Video: ‘Nathan Hale, American Spy… What His Sacrifice Means on Our Independence Day’

(Sunday, September 22, 1776, 11:00 a.m. local time; during the American Revolutionary War and the American Revolution) — Nathan Hale, a 21-year-old American soldier and spy for the Continental Army, was executed this morning without trial one day after being captured by the British in New York City.

His last words before being hanged were purported to be “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”