Rare copy of Declaration of Independence found by UK National Archives in papers of captured US ship

LONDON — Michael Score has been a volunteer at the British National Archives for the past 11 years, spending his Thursday mornings painstakingly cataloging documents for the benefit of future researchers.

Then one day last May, the retired insurance executive made a discovery of his own while examining the letters of an 18th-century Royal Navy captain.

There, attached to a report on the capture of the American pirate Dalton on Christmas Eve 1776, was a fence identified only as “another sheet.” Score carefully opened the document, stopping when he saw the word “Declaration” printed at the top.

“I thought, ‘Oh, well, well, this is definitely the Declaration of Independence. How exciting is that?'” he told The Associated Press.

The document spreads the news of independence

Researchers at the National Archives have since identified the document as a rare early copy of America’s founding document, which was printed just days after the original signing on July 4, 1776, to spread the news that the 13 rebellious colonies in North America were breaking ties with Britain.

It is one of only 11 original copies of the so-called Exeter Declaration Print known to exist, and the only one identified outside the United States, the National Archives said Thursday, unveiling the discovery ahead of the 250th anniversary of US independence this weekend. This copy was printed in Exeter, New Hampshire, from July 16 to 19, 1776.

But it’s not just the age of the document that makes it important. It’s also a fact that it was seized from a ship under the supervision of the recently formed Continental Congress, with orders signed by its president, John Hancock, said Amanda Bevan, head of the National Archives’ project to catalog the correspondence of Royal Navy captains during the American Revolution.

While the public heard about the horrific conditions faced by the Continental Army in places like Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, little attention was paid to the Americans who went to sea to disrupt British trade and fight the mighty Royal Navy, Bevan said.

The discovery provides an indication of what was at stake

Bevan said a copy of the Declaration of Independence found on board the ship also indicates how it was used. She believes Dalton’s captain would have read his orders, as was customary, as well as the announcement itself.

“They know why they fight, but that puts it in language that makes them greater than they are,” Bevan said. “They don’t fight because they are particularly oppressed.” They fight for an ideal. “And I think just finding this declaration in a theater of war where people are committed to fighting for their country across the vast ocean is really something special.”

As a privateer, the 18-gun Dalton was a privately owned ship that fought under the auspices of the Continental Congress to supplement the new nation’s small navy.

Captain Thomas Fitzherbert, commanding the 64-gun HMS Raisonnable, pursued Dalton for seven hours on Christmas Eve 1776 before capturing her off the coast of Portugal. Dalton’s crew of 120 men were imprisoned in Plymouth, England, under harsh conditions.

Charles Hébert, who was only 19 when he was captured, described hunger, disease and frequent punishment in a diary he kept during more than two years of captivity before his release in a prisoner exchange.

Despite all this, many survived.

The joy of discovery is shared by Americans

Historians in the United States are also excited to discover the National Archives.

This copy of the Declaration of Independence provides a direct connection to the ship’s Captain Dalton, who brought news of American independence to the world, said Matthew Scheck, director of collections and exhibitions at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.

“It’s not just a document, it’s an artifact,” he added. “It’s a tangible connection to the past, because holding that piece of paper in the hand of an archivist today is a way of taking us back to 1776. The baton is being passed in some way.”

This discovery is also evidence that there is still more for historians to discover, Skaik said.

“Even though 250 years have passed, we still don’t know everything about the American Revolution, and there are still discoveries yet to be discovered.”