In the annals of polar exploration, few tales evoke a sense of mystery and tragedy quite like the lost Franklin expedition of 1845. Two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, set out from England in May of that year under the command of the esteemed Captain Sir John Franklin, an experienced navigator of the Arctic. Their ambitious goal: to finally conquer the elusive Northwest Passage, a sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the icy maze of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
The promise of discovering this fabled shortcut had tantalized European imaginations for centuries. If navigable, the Northwest Passage would open up a lucrative trade route to Asia, circumventing the lengthy journey around South America or Africa. Since the late 15th century, intrepid explorers like John Cabot, Henry Hudson, and James Cook had all attempted to thread the needle of the passage, pushing further into the arctic labyrinth with each expedition. While these voyages charted much of the Arctic coastline, the complete route remained unconquered, a siren‘s call for the next generation of explorers.[^1]
Franklin, aged 59 at the time of the expedition‘s launch, was determined to be the one to finally crack the passage. He had already led two overland expeditions to the Arctic in 1819 and 1825, earning a knighthood for his efforts.[^2] This would be his last chance at Arctic glory. Under his command on HMS Erebus was Captain James Fitzjames, while Captain Francis Crozier, Franklin‘s second-in-command for the expedition, took the helm of HMS Terror.
{{< figure src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Franklin_Crozier.jpg/640px-Franklin_Crozier.jpg" title="Left: Captain Sir John Franklin in 1845, commander of HMS Erebus and expedition leader. Right: Captain Francis Crozier, commander of HMS Terror. (Wikimedia Commons)" >}}
The two ships were seasoned veterans of polar exploration, having previously seen service in the Antarctic under the command of James Clark Ross in the late 1830s.[^3] For this expedition, they were outfitted with state-of-the-art technology for the era, including steam engines that could propel the ships at up to 4 knots, reinforced hulls to withstand pack ice, and a heating system that circulated warm air to the living quarters. The holds were packed with three years‘ worth of preserved foods – a technological marvel at the time – as well as creature comforts like a library of over 1,000 books and even a hand-organ for entertainment during the long, dark winters locked in ice.[^4]
| Supplies for Franklin Expedition (1845) | |
|---|---|
| Item | Quantity |
| Flour | 30,460 lbs |
| Salted Beef | 19,212 lbs |
| Salted Pork | 15,864 lbs |
| Canned Soups and Vegetables | 15,000 lbs |
| Spirits (Rum) | 3,600 gallons |
| Chocolate | 1,674 lbs |
| Tea | 1,100 lbs |
| Tobacco | 1,628 lbs |
Table 1: A sampling of the supplies carried by HMS Erebus and Terror. Adapted from Cookman, 2000.[^5]
In total, 129 men set sail on the expedition, a complement that included officers, seamen, Royal Marines, engineers, and various tradesmen. Life on a 19th century naval vessel was strictly hierarchical, and the crew of the Franklin expedition was no exception. The officers dined on fine china and had private quarters, while the ordinary seamen slept in hammocks and ate communally on the lower decks. Class tensions were an unavoidable part of shipboard life, a microcosm of Victorian society compressed into the tight confines of a polar expedition.[^6]
After last being sighted by whalers in Baffin Bay in late July 1845, the ships disappeared into the labyrinthine channels of the Arctic Archipelago. It is believed they spent the first winter on Beechey Island, based on the graves of three crewmen discovered there by a later search expedition.[^7] But beyond that, the precise movements of the ships over the next two years remain largely speculative.
What is known is that by September 1846, the ships had become hopelessly trapped in pack ice off the northwest coast of King William Island, condemning the crew to a long, dark winter in the clutches of the Arctic. The extreme cold, coupled with the isolation and monotony of being icebound for months on end, would have taken a severe psychological toll on the men. Scurvy, a painful disease caused by Vitamin C deficiency that was the scourge of polar expeditions, likely began to set in, exacerbated by the crew‘s reliance on tinned foods.[^8]
In June 1847, tragedy struck the expedition: Sir John Franklin died, likely on board HMS Erebus. The cause of his death remains unknown, but it dealt a severe blow to the morale of the already distressed crew. Command fell to Captain Crozier on HMS Terror. By April 1848, after a second grueling winter locked in ice, the situation had become desperate. The ships were still firmly icebound, supplies were dwindling, and 24 men, including Franklin, had perished.
{{< figure src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Franklinexpedition_note.jpg/800px-Franklinexpedition_note.jpg" title="The famous ‘Victory Point Note,‘ the only surviving written record of the Franklin expedition, detailing the death of Franklin and abandonment of the ships. (Wikimedia Commons)" >}}
On April 22, 1848, Crozier made the decision to abandon the ships, leading the remaining 105 crewmen in a desperate march south across King William Island in an attempt to reach the Canadian mainland and possible rescue at a Hudson‘s Bay Company outpost. They left behind a single sheet of paper, the famous "Victory Point Note," tucked into a cairn on the island‘s northwest coast. It is the only surviving written record from the expedition, and its terse, grim lines belie the horrors that would have soon engulfed the men:
H.M. Ships ‘Erebus‘ and ‘Terror‘ were deserted on the 22nd April, 5 leagues N.N.W. of this, having been beset since 12th September, 1846. The Officers and Crews, consisting of 105 souls, under the command of Captain F.R.M. Crozier, landed here – in Lat. 69°37‘42" N., Long. 98°41‘ W. 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.[^9]
None of those 105 men would survive the long march south. Burdened by the hauling of heavy lifeboats and weakened by scurvy and starvation, they succumbed one by one, their frozen bodies scattered across the bleak tundra of King William Island. When search parties finally reached the area in 1854, six years after the expedition‘s disappearance, they found a grim scene: piles of abandoned equipment, bits of torn clothing – and the first skeletal remains of the lost crew.[^10]
But it was the disturbing evidence of cannibalism among some of the last survivors that shocked Victorian society to its core. Dr. John Rae, a Scottish explorer who led one of the search expeditions, reported finding mutilated human remains that showed signs of butchery and cooking in pots. "From the mutilated state of many of the corpses and the contents of the kettles," Rae wrote, "it is evident that our wretched countrymen had been driven to the last resource – cannibalism – as a means of prolonging existence."[^11]
Rae‘s reports caused a scandal back in England, where Franklin‘s widow Jane led a campaign to discredit his findings. The idea that British naval officers could resort to such savagery was seen as a slight against their honor and character. But as more search expeditions uncovered further remains over the following decades, the grisly truth became impossible to deny.
Modern forensic analysis of the bones has also revealed another sinister culprit that likely hastened the crew‘s demise: severe lead poisoning. The canned food that was the expedition‘s primary source of sustenance was sealed using a lead-based solder. Over time, the lead would have leached into the food, slowly accumulating in the men‘s bodies. Symptoms of lead poisoning – fatigue, confusion, and even madness – could have accelerated their physical and mental deterioration in their final days.[^12]
The final resting places of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror remained a mystery until 2014 and 2016, respectively, when their remarkably well-preserved wrecks were located by modern underwater archaeologists. HMS Erebus was found in the shallow waters off the southeast coast of King William Island, while HMS Terror was discovered in a bay 45 miles to the north, apparently re-manned and sailed by a contingent of the crew before being cast adrift and sinking.[^13] The cold, dark waters of the Arctic have kept the ships in an exceptional state of preservation, offering a tantalizing time capsule into the expedition‘s last days.
{{< figure src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/image_archive_production/uploads/1607380106741-9000905237_cb3e93c1ce_k.jpg" title="The well-preserved wreck of HMS Terror, discovered in 2016 in Terror Bay off the coast of King William Island. (Parks Canada)" >}}
As climate change continues to melt the Arctic sea ice, the prospect of a fully navigable Northwest Passage is becoming a reality. In a historical irony, the warming global temperatures are laying bare the once-impenetrable sea route that claimed the lives of Franklin and his crew. The modern world has much to learn from their tragic tale – about the dangers of hubris in the face of nature‘s might, the limits of human endurance, and the heavy price paid for glory.
The lost Franklin expedition will forever stand as a testament to the indomitable human spirit of exploration, even in the face of the most extreme adversity. While they may have perished in the pursuit of their goal, the brave men of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror nevertheless pushed the boundaries of geographical knowledge, laying the groundwork for future generations to finally conquer the Northwest Passage. Their story, steeped in both heroism and tragedy, continues to resonate as a cautionary tale and an inspiration, a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that the pursuit of discovery sometimes demands.
[^1]: Savours, A. (1999). The Search for the North West Passage. London: Chatham Publishing.
[^2]: Beattie, O., & Geiger, J. (1987). Frozen in Time: Unlocking the Secrets of the Franklin Expedition. New York: E.P. Dutton.
[^3]: Cookman, S. (2000). Ice Blink: The Tragic Fate of Sir John Franklin‘s Lost Polar Expedition. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
[^4]: Cookman, S. (2000).
[^5]: Cookman, S. (2000).
[^6]: Beattie, O., & Geiger, J. (1987).
[^7]: Potter, R. (2016). Finding Franklin: The Untold Story of a 165-Year Search. Montreal: McGill-Queen‘s University Press.
[^8]: Cyriax, R. J. (1939). Sir John Franklin‘s Last Arctic Expedition. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd.
[^9]: M‘Clintock, F. L. (1859). The Voyage of the ‘Fox‘ in the Arctic Seas: A Narrative of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John Franklin and his Companions. London: John Murray.
[^10]: Woodman, D. C. (1991). Unravelling the Franklin Mystery: Inuit Testimony. Montreal: McGill-Queen‘s University Press.
[^11]: Rae, J. (1854). "Dr Rae‘s Report." Household Words, vol. 10, no. 237, pp. 12-16.
[^12]: Keenleyside, A., et al. (1997). "The Final Days of the Franklin Expedition: New Skeletal Evidence." Arctic, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 36-46.
[^13]: Katz, B. (2019). "HMS Terror Wreck Reveals Crew‘s Haunting Last Moments." Smithsonian Magazine.
