Franklin's Lost Expedition - Early Searches

Early Searches

After two years had passed with no word from Franklin, public concern grew and Lady Franklin—as well as members of Parliament and British newspapers—urged the Admiralty to send a search party. In response, the Admiralty developed a three-pronged plan put into effect in the spring of 1848 that sent an overland rescue party, led by Sir John Richardson and John Rae, down the MacKenzie River to the Canadian Arctic coast. Two expeditions by sea were also launched, one entering the Canadian Arctic archipelago through Lancaster Sound, and the other entering from the Pacific side. In addition, the Admiralty offered a reward of £20,000 (£1.56 million in 2009 money) "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". After 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 the search. In 1850, 11 British and 2 American ships cruised the Canadian Arctic, including HMS 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 1845–46 and the graves of John Shaw Torrington, John Hartnell, and William Braine. No messages from 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 that the ships could have been Erebus and Terror, though it is more likely that they were abandoned whaling ships.

In 1852, Edward Belcher was given command of the government Arctic expedition in search of Sir John Franklin. This was unsuccessful; Belcher's inability to render himself popular with his subordinates was peculiarly unfortunate in an Arctic voyage, and he was not wholly suited to command vessels among ice. Four of the five ships (HMS Resolute, Pioneer, Assistance, and Intrepid) were abandoned in pack ice, for which Belcher was court-martialed but acquitted. One of the ships, HMS Resolute, was later recovered, intact, by an American whaler. Timbers from the ship were later used to manufacture a desk, which has often been chosen by presidents of the United States for use in the White House Oval Office.