thumb|240px|right|''Nathan Hale'', oleh [[Frederick MacMonnies, 1893, ''City Hall Park'' (Taman Balai Kota), New York]]

'''Nathan Hale''' (1755 - 1776) adalah seorang mata-mata {''spy''} atau agen rahasia (intelijen) Amerika Serikat pada masa Revolusi Amerika.

Pemuda kelahiran Coventry, Connecticut, 6 Juni 1755 ini pantas dimasukkan dalam catatan sejarah. Dialah mata-mata sukarelawan yang dengan gagah berani rela dihukum dalam usia yang sangat muda, 21 tahun.

Menjadi mata-mata sebenarnya bukanlah cita-cita Hale. Didorong oleh rasa cinta untuk negaranya Amerika, dia mau melakukannya. Semasa itu Amerika memang membutuhkan seorang mata-mata untuk memperoleh informasi tentang Inggris, lawannya, untuk memenangkan peperangan, baik tentang kekuatan maupun rencananya. Lowongan menjadi mata-mata terbuka bagi seluruh pasukan, tetapi hanya Hale-lah yang bersedia.

Pria pintar dan atletis lulusan Yale College tahun 1773 yang pernah menjadi guru dan kapten ini kemudian ditugaskan ke ''behind enemy lines'' Inggris yang berada di Long Island. Minimnya peralatan maupun ketrampilan dalam penyelidikan tidak membuatnya gentar. Dia tetap menjalankan tugasnya dengan menyamar sebagai ''school master'' asal Belanda.

thumb|240px|right|''Nathan Hale'', by [[Frederick MacMonnies, 1890, City Hall Park, New York]]

'''Nathan Hale''' (June 6, 1755 &ndash; September 22, 1776) was an officer for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Widely considered America's first spy,<ref>A copy of Frederick MacMonnies' statue of Hale is located outside the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency, in Langley, Virginia.</ref> he volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission, but was captured by the British. He is best remembered for his speech before being hanged following the Battle of Long Island, in which he reportedly said, "I only regret that I have but one life to give my country."<ref name="Tread"></ref>
Hale has long been considered an American hero and, in 1985, he was officially designated the state hero of Connecticut.<ref></ref> 

==Background==
Hale was born in East Haddam and later in New London. After the Revolutionary War began in 1775, he joined a Connecticut militia and was elected first lieutenant.  
thumb|200px|left| [[September 22, 1776: '''Nathan Hale''' at the gallows.]]
When his militia unit participated in the British man-of-war.

==Espionage==
thumb|200px|right|Nathan Hale appeared on US postage stamps issued in 1925 and 1929. Likeness is from statue by [[Bela Lyon Pratt.]] 

During the Battle of Long Island in August and September 1776, which led to the British victory and capture of New York City, via a flanking move from Staten Island across Long Island, Hale volunteered to go behind enemy lines to report on British troop movements.

During his mission, New York City (then the area at the southern tip of Manhattan around Congress had already rejected this idea. It has also been speculated that the fire was the work of British soldiers acting without orders, intending to punish and/or intimidate any remaining Patriots in the city — with unintended consequences, however. In the fire's aftermath, more than 200 American partisans were rounded up by the British.

An account of Nathan Hale's capture was written by Consider Tiffany, a Connecticut shopkeeper and Loyalist, and obtained by the Major Robert Rogers of the Queen's Rangers met Hale in a tavern and saw through his disguise. After luring Hale into betraying himself by pretending to be a patriot himself, Rogers and his Rangers apprehended Hale near Flushing Bay, in Queens, New York.<ref></ref> Another story was that a Loyalist cousin of Hale's was the one who revealed his true identity.

British General William Howe had his headquarters in the Beekman House in a rural part of Manhattan, on a rise between 50th and 51st Streets between First and Second Avenues<ref>[http://jmisc.net/octo/octo-01.htm Jacob Radcliffe, ''Reminiscences of New York'': "The Beekman House"].</ref> Hale reportedly was questioned by Howe and physical evidence was found on him. Rogers provided information about the case. According to tradition, Hale spent the night in a greenhouse at the mansion. 

According to the standards of the time, spies were hanged as Third Avenue), and hanged.<ref name=ctssar></ref> He was 21 years old.  Bill Richmond, a 13 year old former slave and loyalist who later became famous as an African American boxer in Europe, was reportedly one of the hangmen, "his responsibility being that of fastening the rope to a strong tree branch and securing the knot and noose."<ref>Kevin R. Smith, ''Black Genesis: The History of the Black Prizefighter 1760-1870'', pg. 14.  New York: iUniverse, Inc., 2003.</ref>

==The speech==
By all accounts, Hale comported himself eloquently before the hanging. Over the years, there has been some speculation as to whether he specifically uttered the famous line:

The story of Hale's famous speech began with John Montresor, a British soldier who witnessed the hanging. Soon after the execution, Montresor spoke with American officer William Hull about Hale's death. Later, it was Hull who widely publicized Hale's use of the phrase. Because Hull was not an eyewitness to Hale's speech, some historians have questioned the reliability of the account.<ref name=ctssar/>

If Hale did not give the famous speech, it is possible he instead [http://www.hartnet.org/als/nathanhale/default.htm repeated a passage] from Cato'', an ideological inspiration to many Whigs: 

{{quote|<poem>
How beautiful is death, when earn'd by virtue!
Who would not be that youth?  What pity is it
That we can die but once to serve our country.
</poem>}}

No official records were kept of Hale's speech. However, Frederick MacKensie, a British officer, wrote this diary entry for the day:

It is almost certain that Nathan Hale's last speech contained more than one sentence. Several early accounts mention different things he said. These are not necessarily contradictory; rather, together they give us an idea of what the speech must have been like. The following quotes are all taken from George Dudley Seymour's "Documentary Life of Nathan Hale", published in 1941 by the author.

From the diary of Enoch Hale, Nathan's brother, after he went to question people who had been present, October 26, 1776: "When at the Gallows he spoke & told them that he was a Capt in the Cont Army by name Nathan Hale."

From the ''Essex Journal'', February 13, 1777: "However, at the gallows, he made a sensible and spirited speech; among other things, told them they were shedding the blood of the innocent, and that if he had ten thousand lives, he would lay them all down, if called to it, in defence of his injured, bleeding Country."

From the ''Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advertiser'', May 17, 1781: "I am so satisfied with the cause in which I have engaged, that my only regret is, that I have not more lives than one to offer in its service."

From the memoirs of Captain William Hull, quoting British Captain John Montresor, who was present and who spoke to Hull under a flag of truce the next day: “’On the morning of his execution,’ continued the officer, ‘my station was near the fatal spot, and I requested the Provost Marshal [the infamous William Cunningham] to permit the prisoner to sit in my marquee, while he was making the necessary preparations. Captain Hale entered: he was calm, and bore himself with gentle dignity, in the consciousness of rectitude and high intentions. He asked for writing materials, which I furnished him: he wrote two letters, one to his mother and one to a brother officer.’  He was shortly after summoned to the gallows. But a few persons were around him, yet his characteristic dying words were remembered. He said, ‘I only regret, that I have but one life to lose for my country.’”

Coincidentally, Hull is better known as the brigadier general who later surrendered the entire U.S. northwestern army to the British during the War of 1812.

Two early ballads also attempt to recreate Hale’s last speech. They are probably more imaginative than accurate, but are included here for completeness:  

From ''Songs and Ballads of the Revolution'', collected by F. Moore (1855), "Ballad of Nathan Hale" (anonymous), dated 1776: ''"’Thou pale king of terrors, thou life’s gloomy foe, Go frighten the slave; go frighten the slave; Tell tyrants, to you their allegiance they owe. No fears for the brave; no fears for the brave.’"''

From "To the Memory of Capt. Nathan Hale" by Eneas Munson, Sr. written "soon after" Hale’s death:

Munson had tutored Hale before college, and knew him and his family well, so even though the particulars of this speech may be unlikely, Munson knew firsthand what Hale’s opinions were.

==Quotes about Hale==

==Hanging site(s)==
Besides the site at 66th and Third, there are two other sites in Manhattan that claim to be the hanging site:

* A statue designed by City Hall Park at what was claimed to be the site.
 
* A plaque erected by the Yale Club at 44th and Vanderbilt by Grand Central Terminal saying the event occurred there.  