emorate his life and death. A stone was erected to his memory in
the cemetery at South Coventry, near the spot where his father expected
to be buried. It still stands there and has been declared to be one of
the best examples of the lettering of the times. It bears this
inscription:

"Durable stone preserve the monumental record. Nathan Hale Esq. a Capt.
in the army of the United States, who was born June 6th, 1755, and
received the first honors of Yale College, Sept. 1773, resigned his life
a sacrifice to his country's liberty at New York, Sept. 22d, 1776,
Etatis 22d."

One by one were placed near his, his father's stone (his father died at
eighty-five), and those of other members of his family. These graves are
in a common burial lot near the Congregational Church in South Coventry
where the family had worshiped.

In November, 1837, the Hale Monument Association was formed for the
purpose of erecting at Coventry a fitting memorial of the
martyr-soldier. Congress was applied to for several years, but was slow
in appropriating money to honor the dead,--strangely unlike England in
honoring her martyrs, as will be seen later.

Appeals were made to the State legislature, and Stuart, Hale's earliest
biographer and sincere admirer, used his influence as a legislator in
securing an appropriation of twelve hundred and fifty dollars. The
women of Coventry redoubled their zeal, and by fairs, teas, etc., raised
a sufficient sum, added to the grant from the legislature and
contributions from some prominent men of the country, to pay for the
cenotaph. It is a pyramidal shaft, resting on a base of steps, with a
shelving projection one-third of the way up the pedestal. The material
is of hewn Quincy granite. It was designed by Henry Austin of New Haven.
It is fourteen feet square at the base and forty-five feet high. It was
completed under the superintendence of Solomon Willard, architect of
Bunker Hill Monument, at a cost of about four thousand dollars.

The inscription on the north side is, "Captain Nathan Hale, 1776"; on
the west, "Born at Coventry, June 6, 1755"; on the east, "Died at New
York, Sept. 22, 1776"; on the south, "I only regret that I have but one
life to lose for my country."

The monument stands on elevated ground. "Its site is particularly
fine;... on the north it overlooks a beautiful lake, while on the east
it looks through a captivating natural vista to greet the sun."

With the planning of this monument