Memorial Chapter East Haddam CT 1038CT

The namesake of the Nathan Hale Memorial Chapter, East Haddam, CT, established in June, 1900, was a Revolutionary war hero and a native of Connecticut. Nathan Hale was honored by the State of Connecticut by being named its “State Hero”.

After Hale graduated from Yale and became a one-room schoolhouse teacher in East Haddam and New London, CT, he volunteered as an officer of the Continental Army to spy on the British for Gen. George Washington. Disguised as a school teacher, he crossed the Long Island Sound to gather information about the British, was captured and, being out of uniform, was quick declared a spy. He was sentenced to hang the next day in New York City. When asked if he had any words to say before his sentence was executed, he reportedly replied, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

At this death, he was 21 years of age. While Hale is remembered as a spy, his legacy is one of courage, self-sacrifice, and character.

Each year, the Nathan Hale Memorial Chapter honors Nathan Hale by celebrating his birthday, June 6, by holding an annual picnic at the Nathan Hale Schoolhouse and Museum in East Haddam, CT.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded on October 11, 1890 and has admitted over 850,000 during a time that was marked by a revival in patriotism and intense interest in the beginnings of the United States of America. Women felt the desire to express their patriotic feelings and were frustrated by their exclusion from men's organizations formed to perpetuate the memory of ancestors who fought to make this county free and independent. As a result, a group of pioneering women in the nation's capital formed their own organization and the Daughters of the American Revolution has carried the torch of patriotism every since.