Caesar Rodney - Dover, Delaware
Posted by: 
ddtfamily
N 39° 09.293 W 075° 31.293
18S E 454936 N 4334093
Monument to Cæsar Rodney, Revolutionary War soldier and signer of the Declaration of Independence
Waymark Code: WMMFJW
Location: Delaware, United States
Date Posted: 09/13/2014
Views: 4
This monument to Caesar Rodney is located in the cemetery behind the historic Christ Church. Despite mistaken beliefs noted in the Christ Church National Register of Historic Places nomination form and many other places, this is not a grave marker; the exact location of Rodney's remains
is a mystery as he is buried in an unmarked grave in his family's unmarked plot on their former 800-acre farm east of Dover Air Force Base.
This is a cenotaph, honoring Rodney by way of a large monument and two other plaques placed by organizations in commemoration of Rodney's status as a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Rodney's most important contributions during the U.S. Revolutionary War were non-military. In addition to signing the Declaration, he was a delegate to the first and second Continental Congress, and one of the leaders of the Delaware Committee of Correspondence. However, he was also a Brigadier General in the Delaware Militia and in that role he stopped a Loyalist uprising against the American government in Sussex county. As the British later advanced into Delaware, Rodney gathered troops and under the direction of General Washington, went south of the main army to watch the movements of the British at Elk River, Maryland, in an effort to cut the British off from their fleet.
The text of the markers:
CAESAR RODNEY
SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE
PLACED BY
DESCENDANTS OF THE SIGNERS OF THE
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, INC. |
CAESAR RODNEY (SIGNER)
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
LIBERTAS ET PATRIA |
CAESAR RODNEY
1728 - 1784STATESMAN, SOLDIER AND SIGNER OF THE
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE |
Click a photo to enlarge
