By Joseph Edelen

This story has been updated.

DOVER — Nearly 250 years ago, Caesar Rodney departed on an 18-hour horse ride from Kent County to Philadelphia to cast Delaware’s tiebreaking vote for the nation’s independence.

Now, state lawmakers are working to honor the significance of that ride and the statesman’s contributions to Delaware in its capital city.

On Tuesday, Sen. Eric Buckson, R-Camden, introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 65, calling on the state, the city of Dover and Kent County Levy Court to join with the city of Wilmington to bring a historic Caesar Rodney equestrian statue to the county in which he resided.

The relocation of the monument would have a deadline of July 4, 2026, the date of the country’s 250th anniversary, when semiquincentennial celebrations will be occurring nationwide.

“We’re coming up on the 250th (anniversary), and with Caesar Rodney, his famous ride and what he meant to the state, I think it would be a disservice if, in doing that celebration, he was locked away in a storage bin somewhere,” Sen. Buckson told the Daily State News.

The statue was erected in Wilmington’s Rodney Square in 1923, but amid widespread protests against police brutality and systemic racism in 2020, it was removed and placed into storage. There have been no plans publicized to relocate it back into Rodney Square since.

It was July 1, 1776, when Caesar Rodney received a letter from Philadelphia, informing him that the Continental Congress had scheduled a vote the next day on a proposal that declared the states independent and free.

Delaware’s delegates included Mr. Rodney, Thomas McKean (who supported the vote) and George Reed (who did not, despite ultimately signing the Declaration of Independence).

To break the tie, the former rode his horse for 18 hours through a thunderstorm to get to Philadelphia in time, solidifying Delaware’s vote for freedom.

Sen. Buckson’s effort would coincide with the state’s 250th celebration, for which it has earmarked $250,000 for various events.

“How can we, as the people of Delaware, ignore the man who had the greatest impact on whether or not it was going to be July Fourth?” he said.

“The reality is, it was settled on July 4 because Caesar Rodney, who was sick at the time, drove through the night to cast the tiebreaking vote and put the state and country on the path to independence. How can we ignore that?”

The resolution offers two recommendations for the statue’s new home: The Green or the John Dickinson Plantation, both in Dover. Sen. Buckson also suggested Legislative Hall as a potential site.

This is his second attempt to bring the statue to Kent County. In 2022, when Sen. Buckson was a Kent County Levy Court commissioner, he and Dover City Councilman David Anderson kick-started a similar effort. At the time, then-Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki was planning to bring the memorial back to Rodney Square, Sen. Buckson noted.

Further, there were discussions with then-Gov. John Carney — who has since become Wilmington’s mayor. The senator added that the former governor listened to the proposal with intent.

Such conversations reignited this year, as Sen. Buckson has had talks with Mayor Carney’s office and the office of secretary of state Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez, he said.

The mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
SCR 65 was not considered in the Senate this week. Sen. Buckson said he expects it to be on the floor next week.

“I would welcome a full discussion because I think that’s what we should have, a full discussion about how we best tell history in all of its imperfections,” he said. “I think that’s what this resolution does. We can look past the statue and have a broader, deeper conversation of how we tell history.”