General and Martina-related quotes from the article. Courtesy of www.mtv.com

NASHVILLE — An estimated 1,500 people came to the Peace, Prayer & Unity vigil in Nashville's Centennial Park on Wednesday to mourn those lost in the terrorist attacks carried out the day before.

The crowd was remarkably quiet and subdued, and even the young children attending seemed to catch the seriousness of the moment and stayed close to their parents. Instead of mingling, most people sat on the park lawn in clusters. Some wore white ribbons on badges that read "God Bless America." Others carried small American flags.

Appearing at the ceremonies were country singers Martina McBride, Phil Vassar, Kenny Chesney, Jo Dee Messina and Shannon Brown; Christian artists Michael W. Smith, the Katinas and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer; Dr. Jerry Sutton, pastor of Nashville's Two Rivers Baptist Church; Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell; Bishop Edward Kmiec; and Dr. Warren Thompson, director of clinical psychology for Nashville Metro Schools.

McBride then took the stage to lead the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. "Sometimes emotions in times like these are best expressed in music," she said, breaking into the chorus of her most famous hit, "Independence Day." While the song is about domestic violence, the chorus seemed curiously applicable to the tragedy at hand with its lines "Let freedom ring, let the white dove sing/ Let the whole world know that today is the day of reckoning." This was as close to combativeness and retribution as the program got. McBride ended her set with a stratospheric rendering of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

For the finale, McBride, Smith and the Katinas returned to the stage and were joined by Brown, Vassar, Nash, Messina and Chesney to lead the mourners in "Amazing Grace."