131-474: The McClure Arctic expedition , one of many attempts to find the missing Franklin expedition , was significant for being the first to successfully discover and transit the Northwest Passage , which it accomplished by both boat and sledging. Robert McClure and his crew spent three years locked in the pack ice aboard HMS Investigator before abandoning the ship and making their escape across
262-477: A sonar scan of Banks Island , Mercy Bay , Northwest Territories . The archaeology crew reported no plans to raise the ship, but planned a thorough sonar scan of the area and dispatch of a remotely operated vehicle . Parks Canada archeologists scheduled dives on the Investigator site for 15 days beginning on 10 July 2011 to gather detailed photographic documentation of the wreck. Led by Marc-Andre Bernier,
393-572: A complete survey of St Paul Island. Many natural history onservations were made. The rset of the year 1853 was spent surveying Lord Howe Island and the nearby Ball's Pyramid and in New Caledonia and Vanuatu . Surveys were carried out of the sle of Pines , Maré and Aneityum . These islands are close to the route between Sydney and Fiji, so it was important to chart their accurate positions. On 27 May 1854, Herald sailed for Fiji via Auckland and Raoul Island . Herald surveyed in
524-439: A copy of The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith . Elsewhere, on the island's southern coast, McClintock's searchers found another skeleton. Still clothed, it was searched, and some papers were found, including a seaman's certificate for Chief Petty Officer Harry Peglar of Terror . Since the uniform was that of a ship's steward, it is more likely that the body was that of Thomas Armitage, gun-room steward on Terror and
655-591: A copy of the Treaty of Waitangi (known as the "Herald-Bunbury" copy) to the South Island of New Zealand to obtain signatures from Māori chiefs as part the process of claiming British sovereignty over New Zealand. During the period 1841–1842 she was involved in actions off Canton in the fleet commanded by Sir William Parker in the First Anglo-Chinese War (1839–1842), known popularly as
786-454: A hostile environment while lacking adequate clothing and nutrition, killed everyone on the expedition in the years after it was last sighted by a whaling ship in July 1845. Cut marks on some of the bones recovered during these studies also supported allegations of cannibalism reported by Franklin searcher John Rae in 1854. Despite the expedition's notorious failure, it did succeed in exploring
917-549: A letter (via Herald ) notifying the Secretary of the Admiralty of this intent, stating that since Enterprise had already detached from the expedition, proceeding on alone was the best contingency plan available to ensure the success of their mission. The ice fields were sighted on 2 August at 72°1' north. Unable to find open leads, they rounded Point Barrow , the northernmost point of Alaska, and entered unexplored waters and
1048-527: A national priority. McClure had gained experience searching for the lost Franklin expedition in 1848 as the first lieutenant on HMS Enterprise under the command of James Clark Ross , but they had found no trace of the lost expedition. Faced with a continuing lack of progress, the British Admiralty , on 15 January 1850, ordered a new expedition to "obtain intelligence, and to render assistance to Sir John Franklin and his companions, and not for
1179-485: A party of white men on the southern coast of King William Island near Washington Bay. In the 1990s, this testimony was extensively researched by David C. Woodman and was the basis of two books, Unravelling the Franklin Mystery (1992) and Strangers Among Us (1995), in which he reconstructs the final months of the expedition. Woodman's narrative challenged existing theories that the survivors all perished over
1310-411: A pre-printed Admiralty form. The first part was written after the first overwintering in 1847 and the second part was added one year later. From the second part it can be inferred that the document was first deposited in a different cairn previously erected by James Clark Ross in 1830 during John Ross's Second Arctic expedition – at a location Ross named Victory Point . The first message is written in
1441-470: A second document using the same Admiralty form containing an almost identical duplicate of the first message from 1847 in a cairn a few miles southwest at Gore Point. This document did not contain the second message. From the handwriting it is assumed that all messages were written by Fitzjames. As he did not take part in the landing party that deposited the notes originally in 1847, it is inferred that both documents were originally filled in by Fitzjames on board
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#17327656658101572-582: A shipmate of Peglar, whose papers he carried. McClintock himself took testimony from the Inuit about the expedition's disastrous end. Two expeditions between 1860 and 1869 by Charles Francis Hall , who lived among the Inuit near Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island and later at Repulse Bay on the Canadian mainland, found camps, graves and relics on the southern coast of King William Island, but he believed none of
1703-401: A small group of Inuit seal hunters who lived in isolation. One party went around Banks Island and showed that it was an island. Another party was on the south shore of Victoria Island at about the same time that John Rae (explorer) passed 40 miles (64 km) to the south. No traces of Franklin were found. Preparations were made for the ship's anticipated release from the ice. "By late June,
1834-674: A survey ship in 1845. After serving as a chapel ship from 1861, she was sold for breaking in 1862. Termagant was launched at the East India Company dockyard at Cochin , British India on 15 November 1822. Lieutenant Robert Wallace Dunlop commissioned on 30 July 1822 to sail her to the United Kingdom. She arrived at Portsmouth on 7 July 1823. In July Captain Lord Henry Frederick Thynne took command, though he had nominally been appointed about
1965-589: A three-pronged plan which in the spring of 1848 sent an overland rescue party , led by John Richardson and John Rae , down the Mackenzie River to the Canadian Arctic coast. Two expeditions by sea were also launched – one, led by James Clark Ross, entering the Canadian Arctic archipelago through Lancaster Sound and the other, commanded by Henry Kellett, entering from the Pacific. In addition,
2096-500: A view of the strait and large harbor to determine that Captain Austin's forces were not present. They did find the cairn left by Sir Edward Parry during his 1819–1820 expedition, which also contained a June 1851 communication from Captain Austin. This did not include the information that traces of Franklin's expedition had been found the previous year at Beechey Island . June found the crews preparing for their expected liberation from
2227-586: A year earlier, on 30 July 1822. The vessel was renamed Herald on 15 May 1824, and commissioned on 16 July 1824. At this time she was rated a yacht . Commander Henry John Leeke recommissioned her on 31 May 1824. He sailed her to St Petersburg, the West Indies , back to England from Havana , then to Quebec , and finally to Malta . Captain Sir Augustus William James Clifford recommissioned Herald on 27 May 1826 to carry
2358-519: A year, Erebus and Terror were abandoned in April 1848, by which point two dozen men, including Franklin, had died. The survivors, now led by Franklin's second-in-command, Francis Crozier , and Erebus ' s captain, James Fitzjames , set out for the Canadian mainland and disappeared, presumably having perished. Pressed by Franklin's wife, Jane , and others, the Admiralty launched a search for
2489-590: The Admiralty , a post he held until 1845. Barrow began pushing for the Royal Navy to find a Northwest Passage over the top of Canada and to navigate toward the North Pole , organising a major series of expeditions. Over those four decades explorers including John Ross ; David Buchan ; William Edward Parry ; Frederick William Beechey ; James Clark Ross (nephew of John Ross); George Back ; Peter Warren Dease and Thomas Simpson led productive expeditions to
2620-730: The Bering Strait , in 1848, 1849 and 1850. No trace of Franklin was found. During this period she discovered Herald Island , in the Chukchi Sea , which Kellett named after his ship. In 1848 and 1849 Herald returned south in the months of the northern winter to continue surveying work in Panama, Costa Rica , and the Gulf of California . In October 1850, Herald left the Arctic, and sailed for home via Hawaii , Hong Kong , Singapore and
2751-530: The Canadian Arctic . Among those explorers was John Franklin , who first travelled to the region in 1818 as second-in-command of an expedition towards the North Pole on the ships Dorothea and Trent . Franklin was subsequently leader of two overland expeditions to and along the Canadian Arctic coast, in 1819–1822 and 1825–1827. By 1845 the combined discoveries of all these expeditions had reduced
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#17327656658102882-457: The Cape of Good Hope , arriving at Spithead on 6 June 1851, thus completing a six-year circumnavigation of the globe. Berthold Seemann was the naturalist for most of this voyage, and wrote the main account of the expedition in two volumes as well as an illustrated volume on the botany. Samson (1998) has provided a modern overview of his work, relating it to the political and economic context of
3013-962: The Duke of Devonshire on an embassy to Russia. Commander Henry Eden replaced Clifford in November 1826, only to hand over command to Commander Edward William Curry Astley in April 1827. On 7 April 1829 Commander George Berkeley Maxwell replaced Astley. Maxwell sailed Herald to St Petersburg, Cartagena, Quebec, and home. Herald was paid off in 1830. She then underwent fitting for sea between April and July 1830. On 20 November 1830 Captain Robert Godon took command at Portsmouth. He paid her off in January 1831. Herald then underwent fitting for sea again between November 1837 and August 1838. Captain Joseph Nias recommissioned Herald on 24 May 1838 for
3144-593: The East Indies and China. On 26 August 1839, Herald and HMS Pelorus attempted to scuttle the British merchant ship Lucretia , which had caught fire off Kyardbilly's point, Sydney , New South Wales . The attempt was unsuccessful and the ship exploded and sank. On 29 April 1840 Nias sailed Herald , with Major Thomas Bunbury of the 80th Regiment (appointed by Governor William Hobson as Commissioner) and Edward Marsh Williams as interpreter, to take
3275-641: The First Opium War . Herald was paid off at Chatham in 1842. Herald was converted at Sheerness to a survey ship between July 1844 and June 1845. At that time her armament was reduced to eight guns. Henry Kellett recommissioned Herald 8 February 1845 for surveying in the Pacific. She left Plymouth on 26 June 26 1845 and sailed first via Brazil to the Falkland Islands where she arrived in September. They then rounded Cape Horn into
3406-736: The Pioneer under Lieutenant John B. Cator, and Intrepid under Sherard Osborn as well as more distant ships under Captain William Penney , Admiral Sir John Ross , the First Grinnell expedition under Lieutenant Edwin De Haven and the overland Rae–Richardson Arctic expedition . As the weather warmed in mid-May, additional hunting and exploration parties were sent out to supplement the dwindling provisions. Some of these parties returned with frostbitten crew members, and one had met
3537-533: The Pitcairn Islanders to Norfolk Island. In April 1855, following diagreements about publication and allegations of financial irregularities, MacGillivray was dismissed from his post on the Herald . On 26 February 1857, Herald returned to Sydney. Denham and Herald then made a survey of Port Jackson, which was completed in November 1857. This included a large-scale plan of Cockatoo Island . Herald
3668-554: The Prince of Wales Strait . It was later suggested that, if Investigator had been equipped with a screw propeller, she could have pressed the 45 miles (72 km) to Melville Island, completed the Northwest Passage, and returned home that same year. The decision to abandon the strait and proceed around the south coast of Baring Island (his name for Banks Island) led them to open water and a wider area of search. Rounding to
3799-473: The United States Army to organise an expedition to King William Island between 1878 and 1880. Travelling to Hudson Bay on the schooner Eothen , Schwatka, assembling a team that included Inuit who had assisted Hall, continued north by foot and dog sled , interviewing Inuit, visiting known or likely sites of Franklin expedition remains, and wintering on the island. Although Schwatka failed to find
3930-642: The White House . In 1854, Rae, while surveying the Boothia Peninsula for the HBC, discovered further evidence of the expedition's fate. Rae met an Inuk near Pelly Bay (now Kugaaruk, Nunavut ) on 21 April 1854, who told him of a party of 35 to 40 white men who had died of starvation near the mouth of the Back River. Other Inuit confirmed this story, which included reports of cannibalism among
4061-522: The 59-year-old Franklin. The expedition was to consist of two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror , both of which had been used for James Clark Ross' expedition to the Antarctic in 1839–1843, during which Crozier had commanded Terror . Franklin was given command of Erebus , with Fitzjames as the vessel's second-in-command; Crozier was appointed his executive officer and was again made commander of Terror . Franklin received command of
McClure Arctic expedition - Misplaced Pages Continue
4192-590: The Admiralty offered a reward of £20,000 (equivalent to £2,500,000 in 2023) "to any Party or Parties, of any country, who shall render assistance to the crews of the Discovery Ships under the command of Sir John Franklin". When the three-pronged effort failed, British national concern and interest in the Arctic increased until "finding Franklin became nothing less than a crusade." Ballads such as " Lady Franklin's Lament ", commemorating Lady Franklin's search for her lost husband, became popular. Many joined
4323-472: The Arctic Circle and passed by his consort ship and HMS Herald . By 28 July, they had reached the Arctic Circle. The crew busied themselves by readying the arctic gear as they prepared to explore the Arctic alone. Rather than waiting to rendezvous with Enterprise, the unusual decision was made to take Investigator alone into the ice near Cape Lisburne, Alaska . On 20 July, McClure had sent
4454-476: The Arctic explorers buried there. After some difficulty, McClure's gravestone was located. It is hoped that his memorial may be conserved in the future. Franklin%27s lost expedition Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror , and
4585-704: The Atlantic Ocean. It did not, however, traverse the Prince of Wales Strait. Instead, the expedition did a portage across Banks Island , crossed the Banks Strait, Melville Sound , Barrow Strait , and then entered the Atlantic Ocean via the Parry Channel . As the expedition had been beset by numerous troubles, this second route was "discovered" haphazardly as the crew of the expedition attempted to find their way to civilization. Today, shipping across
4716-760: The Atlantic, through the Straits of Magellan , to Hawaii and through the Aleutian Islands to the Bering Strait was planned to reach the pack ice during the most ice-free Arctic season. The ships were provisioned for a three-year voyage. On 10 January 1850, the ships set out from Woolwich after a rapid preparation period, completing their loading of supplies in Plymouth on 20 January. The crew numbered 66, including German clergyman John Miertsching, who served as Inuit interpreter. By 5 March, they had crossed
4847-447: The Canadian coastlines, interior and adjacent Arctic seas. In the 18th century explorers of this region included James Knight , Christopher Middleton , Samuel Hearne , James Cook , Alexander MacKenzie and George Vancouver . By 1800 their discoveries had conclusively demonstrated that no Northwest Passage between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans existed in the temperate latitudes. In 1804 Sir John Barrow became Second Secretary of
4978-654: The English port of Ramsgate on 6 October 1854, having been gone four years and ten months and losing five men. Upon return to England, McClure was immediately court martialled and pardoned for the loss of the Investigator , according to custom. He was awarded a share of the £10,000 prize for completing a Northwest Passage, knighted and decorated. He never made another Arctic voyage. Despite this overall success, several points of controversy were raised: In July 2010, Parks Canada archeologists looking for HMS Investigator found it fifteen minutes after they started
5109-694: The Franklin expedition south of a place now known as Starvation Cove on the Adelaide Peninsula . This was about 64 km (40 mi) north of Crozier's stated goal, the Back River, and several hundred miles away from the nearest Western outpost, on the Great Slave Lake . Woodman wrote of Inuit reports that between 1852 and 1858 Crozier and one other expedition member were seen in the Baker Lake area, about 400 km (250 mi) to
5240-462: The Franklin expedition were found at this site. In the spring of 1851, passengers and crew aboard several ships observed a huge iceberg off Newfoundland , which bore two vessels, one upright and one on its beam ends. The ships were not examined closely. It was suggested at the time that the ships could have been Erebus and Terror but it is now known that they were not; it is likely that they were abandoned whaling ships. In 1852 Edward Belcher
5371-617: The Franklin survivors would be found among the Inuit. In 1869, local Inuit took Hall to a shallow grave on the island containing well-preserved skeletal remains and fragments of clothing. These remains were taken to England and interred beneath the Franklin Memorial at Greenwich Old Royal Naval College , London . The eminent biologist Thomas Henry Huxley examined the remains and concluded that they belonged to Henry Thomas Dundas Le Vesconte , second lieutenant on Erebus . An examination in 2009 suggested that these were actually
McClure Arctic expedition - Misplaced Pages Continue
5502-611: The Greenwich Foundation and H.E. James Wright, the Canadian High Commissioner. At a private drinks reception in the Painted Hall which followed this Arctic service, Chief Marine Archaeologist for Parks Canada Robert Grenier spoke of his ongoing search for the missing expedition ships. The following day a group of polar authors went to London's Kensal Green Cemetery to pay their respects to
5633-475: The Northwest Passage is a rare occurrence and is not commercially viable due to the unreliability of predicting the state of sea ice in the region. The SS Manhattan , the first commercial ship to cross the Northwest Passage, used the first route that McClure discovered, the Prince of Wales Strait. Lady Jane Franklin pressed the search for the Franklin Expedition , missing since 1847, into
5764-485: The Northwest Passage to the public. 1854 marked the beginning of the fifth year in the Arctic for the crew of Investigator . Plans were made to detach the crew of Investigator to North Star at Beechey Island in the spring of 1854. These three sledge parties set out on 10–12 April. The journey was severe, but the crews were in improved condition. Socks routinely froze to feet and had to be cut off to fight frostbite . Despite these unfavourable circumstances, North Star
5895-544: The Pacific. Together with HMS Pandora under Lieutenant-Commander James Wood she spent three years surveying the coast of British Columbia after the Oregon boundary dispute with the United States., and on the Pacific coast of South America. Herald was assigned in 1848 to join the search for Sir John Franklin , whose ships had disappeared exploring the Northwest Passage . Herald sailed three times through
6026-593: The Rev Jeremy Frost and polar historian Dr Huw Lewis-Jones , celebrated the contributions made by the United Kingdom in the charting of the Canadian North and honoured the loss of life in the pursuit of geographical discovery. The Navy was represented by Admiral Nick Wilkinson, prayers were led by the Bishop of Woolwich and among the readings were eloquent tributes from Duncan Wilson, chief executive of
6157-665: The abandoned Investigator is considered a turning point in the material use of the Copper Inuit . The McClure Strait is named after Captain McClure. On 29 October 2009, a special service of thanksgiving was held in the chapel at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, to accompany the rededication of the national monument to Sir John Franklin there. The service also included the solemn re-interment of
6288-468: The abandonment of Erebus and Terror , death of Franklin and other crew members, and the decision by the survivors to march south to the mainland. On the western extreme of King William Island, Hobson also discovered a lifeboat containing two human skeletons and relics from the Franklin expedition. In the boat was a large amount of abandoned equipment, including boots, silk handkerchiefs, scented soap, sponges, slippers, hair combs and many books, among them
6419-544: The abandonment of Investigator inevitable, ordered by Captain Kellett of Resolute . The official announcement was made, and all men were put back on full rations for the first time in 20 months. A beach supply depot was established by the end of May, accompanied by a cairn and a monument to the fallen crew members. On 3 June, final flags were raised and the remaining crew abandoned Investigator , travelling by sledge to Resolute , with 18 days of provisions and McClure leading
6550-471: The arctic. On 11 April, McClure led seven men out by sledge with 28 days of provisions to reach Melville Island across the ice, and hopefully to make contact with other British explorers in the area. In late April, the first case of scurvy was observed, with several others soon to follow. McClure's party returned on 7 May, relating that poor visibility and soft snow had hampered their progress. They did not reach Melville Island, but obtained enough of
6681-508: The body of the form and dates from 28 May 1847. Party consisting of 2 officers and 6 men left the ships on Monday 24th May, 1847. (Signed) GM. GORE, Lieut. The second and final part is written largely on the margins of the form owing to a lack of remaining space on the document. It was presumably written on 25 April 1848. been built by Sir James Ross in 1831–4 miles to the Northward ;– where it had been deposited by
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#17327656658106812-509: The coast. In August, Anderson and Stewart found a piece of wood inscribed with "Erebus" and another that said "Mr. Stanley" (surgeon aboard Erebus ) on Montreal Island in Chantrey Inlet , where the Back River meets the sea. Despite the findings of Rae and Anderson, the Admiralty did not plan another search of its own. The Royal Navy officially labelled the crew deceased in service on 31 March 1854. Lady Franklin, failing to convince
6943-407: The coldest winter yet. The crew readied the ship for winter as freezing temperatures extended below deck. Full darkness returned on 7 November. Morale and physical activity, including hunting, waned. The officers continued hunting, often requiring rescue as temperatures reached −65 °F (−54 °C). 1852 ended with the crew weaker and more afflicted than ever before, although not a single member of
7074-403: The condition of Investigator , now abandoned some 12 months, was also obtained and indicated that she was tattered, leaking but otherwise intact and held by the ice – Mercy Bay was still solid. By mid-August, North Star was herself released from the ice, although two other nearby ships ( Assistance and her tender Pioneer ) were abandoned on 25 August. They proceeded along Greenland and reached
7205-405: The crew had been lost. 1853 brought the coldest conditions yet, once reaching −67 °F (−55 °C). The crew passed the days with minimal activity, working on small projects of necessity and hunting when possible, since McClure had prepared no diversions for his crew. Rations were scarce, and the sick bay was crowded with ill crew members, even minor ailments causing serious disabilities due to
7336-511: The crew made their way along the coast east of Point Barrow, they left message cairns at each landing site and occasionally traded with local Inuit people. However, they did not obtain any news about Franklin. Contact was made with several groups of local Inuit near Point Warren near the Mackenzie River , one of which reported the death of a European. It was soon determined not to be a member of Franklin's party, but that of an overland expedition of Sir John Richardson two years earlier. The ice to
7467-534: The crew were English, many from Northern England , with smaller numbers of Irish, Welsh and Scottish members. Two of the sailors were not born in the British Isles: Charles Johnson was from Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada, and Henry Lloyd was from Kristiansand , Norway. The only officers with experience of the Arctic were Franklin, Crozier, Erebus First Lieutenant Graham Gore , Terror assistant surgeon Alexander McDonald , and
7598-418: The crew's weakened condition. McClure continued preparing for his spring escape parties, planning to send the weaker able men to improve the long-term chances of those left behind. On 3 March, the crew selections were announced, and those who were to remain behind were disappointed by the news. Full rations were restored to those men preparing to set out in mid-April, and their health improved. Still, on 5 April,
7729-402: The deafening noise." The ship was lifted several feet, and black powder was used to blast any nearby hummocks that threatened to reach the deck. Several explorations across the ice to land were made, and observations left McClure with no doubt as to the existence of a Northwest Passage. In mid-October, formal possession of Prince Albert's Land and several nearby islands was taken. The crew began
7860-487: The distant Melville Island from a 600-foot peak (180 m) on Banks Island. The entry placed in the ship's log read: "October 31st, the Captain returned at 8.30. A.M., and at 11.30. A.M., the remainder of the parting, having, upon the 26th instant, ascertained that the waters we are now in communicate with those of Barrow Strait, the north-eastern limit being in latitude 73°31′, N. longitude 114°39′, W. thus establishing
7991-506: The dying sailors. The Inuit showed Rae many objects that were identified as having belonged to members of the Franklin expedition. In particular, Rae bought from the Inuit several silver forks and spoons later identified as belonging to Franklin, Fitzjames, James Walter Fairholme , and Robert Orme Sargent of the Erebus , and Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier , captain of the Terror . Rae's report
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#17327656658108122-444: The encouraging news of relief, conditions aboard Investigator were still deteriorating. Scurvy advanced with the reduced rations, and on 11 April, another crewman died, and another on the following day. Some exercise was possible for the crew, breathing aided by the modern Jeffreys respirator . On 15 April, the 28-man traveling party, now concentrated on Melville Island alone, set out on three sledges. Four days later, McClure reached
8253-630: The equator southward and slave ships were observed in the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, described by the expedition surgeon Alexander Armstrong as 'suspicious.' Their southernmost extent, the Strait of Magellan , was obtained on 15 March, Enterprise always well ahead of the slower Investigator. The two ships lost direct contact after the strait was completed, although McClure reported (by bottle-message) that he considered their company formally parted on 1 February 1850. Continuing north through several storms, nearly 1,000 lb (450 kg) of stored biscuit
8384-543: The existence of a NORTH-WEST PASSAGE between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans." The sun departed on 11 November, with temperatures averaging −10 °F (−23 °C) with the below-deck temperature of 48 °F (9 °C), the crew in good health. Below deck air quality was maintained by increased ventilation and regular airing out of the quarters. The new year was welcomed in as the crew amused themselves, occasionally catching foxes or spotting seals. Winter temperatures averaging −37 °F (−38 °C), and on 3 February,
8515-601: The expedition on 7 February 1845, and his official instructions on 5 May 1845. Erebus (378 tons bm ) and Terror (331 tons bm) were sturdily built and well equipped, including several recent inventions. Steam engines were fitted, driving a single screw propeller in each vessel; these engines were converted former locomotives from the London & Croydon Railway . The ships could make 7.4 km/h (4.0 kn ) on steam power, or travel under wind power to reach higher speeds and/or save fuel. Other advanced technology in
8646-404: The final 'housing in' of the ship commenced, largely sealing it for the winter. The crew busied themselves in the manufacture of needed items, and adopted patches of gun wadding as their currency. Tedium was severe, with two crewmen briefly going mad with boredom. In December, storms rose up as temperatures continued to fall. The new year began with the crew generally healthy, maintained largely by
8777-576: The final crew to 129 men. In late July 1845 the whalers Prince of Wales (Captain Dannett) and Enterprise (Captain Robert Martin) encountered Terror and Erebus in Baffin Bay , where they were waiting for good conditions to cross to Lancaster Sound . The expedition was never seen again by Europeans. Only limited information is available for subsequent events, pieced together over
8908-476: The first crew member, John Boyle, succumbed to illness, which impacted morale and underscored the dire nature of their situation. Preparations for the escape parties continued, despite their slim chances for success. On 6 April, a detail of men digging Boyle's grave observed a figure approaching from seaward. It was Lieutenant Bedford Pim of HMS Resolute , which was wintering off Melville Island under Captain Henry Kellett 28 days away by sledge. Resolute
9039-507: The first ice floes. While Enterprise arrived at Point Barrow about two weeks after Investigator , it was unable to pass through the ice and had to turn back, wintering in Hong Kong and wasting a whole season. The two ships never made contact for the remainder of their journeys, and Enterprise carried out its own separate Arctic explorations. On 8 August, McClure and Investigator made contact with local Inuit, who offered no news of Franklin, and were unaccustomed to seeing sailing ships. As
9170-433: The government to fund another search, personally commissioned one more expedition under Francis Leopold McClintock . The expedition ship, the steam schooner Fox , bought via public subscription, sailed from Aberdeen on 2 July 1857. In April 1859, sled parties set out from Fox to search on King William Island. On 5 May, the party led by Lieutenant William Hobson discovered the Victory Point Note , which detailed
9301-423: The hoped-for papers, in a speech at a dinner given in his honour by the American Geographical Society in 1880, he said that his expedition had made "the longest sledge journey ever made both in regard to time and distance" of eleven months and four days and 4,360 km (2,710 mi), that it was the first Arctic expedition on which the whites relied entirely on the same diet as the Inuit, and that it established
9432-407: The ice of Mercy Bay, and although temperatures rose, it was cooler than the previous year. Cases of scurvy continued to increase, although hunting and gathering of the emerging sorrel provided improvement. By mid-month, the ice outside the bay was beginning to break up, while the bay ice remained frozen and stationary. By September, all hopes of freeing the ship had evaporated, and McClure planned for
9563-403: The ice. Rescued by HMS Resolute , which was itself later lost to the ice, McClure returned to England in 1854, where he was knighted and rewarded for completing the passage. The expedition discovered the first known Northwest Passage, in the geographical sense, which was the Prince of Wales Strait . It also made the first passage, or journey, across the Canadian Arctic from the Pacific to
9694-507: The installation of a modern Sylvester's Heating Apparatus. Investigator , her figurehead representing a walrus, had been fitted with a 10-horsepower locomotive engine and strengthened extensively in 1848. Preserved meat was secured from Gamble of Cork , Ireland, and although some spoilage was experienced, it had no major impact on the voyage (subsequently discovered to be the case with Franklin). Double rations of preserved limes were provisioned to offset scurvy . A seven-month voyage across
9825-522: The island. Thirty or forty men reached the northern coast of the mainland before dying, still hundreds of miles from the nearest outpost of Western civilisation . The Victory Point note was found eleven years later in May 1859 by William Hobson (lieutenant on the McClintock Arctic expedition ) placed in a cairn on the north-western coast of King William Island. It consists of two parts written on
9956-438: The last day of September, the temperature fell below 0 °F (−18 °C) for the first time, as the top-gallant masts were taken down for the winter and the last birds were observed. Periods of calm were often punctuated by violent ice movement. McClure noted, "The crushing, creaking, and straining are beyond description, and the officer of the watch, when speaking to me, is obliged to put his mouth close to my ear, on account of
10087-531: The late Commander Gore in May June 1847. Sir James Ross' pillar has not been found and the paper has been transferred to this position which is that in which Sir J. Ross' pillar was erected – Sir John Franklin died on the 11th June, 1847; and the total loss by deaths in the expedition has been to this date 9 officers and 15 men. (Signed) JAMES FITZJAMES, Captain H.M.S. Erebus. (Signed) F.R.M. CROZIER, Captain & Senior Offr. In 1859 Hobson found
10218-471: The loss of the Franklin records "beyond all reasonable doubt". Schwatka was successful in locating the remains of one of Franklin's men, identified by personal effects as John Irving , third lieutenant aboard Terror . Schwatka had Irving's remains returned to Scotland, where they were buried with full honours at Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh on 7 January 1881. The Schwatka expedition found no remnants of
10349-457: The missing expedition in 1848. In the many subsequent searches in the decades afterwards, several artefacts from the expedition were discovered, including the remains of two men, which were returned to Britain. A series of scientific studies in modern times suggested that the men of the expedition did not all die quickly. Hypothermia , starvation , lead poisoning or zinc deficiency and diseases including scurvy , along with general exposure to
10480-410: The next 150 years by other expeditions, explorers, scientists and interviews with Inuit . The only first-hand information on the expedition's progress is the two-part Victory Point Note ( see below ) found in the aftermath on King William Island. Franklin's men spent the winter of 1845–46 on Beechey Island , where three crew members died and were buried. After travelling down Peel Sound through
10611-456: The north east, they continued through the loose ice until conditions compelled them to secure the ship to an iceberg for protection. Explorations of the nearby coast were made, revealing abandoned Inuit camps and the unusual discovery of petrified wood from an extensive forest at 74°27′N. As winter approached, the crew faced several close calls as they were threatened by the ice while still attached to their iceberg. These subsequent efforts to move
10742-474: The north remained impenetrable, but they made Franklin Bay to the west by 3 September amid much wildlife in air and sea. After sighting an extent of Banks Island , claiming it as "Baring Land", a brief land exploration was made, presumably the first. A rock formation at a prominent cape was named Nelson Head on 7 September after its imagined resemblance to Lord Nelson . The coast was followed in hopes of access to
10873-509: The north. Periods of good progress were made, until a wind change caused the ice to close in around Investigator on 10 September just as they had discovered a route of some promise, the Prince of Wales Strait . Their progress through the ice was deliberate and slow, aided at times by the use of ice anchors and saws. Daily temperatures were now around 10 °F (−12 °C). By 16 September, they had reached 73°10'N, 117°10'W, logged as her most advanced position. Just short of Barrow's Strait,
11004-407: The pack ice before becoming fixed in the ice in early November at 70°41' N, 101°22' W. The combined crews prepared for another winter in the ice, while another crewman died on 16 October. Far from shore, no effective hunting could be resumed. In October 1853, a group of sick crew members were evacuated from Resolute and North Star and returned to England, bringing the first news of Investigator and
11135-572: The passage to Greenland took 30 days. At the Whalefish Islands in Disko Bay , on the west coast of Greenland, ten oxen carried on Barretto Junior were slaughtered for fresh meat which was transferred to Erebus and Terror . Crew members then wrote their last letters home, which recorded that Franklin had banned swearing and drunkenness. Five men were discharged due to sickness and sent home on Rattler and Barretto Junior , reducing
11266-584: The period. Edward Forbes subsequently published on the zoology of the expedition. From 1852 to 1861, under the command of Captain Henry Mangles Denham , Herald carried out a survey of the Australian coast and Fiji Islands, continuing the mission of HMS Rattlesnake . The naturalists on the voyage were John MacGillivray (1821–1867), William Milne (botanist) and Denis Macdonald as Assistant Surgeon-zoologist. James Glen Wilson
11397-422: The possibility of abandoning the ship in the spring, writing that "nothing but the most urgent necessity will induce me to take such a step." On 8 September, McClure announced his plan for springtime escape, in which 26 of the crew would make for Cape Spencer (550 miles away), where Austin had left a cache and a boat, and from there, to seek rescue on Baffin Bay . A smaller party of 8 men would proceed back along
11528-533: The purposes of geographical or scientific research," although a completion of the proposed Northwest Passage from the opposite direction would not be without merit. Two ships were assigned to this task. Enterprise was returned to the search under Captain Richard Collinson , and Investigator under Commander Robert J. McClure in his first Arctic command. Extensive repairs were required for both ships, which had already weathered Arctic service, including
11659-449: The reindeer venison provided by the hunters, temperatures reaching −51 °F (−46 °C). Frequent hunting of nearby reindeer continued to supplement the provisions, although the hunters suffered from the cold and occasionally required rescue. Despite the occasional fresh meat, the crew continued to gradually weaken. Of all the ships searching for Franklin the previous year, now only Enterprise and Investigator , separated, remained in
11790-477: The remainder of 1848 as they marched south from Victory Point, arguing instead that Inuit accounts point strongly to most of the 105 survivors cited by Crozier in his final note actually surviving past 1848, re-manning at least one of the ships and managing to sail it down along the coast of King William Island before it sank, with some crew members surviving as late as 1851. The hope of finding other additional expedition records led Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka of
11921-424: The remains of Harry Goodsir , assistant surgeon on Erebus . Although Hall concluded that all of the Franklin crew were dead, he believed that the official expedition records would yet be found under a stone cairn. With the assistance of his guides Ipirvik and Taqulittuq , Hall gathered hundreds of pages of Inuit testimony. Among these materials were accounts of visits to Franklin's ships, and an encounter with
12052-559: The remains of Lieutenant Henry Thomas Dundas Le Vesconte, the only remains ever repatriated to England, entombed within the monument in 1873. The event brought together members of the international polar community and invited guests included polar travellers, photographers and authors and many descendants of Sir John Franklin and his men and the families of those who went to search for him, including Admiral Sir Francis Leopold McClintock , Rear Admiral Sir John Ross and Vice Admiral Sir Robert McClure among many others. This gala event, directed by
12183-506: The routines that would characterise their Winter Quarters, which included lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic. Hunting opportunities were sparse, although five musk oxen were taken around this time, extending rations (some lost to spoilage) with fresh meat. On 21 October 1850, Captain McClure embarked on a seven-man sledge trip north-east to confirm his observations of a Northwest Passage. McClure provided that confirmation upon his return on 31 October, having seen an unblocked strait to
12314-408: The rudder was unshipped and winter preparations began. A year's worth of provisions were brought on deck in anticipation of the ship being crushed by the pack ice. The dangerously drifting pack finally ground to a halt on 23 September. At times violently shifted by the grinding pack ice, Investigator endured just south of Princess Royal Island, the pack becoming less violent by 27 September 1850. On
12445-536: The search. In 1850, eleven British and two American ships cruised the Canadian Arctic, including the Breadalbane and her sister ship HMS Phoenix . Several converged off the east coast of Beechey Island, where the first relics of the expedition were found, including remnants of a winter camp from 1845 to 1846. Robert Goodsir , surgeon on the brig Lady Franklin , found the graves of John Torrington , John Hartnell and William Braine . No messages from
12576-420: The second message signed by him and Crozier and deposited the note in the cairn found by Hobson eleven years later. After two years had passed with no word from Franklin, public concern grew and Jane, Lady Franklin , as well as members of Parliament and British newspapers, urged the Admiralty to send a search party. Although the Admiralty said it did not feel any reason to be alarmed, it responded by developing
12707-482: The ship further eastward made slow progress, but occasional stretches of open water contributed to their progress towards Melville Island. Rather than following the pack ice east, McClure chose to take refuge in an open bay. On 23 September, the ship's progress was halted by the ice, and the crew prepared for a second winter. Some of them believed that entering the bay had been a fatal mistake. Expedition surgeon Armstrong went so far as to state that "entering this bay
12838-454: The ships and met with Captain Kellett and Commander McClintock . McClure returned on 19 May, with the expedition surgeon of Resolute , Dr. W. T. Domville. A medical survey was made to determine whether Investigator could be adequately manned if freed from the ice. The assessment fell short of the requirements, "utterly unfit to undergo the rigour of another winter in this climate," making
12969-526: The ships and planned to walk over the island and across the sea ice towards the Back River on the Canadian mainland, beginning on 26 April 1848. In addition to Franklin, eight further officers and 15 men had also died by this point. The Victory Point Note is the last known communication of the expedition. From archaeological finds it is believed that all of the remaining crew died on the subsequent 400 km (250 mi) long march to Back River, most on
13100-519: The ships included reinforced bows constructed of heavy beams and iron plates, an internal steam heating system for the comfort of the crew in polar conditions, and a system of iron wells that allowed the screw propellers and iron rudders to be withdrawn into the hull to protect them from damage. The ships also carried libraries of more than 1,000 books and three years' supply of food, which included tinned soup and vegetables, salt-cured meat , pemmican , and several live cattle. The tinned food
13231-479: The ships, with Lieutenant Graham Gore and Mate Charles Frederick Des Voeux adding their signatures as members of the landing party. This is further supported by the fact that both documents contain the same factual errors – namely the wrong date of the wintering on Beechey Island. In 1848, after the abandonment of the ships and subsequent recovery of the document from the Victory Point cairn, Fitzjames added
13362-514: The shore of Banks Land, to the cache and boat set by McClure in 1851, then making for the Hudson's Bay Company's post on the Mackenzie River for rescue. This would stretch the provisions for the crews remaining on board Investigator . To this end, food rations were immediately reduced, and hunting success became ever more critical, which now included mice. As October progressed, the crew's health continued to deteriorate as they braced themselves for
13493-473: The south of Fiji, and obtained accurate positions for the Minerva Reefs , and also enabled numerous doubtful hazards to be removed from the charts. Between 1854 and 1857, Herald made three surveying trips to Fiji, greatly adding to the small-scale survey that had been carried out by Charles Wilkes in 1840. During this period, Herald also surveyed Norfolk Island and assisted in the resettlement of
13624-435: The south, where in 1948 Farley Mowat found "a very ancient cairn, not of normal Eskimo construction" inside which were shreds of a hardwood box with dovetail joints . 1848 1850 1851 1852 1854 1855 HMS Herald (1824) HMS Herald was an Atholl -class 28-gun sixth-rate corvette of the Royal Navy . She was launched in 1822 as HMS Termagant , commissioned in 1824 as HMS Herald and converted to
13755-624: The sum of European geographic knowledge about the Western Hemisphere , particularly North America. As that knowledge grew, exploration gradually shifted towards the Arctic . Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century voyagers who made geographic discoveries about North America included Martin Frobisher , John Davis , Henry Hudson and William Baffin . In 1670 the incorporation of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) led to further exploration of
13886-473: The summer of 1846, Terror and Erebus became trapped in ice off King William Island in September 1846 and are thought never to have sailed again. According to the second part of the Victory Point Note dated 25 April 1848 and signed by Fitzjames and Crozier, the crew had wintered off King William Island in 1846–47 and 1847–48 and Franklin had died on 11 June 1847. The remaining crew had abandoned
14017-711: The sun returned after 83 days of darkness. An emergency depot of provisions and a whaleboat were made on the nearby island. Reindeer, Arctic fox, hare, raven, wolf and a polar bear were observed as local expeditions resumed. As spring returned, the decks of Investigator were cleared of snow and repairs begun. Additional local expeditions were mounted, but none with the object of attempting to meet with concurrent regional rescue expeditions; Resolute under Captain Horatio Austin , believed to be near Melville Island, Assistance under Captain Erasmus Ommanney ,
14148-419: The team of six divers were the first to visit the wreck, which lies partially buried in silt just 150 metres (490 ft) off the north shore of Banks Island. McClure is credited as being the first to complete the Northwest Passage (by boat and sledge). Despite some questionable behavior, he was granted a share of the £10,000 prize for completing the passage. The subsequent salvage of metals and materials from
14279-669: The temperature had reached 53 °F (12 °C), but the ice still held Investigator in its grip. The ship was finally freed on 4 July sailing amidst the grinding ice near the Princess Royal Islands. Progress northward was made, the ship often attached to larger floes, and there was even some anticipation of completing the passage in that direction. However, in August, progress slowed as the ice became increasingly solid and difficult to navigate. On 14 August, they attained their northernmost position at 73°14′19″N, 115°32′30″W in
14410-481: The two ice-masters , James Reid ( Erebus ) and Thomas Blanky ( Terror ). The expedition set sail from Greenhithe , Kent , on the morning of 19 May 1845, with a crew of 24 officers and 110 men. The ships stopped briefly to take aboard fresh water in Stromness , Orkney Islands , in northern Scotland. From there they sailed to Greenland with HMS Rattler and a transport ship, Barretto Junior ;
14541-414: The unknown parts of the Canadian Arctic that might contain a Northwest Passage to a quadrilateral area of about 181,300 km (70,000 sq mi). It was in this unexplored area that the next expedition was to sail, heading west through Lancaster Sound , then west and south – however ice, land and other obstacles might allow – with the goal of finding a Northwest Passage. The distance to be navigated
14672-466: The vicinity of one of the many Northwest Passages that would eventually be discovered. Robert McClure led one of the expeditions that investigated the fate of Franklin's expedition, a voyage which was also beset by great challenges and later controversies. McClure's expedition returned after finding an ice-bound route that connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The Northwest Passage
14803-406: The way on foot. Progress across the thawing pack ice was slow, as the four sledges weighed between 1,200 and 1,400 pounds (540 and 640 kg). The weakened crew made Melville Island on 12 June and reached the ships on 17 June. Hunting supplemented the provisions while Resolute and Intrepid waited for their own release from the ice. The breakup came on 18 August and the ships followed the edge of
14934-537: The wreck sites, now protected as a combined National Historic Site called the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site . The search by Europeans for a western shortcut by sea from Europe to Asia began with the voyages of Portuguese and Spanish explorers such as Bartolomeu Dias , Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus in the 15th century. By the mid-19th century numerous exploratory expeditions had been mounted. These voyages, when successful, added to
15065-530: Was court-martialled but acquitted . One of these ships, HMS Resolute , was eventually recovered intact by an American whaler and returned to the United Kingdom. Timbers from the ship were later used to manufacture three desks, one of which, the Resolute desk , was presented by Queen Victoria to US President Rutherford B. Hayes ; it has often been chosen by presidents for use in the Oval Office in
15196-625: Was accompanied by Intrepid , laying supply depots off Melville Island for the continued search of Franklin and now McClure (having located one of McClure's stashed messages from 1852). Afterwards, Pim described meeting McClure: "Who are you, and where (did) you come from?" "Lieutenant Pim, Herald, Capt. Kellett." This was more inexplicable to M'Clure, as I was the last person he shook hands with in Behring's Straits. Two days later, Pim left for Resolute , about 80 miles east, followed soon by McClure and six men, who would journey for 16 days. Despite
15327-523: Was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sections of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic and to record magnetic data to help determine whether a better understanding could aid navigation. The expedition met with disaster after both ships and their crews, a total of 129 officers and men, became icebound in Victoria Strait near King William Island in what is today the Canadian territory of Nunavut . After being icebound for more than
15458-432: Was briefly curtailed until the more severe periods of winter, with temperatures below deck holding near −10 °F (−23 °C). Hunting parties were generally successful, although their exploration frustratingly revealed extents of open water that would have provided escape, only eight miles (13 km) outside of Mercy Bay. As winter pressed on, the weakening hunting parties frequently required rescue. On 10 November,
15589-412: Was given command of the government Arctic expedition in search of Franklin. It was unsuccessful; Belcher's inability to render himself popular with his subordinates was peculiarly unfortunate on an Arctic voyage and he was not wholly suited to commanding vessels among ice. Four of the five ships ( HMS Resolute , Pioneer , Assistance and Intrepid ) were abandoned in pack ice , for which Belcher
15720-556: Was not navigated by boat until 1906, when Roald Amundsen traversed the passage on the Gjøa . In 2014, a search team led by Parks Canada located the wreck of Erebus in the eastern portion of Queen Maud Gulf . Two years later, the Arctic Research Foundation found the wreck of Terror south of King William Island, in the body of water named Terror Bay . Research and dive expeditions are an annual occurrence at
15851-559: Was reached on 20 November, and Spithead in England on 16 May 1861, and was decommissioned on 1 July, nine years after setting out. There was no published contemporary account of the voyage. David (1995) gives a very detailed account of the voyage, and reproduces many of the drawings and paintings produced by James Glen Wilson. Herald was converted to a chapel ship and was used as a floating church in Shoreham in September 1861. She
15982-662: Was reached on 23–27 April by the parties. Even with this relief, another man succumbed at Beechey Island. They occupied themselves searching the surrounding area for additional traces of Franklin, as Beechey Island was now known to be his first winter quarters. Meanwhile, Resolute and Intrepid were themselves abandoned, with their crews joining the Beechey Island camp on 28 May. An exploration party by Resolute had earlier made contact with Captain Collinson and Enterprise and learned of their own path of search. A report on
16113-405: Was roughly 1,670 km (1,040 mi). In 1845, leading Admiralty figure Sir John Barrow was 82 years old and nearing the end of his career. He felt that the expeditions were close to finding a Northwest Passage, perhaps through what Barrow believed to be an ice-free Open Polar Sea around the North Pole. Barrow deliberated over who should command the next expedition. Parry, his first choice,
16244-664: Was ruined by water leakage, but was later offset by fresh supplies from the Sandwich Islands. On 15 June, Investigator re-crossed the equator amid clear skies and tropical birds, already having journeyed nearly 15,000 miles. Spirits ran high, with McClure noting of the crew in his journal, "I have much confidence in them. With such a spirit what may not be expected, even if difficulties should arise?" On 1 July, they made port at Honolulu, taking on fresh provisions, and having missed Enterprise by only one day. Five days later, McClure's ship, aided by favorable winds, set out towards
16375-525: Was sent to the Admiralty, which in October 1854 urged the HBC to send an expedition down the Back River to search for other signs of Franklin and his men. Next were Chief Factor James Anderson and HBC employee James Stewart, who travelled north by canoe to the mouth of the Back River. In July 1855, a band of Inuit told them of a group of qallunaat ( Inuktitut for "whites" or "Europeans", perhaps best translated as "foreigners") who had starved to death along
16506-424: Was supplied from a provisioner, Stephen Goldner, who was awarded the contract on 1 April 1845, a mere seven weeks before Franklin set sail. Goldner worked frantically on the large order of 8,000 tins. The haste required affected quality control of some of the tins, which were later found to have lead soldering that was "thick and sloppily done, and dripped like melted candle wax down the inside surface". Most of
16637-432: Was the fatal error of our voyage." The pack ice would have taken them within 50 miles (80 km) of Melville Island, and improved their chance of an early break-up in the spring. The location of their wintering was 74°6′N, 118°55′W, and was subsequently named Mercy Bay . Diminishing provisions, as well as the subsequent caching of food at the Princess Royal Islands left them with less than ideal stores. By October, heating
16768-590: Was the first sailing ship to enter the Fitzroy Dock, on Cockatoo Island. Herald then surveyed the southern and western coasts of Australia as far as Shark Bay , returning to Sydney on 29 June 1858. On 3 September, they set sail for the Coral Sea , an area with many reefs most of which had not been charted accurately. The survey of the Coral sea would involve three cruises, and continue until May 1860. The result
16899-581: Was the ship's artist. Herald , with her tender HMS Torch , a paddle steamer' left Plymouth on 10 June 1852. They travelled via Madeira and the Cape Verde Islands , Rio de Janeiro , Tristan de Cunha , Cape Town and St Paul Island , arriving at Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) on 18 February 1853. Throughout the journey, surveying work was carried out, including deep-sea soundings, locating shoals, magnetic observations, establishing an accurate meridian distance between Rio and Cape Town, and
17030-423: Was tired of the Arctic and politely declined. His second choice, James Clark Ross, also declined because he had promised his new wife that he had finished polar exploration . His third choice, James Fitzjames , was rejected by the Admiralty for his youth. Barrow also considered Back but thought he was too argumentative. Francis Crozier , another candidate, declined out of modesty. Reluctantly, Barrow settled on
17161-603: Was to greatly improve the safety of the outer approach to the Torres Strait , to the east of the Great Barrier Reef . In 1859, Herald erected the first beacon on Mellish Reef and Cay , using wreckage from the French aviso ‘Duroc’, which had wrecked on the reef in 1857. Herald left Sydney on 17 August 1860 to chart reefs and take deep-sea soundings in preparation for telegraphic cable-laying. Surabaya
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