The Light Infantry Company of Dover, a part of the 1st Battalion of Kent County, mustered in on 2 April 1776. Each militia volunteer was uniformly armed, equipped, and wore a standard military coat of green faced with red lapels, cuffs, and collar. From 14 December 1776 to 14 January 1777, Captain Thomas Rodney, youngest brother to Declaration of Independence signer Caesar Rodney, and his light infantry company responded to General George Washington’s Call to Arms for militia during the darkest days of the American Revolution. Members of the company who volunteered for this perilous mission marched from Dover, crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey, and as part of Brigadier General John Cadwalader’s Pennsylvania Brigade, played key military roles in Washington’s decisive victories against British and Hessian forces at the Second Battle of Trenton, and the Battle of Princeton. For distinguished service, Washington appointed the Light Infantry Company of Dover “to be his own guard.” This memorial is dedicated in remembrance of these patriots who served “in the Defense and Protection of American Liberty.”
Capt. Thomas Rodney
Lt. Mark McCall
Ens. Simon W. Wilson
Sgt. Jonathan McKnatt
Sgt. George Rowan
Cpl. John Dawson
Cpl. Elijah Pennington
John Bullen
Mark Coudratt
James Craige
John Crockett
John Davis
Whittington Draper
Edward Dyer
Peter B. Fury
Stephen Horn
Jonathan Lowber
William Maxwell
James McClyment
Robert McGermant
Peter Meredith
James Millis
Martinus Sipple
Major Taylor
Thomas Taylor
Nehemiah Tilton
Benjamin Warren
John Warren
Richard White
Thomas White
Mus. Boice Emmery
Mus. Phillip Wheeler
Installed in 2008.
The State of Delaware Historical Markers Program, 2008
411 Legislative Avenue, Dover, DE 19901
Related Topics: 1st Battalion of Kent County, American Liberty, American Revolution, Battle of Princeton, Brigadier General John Cadwalader, Caesar Rodney, Call to Arms, Capt. Thomas Rodney, Dover Light Infantry, General George Washington, Historical Markers, Kent County, Kent Dover, Light infantry Company of Dover, Militia, Pennsylvania Brigade, Second Battle of Trenton, Social History