Two rare printed copies of the Declaration of Independence — one an early broadside from July 1776, the other an 1833 engraving pulled from a copper plate — are now on public view at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, part of a sprawling new exhibition examining Virginia's role in the American Revolution. “Give Me Liberty: Virginia & the Forging of a Nation” opened July 1 and runs through January 31, 2027, marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration's signing.
The exhibit is presented by the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission and was developed by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in partnership with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, according to Williamsburg Families. Christy S. Coleman, executive director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, said the exhibit considers freedom, the history of the moment, and the ongoing effort to form a more perfect union, per the same listing. The show traces conversations among the 13 colonies beginning in 1773 and situates Virginia at the center of the national story building toward independence.
Before arriving in Yorktown, the 5,000-square-foot exhibition had its first run at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond, opening March 22, 2025, and closing January 4, 2026, according to WHRO. That Richmond debut was timed to the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry's “Give me liberty or give me death!” address at St. John's Church during the Second Virginia Convention, a pivotal speech in the lead-up to the Revolution, according to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
Two Declaration Copies, Decades Apart
The two Declaration copies on view in Yorktown belong to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation's own collection. The first is an early broadside printed on July 4 and 5, 1776, by John Dunlap, the official printer to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, who produced the sheets for broad, quick distribution and public reading, per Williamsburg Families.
The second copy on display is the so-called Stone engraving, produced in 1823 when Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, worried about the deteriorating original parchment, commissioned a large copper plate to preserve the text, Williamsburg Families reports.
Artifacts Tied to Patrick Henry's Famous Speech
The exhibition's Richmond-to-Yorktown run also carried forward a set of personal artifacts connected to Patrick Henry, placed on loan from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture's permanent collection. Those items include Henry's own spectacles, the whalebone paper cutter he reportedly wielded while delivering his 1775 speech, and an 1851 portrait of Henry painted by Thomas Sully, per the WHRO report. The exhibit also features an original printed copy of Lord Dunmore's Proclamation, issued in November 1775 by Virginia's royal governor, which promised freedom to any enslaved person who joined Great Britain's forces.
Williamsburg Families reports that the exhibit deliberately addresses the exclusion of enslaved and free African Americans and Indigenous nations from the traditional founding narrative, presenting revolutionary-era perspectives from Black soldiers, Indigenous allies, and French allies alongside the familiar Founding Father figures. The exhibit highlights Billy Flora, a free Black hero of the Battle of Great Bridge who was also present at the Siege of Yorktown.
Sarah Meschutt, senior curator at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, also worked on the exhibit, which uses graphic displays, artifacts, and multimedia components to walk visitors through that longer arc — including a hands-on station where guests can inscribe seed paper with a personal commitment to liberty and plant it.
A Statewide Commemoration, With Local Echoes
The exhibition sits at the center of Virginia's broader 250th anniversary push. The Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission coordinates statewide semiquincentennial programming, according to a report in Issuu. The exhibition explores the effort to form a more perfect union, while the commission coordinates anniversary programming across Virginia. Williamsburg's own “An Occasion for the Arts” festival recently became an official VA250 Commemorative Partner, as Hoodline previously reported.
Beyond the Yorktown museum, organizers built a 10-banner traveling version of “Give Me Liberty” that's available free to schools, libraries, and historic sites across the state through VA250 funding, allowing smaller venues like Belle Grove Plantation and the Fairfax Museum to take part, according to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. A limited-series companion podcast, “Revolution Revisited,” was planned for early 2025, while the exhibition spotlights lesser-known Revolutionary figures.
Visiting the Exhibit
“Give Me Liberty: Virginia & the Forging of a Nation” is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is included with general admission to the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation administers the museum.
