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. 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. Its current location, preservation status, and plans for future display are currently unclear,[2] and its removal has generated controversy.

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

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
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 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 of the death of George Floyd. Both statues were temporarily removed after a nearby statue honoring law enforcement was vandalized with an axe and urine-soaked Delaware state flags.[6]

See also

References
  1. 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 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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.