American Patriot – americanhistorywhy

October 11th, 1779 Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski, Polish volunteer serving the United States of America in the Continental Army, died of wounds sustained at the Battle of Savannah in Georgia.

Pulaski, despite his wealth and status in his native country of Poland, was stirred by the American cause and volunteered to fight for the fledgling nation. Like several prominent European officers, Pulaski was recruited in France by Benjamin Franklin with the help of the Marquis de Lafayette. In a letter written to George Washington, Pulaski wrote, “I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it.”

Though without rank, Pulaski fought at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777, serving as an Aide to General Washington. When the tide of the battle turned against the Americans, Pulaski, an expert horseman, rallied the mounted troops in the area and led a charge that stopped the British advance and allowed the Continental Army to retreat intact, directly saving the life of George Washington. His actions on the field brought him immediate fame, and he was commissioned as a Brigadier General tasked with creating the first official American Cavalry units.

During the Winter of 1777/1778, as the Continentals camped and trained at Valley Forge, Pulaski removed to Trenton, New Jersey to recruit and train cavalry officers and enlisted men. Pulaski, a fiery leader who spoke no English, struggled to train men despite the help of American General Anthony Wayne. He returned to Valley Forge in the Spring of 1778, but soon went south to Virginia to recruit and train more cavalry.

Pulaski found more success in the south, and soon had a highly capable force of more than 300, their training and equipment financed by Pulaski’s own money. Pulaski’s forceful personality and tough training at first rubbed many the wrong way, but soon his unit was the pride of the Southern Command, earning Pulaski the title of “Father of the American Cavalry”.

Pulaski’s unit fought in several small actions around Virginia, but he was ordered to South Carolina in 1779 to serve under General Benjamin Lincoln and command the entire American Cavalry. Soon they marched into Georgia to retake the city of Savannah, which had been captured by the British the year before. Pulaski’s unit, at the vanguard of the army, took heavy casualties and was forced to retreat. The Americans, bolstered by a force of French soldiers, attempted to lay siege to the city. But days of bombardment had little effect, so a direct assault was ordered by French commander Charles Henri Hector d’Estaing. The attack was thrown back suffering heavy losses. With both American and French ground troops and cavalry in full retreat, Pulaski attempted to rally the men and was hit by cannon fire. He was taken from the battlefield, but his wounds were too great to overcome and he died two days later.

Pulaski’s bravery was legendary even while he lived, and he was highly respected among his piers. He is considered a national hero in both his native Poland, and in the United States of America, where many counties and towns are named in his honor. There are also hundreds of memorials and statues of the brave General, and many celebrations are still held in his honor, including Pulaski Day parades held in New York City and Chicago. Several US Navy ships have borne Pulaski’s name, along with many roads, bridges, and town squares. In Poland, Pulaski’s legacy is equally as great, and his bravery and sacrifice is rightfully remembered with pride by Polish-Americans to this very day, forever bonding the two nations by his courage and utmost devotion to the cause of Freedom.

September 22nd, 1776, American Patriot, Captain Nathan Hale, was hanged as a spy by the British in New York City.

Born in Connecticut in June of 1755, Nathan Hale was a bright young man and a voracious reader. At the age of 14 he was admitted to the prestigious Yale College. He excelled in his studies and graduated with honors in 1771 at the age of 16, beginning his career as a school teacher.

During the Spring of 1775 tensions in New England between the colonists and the British stationed in Massachusetts erupted into full scale war. Hale joined the Connecticut militia with a commission as a Lieutenant, but he was initially reticent to join the newly formed Continental Army as it lay siege to the city of Boston, instead choosing to continue his career as a school teacher. A letter from his friend and classmate at Yale, Benjamin Tallmadge, stirred Hale’s patriotism, and in July of 1775 he joined the Continental Army and was commissioned as an officer in Knowlton’s Rangers, the first American unit officially dedicated to gathering military intelligence.

After the British were driven from Boston in March of 1776, the Continental Army moved to Manhattan to defend the now vulnerable New York City from attack. Forts and posts were established, but the British managed to maneuver outside of Manhattan by both land and sea. Many small skirmishes occurred around the city, but the Americans were still unaware of the location where the main British force would strike. In August of 1776 the British invaded Long Island, reinforced by thousands of Hessian mercenaries, and handily defeated the Continental Army, sending them into a full retreat.

As the Continental Army was beaten back across Long Island and the Redcoats threatened to completely occupy Manhattan, Gen. George Washington was desperate for any information he could obtain regarding the size, strength, and movements of the British army and navy. Volunteers were needed to spy on the British from behind the lines, which was an act punishable by death if captured. Only Nathan Hale answered the call.

Hale entered Long Island by sea on September 12th, posing as a school teacher in need of work. By September 15th, portions of Manhattan had already fallen to the British. The British push was gaining ground so quickly that little useful information could be obtained and sent. Hale spent his time mainly in the open, trying to gather any information he could on the size and potential movements of the British forces. He was unaware that his actions were drawing the attention of loyalists in the area, who reported what they had seen to the British command.

On September 20th Hale entered a Tavern often frequented by British officers in an attempt to possibly pick up any loose information. Soon enough, he was recognized by a British officer who had seen him on several occasions taking notes around encampments and along the coast. The officer, wary of spies, posed as a Continental who was trapped behind the lines and had dinner with Hale, tricking him into revealing his mission. The following evening Hale returned to the Tavern for another meeting. When he entered the building it was surrounded by Redcoats, and Hale was arrested as a spy.

Hale was taken to the British headquarters and questioned by General William Howe, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America. Now with clear evidence that Hale was indeed spying for the Americans, he was sentenced to death without a trial. Hale asked for a bible and to speak to a clergyman but was denied both requests. He was then granted permission to write a letter to each his brother and to his commanding officer, but in an act meant to demoralize him, the letters were immediately torn up. He spent his last night at the British Headquarters.

The following morning, Hale was marched to the artillery park near the Dove Tavern in New York City. British Captain, John Montressor, requested that Hale be allowed to stay in his tent before the sentence was carried out, and the request was granted. Due to Montressor’s compassion, Hale was able to write letters to his mother and a fellow officer. Moments after, Hale was marched to the Gallows, and after a short speech he was hanged. He was 21 years old.

No official records were kept of the speech Hale made. Thankfully, John Montressor, who was profoundly affected by the bravery of Nathan Hale, met with an American officer under a flag of truce on the morning after the young Captain’s death and gave this account of his last moments on Earth:

“On the morning of his execution, my station was near the fatal spot, and I requested the Provost Marshal 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 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.’”

Hale’s death affected the officers of the Continental Army greatly, in particular George Washington, whose resolve was hardened by the loss of the brave young patriot. Washington understood that only highly trained professional spies would be able to outwit the British, and authorized the formation of the famed Culper Spy Ring, led by Hale’s friend and former Yale classmate, Benjamin Tallmadge.

Later in the war, Tallmadge would gain some measure of revenge when British spymaster Major John Andre was captured and hanged as a spy for his conspiring with the traitor Benedict Arnold to turn over West Point to the British. Benjamin Tallmadge transported Andre to his trial, a courtesy that Hale did not receive, and personally told him that if found guilty, he would meet the same fate as his friend.

Nathan Hale’s legacy lives on in dozens of songs, stories, poems, statues, and monuments created in his honor, as well as in the namesake of many schools, military buildings and naval vessels. The Nathan Hale Homestead, his birthplace, is located in Coventry, Connecticut and serves as a museum dedicated to his memory.

Nathan Hale’s final words are remembered to this day as a hallmark of patriotism and sacrifice, and stand as a testament to his steadfast courage, even in the face of death.