The Franklin Expedition of 1845
On
May 19th, 1845, 134 men aboard the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror left
England to find the final section of the Northwest Passage in Northern
Canada. Led by Captain Sir John Franklin, the ships were prepared with
three years’ worth of provisions, steam engines, iron-strengthened
hulls, central heating, and water purification systems. By the standards
of the time, this expedition was the most technically advanced. It was
supposed to be the "adventure of a lifetime", a victory for the English
empire.
The two ships stopped at
the Whale Fish Islands in Greenland to make final preparations before
entering the passage. They cast off a final time, leaving behind five
men due to illness, and were later sighted by two whaling ships at the
entrance of the passage in late July. This would be the last time the
ships and the 129 men on board would be seen alive by Europeans
So
what happened to those men, and how could the best ships in the British
Navy suddenly disappear out of thin air? Over the 180 years the
expedition has been missing, there is still much that has yet to found
and many questions that are yet to be answered. Despite this, a lot has
been discovered about this ill-fated expedition, especially within the
past two decades. I wanted to try and collect as much information as I
can about this tragedy as well as add my own thoughts here and there.
- The Ships and the Crew
- The Environment
- Preamble to the Expedition
- The Voyage
- Rescue
- What Remains
- Resources Used
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