#nathan hale

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I was on trial for something normal like shoplifting in a small claims court, but then I got randomly accused of being a spy because I was also Nathan Hale, for some reason. I was also trying to leave so I could get to opening night of a musical I was in. Everybody at the court was very dramatic and some people had intense monologues and/or cried. All I could think about is getting to the theater on time.

[katabay]

A SPY FOR A SPY

an informal AmRev sketch dump type of thing circling around some thoughts: Benjamin Tallmadge and the corpse of Nathan Hale (they never did recover Hale's corpse, so this is like. you know. symbolism. it's why Tallmadge isn't looking directly at the body, but oh something in you has changed. loss defines the outline, the shape. that body is going to be inside you forever), bad dreams with John Andre and something that looks like Nathan Hale, and the finally Tallmadge and Andre. they turned your friend into a martyr, Tallmadge, but before that, he was your friend, and that makes this personal.

there's a. triangle. happening between these three. a kind of ritual substitution. the absence of Hale's body demands a body in it's place, John Andre's fate was sealed the minute Nathan Hale died.

also, in the first one, Hale's feet are bound because that's my favorite awful detail from both the MacMonnies statue and the Pratt statue.

(MacMonnies)

(Pratt)

on the topic of Hale statues, what really fucks me up is that the MacMonnies rendition of Nathan Hale is. it's a hot statue. the posing suggests something almost provocative (in combination with the open collar of the shirt), but only because his arms have been tied behind him in a way that forces the position, so it turns vulnerable and voyeuristic. horrifying and delightful. I'm obsessed with it.

bsky ⭐ pixiv ⭐ pillowfort ⭐ cohost ⭐ cara ⭐ ko-fi

[papers-pamphlet]

9.22.24

It is the 248th anniversary of Nathan Hale's death

And also the one year anniversary of the release of Chappell Roan's "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess"

[culperscomet]

when your card declines in therapy so they pull up september 22nd 1776

[my-deer-friend]

Fraunces Tavern is one of the very few remaining colonial-era buildings in New York, and was the site of several historic moments, including Washington's farewell to his officers in 1783 and the Society of the Cincinnati dinner that Hamilton and Burr attended a week before the duel.

The long room where Washington had his farewell:

The museum also has letters by Washington and Nathan Hale.

And Ben Tallmadge's memoirs.

Along with, for some reason, a bit of Washington's hair.

[tallmadgeandtea]

Researching Nathan Hale is not for the weak, btw. Everything is so sad. He was only 21 and he just wanted to do a good job to prove he was a capable officer because the only battles he’d been in so far were lost ones and everyone who knew him thought he was too kind and couldn’t hide his facial expressions well and he tried to brush them off by saying he acted in SCHOOL PLAYS. He wasn’t even supposed to go to Manhattan but he did it anyways….

[nojodasjuan]

HAPPY B-DAY NATHAN HALE 🎉🎉🎉

06/06/1775

(pd. Esto no me cargó ayer, por eso lo subo hoy 🥺)

[digitalyarbs]

The Face of Nathan Hale.

Nathan Hale, a distinguished American Patriot, soldier, and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, is immortalized in the face captured through a Photohop reconstruction of Frederick William MacMonnies' statue of Hale in City Hall Park, New York.

Born on June 6, 1755, Nathan Hale excelled academically and graduated with honors from Yale University in 1773. Soon after, in 1775, he joined a Connecticut militia unit and rapidly rose to the rank of first lieutenant within five months. He became a valued member of Knowlton's Rangers, a reconnaissance and espionage detachment established by General George Washington.

At the young age of just over twenty-one, Hale's courage and determination led him to volunteer for a perilous mission behind enemy lines before the Battle of Harlem Heights. Though lacking formal training in espionage, he succeeded in gathering vital information about British troop movements for a week.

Sadly, on September 21, 1776, during his return from a mission, Hale was captured and found in possession of an incriminating document written in Latin hidden in the sole of his shoe. Without a fair trial, General William Howe ordered his execution for spying, which was carried out the next morning, September 22, 1776. Hale spent his final night confined in the greenhouse of Howe's headquarters, and at dawn, he was led to the gallows, where he faced his death with remarkable courage, famously uttering, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

Nathan Hale's legacy lives on as America's first spy and a symbol of unwavering patriotism. In recognition of his selfless sacrifice and devotion, he was officially declared Connecticut's state hero on October 1, 1985.

Contemporary accounts paint a picture of a remarkable individual. Beyond his intelligence and athletic prowess in wrestling, football, and broad jumping, Hale was described as kind, gentle, religious, and exceptionally good-looking. With fair skin, light blue eyes, and hair, he stood just under six feet tall, captivating both men and women alike. His presence and character earned him the admiration and affection of all who knew him, and it was said that all the girls in New Haven were enamored by him.

yarbs.net

[resurrectionist3]

June 6th, 1755 - Happy Birthday Nathan Hale!!!

We are gonna pretend like this isn’t several days late.

And this post is about to be super long…

Disclaimer: for the entirety of the post, I’m recalling information that was told to me by the tour guide from the Nathan Hale Homestead. If anything I wrote here is incorrect or not complete information, feel free to KINDLY correct me in a comment or repost, I would appreciate that☺️

-

Back in May (05/18/24), I visited the Nathan Hale Homestead in Coventry, Connecticut with my sister!!

I always drive by it when I go home from school and I finally got to visit for a tour! They also have a farmers market on grounds in the summertime as well as a couple other events throughout the year. I do hope i get to attend their Halloween ghost stories.

One thing i learned that i guess i didn’t ever realise was that Nathan never actually lived in this house. After his mother passed, Nathan’s father, Deacon Richard Hale and all 9(?) of his children lived together in a very, very small house. It wasnt until after Richard was remarried, that this newer and larger house was built. By this point, i believe Nathan had already moved away to be a teacher in New London.

Here are photos of their medicine cabinet and their fireplace✨

Photos of their piano forte in the sitting room and a drawn family tree.

And this was Deacon Richard Hale’s writing desk. If I remember correctly, he was a deacon in the church and a magistrate. He dealt with small court disputes in their house which I found very silly (and the wax stamp had an H on it idk why that made me die😭)

And here, in one of the upstairs rooms, they displayed artist renditions of what we think Nathan Hale and his brothers looked like. I think Nathan had 9 (?) biological siblings that survived to adulthood, one of which being his sister Johanna. And then i believe he had 3 step siblings after his father remarried (im trying to recall everything the tour guide said).

Johanna isnt depictied in these drawings, its only the brothers, but her room was on display for the tour and it had a lot of windows. The tour guide said it was because she apparently loved to read, so they made sure her room had the most windows for the most light??😭😭🥹🥹

Anyways, all of Nathan’s brothers went to war except for the youngest one. Also, if you look at the years of their deaths, Samuel Hale (the oldest sibling) actually outlived them all?? Which makes me want to scream???? Samuel also didn’t inherit the family farm, it actually went to his brother John.

Joseph Hale- (damn he can get it lowkey..🥵) while in the war was captured by the British and was on a prison ship until he was exchanged and honestly I’ve been thinking about it too much. So glad he didn’t die of dysentery or something. But he did pass of consumption at only 34 which I can’t even handle.

Enoch, went to Yale along with Nathan and they were in the same graduating class which i think is so cutesy. The tour guide also said that one of the pewter steins in one of the sitting rooms (i don’t actually have a photo unfortunately) belonged to Enoch and I wanted to scream, like was it ACTUALLY his???

They had a display of several items they found on the property like coins, buttons, ect. but I didn’t take a photo of that either. It was in the same room as these images of the brothers.

I think we all know Nathan, and quite honestly i didn’t even realise he had so many siblings until this tour. I suppose one could assume given the time period - everyone had like 5+ children. But of all the times i was taught about Nathan Hale (and that was kind of a lot, being a Connecticut resident for my entire life) no one ever mentioned his family or his siblings. There was a portrait of Deacon Richard Hale in the downstairs area- I didn’t realise this in the moment, my sister mentioned it later, but (based on the artist’s rendition) Nathan looked just like his father. I found it really funny when i realised it.

This was Nathan’s hunting rifle as well, another thing that apparently belonged to one of the members of the Hale family that made me want to scream (more on that in my final thoughts).

And last photo (the Turn: Washington’s Spies baddies are gonna LOVE this one)

This is a list of the Yale University (back then, it was just Yale College) honours graduating class of 1773. On it, is Nathan and Enoch Hale of course. But also, Nathan’s friend and “roommate” 👀 (and our favourite spymaster) Benjamin Tallmadge!!!!! I had to keep my mouth shut when the tour guide mentioned that he was on this list, but I was screaming internally and my sister and i made goofy ahh eye contact.

Their names are towards the top, Enoch and Nathan are listed in the third small column while Benjamin is in the sixth one all the way to the right.

Things that i saw/were talked about that i didn’t take a photo of was a shadow drawing of Nathan’s side profile. At some point, Nathan stood in front of a door in the house while someone traced the outline of his shadow onto it. I don’t quite know why that was done..? Perhaps it was for a genuine reason or maybe the Hale siblings were just messing around. But it’s a pretty big deal considering there are actually no true portraits of Nathan or his siblings. Just statues and drawings that are artist renditions based on historical accounts. There was a historian who wrote about Nathan Hale and came in contact with a member of the Hale family (Rebecca Hale, I believe). She told him about the shadow drawing and it was a long and interesting story that I unfortunately don’t remember all the parts to. A piece about the portrait is typed on a paper in the photo of Nathan’s rifle, if you can zoom in, you can read a little more on it.

Their gift shop was also small and cutesy and I spent a lot of money there on books. On display there, they had an old piece of wood from the original house. I got a published copy of Reverend John Hale’s, A Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft.

If anyone wasn’t aware, Reverend John Hale (Nathan Hale’s great grandfather) was called to Salem, Massachusetts from Beverly to assist in the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. He was partially responsible for the persecution of several innocent people however, nearing the end of the trials, he began to disagree with the accusations. He published this firsthand account to condemn the actions of those involved with the trials and I’ve always thought it was so interesting. I’ve wanted to read this since I read The Crucible back in high school and i was very excited to see it at the gift shop.

You can also visit the Hale Farm in Beverly, MA where Rev. John Hale used to live and I want to someday. I’ve only ever been outside of it, I’ve never properly visited for a tour. (Cutesy fact as well: Rev. John’s Hale’s birthday is June 3rd, which is only 3 days before Nathan’s).

Final Thoughts:

The Hale Family was absolutely MASSIVE. Our tour guide mentioned being a descendant of the Hale Family and im sure a number of “born and raised” New England residents are as well somewhere in their ancestry. Based on the drawn family tree, most of the members had probably 4 kids minimum and then those kids all had a ton of kids. It’s also very funny to me how there are probably several Hale’s who are decently significant figures in history and it’s just wild that it’s all one family. I know it’s the same for royal families and such but it feels different somehow.

According to our tour guide, one theory about how Nathan Hale was captured was by Robert Rogers. That Rogers invited him to dinner and convinced Nathan that he was also part of the Continental Army. Nathan then confided his mission in Rogers and was lured into a false sense of security that lead to him being captured. Which is another one for the Turn baddies that almost made me die when I heard it. Especially since I don’t believe I’ve heard that theory before.

Something I did really enjoy about this tour was how it didn’t completely focus on Nathan. Of course that would have been fine and equally as interesting, but it was mainly a lesson on his family and some of his descendants. After being taught about Nathan Hale so many times, I had no idea about his entire family and his siblings.

It also never TRULY occurred to me that there aren’t any real portraits of Nathan Hale. They’ve all been artist renditions as paintings or statues based on historical descriptions of him and something about that is extremely wild to me. It makes me somewhat grateful for our easy access to camera and video in our modern world. There are so many faces and stories that have been completely lost to time - even some very significant historical figures have little to no surviving images. Like, we know who they are and that they were here at some point - we have their belongings and things that they used. Thats why seeing Nathan’s rifle in the bedroom or Enoch’s stein in the sitting room cause me to have such visceral reactions. This was theirs once. This was used by someone probably everyday. And now its almost like a ghost or memory of them. The land around the property is heavily wooded as well, lots of trees and stones. My sister and I took a short walk around the property before leaving and it really made me think: how many of these stones did they touch? How many of these large trees did they lean on? It drives me so insane honestly.

One last thing that hadn’t occurred to me before this trip was how the Hale family learned of Nathan’s hanging. According to the tour guide, Enoch and a couple his brothers had heard of a Hale being found guilty of espionage and being hanged. And after looking into it more, Enoch did confirm that it was Nathan and sent word to the rest of the family. It’s said that before being hanged, Nathan only asked for a few things: A priest (which he did not get), parchment, quill and ink for writing. He wrote a letter to his commanding officer and one to his family. According to the guide, i believe neither one was sent. Perhaps the one to the officer was sent, however he never received it because he was killed in battle before he had the chance. And allegedly, the one written to the Hale family was seized by the British and was likely used as a written confession rather than being sent home to Nathan’s family. I honestly can’t imagine how upsetting that must’ve been for all of them. Especially with each of the Hale brothers being in the war and likely all in different places, there wasn’t really any other way for them to find out that their own brother was hanged aside from the way everyone else learned of it - through the newspaper or by word of mouth. No other Hale brother died in the war either, they all survived and had relatively high rankings by the time the war was over.

~~~

So that was my trip, it was fun and informative and I would really love to visit again sometime. I highly recommend anyone who is a fan of history, or Turn: Washington’s Spies to visit if you can! They are only open seasonally though, and only on weekends. They do a tour every hour, so plan accordingly if you want to visit!

[turnwashingtonsbaddies]

[rain-on-wax-feathers]

happy death day nathan hale :(((

[zowiemortem]

22 Sept 1776: American #hero Nathan #Hale is hanged by #British for #spying during the American Revolution. He is probably most famous for his quote: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

[hale-nathan]

Trump Weird News - Dance Off

[knowltonsrangers]

i am so emo. every time I read issue twelve I just wanna cry. brb don’t mind me sobbing while writing happy “what if” fics because I distract myself from reality.

[culperscomet]

the way the turn writers had the chance to change lives with this one line and the scene was scrapped

“when you see any man hang?” “yes sir” WHAT????

now keep that in the back of your mind whenever there’s an execution scene because oh my god it ruined me emotionally upon rewatch. i am this scenes number one defender. s3 literally starts and ends with hangings and this one line would’ve made things come full circle at least for ben’s plot that season i would’ve killed for this actually

[enchi-elm]

Hey Benjamin Tallmadge stans.

Of Ben and Nathan, which one was Pythias and which one was Damon? I genuinely don't know.