Philip Reid Saves The Statue of Freedom

Download or read book Philip Reid Saves The Statue of Freedom written by Steven Sellers Lapham and published by Sleeping Bear Press. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On December 2, 1863, a bronze statue was placed atop the dome of the United States Capitol. Standing more than 19 feet tall, the figure called “Freedom” was designed and created during a period of great turmoil in American history. But at one point during its creation, it wasn’t clear the statue would even get to its final destination. One man, in particular, played an important role in seeing the statue through to completion. His name was Philip Reid. Born into slavery, Reid grew up on a South Carolina farm, helping various craftsmen such as the blacksmith and the potter. Eventually, he was sold to a man named Clark Mills, who opened a foundry in Washington, D.C. Mills’s foundry was contracted to cast the Freedom statue, but the project was jeopardized when a seemingly unsolvable puzzle arose. And it was Philip Reid who stepped in to solve it.