{"id":907,"date":"2026-07-03T14:07:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907"},"modified":"2026-07-03T14:07:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:07:38","slug":"the-midnight-rider-who-made-america-possible-was-not-paul-revere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907","title":{"rendered":"The Midnight Rider Who Made America Possible Was Not Paul Revere"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cListen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of \u2026\u201d Caesar Rodney?<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=905\">FBI Embedded Wired Informant Inside Newsom\u2019s Admin, Lawyer Says<\/a><\/p>\n<p>July 1776. Nearly 15 months after Paul Revere\u2019s famous ride \u2014 forever immortalized in the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow \u2014 trouble was brewing as the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to discuss the question on everyone\u2019s minds: will the 13 American colonies declare independence from England?<\/p>\n<p>Virginia Delegate Richard Henry Lee put forth the proposition, stating that \u201cthese united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A vote on the matter was set for July 2.<\/p>\n<p>Delaware Delegate Caesar Rodney was at home in Dover, battling cancer and asthma and attending to his duties as an officer in the Delaware State Militia while his state\u2019s two remaining delegates \u2014 Thomas McKean and George Read \u2014 were in Philadelphia. But when it came time to vote for independence, McKean and Read were at odds: McKean favored independence, while Read did not \u2014 and it quickly became apparent that Delaware would be the deciding vote.<\/p>\n<p>A desperate McKean sent word to Rodney, a strong proponent for independence, who got the message on July 1 \u2014 and he acted without hesitation.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, a preliminary vote was taken on July 1 in Philadelphia. Nine colonies voted for independence. Two colonies \u2014 Pennsylvania and South Carolina \u2014 opposed. Delaware was deadlocked, and New York abstained because the delegates in Philadelphia were waiting for word from their local governments.<\/p>\n<p>Rodney rode for 18 hours straight, pausing only to change horses, covering the 80 miles from Dover to Philadelphia \u2014 despite oppressive heat, dangerous storms, and his own failing health \u2014 bursting into the Pennsylvania State House (now known simply as Independence Hall) still wearing his mud-caked clothing and riding spurs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs I believe the voice of my constituents and all sensible and honest men is in favor of independence, and as my own judgment concurs with them, I give my vote for independence,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n<p>Caesar Rodney\u2019s vote broke the Delaware deadlock, and on July 2, 1776, the majority voted for independence. Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted with the majority, making the vote 12-0 with New York still abstaining. New York continued to abstain \u2014 although the delegates did not raise any objections \u2014 when they voted for the text of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.<\/p>\n<p>On July 9, 1776, New York\u2019s provincial congress voted to officially adopt the Declaration of Independence, finally making the colonies unanimous in their position.<\/p>\n<p>Unanimity was of the utmost importance to the Continental Congress, largely because they believed dissent would be seen by the British as a lack of resolve and would likely be exploited as the war continued.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=903\">Trump\u2019s Mass Deportation Effort Comes For Operative Tied To Hasan Piker\u2019s Pro-Cuba Propaganda<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The consequences of Rodney\u2019s ride \u2014 and the subsequent vote \u2014 were immediate: British loyalists in Delaware ensured that he was not reelected to either the state legislature or the Continental Congress. He did return to politics, however, and was elected to serve as the President of Delaware from 1778-1781. He also briefly served as Speaker of the Delaware Senate before his death in 1784.<\/p>\n<p>Rodney\u2019s ride seems obvious fodder for a Hollywood film \u2014 or at the very least, an epic poem \u2014 so why is it that so many in America have never heard of him?<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it\u2019s because Rodney himself often hid from the public eye. His skin cancer, diagnosed several years prior to the war \u2014 along with surgery to remove a tumor from his nose \u2014 had left his face so severely disfigured that he often wore a green silk veil to hide it.<\/p>\n<p>Or maybe it\u2019s just that Paul Revere \u201chad a better publicist\u201d in Longfellow, as was noted in an episode of \u201cOutlander\u201d (Season 3, Episode 5). Revere, despite being immortalized in the famous poem, did not actually complete the \u201cmidnight ride\u201d for which he is known. He set off for Lexington and Concord with William Dawes, and both were captured by the British before they could reach their destination. Dr. Samuel Prescott was the patriot rider who ultimately reached Concord in time to sound the alarm.<\/p>\n<p>Rodney was not completely forgotten, however: the image of him on horseback appears on the Delaware quarters minted in 1999.<\/p>\n<p>His name came up again in 2020, when Black Lives Matter protesters targeted statues of him \u2014 among many others \u2014 because he was a slave owner. A bronze statue of Rodney was taken down from its perch in Wilmington, Delaware, amid the protests that took place that summer.<\/p>\n<p>In April, just ahead of the America 250 celebrations, the famed statue of Caesar Rodney was given a place in Washington, D.C.\u2019s Freedom Plaza.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>As we approach America\u2019s 250th anniversary, @POTUS has been committed to celebrating and acknowledging the full breadth of our nation\u2019s history, including the story of Caesar Rodney and his pivotal ride in July 1776.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being gravely ill with a cancerous condition that\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/0ownpdHows<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=901\">Waltz Blasts Iran Envoy: \u2018This Is Not Tehran. This Is The United States Of America\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) April 25, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cListen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of \u2026\u201d Caesar Rodney?July 1776. Nearly 15 months after Paul Revere\u2019s famous ride \u2014 forever immortalized in the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow \u2014 trouble was brewing as the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to discuss the question on everyone\u2019s minds: will the 13 American colonies declare independence from England?Virginia Delegate Richard Henry Lee put forth the proposition, stating that \u201cthese united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states.\u201dA vote on the matter was set for July 2.Delaware Delegate Caesar Rodney was at home in Dover, battling cancer and asthma and attending to his duties as an officer in the Delaware State Militia while his state\u2019s two remaining delegates \u2014 Thomas McKean and George Read \u2014 were in Philadelphia. But when it came time to vote for independence, McKean and Read were at odds: McKean favored independence, while Read did not \u2014 and it quickly became apparent that Delaware would be the deciding vote.A desperate McKean sent word to Rodney, a strong proponent for independence, who got the message on July 1 \u2014 and he acted without hesitation.Meanwhile, a preliminary vote was taken on July 1 in Philadelphia. Nine colonies voted for independence. Two colonies \u2014 Pennsylvania and South Carolina \u2014 opposed. Delaware was deadlocked, and New York abstained because the delegates in Philadelphia were waiting for word from their local governments.Rodney rode for 18 hours straight, pausing only to change horses, covering the 80 miles from Dover to Philadelphia \u2014 despite oppressive heat, dangerous storms, and his own failing health \u2014 bursting into the Pennsylvania State House (now known simply as Independence Hall) still wearing his mud-caked clothing and riding spurs.\u201cAs I believe the voice of my constituents and all sensible and honest men is in favor of independence, and as my own judgment concurs with them, I give my vote for independence,\u201d he declared.Caesar Rodney\u2019s vote broke the Delaware deadlock, and on July 2, 1776, the majority voted for independence. Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted with the majority, making the vote 12-0 with New York still abstaining. New York continued to abstain \u2014 although the delegates did not raise any objections \u2014 when they voted for the text of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.On July 9, 1776, New York\u2019s provincial congress voted to officially adopt the Declaration of Independence, finally making the colonies unanimous in their position.Unanimity was of the utmost importance to the Continental Congress, largely because they believed dissent would be seen by the British as a lack of resolve and would likely be exploited as the war continued.The consequences of Rodney\u2019s ride \u2014 and the subsequent vote \u2014 were immediate: British loyalists in Delaware ensured that he was not reelected to either the state legislature or the Continental Congress. He did return to politics, however, and was elected to serve as the President of Delaware from 1778-1781. He also briefly served as Speaker of the Delaware Senate before his death in 1784.Rodney\u2019s ride seems obvious fodder for a Hollywood film \u2014 or at the very least, an epic poem \u2014 so why is it that so many in America have never heard of him?Perhaps it\u2019s because Rodney himself often hid from the public eye. His skin cancer, diagnosed several years prior to the war \u2014 along with surgery to remove a tumor from his nose \u2014 had left his face so severely disfigured that he often wore a green silk veil to hide it.Or maybe it\u2019s just that Paul Revere \u201chad a better publicist\u201d in Longfellow, as was noted in an episode of \u201cOutlander\u201d (Season 3, Episode 5). Revere, despite being immortalized in the famous poem, did not actually complete the \u201cmidnight ride\u201d for which he is known. He set off for Lexington and Concord with William Dawes, and both were captured by the British before they could reach their destination. Dr. Samuel Prescott was the patriot rider who ultimately reached Concord in time to sound the alarm.Rodney was not completely forgotten, however: the image of him on horseback appears on the Delaware quarters minted in 1999.His name came up again in 2020, when Black Lives Matter protesters targeted statues of him \u2014 among many others \u2014 because he was a slave owner. A bronze statue of Rodney was taken down from its perch in Wilmington, Delaware, amid the protests that took place that summer.In April, just ahead of the America 250 celebrations, the famed statue of Caesar Rodney was given a place in Washington, D.C.\u2019s Freedom Plaza.As we approach America\u2019s 250th anniversary, @POTUS has been committed to celebrating and acknowledging the full breadth of our nation\u2019s history, including the story of Caesar Rodney and his pivotal ride in July 1776.Despite being gravely ill with a cancerous condition that\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/0ownpdHows\u2014 Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) April 25, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-2"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Midnight Rider Who Made America Possible Was Not Paul Revere - Blue Route Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Midnight Rider Who Made America Possible Was Not Paul Revere - Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cListen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of \u2026\u201d Caesar Rodney?July 1776. Nearly 15 months after Paul Revere\u2019s famous ride \u2014 forever immortalized in the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow \u2014 trouble was brewing as the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to discuss the question on everyone\u2019s minds: will the 13 American colonies declare independence from England?Virginia Delegate Richard Henry Lee put forth the proposition, stating that \u201cthese united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states.\u201dA vote on the matter was set for July 2.Delaware Delegate Caesar Rodney was at home in Dover, battling cancer and asthma and attending to his duties as an officer in the Delaware State Militia while his state\u2019s two remaining delegates \u2014 Thomas McKean and George Read \u2014 were in Philadelphia. But when it came time to vote for independence, McKean and Read were at odds: McKean favored independence, while Read did not \u2014 and it quickly became apparent that Delaware would be the deciding vote.A desperate McKean sent word to Rodney, a strong proponent for independence, who got the message on July 1 \u2014 and he acted without hesitation.Meanwhile, a preliminary vote was taken on July 1 in Philadelphia. Nine colonies voted for independence. Two colonies \u2014 Pennsylvania and South Carolina \u2014 opposed. Delaware was deadlocked, and New York abstained because the delegates in Philadelphia were waiting for word from their local governments.Rodney rode for 18 hours straight, pausing only to change horses, covering the 80 miles from Dover to Philadelphia \u2014 despite oppressive heat, dangerous storms, and his own failing health \u2014 bursting into the Pennsylvania State House (now known simply as Independence Hall) still wearing his mud-caked clothing and riding spurs.\u201cAs I believe the voice of my constituents and all sensible and honest men is in favor of independence, and as my own judgment concurs with them, I give my vote for independence,\u201d he declared.Caesar Rodney\u2019s vote broke the Delaware deadlock, and on July 2, 1776, the majority voted for independence. Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted with the majority, making the vote 12-0 with New York still abstaining. New York continued to abstain \u2014 although the delegates did not raise any objections \u2014 when they voted for the text of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.On July 9, 1776, New York\u2019s provincial congress voted to officially adopt the Declaration of Independence, finally making the colonies unanimous in their position.Unanimity was of the utmost importance to the Continental Congress, largely because they believed dissent would be seen by the British as a lack of resolve and would likely be exploited as the war continued.The consequences of Rodney\u2019s ride \u2014 and the subsequent vote \u2014 were immediate: British loyalists in Delaware ensured that he was not reelected to either the state legislature or the Continental Congress. He did return to politics, however, and was elected to serve as the President of Delaware from 1778-1781. He also briefly served as Speaker of the Delaware Senate before his death in 1784.Rodney\u2019s ride seems obvious fodder for a Hollywood film \u2014 or at the very least, an epic poem \u2014 so why is it that so many in America have never heard of him?Perhaps it\u2019s because Rodney himself often hid from the public eye. His skin cancer, diagnosed several years prior to the war \u2014 along with surgery to remove a tumor from his nose \u2014 had left his face so severely disfigured that he often wore a green silk veil to hide it.Or maybe it\u2019s just that Paul Revere \u201chad a better publicist\u201d in Longfellow, as was noted in an episode of \u201cOutlander\u201d (Season 3, Episode 5). Revere, despite being immortalized in the famous poem, did not actually complete the \u201cmidnight ride\u201d for which he is known. He set off for Lexington and Concord with William Dawes, and both were captured by the British before they could reach their destination. Dr. Samuel Prescott was the patriot rider who ultimately reached Concord in time to sound the alarm.Rodney was not completely forgotten, however: the image of him on horseback appears on the Delaware quarters minted in 1999.His name came up again in 2020, when Black Lives Matter protesters targeted statues of him \u2014 among many others \u2014 because he was a slave owner. A bronze statue of Rodney was taken down from its perch in Wilmington, Delaware, amid the protests that took place that summer.In April, just ahead of the America 250 celebrations, the famed statue of Caesar Rodney was given a place in Washington, D.C.\u2019s Freedom Plaza.As we approach America\u2019s 250th anniversary, @POTUS has been committed to celebrating and acknowledging the full breadth of our nation\u2019s history, including the story of Caesar Rodney and his pivotal ride in July 1776.Despite being gravely ill with a cancerous condition that\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/0ownpdHows\u2014 Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) April 25, 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T14:07:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c\"},\"headline\":\"The Midnight Rider Who Made America Possible Was Not Paul Revere\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T14:07:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907\"},\"wordCount\":860,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/400ccbb2d559758dc5d222f4127394d6.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907\",\"name\":\"The Midnight Rider Who Made America Possible Was Not Paul Revere - Blue Route Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/400ccbb2d559758dc5d222f4127394d6.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T14:07:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/400ccbb2d559758dc5d222f4127394d6.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/400ccbb2d559758dc5d222f4127394d6.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=907#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Midnight Rider Who Made America Possible Was Not Paul Revere\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Blue Route Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Midnight Rider Who Made America Possible Was Not Paul Revere - Blue Route Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Midnight Rider Who Made America Possible Was Not Paul Revere - Blue Route Journal","og_description":"\u201cListen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of \u2026\u201d Caesar Rodney?July 1776. Nearly 15 months after Paul Revere\u2019s famous ride \u2014 forever immortalized in the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow \u2014 trouble was brewing as the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to discuss the question on everyone\u2019s minds: will the 13 American colonies declare independence from England?Virginia Delegate Richard Henry Lee put forth the proposition, stating that \u201cthese united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states.\u201dA vote on the matter was set for July 2.Delaware Delegate Caesar Rodney was at home in Dover, battling cancer and asthma and attending to his duties as an officer in the Delaware State Militia while his state\u2019s two remaining delegates \u2014 Thomas McKean and George Read \u2014 were in Philadelphia. But when it came time to vote for independence, McKean and Read were at odds: McKean favored independence, while Read did not \u2014 and it quickly became apparent that Delaware would be the deciding vote.A desperate McKean sent word to Rodney, a strong proponent for independence, who got the message on July 1 \u2014 and he acted without hesitation.Meanwhile, a preliminary vote was taken on July 1 in Philadelphia. Nine colonies voted for independence. Two colonies \u2014 Pennsylvania and South Carolina \u2014 opposed. Delaware was deadlocked, and New York abstained because the delegates in Philadelphia were waiting for word from their local governments.Rodney rode for 18 hours straight, pausing only to change horses, covering the 80 miles from Dover to Philadelphia \u2014 despite oppressive heat, dangerous storms, and his own failing health \u2014 bursting into the Pennsylvania State House (now known simply as Independence Hall) still wearing his mud-caked clothing and riding spurs.\u201cAs I believe the voice of my constituents and all sensible and honest men is in favor of independence, and as my own judgment concurs with them, I give my vote for independence,\u201d he declared.Caesar Rodney\u2019s vote broke the Delaware deadlock, and on July 2, 1776, the majority voted for independence. Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted with the majority, making the vote 12-0 with New York still abstaining. New York continued to abstain \u2014 although the delegates did not raise any objections \u2014 when they voted for the text of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.On July 9, 1776, New York\u2019s provincial congress voted to officially adopt the Declaration of Independence, finally making the colonies unanimous in their position.Unanimity was of the utmost importance to the Continental Congress, largely because they believed dissent would be seen by the British as a lack of resolve and would likely be exploited as the war continued.The consequences of Rodney\u2019s ride \u2014 and the subsequent vote \u2014 were immediate: British loyalists in Delaware ensured that he was not reelected to either the state legislature or the Continental Congress. He did return to politics, however, and was elected to serve as the President of Delaware from 1778-1781. He also briefly served as Speaker of the Delaware Senate before his death in 1784.Rodney\u2019s ride seems obvious fodder for a Hollywood film \u2014 or at the very least, an epic poem \u2014 so why is it that so many in America have never heard of him?Perhaps it\u2019s because Rodney himself often hid from the public eye. His skin cancer, diagnosed several years prior to the war \u2014 along with surgery to remove a tumor from his nose \u2014 had left his face so severely disfigured that he often wore a green silk veil to hide it.Or maybe it\u2019s just that Paul Revere \u201chad a better publicist\u201d in Longfellow, as was noted in an episode of \u201cOutlander\u201d (Season 3, Episode 5). Revere, despite being immortalized in the famous poem, did not actually complete the \u201cmidnight ride\u201d for which he is known. He set off for Lexington and Concord with William Dawes, and both were captured by the British before they could reach their destination. Dr. Samuel Prescott was the patriot rider who ultimately reached Concord in time to sound the alarm.Rodney was not completely forgotten, however: the image of him on horseback appears on the Delaware quarters minted in 1999.His name came up again in 2020, when Black Lives Matter protesters targeted statues of him \u2014 among many others \u2014 because he was a slave owner. A bronze statue of Rodney was taken down from its perch in Wilmington, Delaware, amid the protests that took place that summer.In April, just ahead of the America 250 celebrations, the famed statue of Caesar Rodney was given a place in Washington, D.C.\u2019s Freedom Plaza.As we approach America\u2019s 250th anniversary, @POTUS has been committed to celebrating and acknowledging the full breadth of our nation\u2019s history, including the story of Caesar Rodney and his pivotal ride in July 1776.Despite being gravely ill with a cancerous condition that\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/0ownpdHows\u2014 Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) April 25, 2026","og_url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907","og_site_name":"Blue Route Journal","article_published_time":"2026-07-03T14:07:38+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c"},"headline":"The Midnight Rider Who Made America Possible Was Not Paul Revere","datePublished":"2026-07-03T14:07:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907"},"wordCount":860,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/400ccbb2d559758dc5d222f4127394d6.avif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907","url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907","name":"The Midnight Rider Who Made America Possible Was Not Paul Revere - Blue Route Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/400ccbb2d559758dc5d222f4127394d6.avif","datePublished":"2026-07-03T14:07:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/400ccbb2d559758dc5d222f4127394d6.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/400ccbb2d559758dc5d222f4127394d6.avif","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=907#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Midnight Rider Who Made America Possible Was Not Paul Revere"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/","name":"Blue Route Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/blueroutejournal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}