Delaware’s State Bird

Two of the most popular state birds vied for honors in Delaware. The cardinal beat out the mockingbird (in 1932, I think), but neither is Delaware’s state bird today. The title was stolen by a chicken.

Obviously, the Delaware Blue Hen Chicken is no ordinary chicken. Delaware’s state flag, adopted in 1913, boasts a colonial blue background which recalls its state bird. A model of this famous chicken is even placed on top of the pole carrying the Governor’s flag.

The Delaware Blue Hen Chicken is also unusual in that it is closely associated with an individual, Jonathan Caldwell. In this respect, it is similar to Maryland’s Baltimore oriole, which was a favorite of Lord Baltimore.

It’s important to realize that the Blue “Hen” isn’t necessarily a hen. In fact, it was the male that made the breed famous.

No Chickenhawk

Jonathan Caldwell is generally credited with originating the term “Blue Hen’s Chickens.” He was born in Delaware about 1738 and served in the British war with France. When the American Revolution broke out, Caldwell was thirty-eight years old, fairly old in those days. But he was among the first Delawareans to volunteer.

Caldwell was very fond of cock fighting. This is a bloody sport in which roosters, or cocks, are pitted against each other. They slash each other with their claws, sometimes outfitted with sharp metal devices. It’s now illegal in the United States.

But it was popular years ago in some places. Caldwell was said to own the best breed of game cocks in the country. He claimed that no cock could be true game unless its mother was a blue hen.

Caldwell might not be considered a hero if he had spent all his time watching cock fights. But his troops excelled on the battlefield. They were noted for their bravery, gallantry, and even their fine uniforms. The soldiers came to be known as “Blue Hen’s Chickens.” Today, this nickname is applied to all Delawareans.

A Southern Chicken?

But some people say this popular story about the origin of the nickname “Blue Hen’s Chickens” isn’t true. One researcher couldn’t find any mention of the name until 1840, more than half a century after the Revolutionary War.

There’s evidence that the nickname was first given to the best South Carolina soldiers. It’s reported that these soldiers called their comrades from Delaware “Blue Hen’s Chickens” as sort of a joke. But after the Delawarean troops proved their bravery on the battlefield, it became a compliment.

A Delaware Icon

In either case, the nickname became very famous in Delaware in 1840. That was the year The Blue Hen’s Chicken, Delaware’s most influential newspaper was founded.

During the Civil War, a company of soldiers from Kent County, Delaware, adopted the name “Blue Hen’s Chickens.” The Blue Hen became a popular symbol in political campaigns and publications. One hundred years after the birth of the United States, a model of a Blue Hen Chicken surmounted a very special flagpole. It flew over the Delaware State Building at the Centennial Exposition, held at Philadelphia in 1876.

The Blue Hen received more honors when Delaware’s state flag was adopted in 1913. On April 14, 1939, it was adopted as Delaware’s state bird. Rhode Island calls another chicken, the Rhode Island Red, its state bird.

Like all chickens, the Blue Hen and Rhode Island Red are descended from the red junglefowl, which is native to tropical Asia.

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