The Disturbing Disappearance of the Franklin Expedition
The Disturbing Disappearance of the Franklin Expedition
In 1845, two ships entered the dark waters of the frozen and barren Canadian Archipelago, in search of an elusive Northwest Passage. At the large mouth of channel, they were met by two whaling ships, who saw them off shortly afterward. These would be the last individuals to see the ships or the men on board ever again. For over a century, their whereabouts remained a mystery, but slowly over the past few decades, what happened to the ships and the men on board has been discovered, and it is far more horrifying than anyone could have imagined. This is Franklin’s Lost Expedition.
Attributions/Special Thanks for Photographs
Léna, Wellcome Images, J. J. O’Neill, Samuel Gurney Cresswell
Writing and research by Jordan Gottschick
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Wow! This is an awesome video on the Franklin expedition I love the detail!
the general opinion is that this expedition was doomed from the start. unsuitable people and equipment, etc.
Let’s Find Out!
You have to speak more understandably and uniformly because half of your words or letters are hard to understand
Your so good at telling historical stories, love your videos
AMC did a mini series on this expedition it’s pretty decent
Does quickplay even affect MMR anymore? If it does it must be quite a small amount. As a 4 I killed a ton of newer 5s and 6 stars and never ranked up at all. But bounty hunt I went up relatively quickly and those were a mix of 3s, 4s and 5s depending who I was playing with. Solid video though. ❤
Crazy, I’ve been binge watching the show The Terror on Netflix. Then I see this video 2 days later.
So, they budgeted THEATRE COSTUMES but not enough food??? What were they thinking 😂😂😂
Hey everyone! There’s a big surprise at the end of the video, so make sure to listen to the outro! Also, I’m a huge fan of historic polar expeditions and this is one that I knew of but had never really looked at in depth. It’s much crazier than I realized. Have a great Sunday!
Up until 2024, ongoing archaeological efforts at the wreck sites of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror from the lost Franklin Expedition have continued to yield significant discoveries, shedding light on the tragic fate of the crew and the conditions they endured.
In the 2023 excavation season, researchers conducted extensive dives and recovered over 350 artifacts from HMS Erebus. These included personal items such as a seaman’s chest containing navigational tools, coins, a pistol, a fishing rod, and scientific instruments like an intact thermometer. They also found artifacts related to daily life aboard the ship, such as a leather shoe, medicine bottles, and even a pair of epaulettes from an officer’s uniform.
One of the most intriguing findings was the discovery of fossils in what is believed to be the cabin of Third Lieutenant James Fairholme, which could provide clues about the route taken by the ships before they were trapped in ice. These fossils are being analyzed to understand better the scientific work conducted during the expedition .
Moreover, advancements in diving technology have allowed researchers to spend more time underwater, significantly increasing the efficiency and scope of their work. For example, divers in 2023 were able to stay submerged for up to three hours at a time, compared to just 40 minutes in previous years, enabling more thorough exploration and documentation of the wrecks .
The conditions at the wreck sites are increasingly impacted by climate change, which is causing more rapid deterioration of the remains, especially the shallower HMS Erebus. This urgency has driven the meticulous documentation of the site, including the creation of high-resolution 3D models to monitor changes over time .
I flew from Sydney to Chile down through the far south pacific and it was hours and hours of frozen barren sea. The same when flying through the Amazon forest. There are still enormous empty, desolate areas of the earth where humans do not belong or even rarely venture into.
I love hearing the stories of humans failing in their wish to destroy nature.
Him: Over 100 men lost their lives.
Me: Oh that sucks. But, well, they knew and accepted the risks.
Him: They also brought a cat, a dog and a monkey
Me: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THOSE POOR ANIMALS!!😢
Would recommend the TV series The Terror for a fictionalised account of the Franklin expedition
"Tell them we are gone. Dead, and gone".
If we’ve learned anything in history: don’t go for the highest or lowest bidder, but one in the middle, don’t immediately discredit indigenous sources when they tell you they saw white men in an area where white men went missing, and pack more than you’ll think you need
“England were trading…”
* Britain. You mention the steam engine, which was invented by Scot’s, at least include the other countries that were involved. It’s not hard to just say Britain, mate.
The cans are still there!!!!
Cannibalism and Polar bear attack. Damn what a tragic fate
Tunbak got em
Wonder if they ever asked the Inuit if there was a passage? I mean, if you’re from out of town, ask the locals.
Makes me wonder if they ignored what the Inuit might have said, like, "We go this way, parts overland", or "There is no ship passage that whole way".
Nice of some Inuit to help them, but I just can’t understand why it turned out so bad when they could have had the knowledge of people who had survived there for centuries.
Skritchin’ my head.
Excellent video been watching the show on Netflix “the Terror” loosely based on this experience. Your channel story was something I was looking for about the true story of this journey. Fantastic channel been binge watching.
Willickers
Have to give it up for Lady Franklin, she lit a fire under people’s feet to get them out there to search. Good for her. I can’t imagine being in a wooden ship out in the middle of nowhere like that with no way of communicating with anyone for rescue. They would not even be considered overdue for years. These were brave people. Too bad they didn’t listen to the Inuit people. The Inuit lived there it was their home, you would think they would have listened.
I wonder how many of them would have went on board had they been able to read about stories like Titanic 🤣 them wooden ships didn’t stand a chance and neither did the men aboard.
You need to talk slower and get a better mic… the audio sounds garbled
Well worth to look into the hunt for the expedition, Lady Franklin is a remarkable figure, even if her treatment of John Rae the scottish explorer mentioned doesnt paint her in a great light. Some of the discoveries of Rae, McClintock and other explorers sent to look for the expedition are pretty striking, i think it was McClintock who found a boat on a sledge containing two skeletons surrounded by trinkets like engraced cuttlery and gold watches. The Peglar Pages are also pretty incredible, a diary found with a single skeleton in the middle of nowhere which was written in a weird semi illegible code but does a lot to convey the tragedy and suffering of the crewmen (it was long ascribed to be written by Foretop captain Henry Peglar but i think that opinion has changed in recent years)
There’s a show called the Terror. Must have been based off of this story
Global warming doesn’t sound too bad now
Nice
The series The Terror had most of this.
Good thing these people believe earth is round! The flat earthers wouldn’t even attempt this trip… they may fall off the earth 😏
8 years after her husband goes missing she was still looking….. 99% of ppl today woulda moved on after 8 months
How els ya going to do this if your not drunk in 1844….
Am I going deaf or is the audio lowering ever so slightly every few seconds?
Super interesting. But, I would never name, crew or captain a ship named Terror. I don’t know if I would even accompany a ship with that name. I don’t know how it is today but sailors back then were superstitious bunch.
Good concise history of this ill fated voyage.
Where’s the man eating bear demon though
I firmly believe The Terror is canon to what happened. 😂
Not gonna lie as a survivor of Botulism myself…in 1845 it would have been a DEATH sentence… I heaved for up-to 10-18hrs a day for 3 days and drifted in and out of conciseness. On the 4th day I lacked the strength to push myself off the floor and I could barely shift my car from park to drive or even turn the wheel of my car (it had power steering). I was maybe 12hrs away from death had the supplement beta-gen not been available to me for the first couple of hours before I lost the ability to move I would for sure be dead….legit took me maybe 3 months to get somewhere back to normality. Botulism IS NO JOKE!
Lewis Brian White Patricia Gonzalez Sarah
Wow unbeleaveable !!!! I love misterys an just imagine being so starving youve got to resort to cannableisem 😮
Wild how the victorian british public balked at even the suggestion that these "upstanding" crewmen went cannibal in the same era where it was trendy to LITERALLY SNORT MUMMY DUST
Another flaw with the engines is that they were not made for nautical use. The engines on board were train engines and would constantly malfunction due to the constant rocking of the ships on the water. The size of the ships also was a weakness as ships io that size don’t maneuver very well and would actually get stuck easier due to how slow they were
This is incredibly dark.
Awesome video 😊
"Where’d they die?"
"Starvation Cove."
"Hmmm. I wonder what could have happened."
If I were super rich I’d pay tons of money to Inuit and parks Canada to research the ships more. I’d give anything to know what lies under the silt on shelves and what contents are in the drawers throughout the ship especially in croziers desk. It most certainly holds answers I think. Maybe even a ship log book or diary from someone u less it was taken with. I imagine some documents had to have been left considering their desperate situation. This expedition and the moon landings are the most fascinating things.
2 tons of tobacco? Jesus guys, put the pipe down