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Liberty Hangs in the Balance… The Midnight Ride of Caesar Rodney…
July 24, 2026 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
We have all heard the poem… THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE. Fewer of us may have heard of the midnight ride of Ceaser Rodney and yet, he is certainly an unsung hero in America’s courageous journey to Liberty.
Rodney’s most legendary moment came during the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. By early July 1776, the Congress was debating Richard Henry Lee’s resolution for independence. Delaware’s three delegates were divided:
– Thomas McKean strongly favored independence.
– George Read opposed it.
– Caesar Rodney was absent in Dover, helping suppress Loyalist activity in Sussex County.
On the evening of July 1, 1776, McKean sent an urgent message to Rodney informing him of the deadlock. Rodney immediately set out for Philadelphia, roughly 70–80 miles away. Although his doctor forbade his going for his health’s sake, he rode through a severe thunderstorm all night. Despite suffering from lifelong asthma and facial cancer, he pushed through.
He arrived at Independence Hall on the morning of July 2, 1776, “in his boots and spurs,” muddy and exhausted. Thomas McKean reportedly met him at the door. Rodney voted with McKean, breaking the tie and allowing Delaware to support independence. This helped shift momentum; other colonies followed, leading to a unanimous vote. The formal Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4 and signed by Rodney on August 2. Rodney’s own account to his brother, Thomas, was incredibly modest: “I arrived in Congress (tho detained by thunder and rain) time enough to give my voice in the matter of independence.” Talk about an understatement! It just goes to show that some of history’s most courageous figures didn’t chase the spotlight—they just did what needed to be done.
When did the “Gentleman’s Magazine” print the Declaration of Independence?
November 14, 2011 by TimHughes · 5 Comments
Fellow collector Michael Gulvin asks a question which many other collectors may have wondered: “On what day of the month did the Gentleman’s Magazine for August, 1776 become available? We have a time-line for the American newspapers, and we know that the London Chronicle printed the Declaration in its August 17th issue, but do we know the actual date the Gentleman’s Magazine printed the Declaration of Independence for its August issue?”
Magazines typically published very late in the month shown on the title/contents page. With the “London Chronicle” publishing the Declaration of Independence in its August 17, 1776 issue, and presuming they had interest in publishing such a significant document as early as possible, it is presumed the Declaration was received in London very close to that date. Their previous issue was dated Aug. 15, so August 15-17 would be the presumed period when the document arrived in London. It is curious to note that the “London Gazette” never printed the Declaration of Independence.
Monthly publications are more difficult to pin down in terms of publication dates, however datelines of news reports found within offer great clues. The Historical Chronicle near the back of the August issue of the “Gentleman’s Magazine” has datelines beginning July 10 and the latest date mentioned is August 31, the very last day of the month. Obviously the magazine could not have printed prior to August 31, so the first day or two of September would be the presumed printing dates.
The same was true with American magazines as I recall the June, 1776 issue of “The Pennsylvania Magazine” had the very significant announcement that Congress had voted to approve the Declaration of Independence, with a dateline of July 2, 1776. Obviously that June issue was printed early the following month.