Equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney

A statue of Caesar Rodney is installed in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. The statue was erected in Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington on July 4, 1923 and it was designed by New York sculptor James Edward Kelly and the Gorham Company in Rhode Island cast it and the two bronze plaques.[1] The memorial is slated for removal, as of June 2020.[2]

Statue of Caesar Rodney
The statue in 2016
ArtistJames E. Kelly
Year1923 (1923)
SubjectCaesar Rodney
LocationWilmington, Delaware, U.S.
Coordinates39.74595°N 75.54730°W / 39.74595; -75.54730

Description

Two bronze plaques are one either side of the pedestal and depict Thomas McKean greeting Rodney in Philadelphia and Rodney casting the deciding vote for independence.[1] On top of the pedestal Rodney sits atop his horse which is in full gallop with its front feet in the air, with the majority of the weight of the statue on the horses hind legs.[3] To balance the statue Kelly heavily weighted the horses tail and positioned Rodney upright and towards the rear of the horse.[4]

History
Postcard of the statue

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.[5]

It was removed from public display on June 12, 2020 along with the statue of Christopher Columbus in Wilmington, Delaware during the protests of the death of George Floyd. Both statues were quickly removed after a statue honoring law enforcement had been vandalized and destroyed with urine soaked Delaware state flags nearby.[6]

See also

References
  1. McNinch, Marjorie G. (2000). Wilmington in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-0647-0.
  2. Talorico, Jeanne Kuang, Marina Affo and Patricia. "Wilmington to remove Caesar Rodney statue; Christopher Columbus statue already down". The News Journal. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  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 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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