4th of July: Just "Another Paper"

Have you ever thought something was over… only to realize later it was really just beginning?

In October of 1776 when the captain and crew of the Dalton embarked from Newburyport, Massachusetts, they had one goal in mind:

To take the American revolution across the world.

Here’s how they saw it: If the 20 gun ship and her crew of 120 souls could cross the Atlantic they could disrupt the supply lines of the British fleet and give their fighting compatriots a chance back home.

The added bonus? As privateers, whatever loot they captured could turn into a tidy sum once they returned.

For the young crew, it was the perfect combination of swashbuckling adventure, and fervent patriotism all rolled into one.

And yet… despite their fire and tenacity… the prospects were grim.

At the time, the British Navy had set up a near-impenetrable blockade across the eastern seaboard. Hundreds of ships had swarmed the coasts, and New York harbor lay under siege against the largest British expeditionary force in history.

And in just a month, the untested General George Washington was soon to face a catastrophic retreat from Long Island, giving the British total control of one of the most crucial cities in the colonies.

By anyone’s opinion, the spark of the American revolution was about to be snuffed out.

But the crew of the brig Dalton were undaunted.

And so with crisp New England autumn air filling her sails, and with a written commission signed by John Hancock himself, the 20 gun ship pointed her bow due east and on October 15th, plunged across the Atlantic to hunt British trade vessels.

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(Photo: The actual commission of the Dalton signed by John Hancock)

By all accounts their transatlantic voyage was without incident.

In a matter of weeks they reached the western European shore, and as trade vessels crisscrossed the waters with all important trade goods, the American privateers waited for the right opportunity to strike.

That is, until their luck ran out.

On December 24th, 1776, the good ship Dalton was intercepted by a much larger 64 gun ship commanded by a seasoned veteran of the British Navy, Captain Thomas Fitzherbert. Outrun and outgunned, the Dalton surrendered off the coast of Portugal and her crew was summarily sent to languish in British prisons.

So much for taking the American Revolution across the world.

…Or so you would think.

Because that’s not the end of the story for the Dalton and her crew.

After Captain Fitzherbert commandeered the ship and confiscated her logs and papers, he sent them to the Admiralty in London where they eventually came to rest in the state’s archives, where they sat undisturbed for over two centuries.

That is until in February 2026, when a volunteer archivist was painstakingly cataloguing documents in Britain’s National Archives. On a Thursday morning, as he opened up a folio of papers spanning Fitzherbert’s career, he beheld the last remaining artifacts of the Dalton and her crew. In the dusty stack, he noticed an enclosure with the non-descript label of… “Another paper.”

Curious, the archivist opened the folder and immediately noticed… blazoned across the top of a faded sheet:

In Congress July 4, 1776

DECLARATION…

In his hands, he was holding an undiscovered early copy of one of the most important documents in history, the American Declaration of Independence.

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(Photo: The copy found in Fitzherbert’s papers)

But the novelty doesn’t end there.

This was the only Declaration of Independence in history to be captured by military force, and the only one discovered outside of the United States.

Here’s why this matters.

On December 24th 1776, when the Dalton and her crew were captured… they probably thought the story was over. Their dreams of fame and glory were dashed, and hopes for a bright future were ruined.

But in retrospect… their story was just beginning, not ending.

Which brings me to you.

How many times have you hit a wall and thought, “I guess this is it. I should probably give up.”

Or maybe you had to pivot in a new direction and had to abandon a dream you’ve held for a long time.

In those moments… instead of an ending, what if you knew it really was a beginning?

How would that change your approach?

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(Photo: Volunteer archivist Michael Scurr -right- showing a BBC reporter the document he found)

On this the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence I’d like to think the lesson of the Dalton and her crew stands before us as a powerful example. And not just for us as people, but as citizens who care for our great country.

Whatever our challenges, whatever the obstacles in our way, what if we were to see them as beginnings… and not endings?

Because what those sailors couldn’t have known was that on the very night the Dalton surrendered off the coast of Portugal… its copy of the Declaration bound for a British filing cabinet where it would sit for 250 years… a man named George Washington was crossing an icy river in Pennsylvania with 2,400 half-frozen men, on his way to the Battle of Trenton.

While the paper carrying the Declaration was headed into the darkness of an archive, the idea it carried was headed into a fight.

And despite all his previous failures as a General, Washington’s victory at Trenton on December 26th 1776 was one of the most consequential turning points in American history.

All because a group of people turned failures… into new beginnings.

How’s that for bringing the American revolution to the world.

Christian

CHRISTIAN HANSEN has gone behind the scenes in some of the biggest organizations in the world to find out the reasons why some people get chosen and why others don’t. As the #1 bestselling and LinkedIn Top Ten ranked author of “The Influence Mindset: The Art & Science of Getting People to Choose You” Christian helps teams and organizations who want to stand out and be the obvious choice. With degrees from Brigham Young University and The London School of Economics, he’s helped thousands of individuals position and sell themselves. A fan of international communication, history, and choral music, he currently lives in Utah with his family. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com