A Rare Declaration of Independence Has Been Found, Filed Away in England as ‘Paperwork.’
A rare surviving copy of the Declaration of Independence, seized by Britain’s Royal Navy in 1776, has been uncovered in England.
PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: A rare copy of the Declaration of Independence, printed in Exeter, New Hampshire, in July 1776, was discovered in The National Archives in Kew, England. The document, one of only 11 surviving from this specific printing, was seized by the Royal Navy during the Revolutionary War and had been hidden in the archives for centuries.
📍 WHEN & WHERE: The document was first uncovered in February 2023 by Michael Scurr, a volunteer cataloging Royal Navy captains’ papers, at The National Archives in Kew.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “It’s a vanishingly rare surviving copy of the Declaration of Independence, found not in America, but here in the UK.” – Saul Nassé, Chief Executive of The National Archives
🎯 IMPACT: The discovery holds significant historical value, as it is the only known copy of the Declaration to be captured in a military action. It will now be part of the “Revolution 250: America’s Independence Story” exhibition, offering new insights into the history of the American Revolution.
📺 DETAIL: The copy was seized by the Royal Navy in 1776 on Christmas Eve, when HMS Raisonable captured an American ship, the Dalton, near Portugal. It was later stored with the correspondence of Captain Thomas Fitzherbert and remained hidden in the archives for hundreds of years. Conservation efforts have stabilized the document for study and display. The National Archives already holds three original copies printed by John Dunlap in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776.
President Ulysses S. Grant on the American centennial, July 4, 1876. Grant had seen the country through hard times. Custer's death at Little Bighorn was only 9 days before this. Yet Grant urged Americans to have faith.
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