Auckland, correspondence

This material is held atScott Polar Research Institute Archives, University of Cambridge

  • Reference
    • GB 15 Earl of Auckland/Correspondence
  • Dates of Creation
    • 13 November 1847
  • Name of Creator
  • Physical Description
    • Letter

Scope and Content

  • MS 248/372;D Letter to Lady Jane Franklin, 13 November 1847 [Answer to request for a copy of the instructions given to Sir John Franklin] holograph

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 between 1847 and 1859, during the course of which the main facts regarding the route taken and the final fate of the expedition were established. The correspondence relates to the expedition.

Arrangement

Chronological

Related Material

The Institute holds several archival collections containing material relating to the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition, 1845-1848 (leader Sir John Franklin), see SPRI collections GB 15 Sir John Franklin, GB 15 Geoffrey Callender, GB 15 John Colston, GB 15 Edward Couch, GB 15 Sophia Cracroft, GB 15 Francis Crozier, GB 15 Richard Cyriax, GB 15 John Fitzjames, GB 15 Jane Franklin, GB 15 Graham Gore, GB 15 John Gregory, GB 15 Edward Griffiths, GB 15 Alexander McDonald, GB 15 Charles Osmer and GB 15 Steven Stanley