Rodney, Caesar, 1728–84, American political leader, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. near Dover, Del. He was a member of the Delaware assembly (1761–70, 1772–76), its speaker (1769, 1773–76), and a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress (1765). As a member of the Continental Congress (1774–76), he advocated independence and is celebrated for traveling overnight from Dover to Philadelphia to vote for the Declaration. Later, he was a general commanding Delaware militia in the Revolution and was (1778–81) president (i.e., governor) of Delaware.

Bibliography

See his correspondence, ed. by G. H. Ryden (1933, repr. 1970); biography by J. H. Scott (2000).

Rodney, Caesar

(born Oct. 7, 1728, Dover, Del.—died June 26, 1784, Dover, Del., U.S.) American Revolutionary leader. He was a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress (1765) and the Continental Congress (1774–76, 1777–78). He cast the tie-breaking vote in the Delaware delegation that decided the Congress's resolution for independence. A signer of the Declaration of Independence, he became commander of the Delaware militia (1777) and served as “president” of Delaware (1778–81).

Rodney, Caesar (1728–84) patriot, statesman; born in Dover, Del. He served in Delaware's provincial assembly from 1761 to 1776 with only one break, in 1771. A member of the Continental Congress (1774–76), he rode 80 miles on horseback and arrived in Philadelphia on July 2, 1776, just in time to cast a decisive vote in favor of Richard Henry Lee's resolution on American independence. He signed the Declaration of Independence, served again in the Continental Congress (1777–78), and was president (governor) of Delaware (1778–81). Delaware placed his statue in the U.S. Capitol.