The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-06-25
NATHAN HALE.
rho Brave Captain Who Regretted That
He Had but One Lifc to Give.

rho Brave Captain Who Regretted That
He Had but One Lifc to Give.
Although the monument to Captain
Nathan Hale was long ago erected at Cow
entry, Conn.,, where he was born, it was en-
incntly appropriate that in this city there
81 ,uld be another, because here was origi-
dated the enterprise upon which he entered,
anu mere occurred the tragedy of his last
hours
General Washington was occupying the
house of Robert Murray, whose farm ex-
Tended from what Is now Thirty-sixths street
10 Fortieth street. Hence the well known
hame OF Murray hill. The Murray man.
non was situated about where the Brick
enurch stands. While occupying this house
Washington determined upon discovering
what were the plans and situation of the
British army on Long Island
In the regiment of American Colonel
knowiton was Nathan Hale, young cap
tain Just of age, who had left college and
the pursuits OF literary profession to ell
hst Ill the continental army. He had re-
Gently been ut the head of little expedi-
ton on the Hudson river for embarrassing
the British ships and had shown great
GOODNESS. bravery and discretion. Colonel
knowlton selected him aud sent him to
Washington for instructions. There can
be no question that Hale was made n spy.
NO such technicality existed in his case us
was attempted by Sir Henry Clinton and
Andre in the latter's behalf. The captain
tlrtively crossed the sound. landing at
Huntington, and thence made his way to
Brooklyn and returned in IL few days with
the result of his observations in sketches
and memoranda. He was recognized mt
Huntington as a strange man, who had
mysteriously arrived and had us mystcri-
mn oil Gall 1.
arrested and the paraphernalia of his spy
ship discovered. He was Immediately sent
to the lower part of the city, then in British
possession, while Washington occupied the
upper part
The notorious "AIonster Cunningham
so dcnominated by many historians of that
perlod-was then provost marshal He
placed Captain Hale under guard in the
greenhouse of n Mr.. Bcckman, whose farm
comprising Turtle bay on the East River
was about where Fiity-second street and
First avenue now are. Lord Howe was oc-
cupying it rs his headquarters The cruel
Cunningham. without even the form of "A
trial, concluded to execute him the next
morning as Il spy.
Captain Hale wrote some family letters
of farewell and asked for the loan of :,
Bible and the solace of clergyman. These
were insultingly refused by the provost
marshal, who even tore up the letters.
The victim was then, early on the next
day, carried down to the Rutgers farm and
hanged after the Tyburn fashion to an ap-
pie tree TIL. local history has shown to
nave been at the corner of East Broadway
ana Market street. When the carton the
noor whereof he stood, n young man of even
handsome, boyish appearance-was about
TO he drawn away to leave him suspended,
Captain Nathan Hale remarked to the by
saunders and grinning redcoats, My only
regret is that have not another life to give
to the service of my country" His remains
rested mt the foot of the fatal tree until the
end of British occupation of the city per
mitted their honorable removal
Historians have agreed that if he could
have reached General Washington's head
quarters with the intelligence he had OBJ
tanned the knowledge would have saved
much of after disaster to the American
cause. If ever IL spy was patriotic, Hale
was, and fenimore Cooper, in his novel of
The Spy" based upon the career of Har-
vey Birch, has drawn vivid picture of the
necessity, value and praiseworthness of the
spy in time of war.
Captain Hale was the earliest MARTYR of
the revolution, and his mart yrdom was an
appropriate incident for our METROPOLITAN
commemoiation.-New York Recorder.