McClintock, British Franklin Search Expedition

• MS 1;MJ Journal, 18 April 1857 to 12 December 1858 [HMS Fox] microfilm
• MS 248/439/38;D The Proceedings of the Fox subsequent to 6 August 1857 to 28 April 1858, holograph
• MS 248/438/39;MSM Sketch chart, 6 May 1858 [Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, track of Fox] 1 sheet
• MS 248/497;MSM Chart, 13 July 1857 to 25 April 1858 [Tracks and ice-drift of Fox 1 sheet

The British Franklin Search Expedition, 1857-1859 (led by McClintock) was funded by Jane, Lady Franklin and public subscription. This was the fifth such private expedition Lady Franklin mounted in her attempts to uncover the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition, 1845-1848. Sailing from Aberdeen in Fox McClintock's brief was to search for survivors, confirm that Franklin had discovered the Northwest Passage and bring home written records from the expedition. The expedition over wintered in Brentford Bay and sledge parties set out to explore Prince William Island in the spring. William Hobson's party uncovered the only written records of the missing expedition ever found, providing the information on Franklin's death in 1847, the abandonment of the ships in 1848 and the direction in which the survivors had taken.

Chronological

MS 1;MJ is a copy

The Institute holds several archival collections containing material relating to this expedition, see SPRI collections GB 015 Robert Dawes Aldrich, GB 015 Sir George Back, GB 015 Sir John Barrow, GB 015 Richard Collinson, GB 015 Sophia Cracroft, GB 015 John Delane, GB 015 Jane Franklin, GB 015 William Hobson, GB 015 Edward Hopkins, GB 015 John Rae, GB 015 J W Dillon, GB 015 M Fitzroy, GB 015 William Harvey, GB 015 Thomas Horsfall, GB 0115 Rochfort Maguire, GB 015 Sir Roderick Murchison, GB 015 C L Musca, GB 015 Joseph Napier, GB 015 John Rennie, GB 015 Henry Trollope, GB 015 Allen Young.

MS 1;MJ Original held by the National Maritime Museum