Equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney

Statue of Caesar Rodney
Statue of Caesar Rodney
	The statue in 2016
Artist	James E. Kelly
Year	1923
Subject	Caesar Rodney
Location	Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
	39°44′45″N75°32′50″W / 39.74595°N 75.54730°W

Last updated March 14, 2024

A statue of Caesar Rodney was installed in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. The statue was erected in Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington on July 4, 1923. It was designed by New York sculptor James Edward Kelly. The Gorham Company in Rhode Island cast the statue and its two bronze plaques.^[1] The memorial was removed in June 2020. It is currently being stored in New Castle, Delaware in a private storage facility. Its plans for future display are currently unclear,^[2] and its removal has generated controversy.

Description

Bronze plaques are affixed to the northwest and southeast sides of the statue's pedestal. One depicts Thomas McKean greeting Rodney in Philadelphia; the other, Rodney casting the deciding vote in favor of American independence.^[1] On top of the pedestal Rodney sits astride his horse, which is in full gallop with its front feet in the air, the majority of the statue's weight on the horse's hind legs.^[3] To balance the statue, Kelly heavily weighted the horse's tail and positioned Rodney upright and toward the rear of the horse.^[4]

History

Funds for the statue were raised by the Caesar Rodney Equestrian Statue Executive Committee to commemorate the ride of Rodney from Kent County, Delaware to Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 1 and 2, 1776.^[5]

It was removed from public display on June 12, 2020, along with the statue of Christopher Columbus in Wilmington, Delaware in the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd. Both statues were temporarily removed after a Dover, Delaware statue honoring law enforcement was vandalized with an axe and urine-soaked Delaware state flags.^[6]

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Caesar Rodney was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War, a Continental Congressman from Delaware, a signer of the Continental Association and Declaration of Independence, and president of Delaware during most of the American Revolution.

James Edward Kelly was an American sculptor and illustrator who specialized in depicting people and events of American wars, particularly the American Civil War.

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References

1 2 McNinch, Marjorie G. (2000). Wilmington in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-0647-0.
↑ "City News | Wilmington, DE". www.wilmingtonde.gov.
↑ DiUlio, Nick (2010-09-10). "The Shapes of Things That Are". Delaware Today. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
↑ Williams, Dennis (2015). "A Guide to Rodney Square": 1–16 – via City of Wilmington.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
↑ Delaware (1921). At a General Assembly Begun at Dover, in the Delaware State, ... the Following Acts Were Passed ... J. Adams.
↑ Barrish, Cris (June 12, 2020). "Wilmington removing, at least for now, Columbus and Caesar Rodney statues". WHYY. Retrieved 2020-06-13.

External links

The Historical Marker Database
Media related to Statue of Caesar Rodney (Wilmington, Delaware) at Wikimedia Commons

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[:0-1] 1 2 McNinch, Marjorie G. (2000). Wilmington in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-0647-0.

[2] "City News | Wilmington, DE". www.wilmingtonde.gov.

[3] DiUlio, Nick (2010-09-10). "The Shapes of Things That Are". Delaware Today. Retrieved 2020-06-13.

[4] Williams, Dennis (2015). "A Guide to Rodney Square": 1–16 – via City of Wilmington.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[5] Delaware (1921). At a General Assembly Begun at Dover, in the Delaware State, ... the Following Acts Were Passed ... J. Adams.

[6] Barrish, Cris (June 12, 2020). "Wilmington removing, at least for now, Columbus and Caesar Rodney statues". WHYY. Retrieved 2020-06-13.

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