When Americans think of Revolutionary War spies, Nathan Hale is often the first name that comes to mind. But in 1776, another young Connecticut patriot was carrying out a remarkably similar mission — and unlike Hale, he managed to stay undercover for months.
His name was David Maltbie, a 17-year-old from Stamford, Connecticut, whose little-known story has recently come back to light through newly uncovered historical documents. Maltbie crossed Long Island Sound into British-controlled territory, posed as a schoolteacher and secretly gathered intelligence for the patriot cause.
