A volunteer researcher at Britain's National Archives has uncovered a rare early copy of the Declaration of Independence among papers from an 18th-century Royal Navy captain, officials announced Thursday. The document, printed in Exeter, New Hampshire, between July 16 and 19, 1776, just days after the original was signed on July 4, 1776, was discovered attached to a report on the capture of the American privateer Dalton on Christmas Eve 1776.
Michael Scurr, a retired insurance executive who has volunteered at the National Archives for 11 years, made the discovery while cataloging documents from the correspondence of Royal Navy captains during the American Revolution. 'I thought, oh, right, OK, this is definitely a Declaration of Independence,' Scurr told The Associated Press. 'How exciting is this?'
The document is one of just 11 original copies of the so-called Exeter printing known to exist and the only one identified outside the United States, according to Amanda Bevan, head of the National Archives' project cataloging Royal Navy correspondence.
What the Left Is Saying
Historians on the American side have emphasized what the discovery reveals about the young nation's efforts to spread news of independence internationally. 'They know why they're fighting, but this puts it in a language which makes it greater than them,' Bevan said. 'They're not fighting because they're aggrieved in particular. They're fighting for an ideal.' She noted that finding the declaration aboard a ship suggests how it may have been used—read aloud to crews to inspire commitment beyond individual grievances.
Matthew Skic, director of collections and exhibitions at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, called the discovery significant. 'It's not just a document, it's an artifact,' he said. 'It's a tangible connection to the past, because holding that piece of paper in the archivist's hand today is a way to transport us back to 1776.' Skic added that the find demonstrates there remains much for historians to uncover: 'Even though 250 years has gone by, we still do not know everything about the American Revolution, and there are still finds left to be discovered.'
What the Right Is Saying
Scholars examining the discovery from a British perspective have highlighted what it reveals about naval operations during the conflict. Bevan noted that while the public is familiar with hardships faced by the Continental Army at locations like Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, less attention has been given to Americans who went to sea to disrupt British trade and challenge the Royal Navy.
The Dalton was an 18-gun privateer—a privately owned vessel operating under authorization from the Continental Congress—to supplement the tiny American navy. Its 120-man crew was captured after a seven-hour chase by HMS Raisonnable, a 64-gun ship commanded by Captain Thomas Fitzherbert, off the coast of Portugal on December 24, 1776. The crew was imprisoned in Plymouth, England, under harsh conditions that one young sailor, Charles Hebert, described in journals detailing hunger, illness, and repeated punishment during more than two years of captivity before his release in a prisoner exchange.
What the Numbers Show
The document represents an extremely rare artifact: researchers have identified only 11 original copies of the Exeter printing of the Declaration of Independence in existence. This is the first confirmed to exist outside the United States. The Dalton carried a crew of 120 men when captured on December 24, 1776—a date that falls 203 years before the discovery was announced.
The capture involved a seven-hour pursuit by HMS Raisonnable, a 64-gun vessel chasing an 18-gun privateer. The find comes ahead of the 250th anniversary of American independence, marking a quarter millennium since July 4, 1776.
The Bottom Line
The discovery offers researchers new insight into how revolutionary messages traveled across the Atlantic during the war for independence. Beyond its monetary and historical value as one of fewer than a dozen surviving copies, the document serves as physical evidence of American efforts to broadcast the declaration's principles internationally through naval channels. Researchers say the find underscores that significant historical discoveries remain possible even 250 years after events occurred, with archives around the world still holding documents waiting to be examined.