[MSN] Thieves Take 3-Foot Statue Of National Revolutionary War Hero From Moorings At Hale Homestead

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Nathan Gone, Feet Secure 

Thieves Take 3-Foot Statue Of National Revolutionary War Hero From Moorings
At Hale Homestead 

By STEPHANIE SUMMERS
Courant Staff Writer

April 11 2007

COVENTRY -- As a spy, Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale was hanged by the
British. As a statue, he's been cut off at the ankles ... and stolen from
his historic family homestead.

Thieves removed the 3-foot bronze sculpture of Hale, leaving behind only his
shoes and the statue base, sometime between March 29 and April 4,
Antiquarian and Landmarks Society officials said Tuesday.

The statue was the work of eminent New England sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt,
whose pieces also adorn the Library of Congress, Museum of Fine Arts in
Boston, Yale, Harvard, the Connecticut state Capitol and myriad other sites.

"What a shame," said Sheryl Hack, executive director of the society, which
owns the Hale Homestead and eight other house museums. "Is it a prank? Is it
serious? It certainly is disrespectful."

Ben Wilson, the society's building conservator, discovered the theft April 4
when he walked from the house, where he stays overnight for part of each
week.

"If you don't look for it, you wouldn't necessarily see it," he said
Tuesday, because the brown and green figure is nestled in leaves and plants
near a stone wall in the crux of the L-shaped house. Hale grew up in the
older part of the house, which adjoins the main structure built the year he
was hanged in 1776.

At first Wilson thought it might be a prank akin to stealing a garden gnome,
but then realized the thieves had to really want the 100-pound sculpture to
go to so much trouble. "Nathan Hale is a beloved Connecticut figure, so
possibly it was a Hale fanatic," he said partly in jest, adding that
Coventry citizens have a deep affection for the Hale heritage.

The society just wants the statue of the national and state hero, best known
for saying at his hanging, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose
for my country," to be brought back to the homestead. If that happens, no
questions will be asked. There will be no hanging, no amputation at the
ankles, no prosecution, they say.

The society has a twin of the statue from the same Pratt cast in storage but
would not use it to replace the stolen one, Wilson said, adding that he did
not know its value.

"The significant thing is that it was stolen and it's Nathan Hale. It would
be like stealing a piece of the Statehouse," he said.

Coventry Police Chief Mark Palmer speculated it could have been removed by
tying a rope to it and pulling it with a vehicle. Police have notified other
jurisdictions and plan to check with metal dealers, although Palmer said he
doubted legitimate enterprises would consider buying such a piece.

Palmer said anyone with information should call the anonymous police tips
line at 860-742-2400 or the main number, 860-742-7331.

Hack, who worked at the Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire before
coming to the antiquarian society more than a year ago, said a 1790s granite
watering trough was stolen from that historic site but was returned after a
strong public plea was made.


"We'd like to hear a hue and cry that it's not only important to us but to
the residents of the state - that it's really important to bring Nathan
back."

Contact Stephanie Summers at ssummers at courant.com.  

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