Nathan Hale Hanged: One Life to Give for Country
He was 21, a Yale graduate, and had volunteered specifically for the mission no one else wanted. Nathan Hale slipped behind British lines disguised as a Dutch schoolteacher, spent weeks gathering intelligence, and was caught before he could deliver a single report. He had no handler, no extraction plan, no cover story that held. The British hanged him without trial the morning after his capture. His reported last words — 'I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country' — became a recruiting speech for a war he didn't live to see won.
September 22, 1776
250 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on September 22
Themistocles lured the massive Persian fleet into the narrow straits of Salamis, where the Greeks’ agile triremes systematically rammed and sank Xerxes’ cumbers…
Nero recruited the Legion I Italica from the tallest, strongest men in Italy, breaking the long-standing tradition of only enlisting citizens from the provinces…
Zhu Quanzhong, a former rebel who had risen to become the most powerful warlord in northern China, murdered the last Tang emperor Zhaozong on September 22, 904,…
Lithuanian and Semigallian forces crushed the Livonian Brothers of the Sword at the Battle of Saule, killing the Grand Master and hundreds of knights. This cata…
Aragonese cavalry shattered a numerically superior Castilian force at the Battle of Araviana, stalling King Peter of Castile’s aggressive expansion into Aragon.…
The Swiss hadn't exactly asked to be part of the Holy Roman Empire, and by 1499 they'd fought their way to a practical separation. The Treaty of Basel made it o…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.