Lady Franklin Bay Expedition
Encyclopedia
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
was led by Lt. Adolphus Greely
Adolphus Greely
Adolphus Washington Greely , was an American Polar explorer, a United States Army officer and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.-Early military career:...
and was promoted by the United States Army Signal Corps
United States Army Signal Corps
The United States Army Signal Corps develops, tests, provides, and manages communications and information systems support for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of United States Army Major Albert J. Myer, and has had an important role from...
. Its purpose was threefold: to establish a meteorological-observation station as part of the First International Polar Year
International Polar Year
The International Polar Year is a collaborative, international effort researching the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor, but died before it first occurred in 1882-1883. Fifty years later a second IPY occurred...
, to collect astronomical and polar magnetic data. During the expedition, two members of the crew reached a new "Farthest North
Farthest North
Farthest North describes the most northerly latitude reached by explorers before the conquest of the North Pole rendered the expression obsolete...
" record.
The expedition was under the auspices of the Signal Corps at a time when the Corps' Chief Disbursements Officer, Henry W. Howgate
Henry W. Howgate
Capt. Henry W. Howgate was Chief Disbursing Officer in the United States Army Signal Corps and responsible for major Arctic explorations...
, was arrested for embezzlement
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
. However, that did not deter planning for and carrying out the voyage.
1881
The expedition was led by Lt. Adolphus GreelyAdolphus Greely
Adolphus Washington Greely , was an American Polar explorer, a United States Army officer and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.-Early military career:...
of Fifth United States Cavalry, with astronomer Edward Israel
Edward Israel
-Early years:Israel was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan on July 1, 1859. He was the son of Mannes and Tillie Israel, the first Jews to settle in Kalamazoo...
, photographer George W. Rice
George W. Rice
George Walter Rice was a Canadian-born photographer who was first to photograph the Arctic region on the ill-fated American led Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881 to 1884. Rice died in the Arctic on 9 April 1884 while awaiting the arrival of a relief vessel.-Early life and education:George W...
, among the crew of 21 officers and men. It sailed on the ship Proteus and reached St. John's, Newfoundland
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
in early July 1881. At Godhavn, Greenland, they picked up two Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
dogsled drivers, as well as physician Dr. Octave Pavy and Mr. Clay who had continued scientific studies instead of returning on the Florence with the remainder of the Howgate 1880 Expedition. The Proteus arrived without problems at Lady Franklin Bay by August 11, dropped off men and provisions, and left. In the following months, Lt. James Booth Lockwood
James Booth Lockwood
James Booth Lockwood , was an American arctic explorer. He died on the ill-fated Lady Franklin Bay Expedition....
and Sgt. David Legge Brainard
David Legge Brainard
Brigadier-General David Legge Brainard was an American arctic explorer and soldier.-Early life:Brainard was born in Norway, New York, the fifth son to Alanson Brainard and Maria C...
achieved a new "farthest north" record at 83°24′"N 40°46′"W , off the north coast of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. Unbeknownst to them, the summer had been extraordinarily warm, which lead to an underestimation of the difficulties for their relief expeditions to reach Lady Franklin Bay in subsequent years.
1882
By summer of 1882, the men were expecting a supply ship from the south. The Neptune, laden with relief supplies, set out in July 1882 but, cut off by ice and weather, Capt. Beebe was forced to turn around prematurely. All he could do was leave some supplies at Smith SoundSmith Sound
Smith Sound is an uninhabited Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. It links Baffin Bay with Kane Basin and forms part of the Nares Strait....
in August, and the remaining provisions in Newfoundland, with plans for their delivery the following year. On July 20, Dr. Pavy's contract ended, and Pavy announced that he would not renew it, but would continue to attend to the expedition's medical needs. Greely was incensed, and ordered the doctor to turn over all his records and journals. Pavy refused, and Greely placed him under arrest. Pavy was not confined, however Greely claimed he intended to court-martial him when they returned to the United States.
1883
In 1883, new rescue attempts of the Proteus, commanded by Lt. Ernest GarlingtonErnest Albert Garlington
Ernest Albert Garlington was a United States Army general who received the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars.-Early life and education:...
and the Yantic, commanded by Cdr. Frank Wildes, USN, failed, with the Proteus being crushed by the ice.
In summer 1883, in accordance with his instructions for the case of two consecutive relief expeditions not reaching Fort Conger, Greely decided to head South with his crew. It had been planned that the relief ships should depot supplies along the Nares Strait
Nares Strait
Nares Strait is a waterway between Ellesmere Island and Greenland that is the northern part of Baffin Bay where it meets the Lincoln Sea. From south to north, the strait includes Smith Sound, Kane Basin, Kennedy Channel, Hall Basin and Robeson Channel...
, around Cape Sabine
Cape Sabine
right|thumb|300px|Pim Island to the memory of dead men from the expedition of [[Adolphus Greely]]. Photographed in 2005Cape Sabine is a land point on Pim Island, in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada.-History:...
and at Littleton Island
Littleton Island (Arctic)
Littleton Island is an island approximately from Greenland’s coast right in Smith Sound. It is about south of the island today called Hans Island. Around it and the coast of Greenland lay dozens of tiny Islands, and Kane names one of them Hans Island after Hans Hendrik, the native Greenlandic...
, if they were unable to reach Fort Conger, which should have made for a comfortable wintering of Greely's men. But with the Neptune not even getting that far and the Proteus sunk, in reality only a small emergency cache with 40 days worth of supplies had been laid at Cape Sabine by the Proteus.
When arriving there in October 1883, the season was too advanced for Greely to either try to brave the Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay , located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea...
to reach Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
with his small boats, or to retire to Fort Conger, so he had to winter on the spot.
1884
In 1884, Secretary of the Navy, William E. ChandlerWilliam E. Chandler
William Eaton Chandler was a lawyer who served as United States Secretary of the Navy and as a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire.-Early life:...
, was credited with planning the ensuing rescue effort, commanded by Cdr. Winfield Schley
Winfield Scott Schley
Winfield Scott Schley was a rear admiral in the United States Navy and the hero of the Battle of Santiago Bay during the Spanish-American War.-Civil War:...
. While four vessels (Bear
Bear (ship)
The Bear was a dual steam-powered and sailing ship built with six inch thick sides which had a long life in various cold-water and ice-filled environs. She was a forerunner of modern icebreakers and had an exceptionally diverse service life...
, Thetis, the British government's Alert
HMS Alert (1856)
HMS Alert was a 17-gun wooden screw sloop of the Cruizer class of the Royal Navy, launched in 1856 and broken up in 1894. She was the eleventh ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name , and was noted for her Arctic exploration work; in 1876 she reached a record latitude of 82°N.-Construction:The...
, and Loch Garry) made it to Greely's camp on June 22, only seven men had survived the winter. The rest had succumbed to starvation, hypothermia, and drowning, and one man had been shot on Greely's order for repeated theft of food rations.