My Genealogy Hound

Coventry, Connecticut, Nathan Hale Monument, Cenotaph or Tombstone, photos

The 45 foot tall Nathan Hale Monument in the Nathan Hale Cemetery, Coventry, Connecticut. This is a cenotaph since the actual burial site of Nathan Hale is unknown. (A cenotaph is a memorial or tombstone placed over an empty grave when the person is actually buried at another location.) Nathan Hale was born June 6, 1755 in Coventry, Connecticut. In 1773, at the age of 18, Hale graduated from Yale College and began a career of teaching. When the Revolutionary War broke out, he joined the 7th Connecticut Regiment as a first lieutenant. When General George Washington needed someone to go behind the British lines to act as a spy and report on enemy troop positions and movements, it was Hale who volunteered on September 8, 1776 for the dangerous mission. He was discovered by the British on September 21 with incriminating evidence on his person and was hung the following day as a spy. It is said that his final words at the time of his execution were: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." He was 21 years old. There are at least four different sites in the Manhattan area of New York City that are claimed to be site of the hanging. It is assumed that he was buried in an unmarked grave near the hanging site. See the additional photos and engravings below.

A statue of Nathan Hale in Patriot's Park, Coventry, Connecticut.

An 1858 engraving by Alexander Hay Ritchie of the hanging of Nathan Hale, September 22, 1776.

An 1860 engraving of the hanging of Nathan Hale, originally printed in the November 24, 1860 edition of Harper's Weekly.

A 1913 mural painting by Albert Herter of the execution of Nathan Hale.