Rare 1776 copy of US Declaration of Independence, the only one outside America, discovered among seized ship papers in British archives ahead of 250th anniversary
A volunteer cataloguing Royal Navy papers at Britain’s National Archives found an extremely rare Exeter printing of the Declaration of Independence, the sole surviving copy outside the United States, just as America prepares to mark 250 years since its founding.
An accidental discovery
A volunteer named Michael Scurr came across the document earlier this year while sorting through the correspondence of 18th‑century Royal Navy captains at The National Archives in Kew, west London. BBC reports place the moment in February 2026, while Reuters and others say it was in May. Scurr recalled the morning as ordinary until he unfolded a paper that began with the famous words “In Congress, July 4, 1776.”
Unearthing and handling such a significant historical document has been thrilling, particularly in this important anniversary year.
Only one of its kind outside the US
The sheet belongs to the so‑called Exeter printing, produced in Exeter, New Hampshire, between 16 and 19 July 1776, just days after the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration in Philadelphia. Only 11 copies of that rush print run are known to survive, and the newly identified example is the first found outside the United States. Graham Moore, a curator at the Archives, called it “one of the rarest versions known” and stressed that the document “was not meant to be kept, it was printed quickly and distributed widely.”
This is the only known copy seized as part of military action. Thanks to the bureaucratic processes of war … we can present an unusually rich backstory that most surviving declarations do not have.
- Exeter, New Hampshire, printers produce the rush edition of the Declaration between 16 and 19 July.
- Captain Eleazer Johnson acquires a copy near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, before sailing for Europe.
- The Royal Navy captures the Dalton off the coast of Portugal (some sources say Spain) after a seven‑hour chase; the document is seized as a prize.
- The Declaration is entered into Admiralty Court records simply as “another document” and archived.
- Volunteer Michael Scurr identifies the document while cataloguing Royal Navy captains’ papers (some reports place the discovery in May).
- The National Archives announces the find on the eve of the United States’ 250th independence anniversary.
A wartime voyage and capture
The copy was carried aboard the American privateer Dalton, captained by Eleazer Johnson, who likely bought it near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to inspire his crew. The Dalton sailed for Europe to attack British vessels but was intercepted by the Royal Navy on 24 December 1776 after a seven‑hour chase. Accounts differ on the precise location: Reuters and Focus describe it as off the coast of Portugal, while Mediafax states it was off the coast of Spain. The ship and its papers, including the Declaration, were brought to Plymouth, England.
Bureaucratic preservation
Under 18th‑century prize rules, captured documents were submitted to the Admiralty Court so British captains could claim their share. The Declaration was entered into the records simply as “another document” and lay undisturbed for two and a half centuries. Moore noted that because more than 3,600 American vessels were seized during the Revolutionary War, the Archives hold a vast pool of material still waiting to be studied.
It is an extraordinary discovery, and the document’s extreme rarity makes it all the more important.
Timing and wider context
The National Archives unveiled the find on 3 July 2026, the eve of America’s semiquincentennial. The exhibition team had been preparing for the anniversary by cataloguing officers’ papers from the war, a project that turned up the forgotten printing. The document has since undergone delicate conservation, stabilising the paper and repairing a small tear, so that researchers can handle it safely. It will now be made available for study, with archivists highlighting how the copy illustrates the speed at which the colonists tried to spread the news of independence across the Atlantic world.
