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John McLean emigrated to
America from Scotland as a young man and settled in Chicago. At the
outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as private in the 65th Illinois
Volunteer Infantry. By the end of the war he had risen to the rank of
Sergeant-Major, but his health was broken. Returning to Scotland, he
married and soon had a family of three children. The times were
difficult, his health was poor, and the family was never properly
supported. When he died he was buried in a pauper’s grave.
In 1890, his widow approached Wallace Bruce, U. S. Consul in Edinburgh,
for help in getting his pension. Bruce, a sensitive man best known for
his poetry, was appalled to learn that John McLean was buried in a
potter’s field.
Returning to the United States, he began to raise money for a proposed
memorial. Donations came from such men as Waldorf Astor, Andrew
Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, William Rockefeller and J. Pierpont
Morgan. The Illinois Saint Andrew Society made its contribution through
Robert Clark, Jr., President.
The monument was dedicated on August 21, 1893. It was a rainy, windy
day. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders marched from the Castle to
Waterloo Place at the east end of Princes Street. This Guard of Honor
numbered 250 persons. It was to be an impressive ceremony in spite of
the inclement weather.
The monument was draped in the Union Jack, the Scottish Standard and the
Stars and Stripes. Around the platform was an edging of heather. The
highest officials from Edinburgh were present including the Lord
Provost. Many American veterans from both sides of the war were in
attendance.
Mr. Lincoln stands life-size on a large pedestal with a freed black
slave kneeling at his feet. Carved in Aberdeen granite are the words of
Lincoln, “To preserve the jewel of liberty in the framework of
freedom.”
The remains of John McEwen and five other veterans are buried beneath
the monument; their names and regiments are also recorded in the
Aberdeen granite. Just to the left of Lincoln stands the circular tower
designed by Robert Adam and is the burial place of David Hume, the great
historian and philosopher. Others buried in this small cemetery include:
John Haig, William Blackwood, and Robert and Thomas Stevenson,
grandfather and father of Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Calton burying ground is located 500 yards east of the General Post
Office at the junction of Waterloo Place and North Bridge, very near to
the railroad depot. Few people know about the Memorial and sometimes the
gate is locked, but it is well worth the visit when you are in
Edinburgh. |
