Delaware reenactor retracing Caesar Rodney’s historic ride to Philly

Ciro Poppiti has transformed himself into Founding Father Caesar Rodney.

Poppiti is a lawyer, National Guardsman, actor and the elected register of wills in Delaware’s New Castle County — the same office Rodney once held in his county.

On June 12 and 13, Poppiti will ride horseback from Delaware to Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, retracing Rodney’s historic 1776 journey that helped secure support for American independence.

Rodney raced through a storm after learning at midnight that he needed to break a tie in Delaware’s delegation on the vote for independence from England.

“You’ve got to get to Philadelphia by three o’clock, four o’clock the next day,” Poppiti said while portraying Rodney. “The gavel is coming in otherwise everything you have done is now destroyed.”

Rodney famously wore a green scarf to hide a cancerous formation on his face.

While Rodney rode horse trails from Dover to Philadelphia, Poppiti’s route will follow modern roads, including Route 13 through Claymont and Delaware County before heading up Passyunk Avenue to Independence Hall.

Poppiti said the ride is taking place in June because the actual anniversary in early July will coincide with World Cup events in Philadelphia.

Well-trained Amish horses and a buggy will accompany the ride to help make the trip safer on busy modern roads.

Rodney remains a controversial figure for some because his family owned slaves on their Kent County farm.

During protests following George Floyd’s death in 2020, Rodney’s statue was removed from Rodney Square in Wilmington. The statue is now displayed in Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C.

“We have critics, critics who want to damn Caesar Rodney because he had slaves and they should,” Poppiti said. “We embrace those who are critical of Rodney because those who are critical of him are helping us and they’re fulfilling our mission. Our mission is to tell the whole story warts and all and to expose the fact that it was all people of all colors that helped make the greatest upset in world history happen.”

More information about the reenactment ride, including related events such as a gala and concert, is available at 250ride.org.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.