In 1776, a 17-year-old Connecticut teenager secretly spied on the British during the American Revolution, escaped execution and survived where Nathan Hale failed

In 1776, 17-year-old Connecticut teenager David Maltbie secretly crossed into British-controlled Long Island as a spy. Posing as a schoolteacher, he gathered intelligence for the American cause, was captured and sentenced to hang, but escaped before his execution. His remarkable story echoes Nathan Hale’s failed espionage mission during the American Revolution.