Copy of Confederate Constitution to be on display for 1 day

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - The University of Georgia is offering a once-a-year opportunity to see a copy of the Constitution of the Confederate States of America.

The Athens Banner-Herald (http://bit.ly/2mL0HR2 ) reports the document, which is more than 150 years old, will be on display at the Richard B. Russell Special Collections Library from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.

Made up of five connected pieces of vellum, the manuscript is so fragile that it's only displayed once a year. When fully unfurled, the scroll is more than 12 feet long.

The library says a journalist found the document in 1865 inside a box that had been abandoned by fleeing Confederate troops.

The Confederate Constitution was adopted on March 11, 1861. A provisional copy is in the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.

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Information from: Athens Banner-Herald, http://www.onlineathens.com