's  execution,    .        .        ...      86 

Brewer,  Justice,  on  lesson  to  Yale  of  life  of  Hale,  .  .  .no 
Brooks,  Phillips,  Suggestions  of,  relative  to  statue  of  Hale,  33 
Browning,  Robert,  on  the  victory  of  the  vanquished,  .  40,  no 

Chichester's  Tavern,  Widow,  Hale  betrayed  in,      .       .        72,  77 
Clinton,  General,  at  Battle  of  Long  Island,  .        .        .      61 

Coleridge,  Samuel  Taylor : 

on  relation  of  art  and  liberty,        .       .        .       .       .       .    114 

on  relation  of  cosmopolitanism  and  patriotism,        .       .    117 
Colonial  epoch  : 

importance  of,     .        .       . 32 

likeness  of  men  of,      .        ...       .        .        .        .        .35 

Partridge's  study  of, .      31 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  at  Battle  of  Long  Island,  *       .        .61 

Cosmopolitanism,  American  claimants  of,  are  expatriates, 

recluses,  et  a/., .    117 


[I29] 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Cunningham,  William,  Provost-Marshal  : 

character  of, 82 

demands  confession  of  Hale, 85 

present  at  hanging  of  Hale, 84 

receives  order  for  Hale's  execution, 82 

treats  Hale  brutally,         .- 83 

De  Heister,  General,  commands  Hessians  at  Battle  of  Long 

Island,     .       .       .'      .       V 61 

Depew,  Chauncey  M.,  on  last  hours  of  Hale,    ....  83 

Dwight,  Timothy,  wrote  poem  on  Hale, 14 

East  Haddam,  Conn.,  Hale  teaches  school  at,  .        .       .  .48 

Eggleston,  George  Gary : 

Comparison  of  Hale  and  Andre  by,      .       .       .       ,  .      23 

Foreword  by, .  .24 

England  and  America,  Kinship  of,       .       ......  .116 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  Home  of,  looted  by  Andre,      .       .       . '    gy 

Gautier,  Th6ophile,  on  the  deathlessness  of  art,      .       .       .16 

Gibbs,  George,  Epitaph  of  Hale  by, 124 

Grant,  General,  at  Battle  of  Long  Island,  .....  (he 
Green,  Samuel,  Hale's  pupil,  describes  Hale,  ....  49 
Greene,  Gen.  Nathaniel,  is  superseded  by  Generals  Putnam 

and  Sullivan  before  Battle  of  Long  Island,  ...      60 

Hadley,  Pres.  Arthur  T.,  Address  of,  at  dedication  of  Ives- 

Cheney  Gateway,  Yale  University,       .       .       .       .30 

Hale,  Edward  Everett  : 

Bust  of,  aids  conception  of  statue  of  Nathan  Hale,   .        .      36 
Man  Without  a  Country,"  "The,  a  study  of  patriotism,  by,    36 

Hale,  Nathan  : 

accomplishes  work  of  secret  expedition,      .       .       .       .77 
as  amateur  actor,       .       .       .       .       .    .    ,       .      ••.       .46 

as  athlete, '. 46 

as  spy  receives  instructions  from  Washington,         .       .      69 
at  Boston,  pays  troops  out  of  his  own  pocket,  ...      52 
Babcock's  poem  on,    .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .124 

Brewer,  Justice,  on,  .        .       .       .       ....       .no 


[130] 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Hale,  Nathan  {continued)  : 

Capture  of, 80 

captures  British  sloop  in  East  River, 54 

Character  of, 105 

Comparison  of,  with  Major  Andre,       .        .        .24,  91,  97,  99 

Cunningham's  cruel  treatment  of, 83 

cuts  prayers  for  wrestling  match, 54 

Description  of, 50 

Description  of,  by  his  pupil,  Samuel  Green,  ...  49 
dines  with  Putnam,  Wolcott,  Hull,  et  0/.,  ....  53 

Dwight's  poem  on, 14 

Epitaph  of,  by  Gibbs, 124 

Facsimile  of  writing  of, 113 

Halifax^  taken  on  board  the, 80 

Hanging  of, 84 

Howe  offers  commission  in  British  Army  to,  81 

Howe  signs  order  for  execution  of, 82 

Hull  hears  resolution  of, 68 

Hull  parts  from, 69 

ideal  patriot,  an, 31,  33 

Last  words  of, 85 

Miner's  Tavern,  in,  Speech  of, 50 

Motto  of, 47 

obtains  captain's  commission, 54 

Poem  on,  by  William  Ordway  Partridge,  ....  19 
poem  on,  No  great,  .  .  .  .  »  .  .  .  .14 
poem  on,  Time  for  great,  .  .  .'.'..  .  .  .122 

Religious  spirit  of, 119 

Route  of,  on  secret  expedition,         .       .;     .       .       ,        .      72 

scenes,  Three  striking,  in  life  of 39 

spy,  volunteers  as  a, 68 

Washington,  Did,  communicate  with  ?  .  .  .  .39 
Washington,  Interview  of,  with,  .  .  .  .  .  39, 69 
Yale,  at,  Record  of, .  .  46 

Hale,  Nathan,  Statue  of  : 

Brooks,  Phillips,  suggests  ideas  for,      ...          33,  34,  35 

First  and  final  conceptions  of, 33 

Hale,  E.  E.,  Bust  of,  aids  conception  of,  ....  35 
Inspiration  to  whole  country  of, 34 


[131] 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Hale,  Nathan,  Statue  of  (continued) : 

New  Haven  green,  site  of, 23,  31 

Time  ripe  for  making  of,  120 

Yale  man,  Life-mask  of,  aids  conception  of,        ...     35 

Hale,  Richard,  the  father  of  Nathan  Hale,          ....     45 

Halifax,  Hale  taken  on  board  the, 80 

Hamilton,  Alexander  : 

Partridge's  statue  of,          .       .      „       *       .       .       .       .31 
told  of  Hale's  execution,     .        .       .       »       .       .       .       -87 

Hempstead,  Sergeant,  accompanies  Hale,          .       .       .        69, 71 

History,  The  study  of,  its  use  to  a  sculptor,      .       .       .       .     37 

Howe,  General : 

Army  of,  lands  at  Staten  Island, 60 

Expedition  of,  against  New  York, 59 

Hale  offered  commission  in  British  Army  by,  ,       .     81 

Hale,  Reported  harshness  toward,  denied,          .       .       .105 
Hale  taken  before,       .       ...       .      ..       ,      >       .80 

Hale's  execution,  signs  order  for,          .....     82 

Hull,  John : 

Hale,  a  college  friend  of,    .       .       ...       .       .       .57 

Hale  dines  with,  .       .       .       .       .       ...       .53 

Hale  parts  with,  .       .       .      '. 69 

Hale  tells,  of  resolve  to  volunteer  as  a  spy,        .       .       .68 
founder  of  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  a,        ....     47 

Ideal  work,  Creation  of  an, 31,  33 

Ives-Cheney  Gateway,  Yale  Univ.,  Dedication  of,          .       .      30 
Knowlton,  Col.,  asks  for  volunteer  spy,       .       .       .       .       .     €8 

Likeness  of  men  of  same  epoch,      .       .  .       .       .  35 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  first  made  America  truly  free,          .       .    117 
Linonian  Society,  Yale,  Hale  a  founder  of,  .     46 

Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,  on  character  of  Andr6,     ....     95 

Long  Island : 

Battle  of,         .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .59 

Evacuation  of,       .       .       .       .       ,       ....       .63 

Lowell,  James  Russell : 

on  martyr-heretics, 121 

Quotation  from  "  Present  Crisis  "of 108 


[132] 


INDEX 


PACK 

Memorials,  Value  of,  to  a  nation, 16 

Miner's  Tavern,  New  Haven,  speech  of  Hale  in,        .       .       .51 

New  Haven,  Continental  troops  gather  in,         ....  50 

New  London : 

Hale  a  teacher  in, 49 

Hale  joins  in  defense  of,  .       . 52 

Hale  marches  to  Massachusetts  with  troops  from,    .       .  51 

Partridge,  Bishop,  brother  of  sculptor  and  member  of  So- 
ciety of  the  Cincinnati, 47 

Partridge,  William  Ordway  : 

Poem  on  Nathan  Hale  by,         .       .       .       .       .       .       .19 

Study  of  character  of  Hale  by,        ...       .       .        23,  27 

Percy,  Lord,  at  Battle  of  Long  Island, 61 

"Present  Crisis,"  Quotation  from  Lowell's,       .       .       .       .108 

Putnam,  General : 

dines  with  Hale, 53 

at  Battle  of  Long  Island, 60 

Quarne,  Col.,  of  the  Halifax,  treats  Hale  kindly,      ...      80 

Richmond,  black  hangman  of  Hale, 84 

Ripley,  Alice : 

Hale,  sweetheart  of,    .       .       .       .       ,       ...       .      48 

Ripley,  Elijah,  marries,      .       .       .       ,       .       »       .       .48 
widow  becomes  a,        .       .       .       .       ....       .53 

words  of ,  dying     .       .  .       .       »  .    .       .       .  53 

Ripley,  Elijah,  marries  Halo's  sweetheart,        ....      48 

"Rivers  of  Baby  Ion,  "quotation  from  Swinburne's,       .       .    108 

Sculptor's  attitude  toward  biography,  A,  ....  13 
Sculptor's  methods,  A,  in  creating  an  ideal  work,  ...  37 
Self-sacrifice  the  worthiest  use  of  life,  -  .  .  .  .  .24 
Shakespeare,  Partridge's  statue  of,  .  .  .  . '  -35 

Sneyd,  Miss,  the  sweetheart  of  Andr6,  .  .  .  .  .  94 
Statue,  Value  of  an  heroic,  in  materialistic  age,  .  .  .  n8 
Stirling,  General,  at  Battle  of  Long  Island,  .  61 

Sullivan,  General,  at  Battle  of  Long  Island,  .  .  .  60,  62 
Swinburne's  "Rivers  of  Babylon,"  Quotation  from,  .  .  108 


[133] 


INDEX 


Tallmadge,  Benjamin : 

Andre,  in  charge  of  the  captured, 47 

Hale,  classmate  of, 47 

Trumbull,  Jonathan,  introduces  Hale  to  Washington,   .       .  $»• 

Washington,  George : 

Andre  condemned  by,         .       .       »       .;     '       .       .       .93 
Andre's  execution,  severely  criticized  for,          ,       .       .     91 

Boston,  calls  Connecticut  troops  to, 52 

Character  of,  as  seen  in  Stuart  portrait,       ....      41 

Critical  period  in  campaign  of, 38 

Hale  present  at  wrestling  match  with,          ....      54 

Hale's  interview  with, 39,  52,  69 

Hale's  secret  communications  with, 73 

Long  Island  evacuated  by, 62 

New  York  defended  by, 60 

New  York  invested  by, .       .67 

volunteer  spy,  calls  for, 68 

Whitman,  Walt,  on  "  man  greater  than  his  creations,"  .       .    120 

Wolcott,  Dr.,  dines  with  Hale, 5j 

Wright,  Ansel,  accompanies  Hale  on  secret  expedition,        69,  71 

Yale: 

Brewer,  Justice,  on  lesson  of  Hale's  life  to,         ...    no 

Hadley,  President,  on  value  of  memorials  to,     .       .       .      30 

'    Hale  the  ideal  patriot  of, 31,  33 


[134] 


THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SANTA  CRUZ 

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