This statue of Founding Father Caesar Rodney was located in Rodney Square in Wilmington, Delaware, until its removal in 2020.
Most people who have lived on earth have done so under some form of government where the very few ruled by decree over the many. This changed with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The principles articulated in this great document are as important today as they were in 1776. These include the idea that we all have inalienable or God-given rights, that we are all created equal, that all of us are entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and that governments can only be formed through the consent of the governed. This was the antithesis of the rights granted to most people until this moment in history.
While many Americans are familiar with some of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Hancock, every one of the fifty-six men at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia in July 1776 made important contributions to the cause of American liberty and independence. One such individual was Caesar Rodney from Delaware.
Caesar Rodney was active in Patriot causes dating back to the repeal of the hated Stamp Act in 1766. He served in various positions in the Delaware state government and became a leading proponent of American independence. Rodney became an officer in the Delaware State Militia in support of the state’s Revolutionary War effort.
The Second Continental Congress met shortly after the first shots of the American Revolution were fired in April 1775. Rodney was appointed as one of the three Delaware delegates to Congress. As the Revolutionary War grew in intensity, Rodney spent more time in Delaware than in Philadelphia to assist with the important role of supplying the Continental Army. General George Washington’s correspondence with Rodney through letters reflects Washington’s appreciation for Rodney’s efforts in this regard.
On July 1, 1776, Rodney was in Dover, Delaware, when he received a letter from Philadelphia. The Continental Congress had scheduled a vote the next day, July 2, on Virginian Richard Henry Lee’s proposal that “these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states.” Thomas McKean and George Reed, the two Delaware delegates in Philadelphia, disagreed over whether to vote for independence. While Reed and McKean both ultimately signed the Declaration, Reed did not favor the vote for independence, while McKean did. Caesar Rodney was needed to break the tie. As an ardent believer of independence, Rodney did not hesitate.
Rodney got on his horse and rode for eighteen straight hours and over eighty miles through thunder and rain to get to Philadelphia before the vote, a ride that usually took two days. He stopped only to change horses. As if straight out of a Hollywood movie, it is said that the other Congressional delegates heard the hoofbeats on the cobblestones outside the convention hall, and in came Caesar Rodney, near exhaustion, covered in mud, with spurs still attached, to break his state’s tie to vote in favor of independence.
Rodney’s ride has never received the attention it should have. One of the problems Rodney still encounters historically is that he did not look the part of a Hollywood leading man. Skin cancer on his face caused disfigurement that he often took to covering up with a green silk veil. He suffered from many different physical ailments, including asthma, but none of these conditions prevented him from doing his duty.
If Delaware had not voted for independence and the thirteen colonies had not been unanimous and united, the British could have exploited this division to their advantage. History may have taken a very different turn. The best chance the American colonies had against the mighty British was to stay united. Rodney’s ride ensured this.
Caesar Rodney was chosen to represent Delaware on state coins minted in 1999.
Caesar Rodney faced immediate consequences, as some Delaware politicians loyal to the British Crown ensured he was not re-elected to the Continental Congress or the state legislature. However, Rodney continued in his role in the Delaware militia, where he was appointed to the rank of Major General in 1777.
Rodney’s leadership proved too invaluable to be kept away from Delaware state politics for long. He served as the state’s president from 1778 to 1781, where he continued to work on behalf of independence. In poor health, he accepted the role of speaker of the Delaware Senate in 1783 until his death in 1784 at fifty-five, just one year after the Revolutionary War formally ended with the Treaty of Paris. He died a great patriot who John Adams said had a “fire, spirit, wit and humor in his countenance.”
While no signer of the Declaration of Independence met their end directly at the hands of the British through execution or combat, many signers endured great hardships throughout the Revolutionary War because they signed the document. Americans need to learn more about these men, not less. They risked their lives in unwavering support of liberty. All of us today are the beneficiaries of their commitment. They all have stories to tell, and we need to continue to tell them as Americans. Caesar Rodney’s story included.