Nathan Hale at City Hall Park

Artist: Frederick MacMonnies

Architect: Stanford White

Date: Constructed, 1890; Dedication, Nov 25, 1893

This graceful, 13-foot standing bronze figure, sculpted by Frederick MacMonnies (1863-1937), directly faces City Hall and honors the last moments of the 21-year-old American Revolution era spy, Nathan Hale (1755-1776).

Hale worked for 3 weeks after he began spying for the Revolutionary Army. Disguised as a Dutch schoolteacher, he attempted to infiltrate New York’s British ranks to gather intelligence on the enemy’s Long Island military installations. The young man was captured, however, on the night of September 21, 1776 and hanged for treason the next morning on a gallows believed to have been erected near 63rd Street and First Avenue.

Before he was hung, he uttered the words, "I only regret I have but one life to give for my country."

Since no life portraits of the patriot spy exist, Frederick Macmonnies’s work offers a romantic interpretation of Hale. The bronze statue of the shackled and bound Hale is set upon a granite base and illustrates the hero’s last predawn moments. This sculpture was erected in 1890 in City Hall Park, New York.