Empress Eugenie correspondence

Scope and Content

  • MS 248/376;D Letter (copy) to Lady Jan Franklin, 28 March 1853 [Sympathy re Franklin]

Administrative / Biographical History

In 1845 Sir John Franklin sailed north in command of the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition. Sent by the Admiralty the two ships HMS Erebus (Franklin) and HMS Terror (Francis Crozier) were to search for a passage via Lancaster Sound. With provisions designed to last three years the expedition sailed north in May 1845. Whalers in Baffin Bay were the last Europeans to see the two ships in July of 1845.

Many searches were conducted for the missing expedition during the course of which the main facts regarding the route taken and the final fate of the expedition were established.

Jane, Lady Franklin worked tirelessly to keep the momentum of the search going.

Arrangement

Chronological

Related Material

The Institute holds an archival collection for Jane, Lady Franklin