Nathan Hale

Originally Aired: February 6, 1939 Cavalcade of America #151, "Nathan Hale," presents the story of the young Revolutionary War patriot who makes the ultimate sacrifice for American freedom. Twenty-year-old schoolmaster Nathan Hale teaches his Connecticut students about bravery and duty, little knowing how soon those lessons will apply to his own life. After the battles at Lexington and Concord ignite colonial resistance, Hale resigns his teaching position to join the Continental Army as a captain. During a brief leave home, he reconnects with Alice Adams, his lost love now widowed, and they pledge their futures to each other once the war ends. General Washington summons Captain Hale with a dangerous request: the Continental Army desperately needs intelligence about British Lord Howe's attack plans on Long Island. Washington asks the young captain to go behind enemy lines disguised as a schoolmaster, fully aware that capture means certain death for spies. Despite the grave risks and warnings about his youth potentially giving him away, Hale accepts the mission. He leaves his friend William Hull with final instructions about his uniform and a message for Alice, then boards an American sloop bound for Long Island to gather the intelligence that could save Washington's army.