Last week we kicked off Black History month with a little-known fact about Slave Markets in DC. We continue this week with a story of one of those enslaved Washingtonians\’ who played a major part in two of the most iconic and historic landmarks in DC.
The statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square drew the ire of protestors bent on seeing him and his horse toppled to the ground. As the fervor increases about removing statues of racists and confederate traitors, a number of schools and street names have been thrown into the fray. The US Capitol was stormed on January 6th by insurgents determined to topple this representation of democracy. The statues of Andrew Jackson and the Statue of Freedom that tops the dome of the US Capitol have someone in common – Philip Reid.
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There’s a street in Northeast DC that stretches 3 short blocks between Girard Place and Rhode Island Avenue that connects all of this history. Mills Avenue N.E., which starts at the 2400 block of Girard Place and runs to Rhode Island Avenue, is named after the sculpture Scott Mills that designed the historic statue of Andrew Jackson. Its historic value is not the 7th president of the United States, but the horse he’s mounted on. John Kellly\’s Wahington Post column tells the history of the architect and the unique design that makes this statue unique. Be it not for its rider it\’s quite an accomplishment.
What makes this statue so unique? It\’s the majesty of how the horse is balanced precariously on its two hind legs. Although the image of a horse raised on its two hinds legs is somewhat commonplace – the feat in statue form is unique. At the time this statue was forged there were no other statues able to achieve this accomplishment. The closest to it were statues of George Washington and Peter the Great (Bronze Horseman). Key to Mills\’ success was a slave by the name of Philip Reid.
Kelly writes, \”Mills owned enslaved people. Among those he depended on most heavily was Philip Reid, who proved essential in Mills’s next big project: casting Thomas Crawford’s 19-foot-tall Freedom statue that stands atop the Capitol.\” Reid is attributed to ensuring that the plaster cast of the Statue of Freedom successfully made it to Mills foundry. Without Reid, the plaster model of the statue might never have made it to the foundry, located in the heart of Ward 5.
\”The bolted-together model had been set up in the Capitol for tourists to look at. But when it came time to cast it, nobody could find a way to separate it so it could be moved to the foundry. Reid figured out how to use a pulley and tackle to lift up the model and pull it apart for easy transport.\” Other accounts of Ried include long hours and hard labor. Even though he was paid slightly higher than other laborers, Mills is also reported to have stolen considerable portions of Reid\’s wages.
\”The federal government paid Reid $1.25 a day for “keeping up fires under the moulds,” according to the architect’s account. But Mills pocketed six days of Reid’s wages, and Reid only kept his pay for one day a week, Sunday — earning a total of $41.25 for 33 Sundays.\”
Reid changed his name after achieving his freedom to Reed. That was the name he was buried with and honored on Emancipation Day in 2014 with a historical marker in National Harmony Memorial Park Cemetery in Hyattsville, Maryland. Since then Harmony has dedicated its latest memorial garden to Philip Reed Reed and Solomon Northrup, the author of Twelve Years a Slave.
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“We hope that succeeding generations will not forget the great legacy of Mr. Philip Reid, who in spite of being a slave with no resources and bearing his master’s name, helped create one of the most iconic statues — the Statue of Freedom.” – Rev. Wallace Charles Smith, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church
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Philip Reid and the Statue of Freedom
Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia
Slave who helped build Capitol’s Statue of Freedom honored with historical marker
Philip Reed – Enslaved Artisan in the President\’s Neighborhood