Philip Reid After the Statute of Freedom

When the Statute of Freedom was hoisted to the dome of the US Capitol on December 2, 1863 it was a festive occasion crowned with a 35 Gun Salute answered by the guns of 12 forts around Washington. The affair was attended by Big Whigs from Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, but there is no record of the attendance of Philip Reid, the ex-slave who, while enslaved, supervised the statute’s casting in bronze. There is no record one way or the other, but it would be safe to say “Philip Reid was not invited to attend the affair” and, needless to add, “neither were any of the ex-slaves who worked under his supervision.”

We are sure that Philip Reid survived the snubbing of the Statute of Freedom affair and went on to live his life as a Free Man, but we are less sure of what kind of life that was. Where did he live? What kind of work did he do for his living? What kind of family did he have? When and where did he finally retire? “Full” answers to these questions are hardly available, but a search of two historical records provide at least partial answers—these records being the United States Census and the District of Columbia City Directory for the decades immediately following the Civil War.

The first significant legal notice of Philip Reid as a free man came in the 1870 U.S. Census. The very first notice is his name change: “Reed,” not “Reid.” This is at variance with the spelling of Philip’s last name by his former owner Clark Mills (of the Clark Mills Foundry where Philip supervised the casting of the bronze casting of the Statue of Freedom). In Mills’ 1862 Petition for reparations payment from the District of Columbia for his “loss of property” when Philip was emancipated he spelled the last name “Reid.” At some time between Mills’ petition and the first enlisting of Philip in the US Census system the spelling of his name was changed to “Reed.” It was never “corrected” (to conform with his slave name) and he was stuck with “Reed” for the remainder of his life (or at least in every succeeding Census). In another error of the 1870 Census Philip’s birthplace is reported as “Scotland.” This was most likely a misreading of the letters “SC” from some record by some enumerator or transcriber. It was corrected in the 1880 Census where his birthplace is shown as “South Carolina.”

In the 1880 Census Philip’s occupation continues to be shown as “Plasterer.” Philip went from casting the most significant bronze edifice in the Capitol to building and beautifying the walls of the city’s businesses and residences and continued in this occupation throughout his stay in Washington.
The 1880 Census also reported the presence of several others is reported for his household. One of the “others” was “Jane Reed,” a 39 year old female whose occupation was listed as “House Keeper,” and “Henry Reed,” a two year old child. Also living in the household at that time were “Henry Brown,” a 25 year old Hotel Waiter and “Rebecca Rollins,” a 21 year old Seamstress. The 1880 Census also lists “Mary P. Reed,” as Philip’s wife. It reports that she was born in Washington, D.C. in 1836.

Another valuable source of information on Philip’s life in Washington is the Washington City Directory, a kind of municipal census of businesses and residents conducted annually. The 1872 Directory shows a Plasterer named Philip Reed living at 428 2nd St. SW. In the 1880 Directory Philip is shown as living at “209 41/2 St. SW.” In 1885 he lived at “325 C St. SW,” and in 1890 it was “344 B St. SW.” All of these addresses are just a few blocks from each other in Southwest Washington which was originally the heart of the city’s Black community (long ago wiped out by early urban renewal). Philip Reed is not listed as a resident in the 1900 City Directory, suggesting his departure for another location.

The 1900 US Census shows a “Philip Reed, age 87, Black, born in South Carolina” living in Coosawhachie, Hampton, South Carolina. One can only speculate as to whether this was The Philip Reed aka Philip Reid, having finally retired and returned to the state of his birth.
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