Many people are surprised to learn that the Declaration of Independence was not signed on July 4, 1776, by the 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress, which consisted of patriotic representatives from the 13 colonies.
The document was initially presented to Congress on July 2 by the Committee of Five, who drafted it. However, two colonies—South Carolina and Delaware—refused to agree to the document as presented, resulting in two days of intense debate and compromise.
As Thomas Jefferson later recalled, South Carolina agreed to sign once language condemning slavery was removed. Delaware, facing a split vote between its two delegates, moved to approve the document once a third delegate rode through the night to Philadelphia to break the deadlock.
By the evening of July 4, 12 of the 13 colonies had agreed to accept the Declaration as amended. However, representatives from New York abstained because they had not yet received instructions from state leaders in Albany. Thus, the exact date of the signing remains a subject of academic debate.
Those who assert it was signed on July 4 include notable figures like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, according to letters they later wrote. Additionally, the Journals of the Continental Congress, the official public record published the following year, states that the “foregoing declaration was, by order of Congress, engrossed, and signed by the following members,” listing the 56 signers.
Nevertheless, strong arguments suggest it was signed later. Clearly, the New York delegates did not sign on July 4 as they abstained from the vote.
Furthermore, Thomas McKean, a representative from Delaware, claimed it was not signed on July 4 because several signing delegates were absent. Since the Congress's secretary did not record attendance, determining who was present is impossible. McKean noted that some signers were not even elected to the Continental Congress until after July 4, leading to speculation that the Journals were amended incorrectly in the early 1820s by editors preparing for the 50th anniversary of the signing.
Finally, some scholars argue that Jefferson’s use of the word “signed” was meant to indicate that delegates “signaled” or “indicated” their acceptance of the document, rather than physically signing it.
On July 9, New York’s delegation announced its intention to sign. By July 19, the Journals appeared to contradict its earlier record by proposing that “the Declaration passed on the 4th be fairly engrossed on parchment with the title and style of ‘The unanimous declaration of the thirteen united states of America’ & that the same when engrossed be signed by every member of Congress.” Two weeks later, on August 2, the Journals records that “the declaration of independence being engrossed & compared at the table was signed by the Members.”
Some scholars suggest that about 34 of the delegates may have signed on July 4, while the remaining delegates signed thereafter, with all 56 having signed on or before August 2.
This conclusion may also explain another oddity. After South Carolina representative Edward Rutledge signed his name, the second signer, Thomas Heyward, skipped a space, as if leaving room for someone who might not have been present. The remaining two South Carolina delegates, Thomas Lynch Jr. and Arthur Middleton, signed immediately beneath Heyward, leaving an unexplained blank spot between the state’s first two delegates’ names.
South Carolina Signers
The decision to sign the Declaration of Independence was not taken lightly by congressional delegates, as doing so would lead to death if the British captured them. So, who were these bold South Carolinians?
At 26, Edward Rutledge was the youngest of the 56 signers. Born to Scotch-Irish parents Dr. John and Sarah Rutledge, he was the youngest of seven children. Interestingly, Edward's brother John Rutledge served in the First Continental Congress, while Edward served in the Second. Edward signed the Declaration, while John authored the U.S. Constitution. John also became the 31st governor of South Carolina, while Edward became the 39th.
John built a grand townhouse at 116 Broad Street, while Edward purchased an older residence across the street at 117 Broad Street. Both homes survived the Great Fire of 1861, which destroyed many neighboring buildings, and they remain today as National Historic Landmarks.
Legend has it that Edward died from a stroke upon hearing about George Washington’s death. He is buried in St. Michael’s churchyard, while John rests at St. Philip’s.
Marrying Henrietta Middleton in 1774, Edward became the brother-in-law of another signer from South Carolina, Arthur Middleton. Middleton, from a wealthy family, inherited the family plantation Middleton Place, which today serves as a museum and formal garden located south of Summerville on the Ashley River. Although the main house was burned in the Civil War, one wing of the mansion and the gardens have been refurbished. Middleton died at 44 and is buried in the family tomb at the plantation.
Thomas Heyward is believed to have been the last signer of the Declaration of Independence, likely signing on August 2. The unexplained space below Rutledge’s signature might have been intended for Heyward, who signed with a smaller signature than expected.
After the signing, Heyward returned to Charleston to resume his law career. In 1778, he presided over a trial convicting several Loyalists of treason and executed them in sight of the British line.
Heyward's residence at 86 Church Street has survived and is now a house museum operated by The Charleston Museum. Also a National Historic Landmark, it is better known today as the Heyward-Washington House, in honor of President Washington’s stay there during his 1791 visit to Charleston.
Three of South Carolina’s signers—Heyward, Rutledge, and Middleton—were captured when Charleston fell to the British in 1780 and imprisoned in St. Augustine, Florida. While there, Heyward rewrote the lyrics to the popular British tune “God Save the King” to become “God Save the States.” All three were released in a prisoner exchange the following year, but this was not the case for the fourth South Carolina signer, Thomas Lynch Jr.
Born at Hopsewee Plantation on the North Santee River outside of Georgetown, Lynch was the second youngest signer of the Declaration, just three months older than Edward Rutledge. His father, Thomas Lynch Sr., was also a delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
Lynch Jr. was serving as company commander of the First South Carolina regiment in June 1775 when he fell seriously ill. While recuperating, he received news that his father, in Philadelphia for the Continental Congress, had also taken ill.
On March 23, 1776, the South Carolina General Assembly appointed Lynch Jr. to serve alongside his ailing father as a delegate to Congress. Although he was still recovering, Lynch Jr. traveled to Philadelphia, where he signed the Declaration of Independence. Could the open space beneath his signature have been optimistically left for Thomas Lynch Sr. to sign?
Unfortunately, that never happened. Lynch Sr. did not recover and died while accompanying his ill son back to Hopsewee. They were the only father and son to serve together in the Continental Congress.
Thomas Jr. was still recovering two years later when friends suggested that a change of scenery might help. He and his young bride set sail for Europe aboard the Polly, stopping briefly at St. Eustatius in the West Indies before departing on December 17, 1779. Tragically, it was the last time the ship and its passengers were ever seen. Thus, the second-youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence became the first of the 56 signers to perish.
Due to his illness and early death, only one of Thomas Jr.’s letters is known to survive, along with his signatures on several documents. Given their rarity, his autographs are highly sought after by collectors, selling for as much as $250,000.
As an only son with no male heirs, Lynch left his estate to his sister on the condition that she change her last name and that of her children back to Lynch, which they did. Charleston fell to British forces five months later.
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