Rare Copy of the Declaration of Independence Discovered in British Archives

A volunteer cataloging papers at the National Archives in London has uncovered a rare surviving copy of the Declaration of Independence — the only one known to exist outside the United States.Michael Scurr was sorting through a box of correspondence from Royal Navy captains dating back to the Revolutionary War when he made the remarkable find in May. The document, known as an “Exeter Declaration,” had been folded among the letters of Captain Thomas Fitzherbert and listed simply as “another paper” by the Royal Navy captain who seized it — a description that kept it hidden in the British archives for nearly 250 years.“I called over to my boss and said, ‘I think you need to come and have a look at this,'” Mr. Scurr told BBC News, recalling how his stomach filled with butterflies the moment he unfolded the document and realized what he was holding. The discovery was announced this week.The copy is one of only 11 known to have survived from a batch printed at Exeter, New Hampshire, in July 1776. These copies were produced quickly and distributed widely to spread news of American independence throughout the colonies. “After the original printing on 4 July, the news of the Declaration is travelling fast around North America, and it’s being reprinted as it reaches each successive colony,” said Dr. Graham Moore, a curator at The National Archives. “The copy we have is one of only 11 surviving from the first ones printed in New Hampshire.”The document’s journey to Britain is as dramatic as the discovery itself. On Christmas Eve 1776, the HMS Raisonable seized the American ship Dalton following a seven-hour pursuit off the coast of Portugal. The Dalton’s papers — including the Declaration — were brought to Plymouth in January 1777 and later moved to Whitehall at London, where they have remained largely unnoticed ever since. Dr. Moore noted that it is the only copy of the Declaration known to have been taken by military action.The chief executive of the National Archives, Saul Nassé, told the BBC the find is “an extraordinary discovery,” adding, “It’s a vanishingly rare surviving copy of the Declaration of Independence, found not in America, but here in the UK.”Following careful conservation work to repair a slight tear and stabilize the paper, the document will go on public display at the National Archives at London as part of an exhibition titled “Revolution 250: America’s Independence Story, 1763–1783.”

Rare Copy of the Declaration of Independence Discovered in British Archives

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