The first biography in nearly a century of the legendary Revolutionary War patriot and our country’s first spy. Few Americans know much more about Nathan Hale than his famous last words: “I only regret that I have one life left to give for my country.” But who was the real Nathan Hale? M. William Phelps charts the life of this famed patriot and Connecticut’s state hero, following Hale’s rural childhood, his education at Yale, and his work as a schoolteacher. Even in his brief career, he distinguished himself by offering formal lessons to young women. Like many young Americans, he soon became drawn into the colonies’ war for independence, becoming a captain in Washington’s army. When the general was in need of a spy, Hale willingly rose to the challenge, bravely sacrificing his life for the sake of American liberty. Using Hale’s own journals and letters as well as testimonies from his friends and contemporaries, Phelps depicts the Revolution as it was seen from the ground. From the confrontation in Boston to the battle for New York City, readers experience what life was like for an ordinary soldier in the struggling Continental army. In this impressive, well-researched biography, Phelps separates historical fact from long-standing myth to reveal the life of Nathan Hale, a young man who deserves to be remembered as an original American patriot. Nathan Hale is a secular saint of American patriotism. Facing a British gallows for spying during the Revolutionary War, he supposedly uttered these immortal words: “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” Phelps has written an informative, interesting biography of Hale that effectively reveals the flesh-and-blood human behind the iconic image. Clearly an admirer of Hale, he has written nothing that detracts from Hale’s reputation; instead, he has provided a nuanced portrait of a deeply religious, idealistic young man whose short life was dedicated to various forms of public service. Hale was raised in rural Connecticut, attended Yale at the age of 14, and graduated with honors. Upon graduation, he worked as a schoolteacher, and after Lexington and Concord, joined a Connecticut militia. He seemed to approach service to the Patriot cause as a passion, not merely a duty. Phelps, using Hale’s own correspondence, clears up some of the murky details surrounding Hale’s spying, arrest, and execution. This is a well-done, balanced account of a short but interesting life. --Jay Freeman Advance Praise for Nathan Hale : “Revolutionary War spy Nathan Hale’s quote at his hanging by the British in 1776, ‘I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country,’ is one of the most memorable in U.S. history. Here, M. William Phelps has written an absorbing, highly detailed biography of the patriotic Hale. He weaves each story together to create a very colorful, emotional, and enjoyable book.” ---Bruce Chadwick, author of George Washington’s War “With his new work on Nathan Hale, M. William Phelps has done a great service to the world of historical writing about the American Revolution. A Hale biography was certainly overdue, and Phelps has given us a good one; thorough, making fine use of primary sources, and, thankfully, a pleasure to read.” ---James L. Nelson, author of Benedict Arnold’s Navy “Phelps provides an extensive examination of Hale’s life and legend, illuminating a crucial aspect of the Revolutionary War era. A thoughtful and substantial narrative of bravery and heroism, this effort considers myth and reality both and the importance of each to historical understanding.” ---Orville Vernon Burton, author of The Age of Lincoln “M. William Phelps has written a meticulously researched biography of Nathan Hale. Known mainly as the young man who regretted that he had but one life to give to his country, Hale represented the flower of New England society. Phelps has well captured the excitement of Hale’s joining the patriot cause in the American Revolution, giving us a fresh narrative of those tumultuous years.” ---Joyce Appleby, author of Inheriting the Revolution “Phelps has brilliantly taken Nathan Hale from the faded memory of history and reintroduced us to a vibrant young man, a scholar whom we witness as he transforms into a soldier and spy as a final act of moral conscience. Phelps has reintroduced Hale as the quintessential young American who steps across the line to act for his country.” ---Joseph J. Trento, author of The Secret History of the CIA “Nathan Hale went to his hanging with the famously paraphrased line, ‘I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.’ M. William Phelps gives a new, fully documented life to this romantic, long-neglected American revolutionary.” ---R. A. Scotti, author of The Sudden Sea and Basilica Nathan Hale is a secular saint of American patriotism. Facing a British gallows for spying during the Revolutionary War, he supposedly uttered these immortal words: "I only