Overview
- Federal workers from the National Park Service installed a thirteenth equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney plus a group of twelve bronze Revolutionary War soldier figures inside Freedom Plaza, which remains fenced off for renovations.
- The Interior Department says the new figures represent the collective sacrifice of Revolutionary War participants and are part of official 250th‑anniversary programming intended to create a space for remembrance and reflection.
- Rodney’s monument was removed from Wilmington in 2020 and is contested because historical records show he enslaved people, a fact that has driven local criticism of placing his statue on a prominent federal plaza.
- Officials have not publicly identified the eleven non‑Rodney soldier sculptures, and observers noted signs linking the work to the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and the administration’s Freedom 250 initiative.
- The placement on federal land without a clear reopening date for the plaza has raised questions about transparency, local input, and how the government chooses which founding figures to commemorate.