Life of Captain Nathan Hale, the martyr-spy of the American revolution
%. ' .^^ ^°^ "°._ \ '■n.o^ : 4 O ^. o ^ o c / m,: WL.1 P' '^-iK^ <4^0 ■^rwi; ^■^^^ LIFE CAPTAIN NATHAN HALE Partp-SpH rf t¥ J^tMiran §lMuti0n, By I. W. STUART. "J!Cf)us, fajfjilc fontj Firtue iuisfjcti in batn to saiic, finale, ftrigfjt antj Btnerous, founU a i^aplcsjs grabe ; 212Ettf) (Eenius' libing flam* fjts bofsom gloincU, ^nti Science lurcti i)im to fjcv sincct abolje ; En Oaorti^'0 fair patft fjia feet atibcntureti far, STfjc pritje of i9cace, tfje rising f)ope of £23ar; £u Ijutg firm, in tianger calm as ebcn — CTo frientjs uncfjanfiing, anlj sincere to |Llcaticn. fl^oiu »f)ort ijis course, tfje prije Tjotn earlg toon, asatjile iueeping jFrien'tjs{)ip moutns ijer favorite gone." Pres. Dwight. with illustrations. SECOND EDITION, TNLARCKD AND IMPROVED. HARTFORD: PUBLISHED BY F. A. BROWN. NEW YORK, D. APPLETON & CO: D. BURGESS & CO. BOSTON, SANBORN, CARTER & BAZIN. 1856. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by P. A. BROWN, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut. STEREOTYPED BY RICHARD H. HOBBS, HARTFORD, CONN. DEDICATED TO COLONEL CHARLES J. RUSS IN MARK OF REGARD FOR HIS VALUABLE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE WORK AND IN TOKEN OF PERSONAL FRIENDSHIP. PREFACE. " I DO think it hard," wrote Stephen Hempstead, the friend and companion of the subject of the following Memoir, "that Hale, who was equally brave, young, accomplished, learned and honor- able— should be forgotten on the very threshold of his fame, even by his countrymen; that while our own historians have done honor to the memory of Andre, Hale should be unknown ; that while the remains of the former have been honored even by our own countrymen, those of the latter should rest among the clods of the valley, undistinguished, unsought, and unknown." Most fully do we accord in sentiment with the patriotic remon- strant just quoted. It is indeed 'hard,' that a spirit exalted as was that of Captain Nathan Hale— that a life and conduct like his own, so pure, so heroic, so disinterested, and so crowned by an act of martyrdom one of the most galling and valiant on record — should not have been fitly commemorated, hitherto, either by the pen of history or of biography. His ' remains ' — the dust and ashes of his body — of these no one can tell the place of inter- ment. For aught that any exploration can reveal, they may be now " imprisoned in the viewless winds, And blown with restless violence about Tiie pendent world — " 11 P EFFACE. though, it is certain, they were first deposited somewhere within the circuit of the Empire-City of the Union — and thousands of gay-hearted mortals, at the present moment, daily and hourly walk probably over the spot, ' not knowing where they tread ' — and none can ever know until the Grave gives up its dead. But this fact by no means excuses the silence of history about the youthful hero. Marshall, Ramsay, Gordon, Butler, Botta — not one word have they to say concerning him. Bancroft has not yet reached him. Hannah Adams just mentions him. Popular school histories merely allude to his fate. A brief sketch of him by the late J. S. Babcock, an author of Hale's native town, which is beauteous for the spirit in which it is written, but is compara- tively barren of facts — meagre notices of him in Allen's Biogra- phical Dictionary, in Pease and Niles' Gazeteer, and in Holmes' Annals — an Address before the Hale Monument Association by the late Hon. A. T. Judson, which embodies touching comment on Hale's character, and the closing acts of his career, but which does not assume to give the details of his life — short, but valuable references to him by H. Onderdonk Jr., and B. J. Lossing Esquire, in their respective works — these, and a succinct tale which appeared in the New York Sunday Times several years ago, together with a few paragraphs in Sparks' Life of Andre, and a few more in Thompson's History of Long Island — constitute, so far as we can ascertain, all that has been done in the way of biographical contribution to his memory. And as for notices of him, of any importance, the other side of the Atlantic — such of course we should hardly expect — nor are there any, we think it njay be safely affirmed. PREFACE. Ill In this dearth of memoir with regard to Hale — feeling that his life signally deserved an ejEFort for its exliibition — we began to look for materials for the purpose. We consulted documents of every kind, within our reach, that might by possibility contain them — and jotted down, one after another, each item that we thought relevant and true. Fortunately we procured Hale's own Camp- Book — in which, for some time, he kept a diary. We succeeded in obtaining some of his correspondence — a few letters from his own pen, and quite a number addressed to him by others. We garnered the statements concerning him made by his own faithful attendant in camp, Asher Wright — and those also of Stephen Hempstead, that confidential soldier in his company to whom we have already referred, and who was Hale's companion, for a por- tion of the time, on his last fatal expedition. We consulted also many aged persons, in different places — several who were person- ally acquainted with Hale — and among these last, particularly, the lady to whom Hale was betrothed, and the venerable Colonel Samuel Green, who, at New London, was a pupil of Hale's, and remembered him, and many interesting facts concerning him, per- fectly. We made many inquiries of Hale's relatives, near and remote, and among these, particularly, of two of his grand- nephews, Chauncey Howard Esquire of Hartford, Connecticut, and Rev. EnwARd E. Hale of Worcester, Massachusetts, to each of whom we are indebted for much and valuable information. J. W. BoYNTON Esquire, also of Coventry, the Secretary of the Hale Monument Association — Hon. Henry C. Deming, and George Brinley Jr., Esquire, of Hartford — Hon. H. E. Peck, 1 IV PREFACE. of New Haven — the Rev. Dr. Sprague, of Albany, New York — Hon. James W. Beekman, of New York City — the late venerable Gen. Jeremiah Johnson, of Brooklyn, Long Island — and especially Henry Onderdonk, Jr., Esquire, of Jamaica, Long Island, author of the " Revolutionary Sketches of Queens County " —most politely added to our stores. We procured also affidavits or well-authenticated statements, from various persons upon Long Island, who were cotemporaries of Hale, and conversant with his fate — as from Robert Townsend, a farmer of Oyster Bay, who heard the details of his capture from the British officer who seized him. Captain Quarme — from Solo- mon "Wooden, a shipbuilder, in 1776, near the place of Hale's cap- ture, and familiar with its incidents — from the families of Jesse Fleet and Samuel Johnson, who lived at Huntington, East Neck, upon the very spot where he was made a prisoner — and particularly from Andrew Hegeman, and Tunis Bogart, honest farmers, who during the Revolution were impressed from Long Island as wagon- ers in the British service, and who themselves saw Hale executed. We had besides in ouk possession the report made to Genei'al Hull by an officer of the British Commissariat Department, who also saw Hale hung, and was " deeply moved by the conduct and fate of the unfortunate victim." Thus furnished with materials — and more abundantly than at first we expected — we began to prepare the present volume. Yet at best — considering how much really there must have been in the life and character of Hale, attractive to a laudable curiosity, that like the dust into which his manly frame has been dissipated, PREFACE. V must lie hidden forever from our knowledge — we were but poorly equipped. Many things, to be written down, it is true, were plain — were easy of arrangement, and caused no embarrassment to our pen. But other things again, worthy of record, were wrapt in gloom. There were points, hitherto in dispute, to be settled. There were points, unknown when we commenced our labor, to be developed in the progress, and by the process of examination. Side by side then, or stretched out in links seemingly incapable of connection, we placed our various materials — many of them scraps merely of information, atomic, insulated, and wholly unpromising of results. Comparison and contrast gradually shed light upon them. They grew related. They knit together. Little family groups of affiliated facts and conclusions started up from their midst, and ever and anon, as new and pleasant merchandise, aided to load up the train of our biography. So we proceeded, on to our journey's end — slowly — but surely, we would fain believe — with all the certainty that could attend our steps, and where it did not, certain of our uncertainty. "We have at last, consequently, cut a road for all who wish to travel over the life of Hale — not a long one to those who may pursue it — ^nor tedious, we fain would trust. We have not, it will be observed, set up thickly along in its course the posts of authorities, but con- tent ourselves with erecting one large and general one at our point of departure — here in this Preface — in the paragraphs just above. Therewith will not every traveller in our track be satisfied ? We trust that he will. Some notes he will find by the way, but they are made, chiefly, VI PEEFACE. to illustrate the text — seldom for the purpose of proving its genuineness. A Genealogy of the Family of Nathan Hale, will also be found. It is from the pen of a gentleman, to whom we have already alluded as one of the grand-nephews of the subject of this Memoir — the Rev. Edward E. Hale, of Wor- cester, Massachusetts. Prepared, as it has been, with great labor of research, with scrupulous judgment, and skill of arrangement, it forms a most valuable addition to the present volume, and can not prove otherwise than acceptable, to all espe- cially of the Hale blood. Our own obligations to its worthy author for the pains he has taken in its execution, and for its gratuitous use in our pages, are deep and abiding. Pictorial illustrations also the Reader will find — views, first of Hale's Birth-Place — second, of Hale and his brothers playing the forbidden game of Morris — third of his entering New York with his Prize Sloop — ^fourth, of his passing in disguise within the Camp of the Enemy — fifth, of his Capture — sixth, of his march to Exe- cution— seventh, of bis Camp Basket, and Camp Book — eighth, of his Monument — and ninth, of Andre. Save the first view, which, chiefly, is copied from one by J. W. Barber Esquire, in his " Historical Collections of Connecticut," and that of the Monu- ment, procured originally by the Secretary of the " Hale Associa- tion," and that of Andre, from a copy of the one in the Trumbull Gallery at New Haven — they have all been designed under the eye of the author of this work — in the first instance for his own gratification simply — as an ornament for his parlor — and without PREFACE. Vll reference to publication. The second owes its origin to the skillful pencil of Henry Bryant, artist, of Hartford. The third is from the quick and ingenious hand of W. M. B. Hartley Esquire, of New York. The rest were designed by Joseph Ropes, a highly accomplished artist, also of Hartford, Connecticut. They have all been copied and impressed, with most praiseworthy care, at the excellent Lithographic Establishment of E. B., and E. C. Kellogg, also of Hartford. That his labor may prove grateful, and instruct the patriotism of the Reader, and move his noblest sensibilities in behalf of one, " The pride of Peace, the rising hope of War," who, in a crisis of danger the most appalling, gave up youth, hope, ambition, love, life, all, for his native land, is the fervent wish of the author of the following pages. Through these, Nathan Hale, the illustrious Martyr-Spy of the American Revolu- tion, asks to be remembered by his countrymen. I. W. STUART. Charter Oak Place, Nov. 30th, 1855. CONTENTS. CHAP. I. Page. Hale's birth, family, and birth place. His early training. He prepares for College. He enters Yale. His career in College. He graduates, and takes a school in East Haddam, Conn. His occupations there. He removes to New London, and continues to teach. His feelings and ability as an instructor. The manner in which he spent his time. His correspondence. His personal appear- ance. His great activity** The rich promise of his youth. 13 CHAP. II. The Lexington Alarm, Hale gives up his school, and joins the army as a volunteer. His motives in doing so. Is stationed for a-while at New London. Leaves for Boston. The prospect before him. Joins the brigade of Gen. Sulli- van. His life for six months in the Camp around Boston. His skill in military discipline — his studies — his amuse- ments— with extracts from his Diary 43 CHAP. III. Hale leaves the vicinity of Boston for New York. His gal- lant capture of a British sloop in the East River. His X CONTENTS. Pagk. station, occupation, patriotism, attachments, and character- istic modesty, illustrated by letters from his own pen. . . 70 CHAP. IV. Circumstances of the American and British armies when Hale undertook his fatal mission. Tlie office of a spy — its danger — its ignominy. Col. Knowlton commissioned by Gen. Washington to procure some one to undertake it. He appeals to American officers, and to a French serjeant in the army. They all refuse, save Hale, who readily volunteers for the duty. His fellow-officers warmly remon- strate— but in vain. Hale nobly persists in his purpose. . 82 CHAP. V. After receiving instructions from General Washington, he starts upon his expedition, accompanied by Stephen Hemp- stead, a confidential soldier of his own company. They reach Norwalk, Connecticut. Hale here assumes a dis- guise, parts with his companion, and leaves for Long Island in the sloop Huntington, Captain Pond. Safe pas- sage across the Sound. His journey to New York, and its risks 97 CHAP. VI. He starts on his return to the American Camp. Reaches the " Cedars," East Neck, Huntington, L. I., where he is captured. His behaviour on the occasion. Is carried to CONTENTS. XI Faok. New York. The great fire in the city at 'the time. Is immediately taken before Gen. Howe. The head-quarters, appearance, and character of the British Commander-in- chief. Hale's heroic conduct upon his examination. Is condemned as a spy, and is to be hung " at daybreak the next morning^ 108 CHAP. VII. A reflection. Hale unappalled. His confinement after sen- tence. His jailer and executioner, William Cunningham, Provost-Marshal of the British army. Cruel treatment of Hale. His gloomy situation. His noble endurance. Writes letters to his friends, and prepares himself, subhme- ly, for the catastrophe. Is taken out to die. The brutal Provost-Marshal tauntingly demands from him a dying speech. That speech ! The fatal swing 123 CHAP. VIII. Effect of Hale's death — upon Gen. Washington — upon the American army — upon his relatives and friends else- where— upon his camp attendant, Asher Wright. Deep and general mourning. The Hale Monument Association. The Monument. Extracts from poetry in memory of Hale. An epitaph by a friend. Comparison between Hale and Andre. Conclusion 144 X]l CONTENTS. APPENDIX. Page. A. Genealogy of the Family of Nathan Hale, 189 B. Of Hale's father, 211 C. Hale's Linonian Society Speech, 213 D. List of Hale's classmates, 216 E. Sketch of Hale's friend, Benjamin Tallmadge, . . . 217 F. Sketch of the lady to whom Hale was betrothed, . . . 223 G. Hale's Diary, 226 H. Sketch of Hale's companion, Stephen Hempstead, . .251 I. Of Hale's supposed betrayal by a relative, 257 J. Remarks on Hale by Hon. H. J. Raymond of New York, 268 NATHAN HALE CHAPTEK I. Hale's birth, family, and birthplace. His early training. He prepares for College. He enters Yale. His career in College. He graduates, and takes a school in East Haddam, Conn. His occupations there. He removes to New London, and continues to teach. His feelings and ability as an instructor. The manner in which he spent his time. His correspondence. His personal appearance. His great activity. The rich promise of his youth. Kathan Hale was born in Coventry, Con- necticut, June sixth, 1755. He was tlie sixth of twelve children, nine sons and three daughters, offspring of Eichard and Elizabeth Hale, and was the third in descent from John Hale, the first minister of Beverly, Massachusetts.* His father, a man of sterling integrity, piety and industry, had emigrated early in life from Newbury in Massachusetts to Coventry, where, as farmer. * See Appendix A. 2 14 NATHAN HALE. magistrate, deacon in tlie cliurcti, and representa- tive several times in the General Assembly, be passed a long, laborious and useful life, and died on the first of June, 1802, much lamented.* His mother, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Strong, of Coventry, was a lady of high moral and domestic worth, strongly attached to her children, and careful of their culture. The family was eminently Puritan in its faith, tastes, and manners — a quiet, strict, godly household, where the Bible ruled, and family prayers never failed, nor was grace ever omitted at meals, nor work done after sundown on a Saturday night. The nature of Kathan Hale's early training- may hence be understood. He must have been brought up scrupulously "in the fear of God." His after life proves that he was, though when a stripling his lively instincts led him at times to rebel a little, with some of his brothers, but never rudely, against parental strictness. An incident is preserved, illustrating this last remark. His father forbade his children to use the morris-board, * See Appendix B. N A T H A N H A L E . 15 thinking the diversion might lead to evil, and to restrain them, would allow at times but one light in the room. This he was accustomed to hold in his own hand, while he sat in a large arm-chair, and read till he sank to sleep. The attempt to remove the candlestick from his grasp was almost sure to result in waking him. So the boys, Na- than among them — thoughtless for the moment of the wrong of disobedience — used to cluster around his chair, and play out their games on the morris-board, while the sleeping father, uncon- sciously at the time — "Holding the tallow candle till its close, Let no flame waste o'er his repose." The old-fashioned, two-storied house in which scenes like this just described took place, stands upon elevated ground, with a fine prospect west- ward, and had, at the time of which we speak, the appendages of copious yards, and outbuildings, and trees, "^ while the town around, the gift of the * See Frontispiece. The three rows of maples in front of the Hale mansion were not there in the time of Nathan, but were set 16 NATHAX HALE. Mohegan sachem Joseph to its first proprietors, was much varied by hill and dale, forest and meadow, and beautified with a large lake and numerous streams. Nathan early exhibited a fondness for those rural sports to which such a birthplace and scenery naturally invited him. He loved the gun and fishing-rod, and exhibited great ingenuity in fash- ioning juvenile implements of every sort. He was fond of running, leaping, wrestling, firing at a mark, throwing, lifting, playing ball. In conse- quence, his infancy, at first feeble, soon hardened by simple diet and exercise into a firm boyhood. And with the growth of his body, his mind, naturally bright and active, developed rapidly. He mastered his books with ease, was fond of reading out of school, and was constantly applying his in- formation. His mother, and particularly his grand- mother Strong, nourished his thirst for knowledge, and to their influence it was owing that his father at last consented, contrary to his original purpose, out many years subsequently, by order and at the expense of the late David Hale Ksquire of New York. NATHAN HALE. 17 to fit him for college. He was to be educated for the ministry, as were also two of his brothers, and was placed as a pupil under the care of Doctor Joseph Huntington, the pastor of the parish in which he was born. Classical academies were then rare out of the county towns of New England, and the country boy who aspired to a liberal education was gener- ally compelled to learn his Latin and Greek from the clergj^man. And in most cases he was thus well taught. In Hale's instance there is no doubt of the fact. His instructor, as his various contro- versial and other writings show, was very compe- tent. He " was considered, in the churches, a pat- tern of learning," was laborious, assiduous, and mild, * and when, in 1770, young Nathan, then * The following epitaph on his grave-stone gives a just summary of his character : — " Rev. Joseph Huntington, D. D., ordained June 29th, 1763 ; died Dec. 25th, 1794, in the 60th year of his age, and 32d of his ministrj'. He was an emi- nent divine, and laborious minister ; an affectionate parent and friend. He was considered in the churches a pattern of learning, an illustrious example of extensive charity, and was much improved as a councillor and peace- maker. Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God." He was the brother of ^muel Huntington L. L. D., who was 2* 18 NATHAN HALE. in his sixteenth year, presented himself for admis- sion to the halls of Yale, we have reason to believe that he passed the ordeal of examination with more than usual credit in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and a very reputable acquaintance with Sallust, Cicero, and the Greek Testament. Of his career in college but little is known. That it was distinguished by good scholarship, good behaviour, and industry, is however certain. That it was marked by great popularity among his fellows, and with the Faculty, is equally certain. Doctor Dwight, his tutor, entertained a very high idea of his capacity. He has beautifully eulogized him in verse. He was wonted, down to the close of his life, frequently to recur to him, and always in terms of admiration of his course in college, and of deep regret for his untimely fate.^ B}^ President, in 1779 and 1780, of the old Continental Congress, and afterwards, for nine years, the Chief Magistrate of Connecticut. He left two children — one of whom became the wife of Edward Dorr Griffin, D. D., President of William's College, and the other, a son, Samuel Huntington, emigrated to Ohio, of which State he became Chief Justice and Governor. *In the American Historical Magazine for January, 1836, is NATHAN HALE. 19 him, as also from relatives of the pupil, we are assured that Hale was peculiarly fond of scientific pursuits, and that in these he stood at the head of his class. "And Science lured him to her sweet abode," is the language of Doctor Dwight — a fact proved also by the preponderance of books in this department in Hale's own little library — among which, particularly, was a new and com- plete Dictionary, in four large octavo volumes, of the arts and sciences — comprehending all the branches of useful knowledge, with accurate des- criptions as well of various machines and instru- ments as of the classes, kinds, preparations and uses of natural productions, and illustrated with a communication, signed M., and written, we are assured by the Editor, by a " gentleman who was connected with the medical staff of the Revolutionary army," and who was " an early acquaintance and friend of Hale." In this the writer says: ^^ Nathan Hale I was acquainted with, from his frequent visits at my father's house, while an academical student. His own remarks, and the remarks of my father, left at that period an indelible impression on my mind." — " His urbanity and general deportment were peculiarly attracting, and for solid acquirements I am sure he would lose nothing in comparison with Andre." 20 NATHAN HALE. above three hundred copper-plate engravings. In the languages also he was a proficient. He stood, as the Commencement Exercises show, among the first thirteen in a class of thirty-six. That he was anxious for mental improvement, and labored diligently to secure it, is proved by other facts. While at Yale, he took a most active and leading part as a member of the Linonian Society in this Institution — a Society which was established for the purpose of furnishing, aside from the regular course of academical stud}^, lite- rary stimulus and rhetorical improvement to the undergraduates, and of promoting in their midst feelings of harmony and friendship. Hale was the first of his own class to be chosen as its Chancellor^ or presiding officer."^ With Timothy D wight, afterwards the distinguished President of Yale * The Linonian Society was founded in 1753 — and is the oldest organization of its kind, it is believed, to be found in the country. Its presiding officer was called Chancellor down to 1789 — after which time he was called President. Of Hale's class, twenty-one were members — of whom, after Hale, Thomas Mead, William Robinson, Ebeuozer Williams, and Roger Alden, were also Chan- cellors. NATHAN HALE. 21 College — and James Hillhouse, afterwards tlie cele- brated civilian and Senator in Congress from Con- necticut— lie cooperated in founding its Library. The Spectator, Addison's Evidences, Paradise Lost, Young's ISTiglit Thoughts, Priors Poems, the Trav- els of Cyrus, and the Elements of Criticism, in two volumes — works which indicate the sound- ness of his own literary taste — ^were among the books bestowed by himself for this purpose — to a Society which now counts its volumes to a number exceeding thirteen thousand, and which, with just pride and pleasure, looks back to Hale as one of the strong pillars of its infancy. But besides his agency in founding its Library^ the records of the Society in question, show Hale's praiseworthy diligence in other respects. His name, in his own day, occurs in the reports of almost every meeting — at one time, as having de- livered " a very interesting narration" — at another, ' 'an eloquent extemporaneous address " — at another, as taking part in some one of the plays which were frequently acted at that period — and upon still other occasions, as proposing questions for 22 NATHAN HALE discussion.* At the close of the academical year in 1772, it devolved upon him specially — in his capacity as in-coming Chancellor — to respond, in behalf of the fraternity, to a Valedictory Address from one of the members of the graduating class — y^-doubtless the retiring Chancellor of the Society. This duty he performed with propriety and with affectionate zeal — as his Speech upon the. occasion now fortunately in our hands, abundantly shows. f At thought of separating from those, Hale pro- *Many of the reports of the Society for the year 1771 were written by Hale himself as scribe, and are signed by his name in full. Here, for example, is an entry made by him, which contains a question for discussion, proposed by himself: — " Feb. 27th, ] 771. — This venerable Society met at Hayes' Room. The meeting was opened by a Narration, spoken by "Williams, and after some questions the meeting was dismissed. Question brought in by myself. Q. How are the parts of life divided? Answer. Into three : the vegetative, the sensitive, and the rational. Test, Nathan Hale." t We are indebted to Chauncey M. Depew Esq., the President at this time of the Linonian Society, for this Speech, and for other valuable items illustrating Hale's connection with the said Society. He carefullv scrutinized the records in our behalf, and for this NATHAN HALE. 23 ceeded to say, who had '' been rendered dear '' to the Society, "not only by a long and intimate acquaintance, but by the strictest bonds of unity and friendship " — by their " ability " — and by the "regard" they had ever expressed for " Linonia and her sons" — the countenances of those present were "bedimmed with an unusual kind of sadness." The departure of these gentlemen, he remarked, was deeply to be regretted — whether they were viewed as "patrons," whose "utmost care and vigilance" the Society had shared — or as "bene- factors," whose liberality had been manifested "in rich and valuable donations " to the Association — or as "friends and brothers," whose "amiable company and conversation," and whose " cordial affection" had been the source of "inexpressible happiness." Under their wise management of af- fairs, he continued — the members of the Society had not only " been entertained with all the pleas- ures of familiar conversation," but improved "in attention will please receive our special thanks. To the prompt courtesy also of E. K. Foster Esq., of New Haven, we are in this connection much indebted. 24 NATHAN HALE. useful knowledge and literature." They had taken "unwearied pains," he affirmed, at a time when the Society was warmly attacked, to "suppress its opposers,"* and increasing its "dignity and power," had caused it to rise, "step by step," to its "ancient splendor." For all these services, as well as for the judicious instructions in regard to the management of the Society which they had just communicated through their Valedictorian, Hale returned the sincere thanks of the members who were to remain, and pledged their future "spirited" exertions "in Linonia's cause." "With steadiness and resolution," he affirmed, they would " strive to make her shine with unparalled lustre " — and giving assurance that the memory of their parting friends would "always be very dear" to the fra- ternity, he invoked for them all, the propitious smiles of Heaven.f In still farther demonstration of his thirst for intellectual improvement, it is to be mentioned, that, in addition to an active participation in the regular * He refers here to a rival society, then not long formed. tSee Appendix C. NATHAN HALE. 25 exercises of the Linonian Society, and of the Col- lege, Hale was in the habit of epistolary corres- pondence with some of his classmates npon literary subjects — on themes of taste and criticism, and of grammar and philology. He would correct carefully, and in writing, the compositions of some of his fellows, and receive the same friendly office in return. A letter from Benjamin Tallmadge, his classmate, still preserved, is of this character, in which the latter vindicates his own use of the comparative degree against a previous criticism by Hale.^ * " In my delightsome retirement from the fruitless bustle of the noisy " — writes Tallmadge to Hale, in this connection, in a few pass- ages which we here extract — " with my usual delight, and perhaps with more than common attention, I perused your epistle. Replete as it was with sentiments worthy to be contemplated, let me assure you, with the confidence of aft affectionate friend, that with noth- ing was my pleasure so greatly heightened as with your various remarks upon my preceding performance; which, so far from carrying the appearance of a censuring critic's empty amusement, seemed to me to be wholly the result of unspotted regard, and (as I may say) fraternal esteem. " This method of writing is not wholly destitute of every advan- tage. [Such an allegation had been made.] For in the first 26 NATHAN HALE. Nor did Hale while in college forget his ath- letic sports. The marks of a prodigious leap which he made upon the Grreen in New Haven, were long preserved, and pointed out. His in- tercourse with his mates was always affable. He formed many college friendships, and they lasted till his death — with James Hillhouse, Benjamin Tallmadge, Eoger Alden, John P. Wyllys, Tho- mas Mead, Elihu Marvin, and others his class- mates, with whom he kept up an intimate corres- pondence as long as he lived.* He was assigned, on graduating, a part with Tallmadge, f and Wil- place, it affords an opportunity, as well as gives a person a dispo- sition, carefully to scrutinize all manner of writing, while it will be a monitor to himself to avoid defects manifest in the same, and secondly, it may be of advantage to us in causing us carefully to consider what we assert, that so we may be able to defend the same against the captious wills, and the insidious words of our adversaries. To obtain advantage myself, and to be contributory, as much as I am able, to your improvement, was certainly my whole design in undertaking this exercise ; and I doubt not but that the same reasons were your greatest inducements." * See Appendix D, for a list of all Hale's classmates. + See Appendix E, for a sketch of Tallmadge. NATHAN HALE. 27 liam Eobmson,"^ and Ezra Samson, f in a Latin Syllogistic Dispute, followed by a Forensic Debate, on tke question, " Whetlier the Education of Dau.gliters be not, without any just reason, more * William Robinson — a direct descendant from the famous John Robinson of Leyden — was born at Lebanon, Connecticut, August 15th, 1754. After leaving College, he studied for the ijiinistry. In 1780 he was ordained pastor of the church at Southington, Connecticut. It is a remarkable fact concerning him, that in the winter of this year — one of the coldest and most severe upon rec- ord— he walked the whole distance from Windsor to Southington, about thirty miles, on snow-shoes, to be settled. He continued in this station forty-one years — discharging its duties with exemplary fidelity, meekness, and ability. Like his classmate Hale, he was eminently patriotic, and his cooperation in the Revolution was con- stant and powerful. He died August 15th, 1845, on his birth-day, aged seventy-one years. He was the father of Rev. Edward Rob- inson L. L. D., the distinguished Professor in the University of New York, of George Robinson Esq., of Hartford, and of Wil- liam Robinson Esq., of New Haven — both worthy citizens of Con- necticut. t Ezra Samson, after graduating, was settled for awhile as a clergyman — but his health failing him, he became editor first of the Balance, published at Hudson, New York, and then of the Courant, at Hartford, Connecticut. He was a very worthy man, and distiucruished as a fine writer. 28 NATHAN HALE. neglected than that of Sons " — a curious theme, as implying in that early day an inattention to the mental cultivation of the gentler sex which can- not be charged on our own age. How Hale man- aged with the subject we are not informed, but an especial favorite as he always was with the ladies, we doubt not that his nature urged him upon this occasion to vindicate their claims to educational advantages. Soon after graduating, which was in September, 1773, he commenced keeping school. His first engagement in this way was at East Haddam, where he spent the winter of 1773-4; in what kind of school precisely we are not informed, but probably in some select one where he was required to instruct both in English and in the Classical Tongues. East Haddam was at this time a place of much wealth and business activity, but if we are to judge from Hale's own description, rather secluded from the rest of the world. '' I was at the receipt of your letter," he writes his friend Mead, May second, 1774, from New London, " in East Haddam (alias Moodus,) a place NATHAN HALE. 29 wliicli I at first, for a long time, concluded inac- cessable either by friends, acquaintance, or letters. Nor was I convinced of the contrary until I re- ceived yours, and at the same time two others from Alden* and Wyllys.t It was equally, or more difficult, to convey anything from Moodus." * Roger Aldcn — of whom as a friend, classmate, and correspon- dent of Hale, the Reader, we think, will be pleased to know that, like Hale, from purely patriotic motives, he joined the army of the Revolution, and distinguished himself as a brave and efficient offi- cer. In 1777, he was appointed by the Council of Safety of Con- necticut, Adjutant in Colonel Bradley's regiment. Governor Jonathan Trumbull the first — in recommending him after the war to the post of Deputy Secretary to Congress, speaks of him, in a letter now before us, dated April 1 1th, 1785, in the following com- plimentary terms : *■'■ Born in my neighborhood, and educated in a manner under my eye, I have had an opportunity of knownng him from his youth to the present time, and can therefore say that I look upon him as a young gentleman possessed of natural good abilities, enlarged by a liberal education, and improved by several years knowledge of mankind in the public service of his country, in which he acquitted himself with honor and reputation." — He died at West Point, N. T., Nov. 5th, 1836, aged eighty-eight. t John Palsgrave Wyllys — born in 1754, and the son of Hon. George "Wyllys, of Hartford, Connecticut, that distinguished Wor- thy, who for sixty-one years in succession filled the office of Sec- 3* 30 N A T H A N H A L E. But though, thus secluded, it is the testimony of a highly intelligent old lady,* who knew Hale well when he resided at East Haddam, that he was happy, faithful and successful in his office of teacher. " Everybody loved him," she said, " he retary for liis native State, and as such signed the Declaration of Independence. This son, hke his classmates Hale and Alden, also entered the service of his country when the war broke out — and he became a Major in the Revolutionary Army. He was subse- quently with Gen. Harmar in the famous expedition of this officer, m 1790, against the western Indians, and in the battle at Miami Village was unfortunately slain. Upon this occasion he was in command of a detachment of about sixty men, and at day-break in the morning, was cut off by a large party of the foe which "came in his rear through some hazels." Though mortally wounded, he yet earnestly begged to be placed on his horse again, that he might give the enemy another charge. His loss was deeply deplored both by Gen. Harmar, and by Gov. St. Clair, each of whom spoke of him as a brave and valuable officer. Tlie latter made special and honorable mention of him at the time, in a com- munication to the Secretary of War, and the President of the Cin- cinnati of the State of New York, upon the news of his death, instructed the members of the Society^ " in testimony of the high respect " they entertained for his memory, to " wear crape for the space of twenty-one days." * The late Mrs. Hannah Pierson. NATHAN HALE. 31 was so sprightly, intelligent, and kind" — and, she added withal, ^^so handsome !" The rich scenery of the town, its rocky and uneven face, the phe- nomena from which it derives its Indian name, its numerous legends of Indian Pawaws, its Mount Tom and Salmon Eiver, were all sources of great delight to the young instructor, as habitually, the cares of school being over, he wandered around for air and exercise, for pleasure and the sports of the chase — there " where the little country girls Still stop to whisper, and listen, and look, And tell, while dressing their sunny curls, Of the Black Fox of Salmon Brook." His happy combination of amiability, vivacity^ and intelligence, soon attracted attention else- where, and in the winter of 1773-4, we find him negotiating with the Proprietors of the Union Grammar School in New London for the charge of that institution. This school was a select one, where none were accepted as teachers but those " whose characters bore the strictest scrutiny," and where Latin, English, writing, and arithmetic were 82 NATHAN HALE. taught, and where the salary was seventy pounds a year, Avith the privilege of teaching, out of the regular school hours, private classes. In the spring of 1774 Hale took this situation, and in a letter to his friend Eoger Alden, dated New Lon- don, May second, 1774, thus describes it : " I am at present in a school in Kcav London. I think my situation somewhat preferable to what it was last winter. My school is by no means difficult to take care of — it consists of about thirty scholars, ten of whom are Latiners, and all but one of the rest are writers. I have a very con- venient school-house, and the people are kind and sociable. I promise myself some more satisfac- tion in writing and receiving letters from you than I have as yet had. I know of no stated communication, but without any doubt opportu- nities will be much more frequent than while I was at Moodus." In a letter to his uncle Samuel Hale, of Ports- mouth, New Hampshire — a most estimable and ex- cellent man, who, for a long series of years prior to the Eevolution, was at the head of the best NATHAN HALE. 33 academy in that province — * lie gives, five months later, a farther history of his school-keeping. f " My own employment," he says, " is at present the same that you have spent your days in. I have a school of 32 boys, about half Latin, the rest English. The salary allowed me is £70 per annum. In addition to this I have kept, during the summer, a morning school, between the hours of five and seven, of about 20 young ladies ; for which I have received 6s. a scholar, by the quar- ter. The people with whom I live are free and gen- erous ; many of them are gentlemen of sense and merit. They are desirous that I would continue and settle in the school, and propose a considera- ble increase of wages. I am much at a loss whether to accept their proposals. Your advice in this matter, coming from an uncle and from a man who has spent his life in the business, would, I think, be the best I could possibly receive. A few *" He was the teacher," says a manuscript in our possession, " of Langdon, and Pickering, and others of the shining lights of Revolutionary days in New Hampshire. His life was a Ufe of use- fulness." See Appendix, Hale Geneal., Nos. 15. tThe letter is dated. New London, Sept. 24th, 1774. 84 N A T H A N H A L E. 