ESCAPE AT TENNESSEE JAIL WHILE INMATES SING HYMNS
Nashville, Tennessee (JFK+50) On Sunday morning, January 2, 1922, three prisoners, awaiting trial on charges of grand larceny, made their escape from Davidson County Jail "while a preacher led inmates in singing "Nearer, My God, to Thee*."
Associated Press reports the trio escaped by climbing down an improvised ladder made of blankets while "practically every prisoner" in their cells were singing hymns after the usual Sunday morning church services.
*"Nearer, My God, to Thee" is a Christian hymn written in England in 1841 by Sarah Flower & set to music by her sister Eliza Flower. The hymn retells the Biblical story of Jacob's dream in Genesis 28: 11-12.
It was the last song played by the band on the luxury liner Titanic before it sank in 1906.
SOURCE
"Three Escape Jail As Prisoners Sing "Nearer, My God, to Thee," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., January 2, 1922, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
