Nathan Hale Statue

Nathan Hale was born to a wealthy family in Coventry, Connecticut on June 6, 1755. At the age of fourteen, he enrolled at Yale College (now Yale University). An exemplary student, Hale graduated in 1773. That same year, he commenced a career in education, teaching first at a small school in East Haddam and then the following year at a private academy in New London. 

In April 1775, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord. The following month, two of Hale’s brothers marched to Massachusetts with the Connecticut Militia. Despite being enrolled in the Connecticut Militia, Hale remained behind to complete his teaching duties before traveling to Massachusetts a few weeks later to join his unit. That same year, he joined the Seventh Connecticut Regiment of the Continental Army, received a promotion to the rank of first lieutenant, and participated in the Siege of Boston. When his regiment’s enlistment term expired at the end of 1775, Hale joined the Nineteenth Connecticut Regiment and later received a promotion to the rank of captain. 

Following their victory at the Battle of Brooklyn in late August 1776, the British completed the first step in their quest to capture New York City by taking control of Long Island. Camped across the East River in Manhattan was George Washington and the outnumbered Continental Army, with Hale in its ranks. Desirous to obtain information on his enemy’s next move, Washington created a battalion of rangers, whose purpose was to perform scouting and reconnaissance. The unit’s commander, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton of Connecticut, selected Hale to serve with the rangers. Soon after, in early September, Washington asked for a volunteer from the battalion to sneak behind enemy lines on Long Island to gather intelligence on troop movements and fortifications. When the rest of his brothers-in-arms hesitated, Hale stepped forward and volunteered. He then left Manhattan and traveled to Norwalk, Connecticut. There, Hale secured passage across Long Island Sound. Dressed as a Dutch schoolteacher, he slipped behind British lines and collected information. On the evening of September 21, while Hale was attempting to sail across Long Island Sound and return to American-controlled territory, the British captured him. That night, British General William Howe interrogated Hale and, after being informed that incriminating documents had been found hidden under the soles of his shoes, sentenced him to death for spying. The next morning, the British hanged him. He was twenty-one years old. After leaving Hale’s body up for a few days as a warning to passersby, they buried it nearby. Legend has it that before his execution, Hale declared, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” However, no evidence exists to support this claim.

Nearly 125 years after Hale’s execution at the hands of the British, Yale University alumni hired sculptor and fellow Yale alumnus Bela Lyon Pratt to design a statue in honor of Hale, which was dedicated on Yale’s Old Campus in 1914. About two decades later, Robert R. McCormick, a U.S. Army veteran and editor of the Chicago Tribune, commissioned a recast of Pratt’s bronze sculpture. After his service in the Great War, McCormick was instrumental in introducing Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) programs to Chicago’s high schools. He believed Hale to be a proper role model for students enrolled in the programs. Dedicated on June 4, 1940 in a plaza just outside the Tribune Tower, the statue depicts the Revolutionary War spy standing shackled and bound awaiting execution. It rests on a granite pedestal designed by architect Leo J. Weissenborn, who oversaw the construction of the Tribune Tower over a decade earlier. 

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History.com Editors. "Nathan Hale Volunteers to Spy Behind British Lines." History. A&E Television Networks. 10 September 2020. Web. 21 March 2021 <https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nathan-hale-volunteers-to-spy-behind-british-lines>.

"Nathan Hale." Chicago Public Art: One of the Most Comprehensive Guides to Outdoor Public Art in the City of Chicago. Web. 21 March 2021 <http://chicagopublicart.blogspot.com/2013/08/nathan-hale.html>.

"Nathan Hale." Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 21 March 2021 <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nathan-Hale>.

Rumore, Kori, Chris Walker, and Ryan Marx. "Decoding Tribune Tower." Chicago Tribune. 15 October 2015. Web. 21 March 2021 <https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-tribune-tower-architectural-features-htmlstory.html>.

Tucker, Spencer C., ed. American Revolution: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2018.