The place "allotted" to him was that of lieutenant in the third company of the 7th Connecticut regiment, commanded by Colonel Charles Webb. No doubt exists that Lieutenant Nathan Hale was the same Nathan Hale who had won distinction in all his college work, in his subsequent teaching, and in all the events thus far associated with his early manhood, with this difference; he was now lifted to a line of service that in his opinion seemed the highest possible for him to follow, and no one who studies his subsequent course can question that in this following he found the loftiest consecration thus far possible to him. Perhaps unconsciously he was to verify the poet's assertion,
"So nigh is grandeur to our dust,So near is God to man,When Duty whispers low,Thou must,The youth replies,I can."
With no trace of merely personal ambition, but with that splendid power of absorption in duty asin work, Nathan Hale followed in the steps of those devoted American patriots whose blood, so freely shed at Lexington, was calling upon their countrymen to shed theirs as freely, should duty demand it.
Dead almost one hundred and forty years, we still are thrilled by proofs of the splendid manhood henceforth to be so prominent in every remaining day of Hale's brief life. A few letters to friends, a fairly comprehensive diary for a few months, his camp-book, and the recollections of a few of the officers and of his body-servant, give a moderately complete picture of Nathan Hale for a few brief weeks, during which time he had been doing all in his power to perfect himself and the men under him in the duties of soldiers.
By the middle of September the Connecticut troops, having received orders from General Washington to proceed to the camp near Boston, the 7th Regiment, containing Lieutenant Hale's company, went to the spot appointed, remaining there during the winter, and leaving for New York, again by Washington's orders, in the spring. Of these intervening months, so momentous to the little army whose many members were impatient for the close of the war, Nathan Hale himself gives us vivid pictures; of the work he was trying to do; of the men he was meeting; of the religious lifehe was in no sense forgetting, and of his own deepening patriotism. Letters written to him show the attitude of friends at home, and their interest both in the affairs of the country and in him personally. The following letter from Gilbert Saltonstall, a young Harvard graduate and warm friend of Hale while in New London, shows how fully the men at home, as well as those in the army, entered into the anxieties of the times:
New London, Octo. 9th, 1775.Dear Sir:By yours of the 5th I see you're Stationd in the Mouth of Danger—I look upon yr. Situation more Perilous than any other in the Camp—Should have thought the new Recreuits would have been Posted at some of the Outworks, & those that have been inured to Service advanc'd to Defend the most exposed Places—But all Things are concerted, and ordered with Wisdom no doubt—The affair of Dr. Church[1]is truly amazing—from the acquaintance I have of his publick Character I should as soon have suspected Mr. Hancock or Adams as him.
New London, Octo. 9th, 1775.
Dear Sir:
By yours of the 5th I see you're Stationd in the Mouth of Danger—I look upon yr. Situation more Perilous than any other in the Camp—Should have thought the new Recreuits would have been Posted at some of the Outworks, & those that have been inured to Service advanc'd to Defend the most exposed Places—But all Things are concerted, and ordered with Wisdom no doubt—The affair of Dr. Church[1]is truly amazing—from the acquaintance I have of his publick Character I should as soon have suspected Mr. Hancock or Adams as him.
[1]Of this Dr. Church, John Fiske writes: "In October, 1775, the American camp was thrown into great consternation by the discovery that Dr. Benjamin Church, one of the most conspicuous of the Boston leaders, had engaged in a secret correspondence with the enemy. Dr. Church was thrown into jail, but as the evidence of treasonable intent was not absolutely complete, he was set free in the following spring, and allowed to visit the West Indies for his health. The ship in which he sailed was never heard from again."
[1]Of this Dr. Church, John Fiske writes: "In October, 1775, the American camp was thrown into great consternation by the discovery that Dr. Benjamin Church, one of the most conspicuous of the Boston leaders, had engaged in a secret correspondence with the enemy. Dr. Church was thrown into jail, but as the evidence of treasonable intent was not absolutely complete, he was set free in the following spring, and allowed to visit the West Indies for his health. The ship in which he sailed was never heard from again."
(Then follow accounts of an affair on Long Island Sound, and extracts from a paper two days old just brought from New York, describing army matters in the North.)
I have extracted all the material News—should have sent the Paper but its the only one in Town and every one is Gaping for news.Your sincere FriendGilbert Saltonstall.
I have extracted all the material News—should have sent the Paper but its the only one in Town and every one is Gaping for news.
Your sincere FriendGilbert Saltonstall.
Another, also from Saltonstall, reads in part as follows:
Esteemed FriendDoctor Church is in close Custody in Norwich Gaol, the windows boarded up, and he deny'd the use of Pen, Ink, and Paper, to have no converse with any Person but in presence of the Gaoler, and then to Converse in no Language but English. ... what a fall ...Yr &cGilbert Saltonstall.Novr. 27th 1775
Esteemed Friend
Doctor Church is in close Custody in Norwich Gaol, the windows boarded up, and he deny'd the use of Pen, Ink, and Paper, to have no converse with any Person but in presence of the Gaoler, and then to Converse in no Language but English. ... what a fall ...
Yr &cGilbert Saltonstall.
Novr. 27th 1775
A letter already referred to as showing Hale's interest in New London and its people, also his feeling as to camp life, is here given. "Betsey" was one of his pupils in his early-morning classes. We note the little touch of good-natured fun in the last paragraph.
Camp Winter Hill, Octr19th 1775Dear BetseyI hope you will excuse my freedom in writing to you, as I cannot have the pleasure of seeing and conversing with you. What is now a letter would be a visit were I in New London but this being out of my power, suffer me to make up the defect in the best manner I can. I write not to give you any news or any pleasure in reading (though I would heartily do it if in my power) but from the desire I have of conversing with you in some form or other.I once wanted to come here to see something extraordinary—my curiosity is satisfied. I have now no more desire for seeing things here, than for seeing what is in New London, no, nor half so much neither. Not that I am discontented—so far from it, that in the present situation of things I would not except a furlough were it offered me. I would only observe that we often flatter ourselves with great happiness could we see such and such things; but when we actually come to the sight of them our solid satisfaction is really no more than when we only had them in expectation.All the news I had I wrote to John Hallam—if it be worth your hearing he will be able to tell you when he delivers this. It will therefore not (be) worth while for me to repeat.I am a little at a loss how you carry at New London—Jared Starr I hear is gone—The number of Gentlemen is now so few that I fear how you will go through the winter but I hope for the best.I remain with esteemYrSincere Friend& Hble Svt.N. HaleTo Betsey ChristophersAt New London
Camp Winter Hill, Octr19th 1775
Dear Betsey
I hope you will excuse my freedom in writing to you, as I cannot have the pleasure of seeing and conversing with you. What is now a letter would be a visit were I in New London but this being out of my power, suffer me to make up the defect in the best manner I can. I write not to give you any news or any pleasure in reading (though I would heartily do it if in my power) but from the desire I have of conversing with you in some form or other.
I once wanted to come here to see something extraordinary—my curiosity is satisfied. I have now no more desire for seeing things here, than for seeing what is in New London, no, nor half so much neither. Not that I am discontented—so far from it, that in the present situation of things I would not except a furlough were it offered me. I would only observe that we often flatter ourselves with great happiness could we see such and such things; but when we actually come to the sight of them our solid satisfaction is really no more than when we only had them in expectation.
All the news I had I wrote to John Hallam—if it be worth your hearing he will be able to tell you when he delivers this. It will therefore not (be) worth while for me to repeat.
I am a little at a loss how you carry at New London—Jared Starr I hear is gone—The number of Gentlemen is now so few that I fear how you will go through the winter but I hope for the best.
I remain with esteemYrSincere Friend& Hble Svt.N. Hale
To Betsey ChristophersAt New London
The next letter refers to the time when, on account of their personal privations, the Connecticut troops were thinking seriously of withdrawing from the struggle, and returning to their homes:
New LondonDecr-4th 1775Dear SirThe behaviour of our Connecticut Troops makes me Heart-sick—that they who have stood foremost in the praises and good Wishes of their Countrymen, as having distinguished themselves for their Zeal & Public Spirit, should now shamefully desert the Cause; and at a critical moment too, is really unaccountable—amazing. Those that do return will meet with real Contempt, with deserv'd Reproach. It gives great satisfaction that the Officers universally agree to tarry—that is the Report, is it true or not?—May that God who has signally appear'd for us since the Commencement of our troubles, interpose, that no fatal or bad consequence may attend a dastardly Desertion of his Cause.I want much to have a more minute Acct. of the situation of the Camp than I have been able to obtain. I rely wholly on you for information.YourG. Saltonstall.
New LondonDecr-4th 1775
Dear Sir
The behaviour of our Connecticut Troops makes me Heart-sick—that they who have stood foremost in the praises and good Wishes of their Countrymen, as having distinguished themselves for their Zeal & Public Spirit, should now shamefully desert the Cause; and at a critical moment too, is really unaccountable—amazing. Those that do return will meet with real Contempt, with deserv'd Reproach. It gives great satisfaction that the Officers universally agree to tarry—that is the Report, is it true or not?—May that God who has signally appear'd for us since the Commencement of our troubles, interpose, that no fatal or bad consequence may attend a dastardly Desertion of his Cause.
I want much to have a more minute Acct. of the situation of the Camp than I have been able to obtain. I rely wholly on you for information.
YourG. Saltonstall.
To explain some of Saltonstal's references to the feelings of some of the Connecticut troops, we quote from Captain Hale's diary of October 23:
"10 o'clock went to Cambridge with Field commission officers to General Putman to let him know the state of the Regiment and that it was through ill usage upon theScore of Provisions that they would not extend their term of service to the 1st of January 1776."
"10 o'clock went to Cambridge with Field commission officers to General Putman to let him know the state of the Regiment and that it was through ill usage upon theScore of Provisions that they would not extend their term of service to the 1st of January 1776."
Other letters to Hale from New London friends, among them one from an officer absent on furlough, speak freely of the anxieties of those watching the progress of the reënlistments, and the home reception that would be given to any leaving the army.
Another letter from Saltonstall reads as follows:
New LondonDecr. 18th 1775Dr.Sir....I wholly agree with you in ye.agreables of a Camp Life, and should have try'd it in some Capacity or other before now, could my Father carry on his Business without me. I proposed going with Dudley, who is appointed to Commn. a Twenty-Gun Ship in the Continental Navy, but my Father is not willing, and I can't persuade myself to leave him in the eve of Life against his consent....Yesterday week the Town was in the greatest confusion imaginable; Women wringing their Hands along Street, Children crying, Carts loaded 'till nothing more would stick on, posting out of Town, empty ones driving in, one Person running this way, another that, some dull, some vex'd, more pleased, some flinging up an Intrenchment, some at the Fort preparing ye Guns for Action, Drums beating, Fifes playing; in short as great a Hubbub as at the confusion of Tongues; all of this occasioned by the appearance of a Ship and two Sloops off the Harbour, Suppos'd to be part of Wallace's Fleet,—When they were found to be Friends, Vessels from New Port with Passengers ye consternation abated....
New LondonDecr. 18th 1775
Dr.Sir....
I wholly agree with you in ye.agreables of a Camp Life, and should have try'd it in some Capacity or other before now, could my Father carry on his Business without me. I proposed going with Dudley, who is appointed to Commn. a Twenty-Gun Ship in the Continental Navy, but my Father is not willing, and I can't persuade myself to leave him in the eve of Life against his consent....
Yesterday week the Town was in the greatest confusion imaginable; Women wringing their Hands along Street, Children crying, Carts loaded 'till nothing more would stick on, posting out of Town, empty ones driving in, one Person running this way, another that, some dull, some vex'd, more pleased, some flinging up an Intrenchment, some at the Fort preparing ye Guns for Action, Drums beating, Fifes playing; in short as great a Hubbub as at the confusion of Tongues; all of this occasioned by the appearance of a Ship and two Sloops off the Harbour, Suppos'd to be part of Wallace's Fleet,—When they were found to be Friends, Vessels from New Port with Passengers ye consternation abated....
A postscript runs as follows:
The young girls, B. Coit, S. and P. Belden [Hale's pupils] have frequently desired their Compliments to Master, but I've never thought of mentioning it till now. You must write something in your next by way of P.S. that I may shew it them.
The young girls, B. Coit, S. and P. Belden [Hale's pupils] have frequently desired their Compliments to Master, but I've never thought of mentioning it till now. You must write something in your next by way of P.S. that I may shew it them.
Favored by copies of these letters by Saltonstall, one must regret all the more that so few of Hale's own letters have been discovered, ten being the limit. Within a comparatively short period, however, some sixty more records—mostly letters written to Hale—have come to light, preserved, as it is now seen, by the same "orderly care" that marked his interest in all the correspondence of his friends.
In them are expressed, in letter after letter, the affectionate interest and warm admiration of the writers. It is now said that Hale kept these letters with him down to the date of his tragic mission. We can easily imagine the glow of satisfaction that must have filled his brotherly soul in the few spare moments he could devote to these letters.
Brief extracts are made from his diary, fortunately preserved for evidence as to his work and growing interest in the duties he had entered upon. The diary was found in the camp-book brought tohis family by Asher Wright, Hale's attendant in camp before he left New York.
In the diary, under date of November 19, 1775, this entry is made:
" ... Robert Latimer the MajrsSon went to Roxbury to day on his way home. The Majrwho went there to day and ... return'd this evengbtactsthat theAsiaMan of War Station'd at N. York was taken by a Schooner arm'd with Spear's &c.... This account not creditted."
" ... Robert Latimer the MajrsSon went to Roxbury to day on his way home. The Majrwho went there to day and ... return'd this evengbtactsthat theAsiaMan of War Station'd at N. York was taken by a Schooner arm'd with Spear's &c.... This account not creditted."
A month after the return from camp mentioned above, Robert Latimer wrote to Captain Hale, his former teacher, the following interesting and diverting letter:
Dr Sir,As I think myself under the greatest obligations to you for your care and kindness to me, I should think myself very ungrateful if I neglected any oppertunity of expressing my gratitude to you for the same. And I rely on that goodness, I have so often experienc'd to overlook the deficiencies in my Letter, which I am sensible will be many as maturity of Judgment is wanting, and tho' I have been so happy as to be favour'd with your instructions, you can't Sir, expect a finish'd letter from one who has as yet practis'd but very little this way, especially with persons of your nice discernment.Sir, I have had the pleasure of hearing by the soldiers, which is come home, that you are in health, tho' likely to be deserted by all the men you carried down with you,which I am very sorry for, as I think no man of any spirit would desert a cause in which, we are all so deeply interested. I am sure was my Mammy willing I think I should prefer being with you, to all the pleasures which the company of my Relations Can afford me.I am Sir with respect yrSincere friend& very H'ble StRob't LatimerDecbr20th 1775—P. S. My Mammy and aunt Lamb presents Complimts. My Mammy would have wrote, but being very busy, tho't my writing would be sufficient—my respects to CaptHull. Addressed to Capt. Hale.
Dr Sir,
As I think myself under the greatest obligations to you for your care and kindness to me, I should think myself very ungrateful if I neglected any oppertunity of expressing my gratitude to you for the same. And I rely on that goodness, I have so often experienc'd to overlook the deficiencies in my Letter, which I am sensible will be many as maturity of Judgment is wanting, and tho' I have been so happy as to be favour'd with your instructions, you can't Sir, expect a finish'd letter from one who has as yet practis'd but very little this way, especially with persons of your nice discernment.
Sir, I have had the pleasure of hearing by the soldiers, which is come home, that you are in health, tho' likely to be deserted by all the men you carried down with you,which I am very sorry for, as I think no man of any spirit would desert a cause in which, we are all so deeply interested. I am sure was my Mammy willing I think I should prefer being with you, to all the pleasures which the company of my Relations Can afford me.
I am Sir with respect yrSincere friend& very H'ble StRob't Latimer
Decbr20th 1775—
P. S. My Mammy and aunt Lamb presents Complimts. My Mammy would have wrote, but being very busy, tho't my writing would be sufficient—my respects to CaptHull. Addressed to Capt. Hale.
Here is a second letter from the same ardent friend of Captain Hale. His admiration for his former teacher is evident in every line.
New London, March 5th 1776Dear Sir,as my letter meet with such kind reception from you, I still continue writing & hope that the desire I have of improving, added to the pleasure, I take in hearing often from so good a friend, will sufficiently excuse me for writing so often—I Recdyour kind letter Srpr the post & cant deny but your approbation, of my writing, gives me the greatest pleasure, & should be afraid of its raisgmy pride; did I not consider that your intention in praising my poor performance, must be with a design, of raising in me an ambition, to endeavour to deserve your praise—& I hope that instructions convey'd in such an agreeable manner, will not, be thrown away upon me—You write Srthat you have got another Fifer, & a very good one too, as I hear.Which I am very Glad to hear, tho' I sincerely wish I was in his Place—Have not any News.So will Conclude—I am Srwith Respect Yrfriend & S't,Robert LatimerP. S. My Mammy & AuntPresent Compts&c—Capt. Hale.
New London, March 5th 1776
Dear Sir,
as my letter meet with such kind reception from you, I still continue writing & hope that the desire I have of improving, added to the pleasure, I take in hearing often from so good a friend, will sufficiently excuse me for writing so often—I Recdyour kind letter Srpr the post & cant deny but your approbation, of my writing, gives me the greatest pleasure, & should be afraid of its raisgmy pride; did I not consider that your intention in praising my poor performance, must be with a design, of raising in me an ambition, to endeavour to deserve your praise—& I hope that instructions convey'd in such an agreeable manner, will not, be thrown away upon me—You write Srthat you have got another Fifer, & a very good one too, as I hear.Which I am very Glad to hear, tho' I sincerely wish I was in his Place—
Have not any News.
So will Conclude—I am Srwith Respect Yrfriend & S't,
Robert Latimer
P. S. My Mammy & AuntPresent Compts&c—Capt. Hale.
Only one thought dims the pleasure with which we read these two letters,—the consciousness of the depth of distress that must have filled that loyal boy's heart to overflowing when he learned of the tragic death of his hero friend.
Two notable records from Captain Hale's diary are these:
November 6. It is of the utmost importance that an officer should be anxious to know his duty, but of greater that he should carefully perform what he does know. The present irregular state of the army is owing to a capital neglect in both of these.November 7. Studied ye best method of forming a Reg't for a review, of arraying the Companies, also of marching round ye reviewing Officer. A man ought never to lose a moment's time. If he put off a thing from one minute to the next, his reluctance is but increased.
November 6. It is of the utmost importance that an officer should be anxious to know his duty, but of greater that he should carefully perform what he does know. The present irregular state of the army is owing to a capital neglect in both of these.
November 7. Studied ye best method of forming a Reg't for a review, of arraying the Companies, also of marching round ye reviewing Officer. A man ought never to lose a moment's time. If he put off a thing from one minute to the next, his reluctance is but increased.
Later in November, when the men in his company were unwilling to reënlist, this notable entry was made, signed with his full name:
28, Tuesday. Promised the men if they would tarry another month, they should have my wages for that time.Nathan Hale.
28, Tuesday. Promised the men if they would tarry another month, they should have my wages for that time.
Nathan Hale.
These brief quotations, proving as they do Hale's intense devotion to duty, and his practical efforts to hold his men to their duty, show how clearly he understood the tremendous responsibility resting upon the commander-in-chief as given in Washington's own words in letters to friends and to Congress, soon to be quoted; and that, known or unknown to Washington, there were men among his officers fully aware of the condition of the army, and as anxious to serve it as was their magnificent leader.
We here quote from Washington's letters; the first one was written to a friend:
I know the unhappy predicament in which I stand; I know that much is expected of me; I know that without men, without arms, without ammunition, without anything fit for the accommodation of a soldier, little is to be done, and what is mortifying, I know that I cannot stand justified to the world without exposing my own weakness, and injuring the cause, by declaring my wants which I am determined not to do farther than unavoidable necessity brings every man acquainted with them. My situation is so irksome to me at times, that if I did not consult the public good more than my own tranquillity, I should long ere this have put everything on the cast of a die. So farfrom my having an army of twenty thousand men, well armed, I have been here with less than half that number, including sick, furloughed, and on command; and those neither armed nor clothed as they should be. In short, my situation has been such, that I have been obliged to conceal it from my own officers.
I know the unhappy predicament in which I stand; I know that much is expected of me; I know that without men, without arms, without ammunition, without anything fit for the accommodation of a soldier, little is to be done, and what is mortifying, I know that I cannot stand justified to the world without exposing my own weakness, and injuring the cause, by declaring my wants which I am determined not to do farther than unavoidable necessity brings every man acquainted with them. My situation is so irksome to me at times, that if I did not consult the public good more than my own tranquillity, I should long ere this have put everything on the cast of a die. So farfrom my having an army of twenty thousand men, well armed, I have been here with less than half that number, including sick, furloughed, and on command; and those neither armed nor clothed as they should be. In short, my situation has been such, that I have been obliged to conceal it from my own officers.
The second letter was written to Congress:
To make men well acquainted with the duties of a soldier, requires time. To bring them under proper discipline and subordination, not only requires time, but is a work of great difficulty; and in this army where there is so little distinction between officers and soldiers, requires an uncommon degree of attention. To expect, then, the same service from raw and undisciplined recruits, as from veteran soldiers, is to expect what never did, and perhaps never will happen.
To make men well acquainted with the duties of a soldier, requires time. To bring them under proper discipline and subordination, not only requires time, but is a work of great difficulty; and in this army where there is so little distinction between officers and soldiers, requires an uncommon degree of attention. To expect, then, the same service from raw and undisciplined recruits, as from veteran soldiers, is to expect what never did, and perhaps never will happen.
On the 23d of December, 1775, Hale began his first and only trip to Connecticut for the sake of securing additional enlistments. If on this one visit home he became engaged—as some have believed—to the woman he had so long loved, now a widow of about nineteen, Alice Adams Ripley, we may infer that love brightened his embassy even though patriotism inspired it. No record remains of the glorified hours he may have spent in Coventry. We have good reason to believe that, if he survived the war, he expected tomarry the woman he had so faithfully loved. After a few brief days in his home, he left it, never to return, speeding on his way to serve his country's needs.
If this new zest entered his life at this time, we can easily imagine as he fared on, striving to arouse his countrymen to their duty as patriots, that the happiest hours of his life were urging him forward to the most perfect service he could render in the present, and to unlimited hopes and ambitions for the future he might well expect was awaiting him. Crowned by human love, and with unlimited opportunities to serve his country, who can tell by what "vision splendid" he was "on his way attended"? Who can help rejoicing that such days, brief as they were, and uplifting as they must have been, were given to this man, now past twenty?
Details concerning that trip are scanty. We know for a certainty that, starting from camp December 23, 1775, he returned to it the last week in January, 1776, having been in New London and other places seeking recruits, and going back with the recruits he himself had secured, joined by others coming from the various towns in Connecticut, and all heading toward the camp around Boston.
He received his commission as captain in thenew army in January, being still in Colonel Webb's regiment, which now became the Nineteenth of the Continental Army. For a few weeks he followed the routine of his earlier months there, doing all that was possible to assist his brother officers in perfecting the discipline of the raw troops, deepening their patriotism, and proving himself a soldier as devoid of fear as he was rich in all manly qualities. Not a word of regret can be found in his diary. Acknowledging in a letter to a former pupil, Miss Betsey Christophers of New London, that the novelty and glamour of camp life had worn off, he asserts, with intense ardor, that nothing would tempt him to "accept a furlough" or shrink in any manner from any of his duties as a soldier. And so the weeks passed on.
During the winter heavy cannon from Fort Ticonderoga had been brought through the snows over the Green Mountains. The cannon were placed on Dorchester Heights which commanded the British camp, thus compelling the British general to choose between attacking the American army and evacuating the city. In a letter written in April, 1776, to his half-brother, John Augustine, Washington wrote thus regarding this time:
The enemy ... apprehending great annoyance from our new works, resolved upon a retreat, and accordingly,on the 17th (March) embarked in as much hurry, precipitation and confusion as ever troops did ... leaving the King's property in Boston to the amount, as is supposed, of thirty or forty thousand pounds in provisions and stores.
The enemy ... apprehending great annoyance from our new works, resolved upon a retreat, and accordingly,on the 17th (March) embarked in as much hurry, precipitation and confusion as ever troops did ... leaving the King's property in Boston to the amount, as is supposed, of thirty or forty thousand pounds in provisions and stores.
Washington's victory in this maneuver, his first great success, tremendously cheered the hearts of all patriotic Americans. Congress gave him a vote of thanks, also a gold medal—"the first in the history of independent America"—in commemoration of the event. Here again we catch a glimpse of the delight that must have thrilled the hearts of all his officers, not least among them that of Nathan Hale. But Washington, proving himself in these earlier events, as he was to, year after year, through successive discouragements, "the first in war," turned toward New York as his next base.
In the letter just quoted, Washington wrote further:
"Whither they [the enemy] are now bound,... I know not, but as New York and Hudson's River are the most important objects they can have in view ... therefore as soon as they embarked, I detached a brigade of six regiments to that government and when they sailed another brigade composed of the same number, and tomorrow another brigade of five regiments will march. In a day or two more, I shall follow myself, and be in New York ready to receive all but the first."
"Whither they [the enemy] are now bound,... I know not, but as New York and Hudson's River are the most important objects they can have in view ... therefore as soon as they embarked, I detached a brigade of six regiments to that government and when they sailed another brigade composed of the same number, and tomorrow another brigade of five regiments will march. In a day or two more, I shall follow myself, and be in New York ready to receive all but the first."
Uncertain as to his power to hold New York, Washington promptly took the next step that appeared open to him, carrying in his heart a heavy weight of care, and realizing, as perhaps no other man did, that only divine assistance could give him final success. He was bent upon a desperate mission, but to it, with sublime patience, he gave every energy of his masterly mind, and the entire consecration of all that he possessed.
Well was it for him that the power which controls nations was quietly working with him. Well, also, that in his army were men ready for any enterprise of danger, for any sacrifice that duty might demand.
Washington proceeded to New York, to ultimate victory, to final and permanent fame. Nathan Hale went also, simply as a captain of a Connecticut company,—he not to victory, not to immediate fame, but to something higher in one sense than either victory or fame, and to a service well worth a man's doing.
Nathan Hale belonged to the first brigade dispatched to New York—that of General Heath. After rapid marching, considering the state of the roads, "Hale found himself" (March 26th) "for the third time" among his New London friends. The next day they "embarked in high spirits on fifteen transports and sailed for New York." On March 30th the troops "disembarked at Turtle Bay, a convenient landing place" near what is now East 45th Street. Not far from that spot, within six months, Nathan Hale was to win a victory that time can never dim, even if, for a time, it appeared to have covered his memory with a pall. But in that landing-day no shadows were apparent,—only hope, and the zest inevitable in a soldier's life.
A minor honor was soon to come to Nathan Hale. Late in 1775 Enoch Hale was licensed to preach. In the summer of 1776 he attended Commencement at New Haven, from July 23 to 26. He makes note in his diary of friends and classmates whom he saw; also that he obtained the degree of Master of Arts for Nathan and himself. Of the latter his record is, "Write to brother to tell him I have got him his degree."
One or two more letters of Hale are extant from which only partial extracts have been made. One that was written on the 3d of June, 1776, we give with more fullness, omitting only some unimportant clauses. This letter has especial value as an illustration of the fact that most of us now and then have received letters that seemed casual in themselves, but have, to our surprise and often to our deep sadness, proved to be farewell letters.
It is not probable that, in the hurried days that followed, further messages were sent to his grandmother, to his former pastor and beloved teacher, Mr. Huntington, and to his sister Rose and her family. In the late autumn of 1776, after they had learned his fate, and in the years that followed, one can easily imagine how precious seemed these appreciative words, embalming as it were the abiding affection of the man who wrote them.Hale's reference to "the Doctor" also recalls the fact that, from the immediate family of Deacon Richard Hale, five men—three sons, one stepson, and one son-in-law (Surgeon Rose)—entered the Revolutionary Army; one son dying in 1776, one son in 1784, his health having been ruined while in the service, and one son in 1802, his life perhaps shortened by his exposures. Whatever else may have been lacking in that one family, patriotism certainly was not deficient,—the patriotism that does not count the cost to one's self, but the gain to one's country.
The following is the letter referred to, written to his brother Enoch:
Dear Brother,New YorkJune 3d 1776Your Favour of the 9th of May and another written at Norwich I have received—the first mentioned one the 19th of May ult.You complain of my neglecting you—It is not, I acknowledge, wholly without reason—at the same time I am conscious to have written to you more than once or twice within this half year. Perhaps my letters have miscarried.Continuance or removal here depends wholly upon the operations of the war.It gives pleasure to every friend of his country to observe the health which prevails in our army. Dr. Eli (Surgeon of our Regt.) told me a few days since, there was not a man in our Regt. but might upon occasion go out with his Firelock. Much the same is said of other Regiments.The army is improving in discipline, and it is hoped will soon be able to meet the enemy at any kind of play. My company which at first was small, is now increased to eighty and there is a sergeant recruiting who, I hope, has got the other ten which completes the company. We are hardly able to judge as to the numbers the British army for the Summer is to consist of—undoubtedly sufficient to cause us too much bloodshed.I had written you a complete letter in answer to your last, but missed the opportunity of sending it.This will find you in Coventry—if so remember me to all my friends—particularly belonging to the Family. Forget not frequently to visit and strongly to represent my duty to our good Grandmother Strong. Has she not repeatedly favored us with her tender, most important advice? The natural Tie is sufficient, but increased by so much goodness, our gratitude cannot be too sensible.I always with respect remember Mr. Huntington and shall write to him if time admits. Pay Mr. Wright a visit for me. Tell him Asher is well—he has for some time lived with me as a waiter.... Asher this moment told me that our brother Joseph Adams was here yesterday to see me, when I happened to be out of the way. He is in Col. Parson's Regt. I intend to see him to-day and if possible by exchanging get him into my company.Yours affectionately.N. Hale.P. S. Sister Rose talked of making me some Linen cloth similar to Brown Holland for Summer wear. If she has made it, desire her to keep it for me. My love to her, the Doctor, and little Joseph.
Dear Brother,
New YorkJune 3d 1776
Your Favour of the 9th of May and another written at Norwich I have received—the first mentioned one the 19th of May ult.
You complain of my neglecting you—It is not, I acknowledge, wholly without reason—at the same time I am conscious to have written to you more than once or twice within this half year. Perhaps my letters have miscarried.
Continuance or removal here depends wholly upon the operations of the war.
It gives pleasure to every friend of his country to observe the health which prevails in our army. Dr. Eli (Surgeon of our Regt.) told me a few days since, there was not a man in our Regt. but might upon occasion go out with his Firelock. Much the same is said of other Regiments.
The army is improving in discipline, and it is hoped will soon be able to meet the enemy at any kind of play. My company which at first was small, is now increased to eighty and there is a sergeant recruiting who, I hope, has got the other ten which completes the company. We are hardly able to judge as to the numbers the British army for the Summer is to consist of—undoubtedly sufficient to cause us too much bloodshed.
I had written you a complete letter in answer to your last, but missed the opportunity of sending it.
This will find you in Coventry—if so remember me to all my friends—particularly belonging to the Family. Forget not frequently to visit and strongly to represent my duty to our good Grandmother Strong. Has she not repeatedly favored us with her tender, most important advice? The natural Tie is sufficient, but increased by so much goodness, our gratitude cannot be too sensible.
I always with respect remember Mr. Huntington and shall write to him if time admits. Pay Mr. Wright a visit for me. Tell him Asher is well—he has for some time lived with me as a waiter.... Asher this moment told me that our brother Joseph Adams was here yesterday to see me, when I happened to be out of the way. He is in Col. Parson's Regt. I intend to see him to-day and if possible by exchanging get him into my company.
Yours affectionately.N. Hale.
P. S. Sister Rose talked of making me some Linen cloth similar to Brown Holland for Summer wear. If she has made it, desire her to keep it for me. My love to her, the Doctor, and little Joseph.
As Washington had supposed probable, the English decided upon the occupation of New York. In July and August the largest army ever collected in one body upon the American continent prior to 1861, an English army numbering nearly thirty-two thousand men, with a formidable fleet and large munitions of war, gathered at Staten Island. Washington, in the meantime, was occupying a portion of Brooklyn and a portion of the city of New York, fortifying each place and preparing to defend it to the extent of his ability with his small army, never so well fed nor so thoroughly disciplined as that of the British.
Human wisdom would have assumed that the British army would soon succeed in restoring English control; but the best-laid plans miscarry, and a power interposes that helps the weaker and hinders the stronger army.
The English did their best to be ready for the coming conflict, and we know that Washington spared no pains in preparing for the worst that might come.
On August 20, Nathan Hale wrote the following letter to his brother Enoch—the last letter that he ever wrote, so far as we know, to reach its destination. It shows that his heart was absorbed in the duties of the conflict he was sharing, and italso shows how wholly he was leaving the ultimate issue to a higher power.
New York, August 20, 1776.Dear Brother.I have only time for a hasty letter. Our situation this fortnight or more has been such as scarce to admit of writing. We have daily expected an action—by which means, if any one was going and we had letters written, orders were so strict for our tarrying in camp that we could rarely get leave to go and deliver them. For about 6 or 8 days the enemy have been expected hourly, whenever the wind and tide in the least favored. We keep a particular lookout for them this morning. The place and manner of our attack time must determine. The event we leave to Heaven. Thanks to God! We have had time for completing our works and receiving our reinforcements. The Militia of Connecticut ordered this way are mostly arrived. Col. Ward's Regiment has got in. Troops from the southward are daily coming. We hope under God to give account of the enemy whenever they choose to make the last appeal.Last Friday night, two of our fire vessels (a Sloop and Schooner) made an attempt upon the shipping up the river. The night was too dark, the wind too slack for the attempt. The Schooner which was intended for one of the Ships had got by before she discovered them; but as Providence would have it, she run athwart a bomb-catch, which she quickly burned. The Sloop by the light of the former discovered thePh[oe]nix—but rather too late—however she made shift to grapple her, but the wind not proving sufficient to bring her close alongside, or drive the flames immediately on board, thePh[oe]nixafter much difficulty got her clear bycutting her own rigging. Sergt. Fosdick, who commanded the above sloop, and four of his hands were of my company, the remaining two were of this Regt. The Genl. has been pleased to reward their bravery with forty Dollars each, except the last man that quitted the fire-sloop who had fifty. Those on board the Schooner received the same.I must write to some of my other brothers lest you should not be at home. RemainYour friend &cBrother Na. Hale.Mr. Enoch Hale.
New York, August 20, 1776.
Dear Brother.
I have only time for a hasty letter. Our situation this fortnight or more has been such as scarce to admit of writing. We have daily expected an action—by which means, if any one was going and we had letters written, orders were so strict for our tarrying in camp that we could rarely get leave to go and deliver them. For about 6 or 8 days the enemy have been expected hourly, whenever the wind and tide in the least favored. We keep a particular lookout for them this morning. The place and manner of our attack time must determine. The event we leave to Heaven. Thanks to God! We have had time for completing our works and receiving our reinforcements. The Militia of Connecticut ordered this way are mostly arrived. Col. Ward's Regiment has got in. Troops from the southward are daily coming. We hope under God to give account of the enemy whenever they choose to make the last appeal.
Last Friday night, two of our fire vessels (a Sloop and Schooner) made an attempt upon the shipping up the river. The night was too dark, the wind too slack for the attempt. The Schooner which was intended for one of the Ships had got by before she discovered them; but as Providence would have it, she run athwart a bomb-catch, which she quickly burned. The Sloop by the light of the former discovered thePh[oe]nix—but rather too late—however she made shift to grapple her, but the wind not proving sufficient to bring her close alongside, or drive the flames immediately on board, thePh[oe]nixafter much difficulty got her clear bycutting her own rigging. Sergt. Fosdick, who commanded the above sloop, and four of his hands were of my company, the remaining two were of this Regt. The Genl. has been pleased to reward their bravery with forty Dollars each, except the last man that quitted the fire-sloop who had fifty. Those on board the Schooner received the same.
I must write to some of my other brothers lest you should not be at home. Remain
Your friend &cBrother Na. Hale.
Mr. Enoch Hale.
Aside from this letter, the following brief quotations from his diary are all that remain to us in the handwriting of Nathan Hale. Till he lays down his pen for the last time we see him absorbed in the cares and duties of the life about him, fearlessly facing whatever remains to him of life and service.
Aug. 21st. Heavy storm at Night. Much and heavy Thunder. Capt. Van Wyke, and a Lieut, and Ens. of Colo. McDougall's Regt. killed by a Shock. Likewise one man in town, belonging to a Militia Regt. of Connecticut. The Storm continued for two or three hours, for the greatest part of which time [there] was a perpetual Lightning, and the sharpest I ever knew.22d. Thursday. The enemy landed some troops down at the Narrows on Long Island.23d. Friday. Enemy landed more troops—News that they had marched up and taken Station near Flatbush, their advce Gds [advance guards] being on this side near the Woods—that some of our Rifle-men attacked anddrove them back from their post, burnt 2 stacks of hay, and it was thought killed some of them—this about 12 O'clock at Night. Our troops attacked them at their station near Flatb. [Flatbush], routed and drove them back 1½ mile.
Aug. 21st. Heavy storm at Night. Much and heavy Thunder. Capt. Van Wyke, and a Lieut, and Ens. of Colo. McDougall's Regt. killed by a Shock. Likewise one man in town, belonging to a Militia Regt. of Connecticut. The Storm continued for two or three hours, for the greatest part of which time [there] was a perpetual Lightning, and the sharpest I ever knew.
22d. Thursday. The enemy landed some troops down at the Narrows on Long Island.
23d. Friday. Enemy landed more troops—News that they had marched up and taken Station near Flatbush, their advce Gds [advance guards] being on this side near the Woods—that some of our Rifle-men attacked anddrove them back from their post, burnt 2 stacks of hay, and it was thought killed some of them—this about 12 O'clock at Night. Our troops attacked them at their station near Flatb. [Flatbush], routed and drove them back 1½ mile.
One of the facts most perplexing to General Washington was what appeared to be Sir William Howe's delay in making an attack. Indeed, to an outsider unfamiliar with military tactics, Howe's conduct resembles the cruel pleasure a cat sometimes takes in tormenting a mouse that it knows cannot escape. The uncertainty as to what the next British move might be caused much anxiety. Remembering that Howe's force had arrived the last of June, one sees how leisurely must have been his preparations for attack, and how assured his hope of victory.
The expected attack occurred on August 27. The Americans were defeated and driven within their works, their losses being great, especially in prisoners. The Nineteenth Regiment was held in reserve, but Captain Hull wrote that they were near enough to witness the carnage among their fellow-soldiers.
The night after the battle the enemy encamped within a few hundred yards of the defeated Americans. On the 29th Washington decided upon a retreat to New York, and it was effected thatnight. If the English had suspected that the Americans were withdrawing their forces from Brooklyn, it is easy to imagine the carnage that would have ensued. So great was Washington's anxiety at this time that he is said not to have slept during forty-eight hours, and rarely to have dismounted from his horse.
One account of the retreat is as follows: "A disadvantageous wind and rain at first prevented the troops from embarking, and it was feared that the retreat could not be effected that night. But about eleven o'clock a favorable breeze sprung up, the tide turned in the right direction, and about two o'clock in the morning, a thick fog arose which hung over Long Island, while on the New York side it was clear. During the night, the whole American army, nine thousand in number, Washington embarking last of all, with all the artillery, such heavy ordnance as was of any value, ammunition, provision, cattle, horses, carts, and everything of importance, passed safely over.
"All this was effected without the knowledge of the British, although the enemy were so nigh that they were heard at work with their pickaxes and shovels. In half an hour after the lines were finally abandoned, the fog cleared off and the enemy were seen taking possession of the American works. Oneboat on the river, ... within reach of the enemy's fire, was obliged to return; she had only three men in her, who had loitered behind to plunder."
That opportune appearance of the fog must have seemed, to more than one devout heart, as helpful as some of the remarkable interpositions of Providence described in the old Biblical stories.
Hale's company, with its many seamen, rendered effective service in this passage from Long Island. Every student of history, and especially of military history, can recall certain decisive hours in momentous battles when some utterly unforeseen event has entirely changed the face of affairs, and given the victory into unexpected hands; thus, a mistake in the understanding of a phrase used by his captors made André a prisoner, and saved the capture of West Point by the English; while Waterloo, Gettysburg, and many another decisive battle has hinged on seeming chance,—chance truly, if there is no power working for righteousness among the affairs of nations.
The position of the American army, however, now appeared more perilous than ever. Two war vessels had moved up the East River and were followed by others. Active movements among the British troops were reported by all the scouts, but the enemy's designs could not be penetrated.
Writing of these events afterward, Captain Hull said, "It was evident that the superior force of the British would soon give them possession of New York. The Commander-in-chief, therefore, took a position at Fort Washington at the other end of the island. To ascertain the further object of the enemy was now a subject of anxious inquiry with General Washington."
In a letter to General Heath at this crisis Washington wrote as follows: "As everything in a manner depends upon obtaining intelligence of the enemy's motions, I do most earnestly entreat you and General Clinton to exert yourselves to accomplish this most desirable end. Leave no stone unturned, nor do not stick at expense, to bring this to pass, as I never was more uneasy than on account of my want of knowledge on this score."
Johnston, in his valuable "Life of Nathan Hale," says: "If he [Washington] had been anxious to fathom Howe's plans before the latter began thecampaign from Staten Island, he was infinitely more so now. It was not enough to keep a ceaseless watch across the East river.... Like every other commander in history, all through the contest he came to depend much on intelligence gained through the 'secret service.'"
Stuart, the earliest reliable biographer of Hale, in writing of spies says: "The exigency of the American army which we have just described, would not permit the employment, in the service proposed, of any ordinary soldier, unpracticed in military observation and without skill as a draughtsman,—least of all of the common mercenary, to whom, allured by the hope of a large reward, such tasks are usually assigned. Accurate estimates of the numbers of the enemy, of their distribution, of the form and position of their various encampments, of their marchings and countermarchings, of the concentration at one point or another, of the instruments of war, but more than all of their plan of attack, as derived from the open report or the unguarded whispers in camp of officers or men,—estimates of all these things, requiring a quick eye, a cool head, a practical pencil, military science, general intelligence, and pliable address, were to be made. The common soldier would not answer the purpose, and the mercenary might yield to thehigher seductions of the enemy, and betray his employers."
During the war with the French and Indians, American officers had learned the need of trained men who could keep the commanders informed both of the movements and of the plans of the opposing forces. Washington had learned this unforgetable lesson in Braddock's campaign, and, as full commander and wholly responsible not only for the immediate safety but for the future success of his little army, he realized the necessity of obtaining the most accurate information possible.
A corps collected from the best men in the army was organized, and its command was given to Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton. He had gained experience as a ranger in the French and Indian War, and was noted for his coolness, skill, and bravery at Bunker Hill. One hundred and fifty men and twenty officers were considered sufficient for the work assigned to this special corps, known as Knowlton's Rangers. They were divided into four companies. Two of the captains of these men were chosen from Knowlton's own regiment; the other two—one of them Nathan Hale—were from other companies. There can be little doubt that Nathan Hale was proud of his enrollment in this brave corps.
After Hale's services were ended, one brief record remained of "moneys due to the Company of Rangers commanded late by Captain Hale." After the 1st of September, about which time this company of Rangers was organized, it was constantly on duty wherever its services were required, and one can easily imagine Nathan Hale's enthusiasm in his enlarged duties.
Knowlton spoke to some of his officers of the wishes of the commanding general for some one to enter upon this special secret service,—wishes that so appealed to Hale that he at once seriously considered offering himself for the hazardous undertaking.
Captain Hull, two years his senior in age, and one year in advance of him in Yale, a close friend while in college and during their subsequent days, shall describe the personal interview between himself and Captain Hale in regard to this matter. It is said that many remonstrated with Hale at his decision, but Hull's statement shows the arguments of a practical man against which Hale had to contend.
In his memoirs Captain Hull writes thus of his last interview with Captain Hale:
"After his interview with Col. Knowlton, he repaired to my quarters and informed me of what had passed. He remarked 'I think I owe to mycountry the accomplishment of an object so important, and so much desired by the commander of her armies—and I know of no other mode of obtaining the information than by assuming a disguise and passing into the enemy's camp.'
"He asked my candid opinion. I replied that it was an act which involved serious consequences, and the propriety of it was doubtful; and though he viewed the business of a spy as a duty, yet he could not officially be required to perform it; that such a service was not claimed of the meanest soldier, though many might be willing, for a pecuniary compensation, to engage in it; and as for himself, the employment was not in keeping with his character. His nature was too frank and open for deceit and disguise, and he was incapable of acting a part equally foreign to his feelings and habits. Admitting that he was successful, who would wish success at such a price? Did his country demand the moral degradation of her sons, to advance her interests?
"Stratagems are resorted to in war; they are feints and evasions, performed under no disguise; are familiar to commanders; form a part of their plans, and, considered in a military view, lawful and advantageous. The tact with which they are executed exacts admiration from the enemy. Butwho respects the character of a spy, assuming the garb of friendship but to betray? The very death assigned him is expressive of the estimation in which he is held. As soldiers, let us do our duty in the field; contend for our legitimate rights, and not stain our honor by the sacrifice of integrity. And when present events, with all their deep and exciting interests, shall have passed away, may the blush of shame never arise, by the remembrance of an unworthy though successful act, in the performance of which we were deceived by the belief that it was sanctioned by its object. I ended by saying that, should he undertake the enterprise, his short, bright career would close with an ignominious death.
"He replied, 'I am fully sensible of the consequences of discovery and capture in such a situation. But for a year I have been attached to the army, and have not rendered any material service, while receiving a compensation for which I make no return. Yet,' he continued, 'I am not influenced by the expectation of promotion or pecuniary reward. I wish to be useful, and every kind of service necessary for the public good, becomes honorable by being necessary. If the exigencies of my country demand a peculiar service, its claims to perform that service are imperative!'
"He spoke with warmth and decision. I replied, 'That such are your wishes cannot be doubted. But is this the most effectual mode of carrying them into execution? In the progress of the war there will be ample opportunity to give your talents and your life, should it be so ordered, to the sacred cause to which we are pledged. You can bestow upon your country the richest benefits, and win for yourself the highest honours. Your exertions for her interests will be daily felt, while, by one fatal act, you crush forever the power and opportunity Heaven offers for her glory and your happiness.'
"I urged him for the love of country, for the love of kindred, to abandon an enterprise which would only end in the sacrifice of the dearest interests of both. He paused—then affectionately taking my hand, he said, 'I will reflect, and do nothing but what duty demands.' He was absent from the army, and I feared he had gone to the British lines to execute his fatal purpose."
Just how soon after this conversation Captain Hale left camp on his perilous mission, cannot now be determined. We only know that it must have been early in September, during the first week or ten days. He proceeded with Sergeant Hempstead by the safest route, and reached Norwalk before finding a place to cross Long Island Sound.
Sergeant Hempstead alone has furnished the few details of Captain Hale's final preparations. He had decided to assume civilian's dress, probably that of an educated man seeking employment as tutor among the Americans still living in New York. Hempstead says he was dressed in a brown suit of citizen's clothes, with a round, broad-brimmed hat. On parting he gave Hempstead his private papers and letters, and his silver shoebuckles, to take care of for him.
It is, we think, not an undue inference that the letters and private papers he left in Hempstead's care were all to be sent to his family. These doubtless included personal letters to them, for no man such as we know Nathan Hale to have been would have faced a journey from which he might never return without some words of explanation, and possible farewell, to those he loved at home. There is one fact that all who believe in the sanctity of personal confidences and possible farewells will be glad to remember,—that not one private word from Nathan Hale to Alice Adams Ripley, or from her to him, has ever been exploited to satisfy the curiosity of those who have no right to share it.
Hempstead left Captain Hale, who, now fullycommitted to his hazardous quest, set forth on the armed sloopSchuylerwith Captain Pond—one of the captains in the 19th Regiment—in command, across the Sound to Long Island. When he landed Captain Hale said farewell to the last American friend he was to be with, so far as we have any record.
Assuming that he reached this point on or near the 15th of September, one or two other facts suggest themselves. It is known that the Declaration of Independence had been carried to the American camp as early as possible after its announcement in July, had been read to the troops assembled for that purpose, and had been received with unbounded enthusiasm. It is probable that both Colonel Knowlton, later in command of the Rangers, and Captain Hale, one of its officers, were present at that reading and joined in the huzzas. Singularly enough, neither one of these two men was a citizen of the United States for three months.
Two months later Colonel Knowlton fell in the battle of Harlem Heights, on September 16th, six days before Nathan Hale's execution. Knowlton's last words are said to have been, "I do not care for my life, if we do but win the day."
From the moment of his leaving New York, the mind of such a man as Nathan Hale must have hadsolemn foreshadowings of the possible result, of the tremendous risk he was facing. Men do not grow old by the passing of years so much as by the endurance of great experiences, and in the few brief days that were left to Nathan Hale we know really nothing of his whereabouts, of what risks he ran, of how often he barely escaped recognition as a spy, where he slept, of any possible friends whom he may have encountered, or of any moment when his very life seemed to hang on the accidental glance of an enemy's eye.
Finally dawned the 21st of September. Hale had fully accomplished his mission.
There are conflicting accounts as to what occurred on the last evening of Nathan Hale's life, some going into minute details of occurrences that were assumed to have taken place. One with considerable plausibility says that, as the time had elapsed which he had expected to spend among the British (at the end of which time a boat was to be sent across the Sound for him), Hale, having finished his quest, had entered a tavern kept by a certain widow Chichester. She was a stanch friend of the Tories, and her house was the constant resort of Tories and British men and officers. While Hale was sitting in the tavern, apparently at his ease among the men there assembled, some one passed himwhose face he thought familiar,—a man who glanced at him sharply and then passed from the room. Later it was said to have been his own cousin who betrayed him. Fortunately, there is not a word of truth in the assertion.
Although Deacon Hale writes that his son was undoubtedly betrayed by some one, it appears to have been effectually disproved that he was betrayed by a relative—a cousin who, it is stated, had never seen him, and therefore could not have recognized him. A much more probable rumor is that he was recognized by a loyalist woman who might easily have seen him before the American army retreated farther north on the island, and been impressed by his personal appearance and by his prowess in kicking the football over the trees in the Bowery. This feat Hale is said to have performed.
The report goes on to say that a man suddenly entered saying that a boat was approaching, and that Hale, supposing this boat to have been sent for him, at once left the room and went to the shore. If there is any truth in this narrative, it is very possible that here Hale committed his one indiscretion. In his joy at seeing the friends who had been sent for him, he may have uttered words of such joyous welcome that the officer who heardthem must have known that this was some one expecting a boat, and presumably a boat from the opposite shore. At all events, it is stated that Hale, seeing his mistake when several marines presented their guns, turned to fly, stopping only when told by the officer to stand or be shot. These events are said to have taken place at Huntington, Long Island, about forty miles from New York.
But more than a century after Hale's death a British Orderly Book was found, containing the statement, dated September 22d, 1776, that follows: