- MS 248/476;D Letter to John Richardson, 12 July 1845 [HMS Erebus, Whalefish Island giving report on health of Sir John Franklin] handwritten copy
Stanley, correspondence
This material is held atScott Polar Research Institute Archives, University of Cambridge
- Reference
- GB 15 Steven Stanley/Correspondence
- Dates of Creation
- 12 July 1845
- Name of Creator
- Physical Description
- Letter
Scope and Content
Administrative / Biographical History
The British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition, 1845-1848 (leader Sir John Franklin) was to search for a Northwest Passage in the unexplored region southwest of Barrow Strait. Sailing from London in May 1845 HMS Erebus (Franklin) and HMS Terror (Crozier) were last seen heading for Lancaster Sound by two whalers in northern Baffin Bay in late July 1845. After that, the expedition disappeared and Europeans never again saw its members alive. During the course of many search expeditions the main facts regarding the route taken and final fate of the expedition were established.
By discovering a channel of communication between known points in Barrow Strait and on the north coast, Franklin's men had effectively discovered the Northwest Passage.
Sir John Richardson had served with Franklin during his earlier overland Arctic expeditions.
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