An edition of The last of the Arctic voyages (1855)
The last of the Arctic voyages
being a narrative of the expedition in H.M.S. Assistance under the command of Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C.B., in search of Sir John Franklin, during the years 1852-53-54
By Belcher, Edward Sir
Publish Date
1855
Publisher
L. Reeve
Language
eng
Pages
252
Description:
When the experienced Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin (1786-1847) was put in command of an expedition in 1845 to search for the elusive North-West Passage he had the backing of the Admiralty and was equipped with two specially-adapted ships and a three-year supply of provisions. Franklin was last seen by whalers in Baffin Bay in July 1845. When the expedition failed to return in 1848, enormous resources were mobilised to try to discover its fate. In 1852 H.M.S. 'Assistance' was sent to lead another search mission. It was captained by Edward Belcher (1799-1877), who eventually took the decision to abandon four ships in the pack-ice. He recounts his unsuccessful adventure, defending his actions against critics.