First Book Published on Philip Reid
Author Publishes the First Book on Philip Reid,
Slave Castor of Statute of Freedom at Lulu.com
Silver Spring, MD - September 25, 2006. Dr. Eugene Walton, former Coordinator of Affirmative Action at the Library of Congress, published the first book on Philip Reid, the slave who supervised the bronze casting of the Statue of Freedom atop the U.S. Capitol dome. The book is titled “The Biography of Philip Reid: Historical Fiction.”
The novel is based on documents found at the National Archives and on historic information on slavery in Charleston, S.C, where Philip Reid was born, raised and trained, and in Washington, D.C., where he worked after he was sold to Clark Mills, foundry owner who had the contract to cast the Statue of Freedom.
Philip Reid’s enslavement was ended by the Washington, D.C. Emancipation Proclamation on April 16, 1862, nine months before the issuance of the national Proclamation. He became a respected citizen of Washington’s Free Black community and established himself in the plastering business. He married an educated third generation Free Black on the same day that the Statue of Freedom was raised to the Capitol dome.
Slaves made up half of the workforce that built the U.S. Capitol. Philip Reid was the most famous of them. Nation Archives records include numerous receipts showing payments from the District of Columbia Commissioners to owners of slaves, who are generally referred to as “negro Jack,” “negro Ben,” and “negro John,” etc. One Archives record reflecting a payment of $41.25 to Philip Reid “for keeping up fires under the mould, (Sundays) @ $1.25 per day” is believed to be the sole record of a payment made directly to any slave working at the Capitol. The District of Columbia Emancipation Act however, provided for payments of up to $300 per slave to owners to compensate them for their “losses.”
These historical facts form the basis of the story which is embellished with the addition of a personal life to create Philip’s Reid’s biography (220 pp. paperback, $12.95 or Download for $ 4.01). The book is being distributed exclusively over the Internet by Eugene Walton’s Storefront at Lulu.com, which can be reached by searching “Eugene Walton at Lulu.com” in Google’s, or by just clicking on the line below:
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=555492
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Slave Castor of Statute of Freedom at Lulu.com
Silver Spring, MD - September 25, 2006. Dr. Eugene Walton, former Coordinator of Affirmative Action at the Library of Congress, published the first book on Philip Reid, the slave who supervised the bronze casting of the Statue of Freedom atop the U.S. Capitol dome. The book is titled “The Biography of Philip Reid: Historical Fiction.”
The novel is based on documents found at the National Archives and on historic information on slavery in Charleston, S.C, where Philip Reid was born, raised and trained, and in Washington, D.C., where he worked after he was sold to Clark Mills, foundry owner who had the contract to cast the Statue of Freedom.
Philip Reid’s enslavement was ended by the Washington, D.C. Emancipation Proclamation on April 16, 1862, nine months before the issuance of the national Proclamation. He became a respected citizen of Washington’s Free Black community and established himself in the plastering business. He married an educated third generation Free Black on the same day that the Statue of Freedom was raised to the Capitol dome.
Slaves made up half of the workforce that built the U.S. Capitol. Philip Reid was the most famous of them. Nation Archives records include numerous receipts showing payments from the District of Columbia Commissioners to owners of slaves, who are generally referred to as “negro Jack,” “negro Ben,” and “negro John,” etc. One Archives record reflecting a payment of $41.25 to Philip Reid “for keeping up fires under the mould, (Sundays) @ $1.25 per day” is believed to be the sole record of a payment made directly to any slave working at the Capitol. The District of Columbia Emancipation Act however, provided for payments of up to $300 per slave to owners to compensate them for their “losses.”
These historical facts form the basis of the story which is embellished with the addition of a personal life to create Philip’s Reid’s biography (220 pp. paperback, $12.95 or Download for $ 4.01). The book is being distributed exclusively over the Internet by Eugene Walton’s Storefront at Lulu.com, which can be reached by searching “Eugene Walton at Lulu.com” in Google’s, or by just clicking on the line below:
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=555492
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Sunday, September 24, 2006
