To Thomas Jefferson from Philip Reed, 26 November 1804
From Philip Reed
Washington 26th. Novr. 1804
Sir
I have visited this place for the sole function of causing myself to be made known to you, with a view to apply for an appointment under your administration of the government of the U. States.
It is probable that in adopting this mode of application I may have departed from the common course, I am unacquainted with the practice, and must therefore rely for my apology upon the known candour of your charactor.
It may not be improper Sir that I should State, that in the memorable year of 1776 I entered into the Army a private Soldier. I was soon after promoted and continued in the Army untill the end of the war, before which time I was a Captain. Since the war, I have been honored with Several appointments, and altho’ all of them were very respectable, yet none were profitable, except the office of Sheriff, held for three years—How far I have succeeded in the discharge of the various and important duties imposed on me—How well I have conducted myself as a citizen, or how far contributed in promoting the present happy order of things, are questions not proper for me to decide. I must beg leave to refer you for information on these several points to those gentlemen with whom I have the honor of being acquainted, and with whom I have usually acted in political concerns—with General Smyth and R. Smyth Esquire Secretary of the Navy, I have some acquaintance. It is probable my charactor may be little known to them. with Mr. Duvall, I formerly served in the State legislature. with Major R. Wright and J. H. Nicholson Esquire I have been long acquainted. It is probable Mr. Nelson may not be unacquainted with the reputation I sustained in the Army, with Doctor Archer I have a short personal acquaintance—A fall from my carriage, near three years ago by which my leg was dreadfully fractured, has put it out of my power to pursue any active means for the Support of my family—Thus circumstanced I feel myself justifyed in coming before the government of my Country to be placed in some Situation that will make the latter part of my life comfortable &c. My application cannot be directed to any Specific Object because I am remote from the government and am utterly unacquainted with the particular State of things—Baltimore would be a Situation convenient & pleasing to me, if you should think proper to palace me there.
I expect to leave this place on wednesday morning for the Eastern Shore previous to which I should be happy of the honor of waiting on you in order to make some further explanations, which I wish to do personally
I have the Honor to be with high consideration Sir, Your Most Obedt. Huml. Servant
Philip Reed
RC (DNA: RG 59, LAR); at foot of text: “The President of The U. States”; endorsed by TJ as received 26 Nov. and “for emploiment” and so recorded in SJL.
Philip Reed (1760-1829) lived outside Chestertown, Maryland. He rose to infantry captain during the American Revolution, served as a lieutenant colonel in the War of 1812, and was later made brigadier general in honor of his service to Maryland. He held various state and local offices, including an associate judgeship from 1794 until at least 1816, two terms as a state legislator, and service as Kent County sheriff during the 1790s. In late 1806, Reed entered the U.S. Senate as a Republican, filling the vacancy left by Maryland’s new governor, Robert Wright. He was in the Senate until 1813, then returned to Congress in 1817-19 and 1822-3 as a member of the House of Representatives. In 1827, an incident of Reed’s Revolutionary War experience involving the execution of defectors became part of a controversy over Andrew Jackson’s military record (; Edward C. Papenfuse, Alan F. Day, David W. Jordan, and Gregory A. Stiverson, eds., A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2 vols. [Baltimore, 1979-85], 2:674-5; Washington Universal Gazette, 4 Dec. 1806; , 33:1061-73; New-York Evening Post, 27 July 1827; , 6:369-71).