An extremely rare copy of the Declaration of Independence that was hidden behind wallpaper to protect it from ransacking Civil War troops, has surfaced.
The Washington Post reports that the copy, which is one of only 51 known to exist, resurfaced last month after its purchase by billionaire David M. Rubenstein, co-founder of private equity firm The Carlyle Group.
Rare document dealer Seth Kaller, who worked on the sale, told Fox News that the calfskin copy is one of two that were given to founding father James Madison by Congress in 1824.
“It’s extremely rare to find one with a close connection to a founding father,” he said, adding that the location of the second copy is unknown.
Madison likely gave the existing copy to his nephew Robert Lewis Madison, with Kaller noting that the document was not part of the Madison estate when the founding father died in 1836.
By the time of the Civil War, Madison’s son, Robert Lewis Madison Jr., was in possession of the Declaration. Madison Jr., a doctor who served in the Confederate army and was a physician to Robert E. Lee, was apparently concerned that ransacking troops would destroy the document. According to a 1913 newspaper article, the doctor’s wife hid the copy behind paper on a wall at the family’s home, which was likely in Lexington, Virginia. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [contentcards url=”http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/02/27/extremely-rare-copy-declaration-independence-once-hidden-behind-wallpaper-surfaces.html” target=”_blank”]