The Captain Nathan Hale Monument, is a
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
in
Coventry, Connecticut
Coventry ( ) is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut. The population was 12,235 at the 2020 census. The birthplace of Captain Nathan Hale, Coventry is home to the Nathan Hale Homestead, which is now a museum open to the public.
Coventry was i ...
, built in 1846 in honor of
Nathan Hale, the
Revolutionary War hero, who was born in Coventry. It was one of the first war memorials to be built in the United States, and is a significant work of both architect
Henry Austin and builder
Solomon Willard
Solomon Willard (June 26, 1783 – February 27, 1861) was a carver and builder in Massachusetts who is remembered primarily for designing and overseeing the Bunker Hill Monument, the first monumental obelisk erected in the United States.
Backgr ...
. Now owned and maintained by the state, it was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2002.
Description and history
The Captain Nathan Hale Monument is located in South Coventry village, at the entrance to the Nathan Hale Cemetery on Lake Street. It is set off-center in a roughly rectangular grassy area slightly elevated by a granite retaining wall, part of which serves as the border wall of the cemetery and its entrance drive. The monument is in height, with a stepped square base, surmounted by a paneled section, above which is a gabled cornice, with the body of the obelisk above. The monument is constructed out of granite quarried in
Quincy, Massachusetts, from the same quarries that supplied the
Bunker Hill Monument
The Bunker Hill Monument is a monument erected at the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston, Massachusetts, which was among the first major battles between the Red Coats and Patriots in the American Revolutionary War. The 221-foot (67 m) gran ...
. Each face of the panel section bears an inscription, one of them consisting of Hale's famous quotation "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." The monument's architectural style has been described as
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
and
Exotic Revival
In the United States, the National Register of Historic Places classifies its listings by various types of architecture. Listed properties often are given one or more of 40 standard architectural style classifications that appear in the National ...
.
A committee of the town began to consider the construction of a monument to its native son in 1837. At the time, it encountered opposition to war memorials that were fairly typical in the United States at the time, including some resistance from the Hale family, who thought it unseemly. They persevered, and eventually raised private donations and state funds for the effort. The memorial was designed by Henry Austin, a prominent Connecticut architect, and was built in 1846 by Solomon Willard, owner of the Quincy granite quarries. The quarried stone was shipped to
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
by regional railroads at no cost, and was delivered the rest of the way to Coventry by oxen. A retaining wall made of "massive stones five feet in length" was built in 1894.
[ and ]
The monument was one of the first large-scale monuments in the United States to commemorate an individual or event, preceding the
Bunker Hill Monument
The Bunker Hill Monument is a monument erected at the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston, Massachusetts, which was among the first major battles between the Red Coats and Patriots in the American Revolutionary War. The 221-foot (67 m) gran ...
(completed 1846) and the
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and th ...
(completed 1885). Monuments and memorials of this type were not built in significant numbers until after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
.
See also
*
Nathan Hale Homestead
The Nathan Hale Homestead is a historic home located at 2299 South Street in Coventry, Connecticut, Coventry, Connecticut. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and was also known as Deacon Richard Hale House.
Connect ...
*
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Buildings and structures in Tolland County, Connecticut
Greek Revival architecture in Connecticut
Buildings and structures completed in 1846
Coventry, Connecticut
Monuments and memorials in Connecticut
Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
1846 sculptures
Stone sculptures in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Tolland County, Connecticut
1846 establishments in Connecticut