DANICA KIRKA
A rare, early copy of the American Declaration of Independence has been discovered at the UK National Archives, tucked away for nearly 250 years inside the papers of a captured American ship.
The document was found by Michael Scurr, a retired insurance executive who has volunteered at the archives for 11 years. While cataloguing the correspondence of an 18th-century Royal Navy captain, Scurr uncovered a document labelled simply as "another paper." Upon unfolding it, he was stunned to see the word "Declaration" printed across the top.
Researchers have since identified the artefact as an original "Exeter printing," produced in New Hampshire between July 16 and 19, 1776, to spread news of the rebellion. It is one of only 11 known surviving copies of this specific printing, and the only one located outside the United States.
The copy was found attached to a report detailing the capture of the Dalton, an 18-gun American privateer. On Christmas Eve 1776, the British warship HMS Raisonnable chased and captured the Dalton off the coast of Portugal. The ship’s papers included orders signed by John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress.
According to Amanda Bevan, head of the archives' naval correspondence project, finding the document aboard a ship sheds new light on the maritime theatre of the Revolutionary War. While the hardships of the Continental Army are well-documented, the role of seafaring privateers who disrupted British trade is less well-known. Bevan believes the Dalton's captain likely read the Declaration aloud to his crew. Hearing the text would have reminded the 120-man crew that they were risking their lives on the open ocean, not just out of personal grievance, but for a higher ideal.
Following their capture, the crew was imprisoned under brutal conditions in Plymouth, England. Charles Hebert, a 19-year-old crew member, kept a journal detailing the severe hunger, illness, and punishments the men endured during more than two years of captivity before a prisoner exchange.
The unveiling of the document coincides with the 250th anniversary of American independence, sparking immense excitement among historians across the Atlantic. Matthew Skic, director of collections at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, called the find a tangible, emotional bridge to 1776. He noted that the artefact serves as an important reminder that, even two and a half centuries later, major historical discoveries are still waiting to be uncovered in the world's archives.