If Caesar Rodney Had Not Made His
Heroic Ride, Americans Might Not Now
Be Celebrating the Fourth of July!
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
(Released by Western Newspaper Union.>
HANKS to the poets, the
story of the rides of Paul
* Revere and Gen. Phil
Sheridan are an imperish
able part of American tradi
tion, But, so far, no bard has
sung of the heroic ride of
Caesar Rodney—at least,
none has given us a poem
about it so familiar as those
of Henry W. Longfellow and
Thomas Buchanan Read.
Yet here is truly an epic
theme — the story of how
death rode in the saddle with
this heroic horseman and how
history might have been
changed if he had failed in his
mission. The events leading
up to Caesar Rodney’s ride
were these:
On June 7, 1776, a resolution
introduced by Richard Henry Lee
of Virginia in the Continental con
gress, declaring that ‘‘these Unit
ed Colonies are, and of right
ought to be, free and independ
ent States,” was accepted in a
committee of the whole by repre
sentatives of seven of the colo
nies—a bare m^ority of one. If
this revolutionary step of sever
ing the ties which bound the coi
onies to the Mother Country was
to be taken successfully, there
must be greater unanimity among
them. So the leaders in the move
for independence set about to win
over those who hesitated to take
such a radical step.
Jonathan D. Sargent hurried
across the Delaware river into
New Jersey where delegates
were being chosen and succeeded
in securing the election of men
pledged to independence. A few
days later the Maryland conven
tion, which had previously been
opposed to the idea of declaring
for independence, reversed its po
sition and adopted resolutions in
structing its delegates to vote for
the Lee resolution. Next South
Carolina was won over, as was
Pennsylvania, although its dele
gation was split on the issue. The
delegates from New York, though
personally in favor of independ
ence, could not vote for it until
receiving approval from the con
vention in their colony, though it
was certain that such approval
would be forthcoming.
A Divided Delegation.
There now remained only the
vote of Delaware to make the
decision of the Thirteen Colonies
unanimous. She had three dele
gates to the congress—Thomas
McKean, George Read and Cae
sar Rodney. McKean was one of
the most outspoken advocates of
independence but Read, influ
enced by John Dickinson of Penn
sylvania, was opposed to declar
ing for freedom at this time. This
left the deciding vote in the Del
aware delegation to Rodney, who
was also speaker of the Dela
ware assembly and had returned
to Dover to preside over it.
On July 1 the Lee resolution
came up for discussion and all
during that day and far into the
next the momentous decision was
the subject of a hot debate. Late
in the afternoon of July 2 it was
put to a vote. Eleven of the col
onies, by the votes of the ma
jority of their delegates, cast
their ballots in favor of independ
ence. The votes of two—New
York and Delaware—were not re
corded.
If such a decisive step were
to be taken, it must be unani
mous, else the results might be
disastrous. Meanwhile a com
mittee headed by Thomas Jeffer
son was drafting a Declaration
of Independence, and Thomas
McKean was making an impor
tant decision. He knew that Rod
ney was also in favor of inde
pendence and if he were brought
to Philadelphia he could break
the deadlock in the vote of the
Delaware delegation.
At his own expense he hired a
messenger and sent him speeding
to Dover to explain the situation
to Rodney and urge him to come j
to Philadelphia at once. It was
nearly midnight of July 1 when
the messenger started for Dover
80 miles away and he did not
arrive there until 24 hours later.
Rodney was at his home a few
miles further on, so it was not
until the early morning hours of
July 3 that he was aroused from
sleep and given McKean’s mes
sage. At daybreak, mounted on
the strongest horse in his stable,
Rodney was on his way to Phila
delphia.
For years Rodney had suffered
with a cancer on his face. Be
fore the opening of the Revolu
tion he had been urged to go to
England in search of relief from
the dread disease, but his sense
.of duty to his colony in the trou
bled times ahead kept him in
America. In a letter to his sis
ter he described his case as “tru
Jy dangerous, and what will be
the event God only knows; I still
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The only surviving letter, dated July 4, 1776, written by any
signer of the Declaration of Independence and referring to that docu
* '®nt. It is Caesar Rodney’s and it refers only briefly to his heroic
ride.
live in hopes and still retain my
usual spirits.”
Rodney’s Modest Story.
So it took courage of the high
est kind for him to set out upon
the hasty 80-mile trip to Phila
delphia, because the exertions of
such a journey might easily cause
his death. Apparently he never
thought of that—his only thought
was that his presence was need
ed in the Continental Congress
where a momentous decision was
about to be made. In the letter
(reproduced above) which he
wrote after completing his jour
ney, he makes little mention of
the hardships of that journey. It
says:
Phllad.a July the 4th. 1776
Sir:
In have Inclosed you a summons di
rected to the Sheriff to (Call) Summon
the Members for our County to meet in
Assembly at Newcastle on the 22d. day
of this Instant which I hope you will
have put Into hls'hands as soon as possi
ble after it comes to Yours—I arrived
in Congress tho Detained by Thunder
and Rain; time enough to give my Voice
In the matter of Independence—It is now
determined by the Thirteen United Col
onies without even one dissenting Col
ony—We have now got through with the
whole of the Declaration, and ordered it
to be printed so that you will soon have
tne pleasure of seeing it—Hand-bills of It
will be printed, and sent to the Armies.
Cities, County Towns etc. to be published
or rather proclaimed in form.—Don't
neglect to attend closely and carefully to
my Harvest and You'll oblige
Yours—
CAESAR RODNEY
Being ‘‘detained by Thunder
and Rain” was probably the least
I ■ II — III __
of his difficulties, for we know by
contemporary accounts that the
weather was extremely hot and
the necessity for haste must
have taken a heavy toll of the
energies of both man and beast.
Where Rodney stopped for the
rest and food that was absolutely
necessary for both is unknown
but since he did not arrive in
Philadelphia until the morning of
July 4, it is evident that he must
have paused somewhere along
the way for a brief breathing
spell for his horse and a few mo
ments of relaxation from the sad
dle for himself.
Meanwhile Jefferson, John Ad
ams and Benjamin Franklin had
drafted the Declaration of Inde
pendence and the final vote on it
was set for the morning of July
4. It is not difficult to imagine
the anxiety of McKean as the
hour for the congress to assemble
drew near. Would Rodney ar
rive in time to support him in
casting Delaware’s vote for inde
pendence? He hoped that he
would but he could not be sure.
According to one account, Mc
Kean was striding up and down
the brick walk outside Independ
ence hall after the other members
of the congress had filed in when
he saw a horseman speeding
along the dusty street toward
him. A moment later this rider
drew up in front of the hall and,
as he swung wearily down from
the saddle, McKean recognized
the dust-covered, grimy-faced
man as Caesar Rodney.
There was a brief handclasp,
then the two men entered the
hall, Rodney still “booted and
spurred and travel-stained.” A
few minutes later the roll call
on the adoption of the Declara
tion of Independence began. It
started with New Hampshire, the
most northerly of the colonies
and proceeded through Massa
chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecti
cut, (New York was passed for
the time being, although her dele
gates were favorable) to Penn
sylvania.
The Crucial Vote.
So far the vote of these colo
nies has been for adoption of the
Declaration. The Pennsylvania
delegation is divided but by a
vote of three to two her voice
speaks for independence. Then
comes the crucial vote of Dela
ware.
As was expected McKean votes
in favor of adoption of the Dec
laration and Read votes against.
When Rodney’s name is called,
some of the delegates turn in sur
prise—it is the first intimation
they have of his return. They
know how important his vote is,
so they hang on his words. Those
words made such an indelible im
pression upon some of them,
among them McKean, that they
remembered them for years aft
erwards. He said:
“As I believe the voice of my
constituents and of all sensible
and honest men is in favor of
independence, my own judgment
concurs with them, I vote for in
dependence.”
So Caesar Rodney cast the de
ciding vote for Delaware and
Delaware's vote was an all-im
portant one. The rest was a fore
gone conclusion. Delegates from
the remainder of the colonies also
voted for the charter of liberty
and thus the Declaration of In
dependence was adopted. So Cae
sar Rodney’s heroic ride had not
been in vain. Had he not made
it, July 4 might not have been the
important date that it is—in the
history of the United States and
of the whole w'orld!
But his fame does not rest en
tirely upon this one act. Eleven
years earlier he had been a mem
ber of the Stamp Act congress
which met in New York to pro
test against the acts of parlia
ment w’hich were to lead eventu
ally to the Revolution.
Rodney was among those who
urged the appointment of George
Washington as commander-in
chief of the Continental army and
he became one of Washington’s
most valued friends. He entered
the war as a brigadier-general
of the Delaware militia, was with
Washington at the Battle of Tren
ton and despite the ravages of
cancer, served throughout the
Revolution. He came out of the
war a major-general and lived
to see the country win the free
dom for which he had cast his
historic vote. He died at Poplar
Grove, Delaware, June 29, 1784.
Brims Are Wide, Wider, Widest
In Chic and Flattering Ways
By CHER IE NICHOLAS
\I7HAT a merry chase fickle fash
’ » Ion is leading us this season in
regard to the hats we wear. Starts
us off at the dawn of spring with
flower or fabric-drape toques so tiny
(some of them) as to be almost
amusing, yet withal so flattering and
so chic, even the new broad brims
cannot eptirely wrest their well
earned honors from them. And then
what does capricious fashion do—
suddenly announces brims so tre
mendously wide they fairly amaze
one. Which, summed up, means
every fashionable wardrobe of hats
this summer must necessarily in
clude both types to be worn as time
and occasion demand.
As to the new broad-of-brim vogue
so full of promise for the coming
months, no matter how big your hat
with a brim, it will be none too
large, according to fashion’s way of
thinking. None too dramatic either,
since the new brims are daring in
deed, and to make them appear the
more so they are worn with a dash
and a go that adds infinitely to
their style.
The wide-brimmed, strictly tai
lored felts which proved themselves
so definitely good-looking with the
new spring suits continue to have a
firm hold on the affections of well
dressed women. Outstanding among
these striking felts are the simple,
huge, sailor types, the stunning,
large Bretons and the very new rip
pled or pleated, soft, flaring, felt
brim that, to be perfectly chic,
must be worn far back on the head.
Of course the latter are necessarily
dedicated to youth, for who but the
ingenue smooth of brow dare ven
ture so striking a fashion?
The fact that the off-the-face broad
brims are essentially a young so
phisticate item should not by any
means imply that the vogue for
enormous brims is confined to the
teen-age and debutante set. On the
contrary, the off-face wide brim is
merely one phase of the matter, for
whether you are in the “life begins
at forty” class or not, the message
of the wide brim is all-inclusive, for
certain it is and true, there’s flat
tery a-plenty in the new wide brims,
whether you are sweet sixteen or
“plus.”
The new wide-brimmed summer
straws are everything you want
them to be. The stunning hat worn
by the smart young woman, stand
ing above to the right in the illus
tration, speaks in accents of red,
as also does her belt, which is a
brilliant red patent leather, for be it
known that fashion is making a sen
sational splurge of red this summer,
red hats being a pet hobby just now.
Broad of brim and utterly fasci
nating is the hat which the young
sophisticate standing below to the
left in the picture is carrying. It is
made of raffia in colors matching
those of her gay plaid frock and
still gayer raffia sandals.
The vogue for white millinery
came early and is going to stay
late. Women of fashion have been
wearing white hats in accordance
with style dictate since early spring
and as the summer advances the
popularity of white headgear is rush
ing along at a crescendo scale. The
white straw breton pictured above
to the left flaunts a cluster of straw
berries nested in its crown—another
instance of the flair for red with
white.
Black holds its own in spite of the
tremendous play being made on col
or this season. See the off-face Bret
on below to the right in the group. A
crisp white bow and head-band en
livens the black to perfection—just
the type hat to wear with prints
and summer town clothes.
(Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
Good Shoe News
Hear, hear ye the good news! It’s
about an exciting innovation—an in
nersole of a new synthetic material
named Onco Insole-ated, which has
recently been developed by Vincent
De Liso. In creating this new in
nersole a slim layer between the
outer sole of a shoe and the lining
completely insulates the foot against
the heat and cold of city pavements.
Mr. DeLiso says this insole-ated sole
is so deep and resilient it practical
ly caresses the foot, causing the
shoe to be molded at the first wear
ing, to the individual contours of
the foot.
Summer Black
In the midst of all the welter of
color shown for summer wear, sheer
black, and black and white, zoom to
an important place for hot weather.
‘Companionate’ Is
Aim in Accessories
More and more fashion encour
ages the idea of companionate ac
cessories. This season, more than
ever, much ado is being made over
establishing a family relation be
tween this and that of one’s cos
tume. Such as for instance a cos
tume ring to match the lapel gadget
or clip. Also the idea of wearing
flower costume jewelry to which is
matched the color of your nail
polish.
You can get blouses with hats of
the same material and designers
have even gone so far as to make
gloves of the identical fabric.
Costumes that ensemble from
head to foot include dress, hat, para
sol and gloves of the same material.
This is being carried out beautifully
in the very fashionable cottons,
especially flowered prints.
Dark Linen With
Lingerie Frills
New on the style program and
strikingly chic is the black or navy
linen redingote dress the skirt of
which flares open at the front re
vealing starch white petticoat frills,
the very feminine treatment further
carried out in dramatic collar and
cuffs of matching snow-white em
broidery and lace.
Fashion-alert women are also set
ting the pace with costumes of dark
green linen with which red acces
sories complete a costume of out
standing mode. With dresses of lin
en in the new browns hats and de
tails in the much talked about cocoa
shades achieve pleasing contrast.
t AROUND
THE HOUSE
To get rid of stains on tea cups
i rub gently with a paste of baking
soda and water.
* * *
The illusion of depth is created
by building bookcases on either
side of a wide doorway leading
from living room to dining room.
* • •
Salt added to potatoes when
nearly boiled insures their flaki
ness and prevents them from go
ing to pieces in the boiling proc
ess.
* • •
The yolk of an egg mixed w'ith
warm water and used as you
would soap will remove coffee
stains. Hot sudsy water will
quickly remove the yellow of the
egg.
^"VinpHrHr^njV]
Wealth Possesses Men
The lust of avarice has so totally
seized upon mankind that theii
wealth seems rather to possess
them, than they possess theii
wealth.—Pliny.
OUTSTANDING BLADE VALUE
10 for 10 Cents
CUPM.KS CO., ST. LOUIS, MO.
--. —
WNU—U26—40
Do and Forget
He who receives a good turn
should never forget it; he who
does one should never remember
it.—Charron.
For that marvelous
can't-be-copied FLAVOR
SAY
BEFORE YOU SAY
CORN FLAKES!
^ Switch to ,
something
you'll like!
Copr. 1940 by Kellogg Company
Dangerous Insincerity
Of all the evil spirits abroad at
this hour in the world, insincerity
is the most dangerous.—Froude.
Search for Good
No good book or good thing of
any sort shows its best face at
first.—Carlyle.
I I
Note the benefits of delicious oranges
Government nutritionists say: Fully half our families get too few
vitamins and minerals to enjoy the best of health! So make it your
family rule to enjoy oranges every day.
Just peel and eat them for grand summer refreshment. Or keep
a big pitcher full of fresh orangeade handy.
An 8-ounce glass of juice gives you all the vitamin C you nor
mally need each day. Also adds vitamins A, Bi and G, and the
minerals calcium, phosphorus and iron.
This summer the wonderfully juicy California oranges are plenti
ful in all sizes. Those stamped “Sunkist”on the skin are Best for Juice
and Every use! Order them today.
Copyright, 1940, Califorui* Fruit Grower* Exchange
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