Thomas Jefferson: “What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? …The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
Captain Nathan Hale
There are many who gave their life in the American Revolution. One who met his demise in 1776 was Captain Nathan Hale. Hale was a schoolmaster who served with the militia during the early years of the war. When Washington needed information about Long Island, he requested several spies go behind enemy lines to obtain the information.
One of the volunteers who went on the spy mission for Washington was Captain Hale. During his time behind enemy lines, Hale was captured and sentenced to hang as a spy. It was reported that immediately prior to his hanging Hale said, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
April 19, 1775
British Regulars arrive at the green in Lexington to find militia standing across the green in parade formation in protest of the Regulars’ mission to confiscate guns and ammunition. When the militia began to withdraw from the field, shots were fired and men died.
Lexington Casualties: John Brown, Samuel Hadley, Caleb Harrington, Jonathan Harrington, Robert Munroe, Isaac Muzzey, Asahel Porter, and Jonas Parker.
Dr. Joseph Warren
Dr. Warren was an early supporter of independence working alongside the Sons of Liberty. Besides maintaining his medical practice, he worked to build up the militia and prepare it for the upcoming war. He worked with a spy network and received the information that British Regulars were going to arrest John Hancock and John Adams and march on Concord and sent Revere and Dawes out on their midnight rides.
Dr. Warren joined with the militia in chasing and hounding the Regulars back to Boston and was appointed Major General by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Dr. Warren was killed during the final attack on Breeds Hill.
Apart from his militia and medical work and his work with the spy ring, Dr. Warren was also elected President of 2nd Massachusetts Provincial Congress and served on the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. Dr. Warren wrote the Suffolk Resolves and was well-known for his speech on the anniversary of the Boston Massacre.
“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”
Benjamin Franklin
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