{"id":2623700,"date":"2026-07-04T11:24:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T15:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/july-1776-copy-of-declaration-of-independence-discovered-outside-us-in-foreign-navy-captains-papers\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T11:26:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T15:26:21","slug":"july-1776-copy-of-declaration-of-independence-discovered-outside-us-in-foreign-navy-captains-papers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/july-1776-copy-of-declaration-of-independence-discovered-outside-us-in-foreign-navy-captains-papers\/","title":{"rendered":"July 1776 Copy of Declaration of Independence Discovered Outside US in Foreign Navy Captain&#8217;s Papers"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjuly-1776-copy-of-declaration-of-independence-discovered-outside-us-in-foreign-navy-captains-papers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2623700&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-times-issues-multiple-corrections-for-article-falsely-claiming-900000-u-s-children-have-been-hospitalized-for-covid-19-during-pandemic\/\" title=\"New York Times Issues Multiple Corrections For Article Falsely Claiming 900,000 U.S. Children Have Been Hospitalized For COVID-19 During Pandemic\">article discusses<\/a> the recent revelation of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/citadels-ken-griffin-may-be-the-gops-top-midterms-donor\/\" title=\"Citadel\u2019s Ken Griffin May be the GOP\u2019s Top Midterms Donor\">rare copy<\/a> of the declaration of Independence found in Britain\u2019s National Archives by volunteer Michael Scurr. This copy, printed in Exeter between July 16 adn July 19, 1776, was part of 11 known prints intended to inform the international community about the American colonies&#8217; move for independence. The discovery highlights that the document was used not onyl as a declaration but also as a interaction tool for the colonies&#8217; fight for an ideal, emphasizing the importance of the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >revolutionary message<\/a>. Experts note the importance of the artifact as a tangible link to 1776 and acknowledge ongoing historical discoveries related to the American Revolution.The find emphasizes that, even after 250 years, there is still much to learn about that era.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Almost 250 years after an American ship carrying news of the Declaration of Independence was captured by a British warship, the copy of America\u2019s founding principles it carried is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ariz-audit-underway-officials-finding-signs-of-fraud\/\" title=\"Ariz. audit underway, officials finding signs of fraud\">making news<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The copy of the Declaration was found in Britain\u2019s National Archives last May by volunteer Michael Scurr.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI called over to my boss and said, \u2018I think you need to come and have a look at this,\u2019\u201d he said, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cgrkl104ly5o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He had been cataloging the papers of Captain Thomas Fitzherbert, an 18th century Royal Navy captain whose ship, the HMS Raisonable, captured an American ship, the Dalton, off the Portuguese coast, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/02\/world-news\/rare-copy-of-declaration-of-independence-found-by-uk-national-archives-in-papers-of-captured-us-ship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Rare copy of US Declaration of Independence found by volunteer in UK archives <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/n11ikiNKI8\">https:\/\/t.co\/n11ikiNKI8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BBCWorld\/status\/2072828307238682880?\">July 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought, oh, right, okay, this is definitely a Declaration of Independence,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cHow exciting is this?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The document was one of 11 existing copies of a printing of the document made in Exeter, New Hampshire, with the goal of putting the news abroad that the 13 colonies had become the United States of America.<\/p>\n<p>The copy found in Britain was printed in Exeter between July 16 and July 19, 1776.<\/p>\n<p>Amanda Bevan, head of the project documenting Royal Navy captains\u2019 papers from the American Revolution, said the Dalton\u2019s captain would have read the Declaration to the crew, along with his orders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey know why they\u2019re fighting, but this puts it in a language which makes it greater than them,\u2019\u2019 Bevan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re not fighting because they\u2019re aggrieved in particular. They\u2019re 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The copy found on the 18-gun Dalton shows how American wanted the world to know what it had done, Matthew Skic, director of collections and exhibitions at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not just a document, it\u2019s an artifact,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a tangible connection to the past, because holding that piece of paper in the archivist\u2019s hand today is a way to transport us back to 1776. The baton being passed, in a way,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>He said that even after 250 years, there is more to learn about the Revolutionary era.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham Moore of the National Archives told the BBC the find is \u201cone of the rarest forms of the Declaration we know about,\u201d adding that it was not meant to be preserved due to the intention to distribute it quickly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter the original printing on 4 July, the news of the Declaration is travelling fast around North America and it\u2019s being reprinted as it reaches each successive colony,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nearly 250 years after a British warship captured an American vessel carrying the Declaration of Independence, a copy of the founding document has been rediscovered. Volunteer Michael Scurr found it in Britain\u2019s National Archives last May. He recalled telling his supervisor, \u201cI think you need to see this,\u201d upon discovering the document. The paper was part of Captain Thomas Fitzherbert\u2019s collection; his ship, HMS Raisonable, seized the American ship Dalton off Portugal in the 18th century. This particular copy is one of only 11 printed in Exeter between July 16 and July 19, 1776, intended to spread news of America\u2019s independence abroad. Amanda Bevan noted that Captain Fitzherbert likely read the Declaration aloud to his crew along with orders-highlighting that Americans fought not just out of grievance but for an ideal. Matthew Skic emphasized that this artifact connects us directly to history and reminds us there are still discoveries to be made about the Revolutionary era even after more than two centuries. Graham Moore from the National Archives described it as one of the rarest types of Declaration copies, originally produced for rapid distribution rather than preservation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2623701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ben-net-2026-07-03T122708.199.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[58263,34654,4919],"class_list":["post-2623700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-58263","tag-declaration-of-independence","tag-history"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ben-net-2026-07-03T122708.199.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2623700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2623700"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2623700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2623704,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2623700\/revisions\/2623704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2623701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2623700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2623700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2623700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}