Tributes to Abraham Lincoln . rothers of my father, alsomembers of the City Council, werealso members of the receptioncommittee. FLAG INCIDENT To all of these I appealed for aplace on the platform. My father !objected on the ground that othernembers of the committee hadsons who would desire the same Iprivilege. However, the commit-:ee, acceedlng to my request, made I me the only boy admitted to thePlatform, erected for the occasionm front of Independence Hall,Chestnut street between Fifth andSixth streets. My father, George P. MacLean,who subsequently served as colonelthroughout the Civil War;
Tributes to Abraham Lincoln . rothers of my father, alsomembers of the City Council, werealso members of the receptioncommittee. FLAG INCIDENT To all of these I appealed for aplace on the platform. My father !objected on the ground that othernembers of the committee hadsons who would desire the same Iprivilege. However, the commit-:ee, acceedlng to my request, made I me the only boy admitted to thePlatform, erected for the occasionm front of Independence Hall,Chestnut street between Fifth andSixth streets. My father, George P. MacLean,who subsequently served as colonelthroughout the Civil War; was, atthis time captain of the ColumbiaRifles of Philadelphia. They werethe bodyguard before the erectedstand. I wore a new soldier cap,corresponding to those of theGuard. After Lincoln delivered his fa-mous address, he raised the flag,which, unfurling to the breeze, re-leased myriads of little flags whichfloated down upon the heads of themultitude and became souvenirs ofthe memorable day—Feb. 22, 1861. Refo Co Co MacLean. I On the rail in front of me wasMr. Lincolns high, silk hat. Dur-ing the enthusiasm and excite-j ment, thinking I was unobserved,I removed my cap and placed Lin-coins hat on my head. It restedI on my shoulders. The nudging ofa hand against my shoulder mademe lift the hat and, noticing theexpression of my fathers face, Iconcluded it would be wise toquickly replace the historic hatupon the vail. After the cere-monies Mr. Lincoln, to whom Ihad been introduced, took both ofmy hands in his big right handand placing his left hand on myhead said, God bless you, you grow up to be a good andnoble ma*. AN INSPIRATION That gracious act of AbrahamLincoln has been an inspirationthroughout my life, and will beto its close. Those hands, thosewords and the kindly facial expres-[ sjon of that greatest of all Ameri-cans have by me ever been felt,heard and seen. Forty-two years after thisevent, when a pastor in Chicagooccurred the following remarkablecoincidence
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