HMS Terror (1813)

Last updated

68°54′N98°56′W / 68.900°N 98.933°W / 68.900; -98.933 (Terror Bay) ), at a depth of 69–79 ft (21–24 m). [12] [18] The remains of the ships are designated a National Historic Site of Canada with the exact location withheld to preserve the wrecks and prevent looting. [19]

Sammy Kogvik, an Inuit hunter and member of the Canadian Rangers who joined the crew of the Arctic Research Foundation's Martin Bergmann, recalled an incident from seven years earlier in which he encountered what appeared to be a mast jutting from the ice. With this information, the ship's destination was changed from Cambridge Bay to Terror Bay, where researchers located the wreck in just 2.5 hours. [18] [20] [21] According to Louie Kamookak, a resident of nearby Gjoa Haven and a historian on the Franklin expedition, Parks Canada had ignored the stories of locals that suggested that the wreck of Terror was in her namesake bay, despite many modern stories of sightings by hunters and from airplanes. [20]

The wreck was found in excellent condition, her decks and interior spaces largely intact. A wide exhaust pipe that rose from the outer deck was pivotal in identifying the ship; it was located in the same location where the smokestack from Terror's locomotive engine had been installed. The wreck was nearly 100 km (62 mi) south of where historians thought her final resting place was, calling into question the previously accepted account of the fate of the sailors, that they died while trying to walk out of the Arctic to the nearest Hudson's Bay Company trading post. [12]

The location of the wreckage, and evidence in the wreckage of anchor usage, indicates continued use, raising the possibility that some of the sailors had attempted to re-man the ship and sail her home (or elsewhere), [12] possibly on orders from Crozier. [20]

On 23 October 2017 it was announced by British Defence Minister Sir Michael Fallon that the British government would be giving Terror and Erebus to Canada, retaining only a few relics and any gold, along with the right to repatriate any human remains. [22]

In 2018, Terror and Erebus were gifted to Canada and the Inuit, in care of the Inuit Heritage Trust, by the government of the United Kingdom. This includes all the remaining artifacts. [23] [24]

Although the exact location has not been released, Nancy Anilniliak, the Field Unit Superintendent of the Nunavut Field Unit, has restricted access to an approximately 10 km × 5 km (6.2 mi × 3.1 mi) rectangular area in Terror Bay. The area runs from Point E ( 68°54′25.45″N98°59′42.07″W / 68.9070694°N 98.9950194°W / 68.9070694; -98.9950194 (point E) ) to Point F ( 68°54′25.24″N98°51′29.08″W / 68.9070111°N 98.8580778°W / 68.9070111; -98.8580778 (point F) ) to Point G ( 68°48′46.23″N98°51′31.25″W / 68.8128417°N 98.8586806°W / 68.8128417; -98.8586806 (point G) ) to Point H ( 68°48′46.44″N98°59′42.15″W / 68.8129000°N 98.9950417°W / 68.8129000; -98.9950417 (point H) ). [25]

In August 2019, taking advantage of "exceptionally co-operative" weather conditions, Parks Canada conducted 48 dives over the course of seven days to Terror, 3D-mapping the wreck and searching the interior with ROVs. The team was able to map out ninety per cent of Terror's lower deck, but were unable to access Crozier's cabin due to the buildup of sediment. Despite this, Crozier's cabin was considered the best preserved space in the lower deck, and Parks Canada has expressed the hope that written materials may be found there. [26] The planned exploration of the wreck sites in 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [27] Parks Canada's Underwater Archaeology Team returned to the wrecks in May 2022, after a two-year postponement caused by the pandemic. [28] [29]

Legacy

In art, entertainment, and media

HMS Terror is featured, often alongside HMS Erebus, in fictional works that involve or allude to the Franklin expedition, such as:

  • "Northwest Passage" is a 1981 song by Canadian musician Stan Rogers about the Franklin expedition and its fate.
  • Terror and Erebus (1965) is a verse play for CBC Radio by Canadian poet Gwendolyn MacEwen, subsequently published in her collection Afterworlds (1987).
  • Mordecai Richler's novel Solomon Gursky Was Here (1989), in which Ephraim Gursky survives the expedition and lives to pass on his Judaism and Yiddish to some of the local Inuit. [11]
  • Dan Simmons' novel The Terror (2007), a fictionalized account of Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to the Arctic, in 1845–1848, to force the Northwest Passage. In the novel, while Franklin and his crew are plagued by starvation and illness, and forced to contend with mutiny and cannibalism, they are stalked across the bleak Arctic landscape by a monster. The novel has been adapted as an eponymous 2018 television series by cable TV channel AMC.
  • "The Erebus and the Terror," an instrumental piece composed by Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, is the third track on the 1987 album Something of Time by Nightnoise.
  • Erebus: The Story of a Ship (2018, published by Hutchinson, a division of Random House), by Michael Palin, is a historical account of the ships Erebus and Terror. [30] The book was serialized on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.

In namesakes

Books

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Franklin</span> British naval officer and explorer (1786–1847)

Sir John Franklin was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through the islands of the Arctic Archipelago, during the Coppermine expedition of 1819 and the Mackenzie River expedition of 1825, and served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1837 to 1843. During his third and final expedition, an attempt to traverse the Northwest Passage in 1845, Franklin's ships became icebound off King William Island in what is now Nunavut, where he died in June 1847. The icebound ships were abandoned ten months later, and the entire crew died from causes such as starvation, hypothermia, and scurvy.

HMS <i>Erebus</i> (1826) Hecla-class bomb vessel best known for Antarctic and Arctic exploration

HMS Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb vessel constructed by the Royal Navy in Pembroke dockyard, Wales, in 1826. The vessel was the second in the Royal Navy named after Erebus, the personification of darkness in Greek mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King William Island</span> Island in Nunavut, Canada

King William Island is an island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, which is part of the Arctic Archipelago. In area it is between 12,516 km2 (4,832 sq mi) and 13,111 km2 (5,062 sq mi) making it the 61st-largest island in the world and Canada's 15th-largest island. Its population, as of the 2021 census, was 1,349, all of whom live in the island's only community, Gjoa Haven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Crozier</span> Irish naval officer and polar explorer (1796–1848?)

Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier was an Irish officer of the Royal Navy and polar explorer who participated in six expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. In 1843, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society for his scientific work during his expeditions. Later, he was second-in-command to Sir John Franklin and captain of HMS Terror during the Franklin expedition to discover the Northwest Passage, which ended with the loss of all 129 crewmen in mysterious circumstances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Clark Ross</span> British explorer and naval officer (1800–1862)

Sir James Clark Ross was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of both the northern and southern polar regions. In the Arctic, he participated in two expeditions led by his uncle, John Ross, and in four led by William Edward Parry: in the Antarctic, he led his his own expedition from 1839 to 1843.

<i>The Terror</i> (novel) 2007 novel by Dan Simmons

The Terror is a 2007 novel by American author Dan Simmons. It is a fictionalized account of Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition, on HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, to the Arctic, in 1845–1848, to locate the Northwest Passage. In the novel, while Franklin and his crew are plagued by starvation and illness, and forced to contend with mutiny and cannibalism, they are stalked across the bleak Arctic landscape by a monster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin's lost expedition</span> British expedition of Arctic exploration

Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sections of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic and to record magnetic data to help determine whether a better understanding could aid navigation. The expedition met with disaster after both ships and their crews, a total of 129 officers and men, became icebound in Victoria Strait near King William Island in what is today the Canadian territory of Nunavut. After being icebound for more than a year, Erebus and Terror were abandoned in April 1848, by which point two dozen men, including Franklin, had died. The survivors, now led by Franklin's second-in-command, Francis Crozier, and Erebus's captain, James Fitzjames, set out for the Canadian mainland and disappeared, presumably having perished.

HMS <i>Investigator</i> (1848) Merchant ship used in Arctic exploration

HMS Investigator was a merchant ship purchased in 1848 to search for Sir John Franklin's ill-fated Northwest Passage expedition. She made two voyages to the Arctic and had to be abandoned in 1853, after becoming trapped in the pack ice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McClintock Arctic expedition</span> British expedition of Arctic exploration

The McClintock Arctic expedition of 1857 was a British effort to locate the last remains of Franklin's lost expedition. Led by Francis Leopold McClintock, RN aboard the steam yacht Fox, the expedition spent two years in the region and ultimately returned with the only written message recovered from the doomed expedition. McClintock and crew were awarded the Arctic medal in recognition of their achievements.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross expedition</span> 1839–43 British Antarctic exploration mission

The Ross expedition was a voyage of scientific exploration of the Antarctic in 1839 to 1843, led by James Clark Ross, with two unusually strong warships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. It explored what is now called the Ross Sea and discovered the Ross Ice Shelf. On the expedition, Ross discovered the Transantarctic Mountains and the volcanoes Mount Erebus and Mount Terror, named after each ship. The young botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker made his name on the expedition.

The Arctic Research Foundation (ARF) is a private, nonprofit organization based in Canada. Federally incorporated in 2011, ARF works with Indigenous and northern communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government, private corporations and academia to facilitate science research and community initiatives.

Terror Bay is an Arctic waterway in the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located on the southwestern side of King William Island. The entrance to the bay is marked by Fitzjames Island on the west and Irving Island to the east. The bay opens to Queen Maud Gulf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Abernethy (explorer)</span> Scottish seafarer and polar explorer (1803–1860)

Thomas Abernethy was a Scottish seafarer, gunner in the Royal Navy, and polar explorer. Because he was neither an officer nor a gentleman, he was little mentioned in the books written by the leaders of the expeditions he went on, but was praised in what was written. In 1857, he was awarded the Arctic Medal for his service as an able seaman on the 1824–25 voyage of HMS Hecla, the first of his five expeditions for which participants were eligible for the award. He was in parties that, for their time, reached the furthest north, the furthest south (twice), and the nearest to the South Magnetic Pole. In 1831, along with James Clark Ross's team of six, Abernethy was in the first party ever to reach the North Magnetic Pole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Gore</span> British naval officer and polar explorer

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Wrecks of HMS <i>Erebus</i> and HMS <i>Terror</i> National Historic Site National Historic Site of Canada in Nunavut

The Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site is a National Historic Site of Canada near King William Island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. It protects the wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, the two ships of the last expedition of Sir John Franklin, lost in the 1840s during their search for the Northwest Passage and then re-discovered in 2014 and 2016. The site is jointly managed by Parks Canada and the local Inuit. Public access to the site is not permitted.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Walter Fairholme</span> British naval officer and polar explorer (1821–1847?)

James Walter Fairholme was a British Royal Navy officer and polar explorer who in 1845 served under Sir John Franklin on the Erebus during the Franklin expedition to discover the Northwest Passage, which ended with the loss of all 129 crewmen in mysterious circumstances.

David Charles Woodman is a Canadian mariner, author, and arctic researcher. He is known for his research on Franklin's Lost Expedition, having led or participated in nine expeditions to King William Island between 1992 and 2004, searching for relics, records, and the wrecks of the ships HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, and establishing the important role of Inuit oral testimony in the search.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmund Hoar</span> British polar explorer

Edmund Charles Hoar was a British sailor in the Royal Navy. He served as Captain's Steward to Sir John Franklin aboard HMS Erebus on the fatal 1845 Franklin Expedition to the Northwest Passage. Parks Canada has obtained many of his personal items from the wreck.

References

  1. ↑ Bourne, John (1852). "Appendix, Table I: Dimensions Of Screw Steam Vessels In Her Majesty's Navy". A treatise on the screw propeller: with various suggestions of improvement. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. i.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "HMS Terror". Parks Canada. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pope, Alexandra (12 September 2016). "Five interesting facts about the HMS Terror". Canadian Geographic . Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  4. ↑ James, William (1835). The Naval History of Great Britain. Vol. 6. London: James Ridgway. p. 235. On the 14th, the combined forces [at Point St Peter], accompanied by the bomb vessels Devastation and Terror..ascended the river to St Marys
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Paine, Lincoln P. (2000). Ships of Discovery and Exploration. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 139–140. ISBN   0-395-98415-7.
  6. ↑ "Shipping Intelligence". Caledonian Mercury. No. 18324. Edinburgh. 28 September 1837.
  7. ↑ Stanley (28 September 1837). "Sketched chart of Rathmullan Beach, with the position of HMS TERROR indicated, made by Lieutenant Stanley, 1837. (RCE/2/2)".
  8. ↑ Rice, William. "Items relating to the temporary repair of the Arctic discovery vessel HMS TERROR (1813) at Lough Swilly in 1837. (RCE/2/1-2)".
  9. ↑ Back, George (1838). Narrative of an expedition in H. M. S. Terror, undertaken with a view to geographical discovery on the Arctic shores, in the years 1836-7. London: John Murray.
  10. ↑ Gow, Harry (12 February 2015). "British loco boiler at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean". Heritage Railway (199). Horncastle: Mortons Media Group Ltd: 84. ISSN   1466-3562.
  11. 1 2 Gopnik, Adam (24 September 2014). "Canada Rediscovers the Mythos of the Franklin Expedition". The New Yorker . Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Watson, Paul (12 September 2016). "Ship found in Arctic 168 years after doomed Northwest Passage attempt". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  13. ↑ Boswell, Randy (30 January 2008). "Parks Canada to lead new search for Franklin ships". Windsor Star. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  14. ↑ "2012 search Expedition for Franklin's ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror". Office of the Prime Minister (Canada) . 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
  15. ↑ "Sir John Franklin: Fabled Arctic ship found". BBC News . 9 September 2014.
  16. ↑ "Lost Franklin expedition ship found in the Arctic". CBC News . 9 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "Franklin expedition ship found in Arctic ID'd as HMS Erebus". CBC News. 1 October 2014.
  18. 1 2 Pringle, Heather (13 September 2016). "Unlikely Tip Leads to Discovery of Historic Shipwreck". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  19. ↑ Erebus and Terror . Canadian Register of Historic Places . Retrieved 29 October 2013. ; "National Historic Sites of Canada System Plan". Parks Canada. 8 May 2009. Archived from the original on 24 September 2005. Retrieved 30 August 2013.; "National Historic Sites of Canada System Plan map". Parks Canada. 15 April 2009. Archived from the original on 29 May 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  20. 1 2 3 Sorensen, Chris (14 September 2016). "HMS Terror: How the final Franklin ship was found". Maclean's . Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  21. ↑ Barton, Katherine (15 September 2016). "No camera, no proof: Why Sammy Kogvik didn't tell anyone about HMS Terror find". CBC News . Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  22. ↑ Ducharme, Steve (24 October 2017). "HMS Erebus ship's bell recovered from Franklin expedition". Nunatsiaq News . Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  23. ↑ U.K. gifts two historical Franklin expedition ships worth $430,000 to Canada, Inuit
  24. ↑ Britain officially gifts two long-lost ships from Franklin expedition to Canada, Inuit
  25. ↑ Restricted area and activities in The Wrecks Of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site Of Canada
  26. ↑ Davison, Janet (28 August 2019). "HMS Terror's 'incredible' condition may offer new clues to Franklin Expedition mystery". CBC . Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  27. ↑ "COVID-19 pandemic stalls further exploration of Franklin wrecks". CBC . 16 August 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  28. ↑ "Parks Canada returns to the Franklin Expedition sites after a two-year postponement". Government of Canada . 28 April 2022.
  29. ↑ "Research Resumes At Franklin Expedition Wreck Sites". National Parks Traveler. 4 May 2022.
  30. ↑ Wheeler, Sara (30 September 2018). "Erebus: The Story of a Ship by Michael Palin – review". The Guardian . Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  31. ↑ Erebus and Terror Gulf
  32. ↑ "Erebus and Terror Gulf". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  33. ↑ Natural Resources Canada. "Terror Bay". Geographic Names Board of Canada.
  • Beardsly, Martyn: Deadly Winter: The Life of Sir John Franklin. ISBN   1-55750-179-3.
  • Beattie, Owen: Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition. ISBN   1-55365-060-3.
  • Berton, Pierre: The Arctic Grail. ISBN   0-670-82491-7.
  • Cookman, Scott: Ice Blink: The Tragic Fate of Sir John Franklin's Lost Polar Expedition. ISBN   0-471-37790-2.
  • James, William (1827). The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 6, 1811 – 1827. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0-85177-910-7.
  • McGregor, Elizabeth: The Ice Child.
  • Ronchetti L, Clement D, William-Hawkes E:HMS Terror: a Topsham Ship - Published by Topsham Museum Society [ISBN unspecified].
  • Simmons, Dan: The Terror (Fictionalized account of the Franklin expedition). ISBN   0-593-05762-7 (UK H/C).
  • Smith, Michael: Captain Francis Crozier: The Last Man Standing?. ISBN   1-905172-09-5.
HMSTerrorThrownUpByIce.jpg
HMS Terror in the Arctic
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameTerror
Ordered30 March 1812
BuilderRobert Davy, Topsham, Devon
Laid downSeptember 1812
Launched29 June 1813
CompletedBy 31 July 1813
FateAbandoned 22 April 1848, King William Island
Wreck discovered3 September 2016, Terror Bay
General characteristics
Class and type Vesuvius-class bomb vessel
Tons burthen325 (bm)
Length102 ft (31 m)
Beam27 ft (8.2 m)
Installed power30 Nominal horsepower [1]
Propulsion
Complement67
Armament
  • 1 × 13 in (330 mm) mortar
  • 1 × 10 in (250 mm) mortar
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