The Lost Franklin Expedition 

"They offloaded 5 men who were too ill to continue the journey." They were the lucky ones.

The thought of Crozier potentially surviving years afterwards in the frozen wilderness is truly haunting and sad

“He was simply tired of the arctic” as a soldier stationed in Alaska I feel this on a spiritual level.

I read a very interesting paper on the Franklin's lead toxicity. And it posited that the source was primarily, and overwhelmingly, the water purification system. It's been assumed the cans were the primary source, BUT, despite being the first "batch" from that company, those cans were used many more times on many other ships without incident. And the amount of lead poisoning that could have been absorbed from the food just didn't seem to add up to what they were finding in the bodies. What makes way more sense is the specialized water system on the Terror and Erebus. Because they had steam locomotive engines fitted, which had massive 2000lb/hr water requirements, and seawater would have fouled them quickly, the ships needed a lot of fresh water in reserve to fill the need. Now, the primary source of distilled water on the ships was the Fraser patent stove, which was heated by steam, thus producing potable water for the crew (but only enough for the crew). There was a lead lined water tank as reserve, but if they were to use the engines they'd need a way to produce a lot of distilled water very quickly. Enter the Fraser patent steam heating furnace. A furnace that heats the ship by steam, thus in addition to heating, also produces a lot of distilled water, has the heat to melt ice and snow gathered in a deck tank into fresh water, AND can also supply steam for the Fraser stove. Now in most lead water systems on land, you get a nice calcification build up in the pipes which will naturally protect the lead from the water and vice versa.But on a freshly build heating system of lead pipes, with brand new lead water tanks, there's no calcification buildup. And distilled water does NOT like being pure water, so it desperately tries to absorb anything into it, like lead. And you know what makes that process MUCH faster? Heat. So running hot steam through lead pipes, then gathering the condensate basically guarantees a large amount of lead contamination. Not only were they drinking this water, but also using it to bake biscuits with all the flour they had brought. This would explain the levels of lead toxicity, as well as providing a plausible reason they may have abandoned ship; had a furnace broken from corroding its own steam pipes, it could have been cause to abandon ship. Not just due to the change of environment, but the fact that damp clothing is very deadly for anyone wanting to go outside in the arctic.

Fun fact about the 1819 franklin expedition where he ate his boots, there was also literal cannibalism. At one point they ran out of food, so some guys went off to hunt. Later only one returned and with lots of meat. Soon afterwards one of the guys at camp died while “cleaning his musket”. To save themselves the remaining crew killed the cannibal, Michel, when he returned from hunting.

fucking crazy that Crozier was still trying to escape the arctic 12 yrs after the expedition first departed imagine being trapped in the great white nothing for 12 full years

As a young child I remember watching the Nova special that featured the 1980s exhumation and autopsies of Beachy Island. My parents would never have let me watch, say, a zombie movie at that age; but a PBS documentary was just fine, right? The faces on those exhumed sailors horrified me for years afterwards.

The man who stayed home with his wife successfully dodged being eaten

1846/47 was also the same winter when the Donner Party got trapped in the mountains, snowed in.

"And when I say there is no cannibalism in the Royal Navy, I do mean that there is a certain amount."

I watched the show The Terror, and the accuracy of casting look-a-like actors to the real life people is absolutely astounding.

The Terror tv series on AMC was absolutely brilliant. Yes, they added some supernatural elements, which I would normally loathe, but it didn't detract from the story. The performances were stellar across the entire cast and the writing as well. I normally hate when anyone takes liberties with history, but in this case the look and feel of it made me feel like I had traveled back to 1845. Some found the series slow, but I didn't mind the pace. They managed to maintain the suspense and tension until the very end.

Just a quick note on decoupling the screw propeller: while it is certainly a benefit that hauling the screw inside the hull would protect it from ice, the main reason this was done was because the screw was an emergency propulsion. Early steam engines were inefficient, used coal very quickly, and combined with the small coal bunkers on board this meant they were only used if the ship were dangerously becalmed. The reason you pull the screw out of the water is that trailing a static screw produces a lot of drag.

We found the wrecks of those ships mainly thanks to the testimony of the inuit hunters and their oral history. Inuits have what could be the most accurate oral history on the planet. Since they have no written history, their lives depended on the accuracy of the information passed down. Sadly, their testimony was ridiculed and denied by England's victorian society. They were insulted and dragged through the mud, because they saw how the men resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. 170 years later, it is thanks to them that the Erebus and Terror were found.

With names like Erebus (Darkness) and Terror... Hindsight is 20/20 but damn that's some heavy foreshadowing.

The food cans are such a hotly debated topic that we will never really know what state the food was in. It has been speculated that the food provided for this expedition was actually considered good by the standards of the time and that the quality went downhill sometime later. I have read accounts that the Navy was using this food source elsewhere in service for years before they began to encounter problems with it. Additionally, while the lead sealing the cans is an issue it was not nearly as much lead as they were receiving from the water system piping and, as scary as this sounds, was not considered an excessive amount of lead exposure over what the average British subject was being exposed to already. Again, this is speculative. Lead poisoning may have been a big factor or might have paled in comparison to the scurvy the crew was certainly experiencing three years into the expedition.

Even if I learn nothing new about the Franklin Expedition, which was not the case here, I have to listen to every podcast I encounter. It's so horribly fascinating.

I feel like it's worth mentioning that Dr. John Rae was the one who reported to the Admiralty that the Inuit had discovered evidence of cannibalism among the Franklin crew. Franklin's wife took offense to that and had Rae's name dragged through the mud for taking the Inuit at their word.

I have never heard of this story. When AMC brought The Terror to the small screen, I began to wonder. Expeditions like these were siren calls to adventurers, either experienced or novice. The show was a very handsome production. I remember having to applaud the production design, props and especially the wardrobe. The cast was also top notch, as well. In that environment, where it is always cold and food is scarce, God only knows what was running through the crews of The Terror and Erebus. They were fighting multiple battles on multiple fronts from within and without and they lost their lives.

"The Terror" series was phenomenal. An amazingly dark piece of art. The sense of dread and despair is unrelenting.

I was able to go to beechy island and one of my most prized possessions is some rusty tin from the cans.

The Dan Simmons novel "The Terror" is really worth a read. You get a vivid picture of the cold, the dark and the claustrophobia on board the ships marooned in the pack ice during polar night and of the misery and despair of scurvy and exhaustion as they trudged south.

Wow, this had me entranced from start to finish. The idea of anyone not from that area surviving in the wilderness for over a decade is mindblowing.

I’ve watched season one of the Terror three times over. Probably the best thing I’ve watched all year.

I’ve been to the gravesite of sailors from both the expedition and rescue party. It a cold and desolate place, but rather beautiful when I saw it in daylight.

Getting sick and getting kicked from the trip might have seemed shit luck at the time but getting off those doomed vessels was a blessing lol

This expedition was definitely one of history's great "I wish I hadn't tried that" moments.

I have been obsessed with this mystery for awhile now. One thing I watched on another documentary said that the climate at the time was going through a harsher winter than normal. I believe Franklin died of stress from the expectation & condition of the exploration.

I love this story. It was one of the stories (along with the story of the wreck of the Dutch ship Batavia - man is that a hell of a story) which has me considering going into Maritime Archaeology. Hopefully once I have finished my studies for work!

Brought here by Wendigoon. This provided even more information on this tragedy. But one last thing… Crozier, as a true Irishman, was just built different.

Could they really have been walking in the cold and dark for that many years ? I can’t imagain how that would be possible

To think that with steam engines actually meant for ships(and fuel for more than 12 days) Erebus and Terror might have made it..But yeah...putting a partly disassembled steam locomotive with 25 HP on them was cheaper.. Edit:To clarify..the tug that pulled Erebus out of harbor had a bit over 200 HP engines...

Great video my guy, you clearly put a lot of work into your vids!

800 Miles… that’s roughly the distance between Denmark and Italy …through snow, low on food and suffering from lead poisoning and scurvy. Fucking insane.

I ran into a old British veteran during a DDay convention back in 1982 His great grand uncle served on the Erebus . The family never heard from him again and assumed died

My grandmother was an Amundsen. I often think of CPT. Crozier, and his wisdom in navigating this passage. I loved the show ‘The Terror’. Ross was depicted brilliantly in this show. Franklin was played beautifully by C. Hinds.

If that was crozier, he must have been one heck of a survivalist.

It was homeward bound one night on the deep Swinging in my hammock I fell asleep I dreamed a dream and I thought it true Concerning Franklin and his gallant crew With one hundred seamen he sailed away To the frozen ocean in the month of May To seek a passage around the pole Where we poor seamen do sometimes go Through cruel hardships they mainly strove Their ship on mountains of ice was drove Only the Eskimo with his skin canoe Was the only one that ever came through In Baffin's Bay where the whale fish blow The fate of Franklin no man may know The fate of Franklin no tongue can tell Lord Franklin along with his sailors do dwell And now my burden it gives me pain For my long lost Franklin I'd cross the main Ten thousand pounds I would freely give To say on earth that my Franklin do live

12 years he survived. Incredible.

Stan Rogers song about The Northwest Passage is so good, now this video shows up and you have given it new life. Thanks so much

I love how in the TV show, they end up being attacked by ManBearPig 😂

Fun fact: two of the newest maps added to TF2 Halloween rotation were named Erebus and Terror, named after these ships

If you enjoy this story, I highly recommend playing The Pale Beyond. The story in the game is different, but the events are similar.

In case you don't know this - Sir is a title that goes with the person's first name and not their surname. So in the case of Sir James Ross it's Sir James nor Sir Ross.

Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage And make a Northwest Passage to the sea

Always had an interest in this, one of my ancestors was among the crew of the first Ships that went looking for them.

The terror season one was a great show.

Great content! Good job, and if I could suggest: please add map with indications on what you are mentioning, instead of repeated cuts of the same picture; that would put things in better perspective. Keep up the good work 👏

The Terror Tv Series is bloody brilliant! What a great video. Thank you!

I almost think that some could have survived if they made the trek back to Beechey island. It's half the distance than going south to Backs fish River, they still had a camp set up there, they have hunted game there before, and if anyone came looking, that would be one of the earliest places they would have been found

Found your channel literally just this morning, when I watched this video. Holy shit man... This stuff is pure gold!

You should totally talk about The Endurance expedition led by Ernest Shackelton

I read another account that said the Inuit that found the ship found some men alive on board, one of which warned them not to go near the tents, presumably because of cannibalism. I wonder which version is true.

Oh man I been excited for you to cover this one

I've been borderline obsessed with this subject since I watched the mini series and amc

Great video! Learnt some new info here, the bit about the Inuit finding one of the ships is really interesting and very spooky too knowing what had gone on. Appreciate the warning about THOSE photos too, I find this mystery fascinating but I have watched videos where they just put them up and more than one book on the subject has them on the cover!

Rip to these brave explores, humanity would not progress without people like them

@5:36 - Just a niggle: It's a commonplace that Francis Crozier was rejected out of hand to command the expedition, and rejected specifically because of his Irish background. In fact, however, the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Haddington, had consistent misgivings about Sir John Franklin's fitness for the job (due to his age and health) when Franklin's name was mooted, and apparently privately approached Crozier to offer him the job at the end of 1844. Crozier, racked by depression, turned Haddington down. He wrote about it to his friend, Sir James Ross, as to why he turned it down. "In truth, I sincerely feel I am not equal to the hardship. I am, in truth, still of opinion as to my own unfitness to lead. You, on that subject as well as all others, know my whole mind." (30 December, 1844) It is the great irony of Crozier that the command was nonetheless thrust on him in the worst possible circumstances in June 1847, when Franklin died during the expedition's third summer, while the ships were frozen in pack ice off King William Island.

The backbones of these men were stronger than our entire bodies. We can only pray to have such strength for even one day.

The Terror is a fascinating book. A whole lot of fiction tossed in, but it’s a great read. I haven’t watched the show as the book was scary enough for me. And then there’s the monster too.

Superbly well-presented post on all levels. Surely no shortage of maritime horrors - bring 'em on! Deserves more subs - just added mine.

Historybuffs also did a video covering this story as well for those interested.

I remember watching the National Geographic documentary when they found the bodies in the 1980s. I was a kid back then, and have always had an interest in the Franklin Expedition since then.

Your videos are brilliant man! Somethin about maritime mysteries is just perfect to fall asleep to. Keep up the great work brother youll blow up in no time! Godspeed!

I can’t be the only one thinking of that one Stan Rogers song, right?

I would resort to cannibalism as soon as we miss dinner.

As someone who's dad served on a submarine and who grew up near a navy shipyard and naval base, I love everything maritime.

I love maritime history. I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve seen this channel. Very cool idea you have here, I look forward to a rainy day off to watch everything.

Great, succinct timeline of the evidence we know of! One of the best I've found online

Oh yes, I watched the documentary, Franklin was killed by a magic zombie polar bear.

Good documentary 👍!! I'm a history buff, and know a tiny bit about, The Northwest Passage. My brother and I, had the boardgame 'Northwest Passage' circa 1972 (remember that?). A game, where there were 4, different colored, oil tankers (2"). You toss toss dice, and advance your ship through, the ice routes, picking up barrels of oil (which looked like, orange notebook paper, donuts ⭕), along the way. You'd stick them onto, the ship's smokestacks. Whoever possessed, the most disc's at the end, wins the game. I used to love, playing it!! But, the box itself had some information about, The Northwest Passage, and that's what introduced me, to this.

I’m inuk from nunavut. It was thanks to our inuit oral history that the franklin ships were found. Franklin is but one in a long line of failures. Although he has been propped up as a brave explorer. If it were not for Inuit he would have died much sooner.

Great watch . I went to Orkney and and found out about John Rae which lead me here. Thanks for posting.

Great presentation and case. I love learning about the old explorations of the arctic, and the hardships they faced. They showcase the indomitable human spirit of exploration and discovery.

Great video again, worth the small wait!

Great video! I’m in awe of the bravery of sailors who set out on expeditions like this, even though they knew that they might never make it back. It takes a lot of courage to sign up for a journey like this one. May their souls Rest in Peace.

(For just one time I shall take the north-west passage...)

I was obsessed with this when I was in 3rd grade! Couldn't stop telling my mom about the cool book with the frozen mummies!

Brilliant, first read about the Erebus and Terror a long time ago, just finished watching the tv series and reading the Dan Simmons book, it’s taken over my life😂🤔

Fantastic video. The Terror was completely engrossing- highly recommended.

Back in those days there was almost never any real closer when a sailor went MIA. No matter how long they went missing there was always the possibility that they might return one day. People shipwrecked back then could end up in a country far away, and with no way of making contact with loved ones. It could take a sailor years to make it back home. And indeed this happened enough to keep hope alive (so to speak).

One thing is for sure, these were tough men. Thank you for this episode. It was very good.

So this is what Stan Roger's was singing about.

Stan Rogers' northwest passage must be listened to after watching this.

Instead of "Terror" and "Erebus" (Greek god of darkness or something), what would you have named those ships for that ill-fated voyage?

I just found your videos and am blown away by the quality all around, from the details, sound quality, your voice and reading quality. I love hearing videos on my way to work and this is definitely a channel ill use and am glad I found!

Crozier couldn't return to England. He had lost and abandoned 2 of Her Majesties ships and lost over 100 men: he would have been Court Marshalled, lost his pension and dishonourably discharged from the Navy. The cannibalism among men under his command wouldn't have gone down too well in London either. He spoke Inuit and knew how to survive in Arctic conditions. He had no choice but to spend out his days living among the Inuits where he was seen years later and even later it was noted that some Inuits had European features! Don't blame the Inuits for not saving the sailors: they had precious little food to feed themselves in those conditions let alone 100 hungry sailors. A good father looks after his own family first. Though they did sell them some seal meat. There were caribou deer around to be hunted and the sailors had rifles, I'm surprised they couldn't live off the land more and Crozier would have known that seal blubber contained vitamin c to ward off scurvy. As global warming advances the ice will give up its secrets.

Those 5 guys who were too sick to continue must have felt like they dodged the biggest bullet ever conceived

Your channel is growing because of your excellent content, sir. You have a great channel and hope to see you soon reach 50,000 subscribers. I don't think it will take very long.

For the record, we don't actually know Crozier survived that long, or that the Inuits saw him in 1858. In fact, it's far more likely that the last man they saw was the much younger *Marine Sargent Solomon Tozer* , based on the recovered marine issue sword engraved with his initials, that he traded with the Inuit for food and supplies the last time the Inuit saw the survivors. The confusion between Crozier and Tozer at the time can be attributed to their similar sounding names, and the Inuit not speaking English. It is now widely believed Crozier died much earlier, and the rescue parties accidentally influenced Inuit testimony by only showing Inuits pictures of the commanding officers, and "correcting" what they assumed to be their mispronunciation of Tozer to Crozier. Edit: Spoilers follow if you haven't seen "The Terror", but for those who have, this theory is also addressed in the show. Tozer is the last surviving member of the crew to be killed by the Tuunbaq. After realising he has been manipulated by Hickey, he turns against the mutineers and realigns with Crozier to fight the Tuunbaq. He is last seen loading a rifle, and walking out of frame before being killed by the Tuunbaq offscreen. It then rips the imposter Hickey in half after he offers it his severed tongue, and is then choked to death by Crozier.

This video actually left me in tears. Those poor man, what they must have suffered through. I never heard of the series, but I will def. watch it now. I love Dan Simmons's books. Not sure I missed this.

Wow,such a great video, very informative and entertaining

Love how the terror somehow was found in terror bay which was named before they found the ship

The most fucked up part of the story? Inuits were reporting seeing the ships as early as the 1900s, but the Canadian government flat out ignored them for 110 years because they’re First Nations. The expedition in the 2010s explicitly ignored the local Inuit telling them exactly where to look. It wasn’t until a second crew showed up, listened to the Inuit, and found the ship within literally 3 hours of looking. A 170 year mystery that was solved 120 years ago.

This is a very good video! Quite well presented and very interesting. Thank you! Great job! Bravo!

Very interesting, and I enjoyed your commentary and the pictures.

Wendigo got 'em.

Vey, very well done lad. Exceptionally measured and not at all overblown for the sake of theatrics, views or likes. Many a channel could learn from this video.

This gives a dark new context to the Monty Python sketch about cannibalism in the Royal Navy... 💀

A reputation for eating boots are far better then a reputation for cannibalism....