This Day in History: January 5

The American prisoners, finding themselves confined, employed considerable Yankee ingenuity attempting to escape. On January 5, 1779 alone, 100 escaped from Old Mill Prison. "Some went over the wall, some tunneled under the wall, others bribed guards, some walked out dressed as officials, another tried to get into a coffin as a replacement for one of their number who had died, while several less scrupulous connived with members of the local populace who helped them escape and then brought them back to collect the five pounds reward, which they afterwards shared." Splitting the reward was a good way for the prisoners to raise money. Once they escaped they needed money to purchase their passage to France. [More]