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Nathan
Hale.
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed on anyone in the U.S. Armed Forces. Valor looks at the heroic acts of several Medal of Honor recipients and their faith.
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aptain Nathan Hale of the American Revolutionary
Army listened intently to Colonel Knowlton's briefing. Britain's superior
force, occupying New York, had inflicted 1,100 casualties in an attack
on the Americans. America's General Washington desperately needed information.
How strong were the British? Where were they posted? What were their plans?
Would an officer risk getting the facts? Nathan's fellow captains quickly
rejected the idea. Hang as a spy if caught? No way! But to Nathan the
matter was not so clear cut. Wasn't there a duty here?
Twenty-one year old Nathan was well-equipped to make this moral decision.
Born in central Connecticut in 1755, he was reared in a Christian home.
His father Richard Hale was deacon in the local Congregational church
and his older brother was on the way to becoming a pastor.
By the time Nathan entered Yale, he had matured into a handsome, courteous
and athletic young man. He knew vast amounts of scripture by heart. His
strength was legendary. He could kick a ball over fullgrown trees, leap
straight up out of one hogshead (a large barrel) into another and then
into a third. Placing his hands on a fence as high as himself, he could
vault over.
During Nathan's college years, the colonists were in constant friction
with England. He heard fiery speeches in behalf of freedom. By the time
he took his first teaching job, war was a distinct possiblity. In the
Summer of 1775 Nathan resigned his school to join the army. Hearing the
news, one of his friends exclaimed, "That man is a diamond...last but
not least a Christian."
In the army, Nathan showed the character that made him loved. When morale
dropped, he divided his extra pay with his men. When his men became ill,
he visited each and prayed with them.
After Knowlton asked for a volunteer, Nathan consulted a close friend,
Captain William Hull. The two had attended Yale together. "What is your
opinion?" Nathan asked his friend. Hull was blunt. Nathan was too open
for disguise. He'd be seen through in an instant. To be a good spy, one
had to pretend to be a friend of the very persons he was about to betray.
Nathan stood a good chance of being caught and hanged.
Hull did not see Hale for several days and feared he had gone into New
York after all. On September 22, 1776, a British officer appeared in the
American camp under flag of truce. Then Hull learned that Nathan had almost
pulled it off. Dressed in farm clothes and carrying his Yale diploma,
he passed as a Dutchman seeking a school position. He went through the
entire British position, estimating their numbers and sketching their
fortifications. He took notes in Latin. He was just a mile and a half
from safety when caught.
Nathan immediately acknowledged his true identity. The notes were found
in his boot. Jailed that night, he was told he would hang in the morning.
Nathan asked to see a chaplain. His request was denied. Could a Bible
be brought to him? The jailer, a hardened refugee from Europe, refused
this request also.
On this morning, an officer had allowed Hale to write a couple letters.
As he prepared to die, Nathan remained calm. He spoke briefly, telling the
spectators that he considered it his duty to obey a commader in chief. He
urged them to be prepared to die at any moment. His last words before the
rope swung him into eternity were, "I only regret that I have but one life
to lose for my country."
Resources:
- Seymour, George Dudley.Documentary Life of Nathan Hale. Private
printing, New Haven, CT, 1941.
- Katz, Joyce. One Life to Lose; the story of Nathan Hale. Antiquarian
and Landmark's Society, Inc. of Connecticut, 1977.
- Various encyclopedia articles.
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