Philadelphia's Union League Commemorates Lincoln's Birthday, 206 Years On
By Mark Abrams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Members of the Union League of Philadelphia today observed the 206th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln birthday with a parade from the group's headquarters, at Broad and Sansom Streets, down Chestnut, to Independence Hall.
Despite the frigid weather conditions, about 75 people, led by Union cavalry reënactors, marched from Broad Street to Independence Hall, to recognize the contributions of a president who had many supporters in Philadelphia.
Andy Waskie (below) , who organized the celebration and portrayed Union general George Meade today, notes that Lincoln took part in a flag-raising ceremony at Independence Hall marking the entrance of Kansas into the Union: "the first flag in the United States with 34 stars, on his way to be inaugurated in Washington, in 1861."
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A plaque in front of Independence Hall marks the site where it took place.
Waskie says Lincoln returned to Philadelphia in 1864 to attend a fundraising event for Union soldiers during the Civil War.
"He came, he stayed overnight, he had dinner at the Union League, and gave a number of speeches."
And, finally, Lincoln's body passed through Philadelphia on its way to its burial in Springfield, Illniois...
"His funeral cortege passed right by this building, April 24, 1865."