Caesar Rodney Statue Relocated from Delaware to Washington, D.C., for U.S. 250th Anniversary

On Saturday, April 24, 2026. The statue, depicting Rodney on a horse, was placed in Freedom Plaza, located just blocks from the National Mall and the White House. The Secretary of the Interior announced the installation in a post on X that afternoon, stating it celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The Secretary said President Donald Trump is committed to celebrating and acknowledging the full breadth of our nation’s history. He highlighted the statue's recognition of a lengthy ride Caesar Rodney made from Delaware to Philadelphia in July 1776 to cast a deciding vote in favor of independence at the Continental Congress.

Rodney, a member of the Continental Congress as a delegate representing Delaware, was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and undertook the journey to break a tie among Delaware’s delegation.

The statue was removed from its previous location in Delaware in 2020. It had stood for nearly 100 years in Wilmington, Delaware, after being first erected on Independence Day in 1923. The city of Wilmington removed the statue alongside one of Christopher Columbus amid a racial reckoning after the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.

The statues were taken down less than three weeks after Floyd's death, with Wilmington’s mayor Mike Purzycki stating in 2020 that they would be removed and stored so there can be an overdue discussion about the public display of historical figures and events.

Purzycki noted social media posts showed individuals and groups planned to vandalize the Columbus and Rodney statues. "We cannot erase history, as painful as it may be, but we can certainly discuss history with each other and determine together what we value and what we feel is appropriate to memorialize," Purzycki said.