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Birth
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College
At fourteen years old, he was sent with his brother Enoch, who was sixteen, to Yale College. Nathan was a classmate of fellow spy Benjamin Tallmadge. -
Graduation
The Hale brothers belonged to the Yale literary and debating society, Linonia, which debated topics in astronomy, mathematics, literature, and the ethics of slavery. He graduated with first-class honors in 1773 at age 18. -
Becoming a Teacher
Upon graduation, Hale became a teacher, first in East Haddam and later in New London. After the Revolutionary War began in 1775, he joined a Connecticut militia and was elected first lieutenant. -
Recives letter
Hale receives letter form Tallmadge, who encourages him to join militia. -
Captain
In January 1776, Nathan Hale was promoted as captain and selected to lead Thomas Knowlton's “Rangers". -
Reporting British Troop Movements
Hale volunteered on September 8, 1776, to go behind enemy lines and report on British troop movements, knowing fully well that an act of spying was punishable by death. -
Volunteering to be a spy
Washington sought a volunteer to go behind British lines and discover the location of the planned invasion. Hale, seeing the assignment as a patriotic opportunity, volunteered on September 8, 1776. -
Crossing enemy lines
Hale crossed enemy lines disguised as a Dutch schoolteacher, immediately placing his life at risk. -
Battle of Long Island
The colonial army moved to Manhattan Island to prevent the British from capturing New York City. During his mission, New York City fell to British forces on September 15 and Washington was forced to retreat to the island's north in Harlem Heights -
Death
On the morning of September 22, 1776, at age 21, Nathan Hale faced his own execution, being discovered as a spy. His last words are, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
