Equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney

Statue of Caesar Rodney in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.

39°44′45″N 75°32′50″W / 39.74595°N 75.54730°W / 39.74595; -75.54730

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]

References

^ ^a ^b 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

Monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests

United States

Alabama	Birmingham – Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument; Charles Linn Huntsville – Confederate Soldier Memorial ✻ Mobile – Raphael Semmes
Arkansas	Bentonville – Confederate Monument ✻ Little Rock – Company A, Capitol Guards Pine Bluff – Confederate Monument
California	Carmel-by-the-Sea – Junípero Serra Chula Vista – Christopher Columbus Los Angeles – Junípero Serra Sacramento – Columbus' Last Appeal to Queen Isabella ✻; Junípero Serra; John Sutter San Francisco – Christopher Columbus; Ulysses S. Grant; Francis Scott Key; Junípero Serra Ventura – Junípero Serra ✻
Connecticut	Bridgeport – Christopher Columbus Hartford – Christopher Columbus ✻ Middletown – Christopher Columbus New Haven – Christopher Columbus ✻ New London – Christopher Columbus ✻ Norwalk – Christopher Columbus
Delaware	Dover – Delaware Law Enforcement Memorial Wilmington – Christopher Columbus; Caesar Rodney
District of Columbia	Washington – Albert Pike
Florida	Jacksonville – Confederate Memorial; Florida's Tribute to the Women of the Confederacy ✻ Palatka – Putnam County Confederate Memorial ✻ Quincy – Gadsden Confederate Memorial
Georgia	Athens – Confederate Monument Decatur – DeKalb County Confederate Monument
Indiana	Indianapolis – Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Kentucky	Frankfort – Jefferson Davis Louisville – John B. Castleman; Louis XVI
Louisiana	New Orleans – John McDonogh
Massachusetts	Boston – Christopher Columbus; Emancipation Memorial
Michigan	Dearborn – Orville L. Hubbard Detroit – Christopher Columbus
Minnesota	Minneapolis – Calvin Griffith Saint Paul – Christopher Columbus
Missouri	St. Louis – Christopher Columbus
Nevada	Las Vegas – Hey Reb!
New Jersey	Camden – Christopher Columbus Newark – Christopher Columbus West Orange – Christopher Columbus ✻
New Mexico	Albuquerque – Juan de Oñate Alcalde – Juan de Oñate Santa Fe – Diego de Vargas
New York	Albany – Philip Schuyler ✻ Buffalo – Christopher Columbus Hempstead – Thomas Jefferson New York City – Theodore Roosevelt Rochester – Frederick Douglass
North Carolina	Asheville – Vance Monument ✻ Charlotte – Jerry Richardson Raleigh – North Carolina Women of the Confederacy; Josephus Daniels; Henry Lawson Wyatt Rocky Mount – Nash County Confederate Monument ✻ Salisbury – Gloria Victis ✻ Wilmington – Confederate Memorial; George Davis
Ohio	Columbus – Christopher Columbus (City Hall); Christopher Columbus (Columbus State Community College)
Oregon	Eugene – The Pioneer; The Pioneer Mother Portland – Captain William Clark Monument; Thompson Elk Fountain; Thomas Jefferson; Abraham Lincoln; Theodore Roosevelt; Harvey W. Scott; George Washington
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia – Christopher Columbus ✻; Frank Rizzo; George Whitefield
Rhode Island	Providence – Christopher Columbus
South Carolina	Columbia – Christopher Columbus Charleston – John C. Calhoun
Tennessee	Nashville – Edward W. Carmack; Sam Davis ✻
Texas	Beaumont – Our Confederate Soldiers Dallas – Confederate War Memorial; One Riot, One Ranger Denton – Confederate Soldier Monument ✻ Fort Worth – Confederate Monument Houston – Christopher Columbus; Richard W. Dowling ✻; Spirit of the Confederacy
Virginia	Alexandria – Appomattox Fredericksburg – Slave Auction Block Norfolk – Confederate Monument Portsmouth – Confederate Monument Roanoke – Robert E. Lee Richmond – Christopher Columbus; Jefferson Davis; Howitzer Monument ✻; Stonewall Jackson; Robert E. Lee; Matthew Fontaine Maury; Richmond Police Memorial; J. E. B. Stuart; Williams Carter Wickham
Wisconsin	Madison – Forward; Hans Christian Heg

Other countries

Belgium	Antwerp – Leopold II Ghent – Leopold II
New Zealand	Hamilton – John Fane Charles Hamilton
United Kingdom	Bristol – Edward Colston Cambridge – Sir Ronald Fisher window Greater Manchester – Dunham Massey Hall sundial London – John Cass; Robert Clayton ✻; Thomas Guy ✻; Robert Milligan