For over a decade, Michael Scurr has dedicated his Thursday mornings to volunteering at Britain’s National Archives, meticulously cataloging documents to assist future historians and researchers.
However, last May brought an unexpected twist for the former insurance executive when he unearthed something extraordinary among the letters of an 18th-century Royal Navy captain.
Amidst a report concerning the capture of the American privateer Dalton on Christmas Eve in 1776 was an inconspicuously labeled enclosure referred to only as “another paper.” As Scurr delicately unfolded the document, he was astounded to see the word “Declaration” prominently displayed at the top.
“I thought, oh, right, OK, this sure looks like a Declaration of Independence,” Scurr shared with The Associated Press, his excitement palpable. “How thrilling is this?”
The document spreads the news of independence
Following Scurr’s discovery, experts at the National Archives identified the document as a rare early version of America’s founding Declaration, printed mere days after the original was endorsed on July 4, 1776. This copy was intended to circulate the momentous news that 13 North American colonies had broken away from British rule.
It is one of just 11 original copies of the so-called Exeter printing of the declaration that are known to exist, and the only one identified outside the United States, the National Archives said on Thursday as it unveiled the find ahead of this weekend’s 250th anniversary of American independence. This version was printed in Exeter, New Hampshire, July 16 to 19, 1776.
But it isn’t just the age of the document that makes it important. It is also the fact that it was captured from a ship under the direction 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 has heard about the dreadful conditions faced by the Continental Army at places like Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, little attention has been given to the Americans who went to sea to disrupt British trade and battle the mighty Royal Navy, Bevan said.
Discovery offers a nod to what was at stake
Finding a copy of the Declaration of Independence on board ship also suggests how it might have been used, Bevan said. She believes the Dalton’s captain would have read out his orders, as was customary, and also the declaration itself.
“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. And I think that just to find the declaration in a theater of war where people are committing themselves to fight for their country on the wide ocean is really something special.”
As a privateer, the 18-gun Dalton was a privately owned vessel that fought under the auspices of the Continental Congress to supplement the tiny navy of the new nation.
Captain Thomas Fitzherbert, commander of the 64-gun HMS Raisonnable, chased the Dalton for seven hours on Christmas Eve 1776 before capturing her off the coast of Portugal. The Dalton’s 120-man crew was imprisoned in Plymouth, England, under harsh conditions.
Charles Hebert, who was just 19 when he was captured, described hunger, illness and repeated punishment in the journals he kept during more than two years of captivity before his release in a prisoner exchange.
Despite it all, many survived.
The joy of discovery is shared by Americans
Historians in the United States are also excited about the National Archives’ discovery.
This copy of the Declaration of Independence provides a direct link to the Dalton’s captain, who carried news of American independence to the world, said Matthew Skic, 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 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. The baton being passed, in a way.”
The discovery is also proof that there’s still more for historians to uncover, Skic said.
“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.”