Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Love your country, serve your community, answer the call of duty: These are the lessons of Caesar Rodney’s midnight ride from Delaware to Philadelphia in July 1776.
Many know the broad outlines of the story. The Continental Congress was deadlocked on formally separating from the British Empire. Delaware’s delegation was split. Thomas McKean urgently sent word to Caesar Rodney, who was serving in Dover, that he was needed in Philadelphia to break the tie. Rodney immediately set off on the 80-mile journey, condensing a three-day trip into mere hours. The miracle of his midnight ride is further underscored by the fact that Rodney was a sickly man, suffering from facial cancer and asthma. By his own words, “though detained by thunder and rain,” Rodney arrived in Philadelphia just in time to vote yes for American independence.
Recently, I had the honor of reenacting Rodney’s entire route via horse and carriage. I have always had a devotion to Rodney, in part because we both trace our ancestry back to northeast Italy. While no reenactment can fully capture the danger and urgency of July 1776, spending 18 hours travelling across Delaware instilled a deeper understanding of the dark knight’s passage.
Make no mistake, Rodney galloped toward the gallows; nonetheless, he was willing to die fighting for freedom rather than live under despotic tyranny. Every mile of his journey was earned. Every hour required determination. Every decision carried risk. Rodney embodied a self-evident truth: Freedom is not for the passive, the selfish or the apathetic.
Only active participation can knit up the raveled sleeve of our democracy. Indeed, democracy requires integrity, a daily commitment and the sacrifice of those willing to endure painful inconveniences for a cause larger than themselves. If we want to truly honor the founders, we must be ever vigilant, inspired by our history and willing to correct past injustices.
The Declaration of Independence was created in Philadelphia, but it was made possible by people in towns, farms, churches and taverns across the countryside. Rodney’s ride reminds us that American independence was built from the ground up. The courage and determination of ordinary people helped make the nation’s founding possible.
Our recent reenactment focused on the “Unheard Voices of the Revolution.” Those were the men and women, free and enslaved, from all walks of life, whose labor, sacrifice and perseverance won the war. Their contributions are often overshadowed by a handful of famous names, yet they are patriots too, and just as essential to the nation’s founding.
Historical retelling requires honesty, and honesty requires context, perspective and nuance. Caesar Rodney was a slaveholder. Those who criticize and deplore him for being so are absolutely correct. Yet, our reenactment also shed light on the dark knight’s nephew, Caesar Augustus Rodney, a now-forgotten abolitionist and national statesman of the early 19th century.
I am grateful to the Amish community, whose expertise in traversing modern roads with horse and buggy was indispensable to our success. Our Amish colleagues were enthusiastically helpful. They explained: Nowhere else on the planet could they enjoy such religious freedom without fear of reprisal and with so much opportunity to create prosperity. “We love this country!” they said in such a way, I regretted not having a bullhorn so all Americans could hear and take heed.
Our nation faces challenges today, just as it did in 1776. The solutions will not come solely from Washington, New York or other centers of power. They will come from citizens who care about their neighborhoods, their towns and their states.
Two hundred and fifty years after independence, Rodney’s ride still carries a timeless message: love your country, serve your community, answer the call of duty — and never forget that there’s still no place like home.
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The above article appears in the October 2026 issue of the print version of Fra Noi. Our gorgeous, monthly magazine contains a veritable feast of news and views, profiles and features, entertainment and culture.
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