In the 1840s, the Arctic captured the imagination of the British Empire. The promise of a shortcut to Asia via the Northwest Passage—a legendary sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the icy labyrinth of Canada‘s Arctic archipelago—was an irresistible call for maritime powers. After several centuries of attempts, the Passage remained unconquered.
Amid this backdrop of daring exploration, an aging naval hero named Sir John Franklin proposed to lead one more expedition into the unknown. The goal: to map the last unnavigated section of the Northwest Passage. Two purpose-built bomb vessels, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, were fitted out with state-of-the-art technology like steam engines, heated water systems, and three years‘ worth of canned food—a new invention at the time.
The Admiralty spared no expense to ensure the expedition‘s success. "Franklin‘s expedition was the best equipped expedition that had ever left England," polar historian Russell Potter told PBS. "They had years worth of food. They had the finest sailing vessels of the day that had already proven themselves in the Antarctic."[1]
Franklin himself was 59 years old—considered past his prime for such a grueling voyage. But he was a veteran of three previous Arctic expeditions and served with distinction at the Battle of Trafalgar. His second-in-command, Captain Francis Crozier, was also a seasoned polar explorer who had served under the legendary James Clark Ross.
In May 1845, the 129-man expedition set out from England to great fanfare, with a send-off from Queen Victoria herself. Little did the crew know that none of them would make it home alive. The disappearance of the Franklin Expedition would launch one of the greatest search-and-rescue operations of the 19th century and remain a mystery for nearly 200 years.
The Search for Survivors
The last Europeans to see Franklin‘s ships were the crews of two whalers who encountered them in Baffin Bay at the entrance to Lancaster Sound in late July 1845. The expedition was never seen or heard from again.
By 1847, when no word had been received, the Admiralty began to grow concerned. The first of many search parties was dispatched in 1848, including expeditions led by James Clark Ross, John Richardson, and John Rae. Whalers and other ships already in the Arctic were offered rewards for any information.
In 1850, the first traces of the expedition were discovered on Beechey Island, just off the southwest corner of Devon Island. Search parties found the graves of three crewmen—John Torrington, William Braine, and John Hartnell—who had died between January and April 1846. But there was no message left behind to indicate where the expedition had gone after that.
The Admiralty redoubled its efforts, sending out a squadron of five ships in 1850 and offering a £20,000 reward for finding the lost explorers. American expeditions funded by Franklin‘s wife Lady Jane joined the cause. Even the Hudson‘s Bay Company launched overland searches.
Over the next few years, tantalizing clues turned up as search parties scoured the islands of the Canadian Arctic. In 1854, John Rae encountered Inuit on the Boothia Peninsula who told him of a group of 35 to 40 white men who had died of starvation near the mouth of the Back River. Most shockingly, the Inuit said the men had resorted to cannibalism. Rae‘s report caused a scandal back home. Charles Dickens publicly attacked Rae and dismissed the Inuit accounts as "the chatter of savages."[2]
But Rae would be vindicated. In 1859, a search expedition led by Francis McClintock discovered the only written record ever recovered from the expedition. A single sheet of paper, concealed in a cairn on the northwest coast of King William Island, revealed the fate of the Franklin Expedition in startling detail.
The first message, written in May 1847, indicated all was well. The ships had wintered off Beechey Island in 1845-46 and were to spend the following winter off King William Island. "Sir John Franklin commanding the Expedition. All well," it read.
But a second message, scrawled along the margins of the same sheet in April 1848, told a very different story:
"H.M. Ships ‘Terror‘ and ‘Erebus‘ were deserted on the 22nd April, 5 leagues N.N.W. of this, having been beset [in ice] 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. […] and start on to-morrow, 26th, for Back‘s Fish River."[3]
The message revealed that Erebus and Terror had become trapped in the Victoria Strait off the northwest coast of King William Island in September 1846. After spending two winters locked in the pack ice and losing 24 men, including Franklin himself, Crozier made the decision to abandon the ships and lead the survivors south on foot.
McClintock‘s party found further evidence of this last desperate march. Thirty miles south of Victory Point, they discovered a lifeboat mounted on a heavy sledge, with two skeletons inside. Around it lay the remnants of a makeshift camp—tents, blankets, food tins, and other personal effects. It appeared some of the men had hauled the boat this far before succumbing to starvation and disease.
McClintock‘s expedition finally answered the basic question of what had happened to Franklin‘s men. But the discovery only led to more questions. Why did they abandon the ships after waiting two years? How did 105 men dwindle to just a few dozen? Most disturbingly, was there any truth to the rumors of cannibalism?
Clues from Inuit Oral Histories
In the 1860s and 70s, American explorer Charles Francis Hall undertook two expeditions to the Canadian Arctic to learn more about the fate of the Franklin Expedition. Unlike previous search parties, Hall lived among the Inuit and recorded their oral histories about encounters with the lost explorers.
From them, he learned that after Crozier and his men left the ships, they had split into several smaller groups as they walked along the west coast of King William Island. Inuit hunters remembered seeing piles of bodies in the region. As one Inuk named In-nook-poo-zhe-jook recounted:
"[We] saw tents standing near the shore, and a short distance from shore, on the ice […] Found in the tents knives, spoons, forks, books, watches, many clothes; found a number of skeletons on the ground, some buried and some not […] Alongside of many of the skeletons parts of cans were found […] The appearance of everything led the Innuits to the conclusion that the men had broken up the cans to cook in."[4]
Multiple Inuit witnesses also reported evidence of cannibalism among the last survivors. In-nook-poo-zhe-jook told Hall he had seen human bones that appeared to have knife marks, as if the flesh had been cut away. Another Inuk named Eee-vah-thou said, "One man—very large and strong—was dragging a sledge on which was a dead man […] From the appearanceof the body, it was plain that some of the flesh had been cut off from the bones."[5]
These grim accounts, combined with the skeletal remains scattered along the escape route, painted a picture of an expedition in its death throes, disintegrating into smaller and smaller groups as the weakened men tried desperately to survive.
Sealing the Expedition‘s Fate
So what caused the Franklin Expedition to meet such a tragic end, despite being so well equipped? The answer likely lies in a combination of circumstances and miscalculations that created a perfect storm.
Lead Poisoning: In the 1980s, researchers analyzing bone fragments from expedition members found evidence of severe lead poisoning. They theorized that lead from the solder used to seal the expedition‘s tinned food had leached into the food, causing neurological and physical symptoms that impaired the crew‘s ability to function and make sound decisions.[6]
Scurvy: The expedition carried a three-year supply of lemon juice to ward off scurvy. But analysis of the bones also showed evidence of scurvy, suggesting the juice had lost its potency over time or the men weren‘t consuming enough of it. Scurvy would have further weakened the crew and made them more susceptible to other ailments.[7]
Botulism: Some researchers believe the lead soldering on the tin cans may have created an ideal anaerobic environment for the botulism bacteria to grow, leading to many of the deaths even before the ships were abandoned. Symptoms of botulism poisoning—including weakness, fatigue, and blurred vision—could explain the odd behavior reported by Inuit witnesses.[8]
Trapped in Ice: The expedition‘s demise was likely sealed when Erebus and Terror became hopelessly trapped in the pack ice of Victoria Strait in September 1846. The surrounding ice can exceed 30 feet in thickness, far too massive for 19th-century ships to break through.[9] After two grueling winters locked in the ice, the desperate decision to abandon ship and attempt to reach safety on foot was catastrophic given the crews‘ deteriorated condition.
Inadequate Coal: To add to the expedition‘s woes, historians have found evidence in naval records suggesting the ships were supplied with only 60% of the coal needed to power their steam engines through multiple polar winters.[10] This would have forced them to ration fuel and endure even harsher conditions on board.
Discovering the Shipwrecks
The location of Erebus and Terror remained a mystery until 2014, when a search led by Parks Canada discovered the wreck of Erebus in a remarkable state of preservation in just 36 feet of water off the coast of King William Island. Two years later, Terror was found in 80 feet of water in Terror Bay, over 60 miles away and in even better condition.[11]
The ships have yielded an astonishing array of artifacts that open a window into the daily lives and final days of the Franklin Expedition:
- The bell from HMS Erebus, found resting next to the windlass, was likely used to signal distress in the crew‘s final desperate moments.
- A dip circle used for measuring magnetic inclination was found close to an officer‘s cabin, suggesting scientific observations continued until the end.
- Plates, bowls, and other personal effects lie scattered across the deck, as if hastily abandoned.
- Rows of neatly stowed medicine bottles hint at the crew‘s attempts to treat their stricken crewmates.
- A lieutenant‘s epaulettes and a stunningly preserved officer‘s cap speak to the expedition‘s sense of order and hierarchy even in the face of catastrophe.
The wrecks also reinforce Inuit oral histories. The location of Erebus and several artifacts match Inuit accounts with astonishing precision, including century-old testimony that helped lead researchers to the wreck. The Inuit Heritage Trust has been a key partner in studying the ships and is helping integrate indigenous knowledge with Western science to paint a more complete picture.[12]
An Enduring Legacy
The discovery of Erebus and Terror is a watershed moment in polar exploration history. But even as study of the wrecks continues, the Franklin Expedition remains shrouded in mystery.
What was the exact nature of Franklin‘s death, which prompted his men to bury him at sea? Why did the crew wait years to abandon ship, only to attempt an overland escape in winter with minimal supplies? And how did two state-of-the-art vessels, separated by miles, sink so close to shore?
These are just some of the questions researchers hope to answer through ongoing study of the wrecks, as well as human remains and artifacts on land. To date, the remains of only a few dozen of the 129 men have been found. In 2021, University of Michigan scientists began extracting DNA from crew members‘ bones to piece together a more detailed profile of the men and uncover any living descendants.[13]
As the study continues, the plight of the Franklin Expedition endures as a cautionary tale about the perils of polar exploration and a testament to the bravery of those willing to venture into the unknown. The failure of the expedition—which the Admiralty touted as "the most lavishly equipped assault ever launched against the Arctic"—was a stunning blow to British pride.[14]
But the searches it launched also opened up the Arctic in unprecedented ways, leading to a golden age of polar exploration and the eventual discovery of the Northwest Passage. Today, as climate change opens up the Arctic to new commercial and geopolitical pressures, the story of the Franklin Expedition has taken on renewed relevance.
The key players are no longer intrepid explorers but nations staking their territorial claims and energy companies eager to exploit the region‘s untapped resources. The Arctic may be more accessible than ever, but the hard lessons of the Franklin Expedition still resonate. As the wrecks of Erebus and Terror remind us, the unforgiving polar landscape is not to be taken lightly.
References
- Potter, R. (2015, March 4). The failure of Franklin‘s expedition. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/failure-franklins-expedition/
- Savours, A. (1999). The Search for the North West Passage. Chatham Publishing.
- The Victory Point record. (2014). Parks Canada. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/culture/expeditions-franklin/artefacts-artifacts/victorypoint
- Woodman, D. C. (1991). Unravelling the Franklin Mystery: Inuit Testimony. McGill-Queen‘s University Press.
- McClintock, F. L. (1860). The Voyage of the ‘Fox‘ in the Arctic Seas: A Narrative of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John Franklin and His Companions. John Murray.
- Beattie, O., & Geiger, J. (2014). Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition. Greystone Books.
- Mays, S., et al. (2015). New light on the personal identification of a skeleton of a member of Sir John Franklin‘s last expedition to the Arctic. Journal of Archaeological Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2015.08.002
- Horowitz, B. Z. (2003). Polar poisons: Did botulism doom the Franklin expedition? Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology. https://doi.org/10.1081/CLT-120021108
- National Snow and Ice Data Center. (2020). All About Sea Ice. https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/seaice/index.html
- Battarbee, K. (2014). The Fate of Franklin. History Today. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/fate-franklin
- Parks Canada. (2019). Exploration of the wrecks. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/culture/expeditions-franklin/decouvertes-discoveries/exploration-wrecks
- Inuit Heritage Trust. (2019). Franklin Expedition Inuit Oral History Project. https://www.ihti.ca/eng/franklin-expedition-inuit-oral-history-project.html
- Hyde, S. (2021). U-M scientists extract DNA from the skeletal remains of ‘Franklin expedition‘ crew. University of Michigan. https://news.umich.edu/u-m-scientists-extract-dna-from-the-skeletal-remains-of-franklin-expedition-crew/
- Lambert, A. (2009). Franklin: Tragic Hero of Polar Navigation. Faber & Faber.
