Inside The Doomed Franklin Expedition Of 1845 And The Enduring Mystery Of The Crews Fate
In May 1845, 129 men embarked on the Franklin Expedition, a quest to traverse the elusive Northwest Passage. But the journey would end in tragedy.The expedition was considered one of the best-prepared missions of its time. The captain, Sir John Franklin, had made several previous journeys into the Arctic. The ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, were specially fortified to withstand the icy conditions. And the men had enough provisions to last more than three years. Unfortunately, none of this was enough.Public DomainAn 1895 painting of Franklin Expedition members dropping dead beside their boat.When nearly three years passed with no word from Franklin or his crew, the British Admiralty sent a series of search parties to Canada. They found a note stating that the Erebus and Terror had become icebound in 1846, and after nearly two years, the survivors had attempted to walk to the mainland. They also stumbled upon scattered human remains. The bodies showed signs of malnutrition and even more disturbingly cannibalism.So, what really happened during the doomed Franklin Expedition? The Race To Map The Northwest PassageEver since Ptolemy posited the existence of a northern waterway between Europe and East Asia in the second century C.E., global powers had been searching desperately for it.The route, which later came to be known as the Northwest Passage, would drastically streamline trade between the Eastern and Western worlds. Consequently, kingdoms across the globe launched lofty seafaring quests to locate it.NASAA satellite view of the Northwest Passage in northern Canada.By the 15th century, the Ottoman Empire had monopolized overland trade routes, which spurred European powers to take to the ocean in search of another path. In 1497, John Cabot became the first European to explore the Canadian coastline while seeking the Northwest Passage, but he didnt make it far. He was followed by Jacques Cartier, Henry Hudson, William Baffin, and countless other explorers. None of them had much luck, either.Then, in the early 19th century, several British expeditions advanced across the Canadian Arctic. While they didnt make it through the Northwest Passage, they did rule out multiple potential routes. So, in 1845, the British Admiralty assigned Sir John Franklin to lead a crew of 23 officers and 110 sailors to finally traverse the fabled passage.The Franklin Expedition Prepares For Its Daunting VoyageSir John Franklin was an esteemed Royal Navy officer and knight. He had fought in battle, been shipwrecked on a desolate Australian island, and most importantly commanded several previous expeditions to the Arctic. The Illustrated London News/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesJohn Franklin and his crew, circa 1845.The Franklin Expedition was set to depart from Greenhithe in Kent, England, on May 19, 1845. Franklin would command the mission aboard the HMS Erebus, while Francis Crozier would serve as the captain of the HMS Terror.Both vessels had their bows reinforced with iron and were equipped with robust steam engines designed to power through the Arctic ice. They were also stocked with three years worth of provisions. According to the ships manifest, they carried nearly 100,000 pounds of preserved meat, 136,000 pounds of flour, almost 10,000 pounds of chocolate, and 3,684 gallons of spirits.Much of the tinned food was supplied by Stephen Goldner, a provisioner who received the contract less than two months before the expedition began. He rushed to complete the order and this may have contributed partially to the crews ultimate demise.After departing from Kent, the Erebus and Terror first traveled to Greenland. It was there that the men wrote their final letters home. Five crew members were also discharged during the brief stop, leaving 129 men to set sail for Canada in July 1845.Public DomainThe HMS Erebus and HMS Terror departing from England in 1845.The vessels were spotted by whalers in Canada later that month. It was the last time any European would see the crew alive.The Search Begins For The Lost Franklin ExpeditionLady Jane Franklin, the wife of John Franklin, became concerned as the months passed by without word from the expedition. While the journey had been expected to last roughly three years, it was clear by 1848 that something had gone wrong.That spring, the British Admiralty launched a search for the lost Franklin Expedition. The rescuers didnt find any sign of the crew until 1850 and by then, it was far too late.Public DomainStephen Pearces 1851 painting depicting British naval officers planning out their search for the Franklin Expedition.The search party first came across evidence of an abandoned camp and the graves of crew members John Hartnell, William Braine, and John Torrington whose bodies were mummified in the ice of Beechey Island. The men had died in 1846 and were the first fatalities of the expedition.Torrington had seemingly perished from pneumonia and lead poisoning. Experts believe that the tin cans of provisions were improperly soldered by Goldner in his rush to prepare the supplies for the voyage, allowing lead to leach into the food.Gordon Leggett/Wikimedia CommonsThe graves of John Torrington, John Hartnell, and William Braine on Beechey Island in Nunavut. (The fourth grave belongs to search party member Thomas Morgan.)No further evidence of the crews fate was uncovered until 1854, when explorer John Rae met an Inuit man who claimed to have seen Franklins group several years earlier. As Rae wrote in a report published in The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1855, This man said that a party of Kabloonans had died of starvation a long distance to the west of where we were then, and beyond a large river.Rae then questioned several other Inuit locals, who confirmed that forty white men were seen traveling in company southward over the ice, and dragging a boat and sledges with them [B]y signs the natives were led to believe the ship or ships had been crushed by ice, and that they were then going to where they expected to find deer to shoot.Several months later, the Inuit people came across dozens of corpses. From the mutilated state of many of the bodies, and the contents of the kettles, Rae wrote, it is evident that our wretched countrymen had been driven to the last dread alternative as a means of sustaining life. That is, theyd seemingly resorted to cannibalism.Public DomainA British search party discovers the remains of Franklin Expedition crew members.At that point, the mystery of what had happened during the doomed Franklin Expedition slowly began to unravel. The Grisly Fate Of The Crew MembersThe final missing piece of the puzzle was discovered in 1859 when explorers came across a note in a cairn on King William Island. Dubbed the Victory Point Note, it revealed the true fate of the crew members.As recorded by the Canadian Museum of History, the second part of the note was dated April 25, 1848, and read:HMShips Terror and Erebus were deserted on the 22nd April having been beset since 12th Sept 1846. The officers and crews consisting of 105 souls under the command of Captain F. R. M. Crozier landed here Sir John Franklin died on the 11th of June 1847 and the total loss by deaths in the Expedition has been to this date 9 officers and 15 men. And start on tomorrow 26th for Backs Fish River.It was signed by Francis Crozier and James Fitzjames, who was named second-in-command after Franklins death.Canadian Museum of HistoryThe Victory Point Note confirmed that at least 24 men had died by April 1848.This short letter said it all. The Erebus and Terror had become icebound in 1846, roughly halfway through the Canadian Arctic. Franklin had died several months later, and the surviving crew members had waited for help for nearly two years before deciding to abandon the ships. They planned to walk across the ice to the mainland but they would never make it.Archaeological and scientific investigations over the decades have continued to uncover new horrific details about the final days of the Franklin Expedition. The remains of roughly two dozen men have been found so far including several bodies that were officially identified using DNA analysis. They seemingly perished from starvation, exposure, lead poisoning, scurvy, and other diseases.Public DomainAn 1850 lithograph of Franklin Expedition crew members fighting off polar bears.Meanwhile, the Erebus and Terror remained missing for nearly 170 years. It wasnt until 2014 that Parks Canada discovered the wreckage of the Erebus at the bottom of Queen Maud Gulf near King William Island. Two years later, the Terror was found south of the island. Both vessels were seemingly swept away over the years as the ice that trapped them melted.In the end, all thats left of the lost Franklin Expedition are a few relics, two shipwrecks, and the pristinely preserved bodies of three sailors who were fortunate enough to have been buried before their peers could turn them into dinner.After learning about the lost Franklin Expedition of 1845, read about 10 sunken ships from around the world. Then, check out nine true scary stories that are stranger and more horrifying than fiction.The post Inside The Doomed Franklin Expedition Of 1845 And The Enduring Mystery Of The Crews Fate appeared first on All That's Interesting.
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