After the Continental army had reached Harlem Heights above New York, Washington, desiring to be made acquainted with the force and probable purpose of the enemy, chose Nathan Hale, a brilliant young captain aged twenty-one, a graduate of Yale, and before the war, a Connecticut school teacher, for the dangerous task. Hale crossed the sound at Fairfield in September, 1776, disguised as a school teacher. He reached New York, made a careful study of the enemy's fortifications, drew plans, and was waiting for the ferry to return by way of Brooklyn when he was betrayed by a Tory kinsman who recognized him. His arrest followed, and Howe turned him over to the inhuman provost marshal, Cunninghan, who hanged him the next day without a trial, and even refused him the services of a clergyman or the use of Bible. Hale's dying utterance is well known: "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country." (Read the well known poem on Nathan Hale.)
On September 22, 1780, one of the most startling and the saddest event of the Revolution occurred. Benedict Arnold, Washington's trusted friend, commander at West Point, had turned traitor. The discovery was made through the arrest of Andre, a British spy by whom Arnold attempted to send a plan of the fort to the British commander at New York. "We took him into the bushes" said Williams, "and ordered him to pull off his clothes, which he did; but, on searching him narrowly, we could not find any sort of writings. We told him to pull of his boots, which he seemed to be indifferent about; but we got one boot off, and searched in that boot, and could find nothing. But we found there were some papers in the bottom of his stocking next to his foot; on which we made him pull his stocking off, and found three papers wrapped up. Mr. Paulding looked at the contents, and said he was a spy. We then made him pull off his other boot, and there we found three more papers at the bottom of his foot within his stocking."
