HMS Erebus (1826): Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Hecla-class bomb vessel best known for Antarctic and Arctic exploration}} |
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{{other ships|HMS Erebus}} |
{{other ships|HMS Erebus}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} |
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{{Use British English|date=August 2017}} |
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{|{{Infobox ship begin}} |
{|{{Infobox ship begin}} |
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{{Infobox ship image |
{{Infobox ship image |
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|Ship image = François Etienne Musin (1820-1888) - HMS 'Erebus' in the Ice, 1846 - BHC3325 - Royal Museums Greenwich.jpg |
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|Ship image=[[Image:Erebus image.jpg|300px|center]] |
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|Ship caption= |
|Ship caption = ''Erebus'' in the Ice, 1846, by [[François Musin]]}} |
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{{Infobox ship career |
{{Infobox ship career |
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|Ship country = United Kingdom |
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|Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} |
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|Ship country=UK |
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|Ship name = HMS ''Erebus'' |
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|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|UK|naval}} |
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|Ship |
|Ship namesake = [[Erebus]] |
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|Ship ordered= |
|Ship ordered = 9 January 1823 |
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|Ship builder=[[Pembroke Dock |
|Ship builder = [[Pembroke Dock]], Wales |
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|Ship laid down= |
|Ship laid down = October 1824 |
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|Ship launched=1826 |
|Ship launched = {{start date|1826|06|07|df=y}} |
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|Ship acquired= |
|Ship acquired = |
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|Ship commissioned= |
|Ship commissioned = |
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|Ship |
|Ship struck = |
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|Ship |
|Ship honours = |
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|Ship fate = Abandoned 22 April 1848, [[King William Island]] |
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|Ship out of service= |
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|Ship renamed= |
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|Ship struck= |
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|Ship honours= |
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|Ship fate=Abandoned in [[Victoria Strait]], [[Canada]], 22 April 1848<ref>{{cite book|last=Fleming|first=Fergus|title=Barrow's Boys|year=1998|publisher=Grove Press|location=New York|isbn=0-8021-3794-6|page=415}}</ref> |
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|Ship status= |
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|Ship notes= |
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{{Infobox ship characteristics |
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|Header caption= |
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|Ship class=[[Hecla class bomb vessel|''Hecla'' class]] [[bomb vessel]] |
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|Ship displacement={{convert|715.3|LT|t|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bfMOAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PR1 |title=A treatise on the screw propeller: with various suggestions of improvement, Appendix, Table I, John Bourne, 1852 |publisher=Books.google.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-08-30}}</ref> |
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|Ship tons burthen=372 tons ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]]) |
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|Ship length={{convert|105|ft|m|abbr=on}} |
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|Ship beam={{convert|29|ft|m|abbr=on}} |
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|Ship draught= |
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|Ship power=30 [[Nominal horsepower|nhp]] <ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0iwOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA206 |title=Rudimentary treatise on marine engines and steam vessels, Robert Murray, 1852 |publisher=Books.google.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-08-30}}</ref> |
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|Ship sail plan= |
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|Ship propulsion=Sails <br/> [[steam engine]] |
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|Ship complement=67 |
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|Ship armament=1 × {{convert|13|in|mm|abbr=on}} [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]], 1 × {{convert|10|in|mm|abbr=on}} mortar, 8 × {{convert|24|pdr|kg|lk=on|abbr=on}} guns, 2 × {{convert|6|pdr|kg|abbr=on}} guns |
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|Ship notes= |
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{{Infobox|child=yes |
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{{designation list|embed=yes|designation1=Canada |designation1_offname=Erebus and Terror National Historic Site of Canada |designation1_date=1992}} |
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| label1 = Wreck discovered |
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| data1 = 2 September 2014, [[Wilmot and Crampton Bay]] |
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}}{{Infobox ship characteristics |
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|Ship type = {{sclass|Hecla|bomb vessel}} |
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|Ship displacement = {{convert|715.3|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite book|last = Bourne|first = J.|date = 1852|title = A treatise on the screw propeller|section = Dimensions of screw steam vessels in Her Majesty's Navy|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bfMOAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PR1|location = London|publisher = [[Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans]]|oclc = 937353412}}</ref> |
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|Ship tons burthen = 372 tons ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]]) |
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|Ship length = {{convert|105|ft|abbr=on}} |
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|Ship beam = {{convert|29|ft|2|abbr=on}} |
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|Ship draught = |
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|Ship power = 30 [[Nominal horsepower]]<ref>{{cite book|last = Murray|first = R.|date = 1852|title = Rudimentary treatise on marine engines and steam vessels|url = https://archive.org/details/rudimentarytrea01murrgoog|page = [https://archive.org/details/rudimentarytrea01murrgoog/page/n232 206]|location = London|publisher = J. Weale|oclc = 249509737}}</ref> |
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|Ship sail plan = |
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|Ship propulsion = [[Sail]], [[marine steam engine|steam engine]] |
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|Ship complement = 67 |
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|Ship armament = |
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* 1 × {{convert|13|in|0|abbr=on}} [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] |
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* 1 × {{convert|10|in|0|abbr=on}} mortar |
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* 8 × {{convert|24|pdr|1|lk=in|abbr=on}} guns |
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* 2 × {{convert|6|pdr|1|abbr=on}} guns}} |
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{{designation list|embed=yes|designation1=Canada|designation1_offname=[[Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site|Wrecks of HMS ''Erebus'' and HMS ''Terror'' National Historic Site]]|designation1_date=2019}} |
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'''HMS ''Erebus''''' was a |
'''HMS ''Erebus''''' was a {{sclass|Hecla|bomb vessel}} constructed by the [[Royal Navy]] in [[Pembroke Dock|Pembroke dockyard]], Wales, in 1826. The vessel was the second in the Royal Navy named after [[Erebus]], the personification of darkness in [[Greek mythology]]. |
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The 372-ton ship was armed with two [[mortar (weapon)|mortars]] – one {{convert|13|in|0|abbr=on}} and one {{convert|10|in|0|abbr=on}} – and 10 guns. The ship took part in the [[Ross expedition]] of 1839–1843, and was abandoned in 1848 during the [[Franklin's lost expedition|third Franklin expedition]]. The sunken wreck was discovered by the Canadian [[Franklin's lost expedition#Victoria Strait Expedition: wreck of Erebus (2014)|Victoria Strait expedition]] in September 2014.<ref name=Cbc2014-09-27 /> |
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==Ross expedition== |
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{{further|James Clark Ross#Antarctic_explorer}} |
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After two years service in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], ''Erebus'' was refitted as an exploration vessel for [[Antarctica|Antarctic]] service, and on 21 November 1840 – captained by [[James Clark Ross]] – she departed from [[Tasmania]] for Antarctica in company with {{HMS|Terror|1813|2}}. In January 1841, the crew of both ships landed on [[Victoria Land]], and proceeded to name areas of the landscape after [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] politicians, scientists, and acquaintances. [[Mount Erebus]], on [[Ross Island]], was named after the ship itself and [[Mount Terror (Antarctica)|Mount Terror]] after the other. |
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== Ross expedition == |
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They then discovered the [[Ross Ice Shelf]], which they were unable to penetrate, and followed it eastward until the lateness of the season compelled them to return to Tasmania. The following season, 1842, Ross continued to survey the "Great Ice Barrier", as it was called, continuing to follow it eastward. The two ships returned to the [[Falkland Islands]] before returning to the Antarctic in the 1842-1843 season. The ships conducted studies in [[magnetism]], and returned with [[Oceanography|oceanographic]] data and collections of [[Botany|botanical]] and [[Ornithology|ornithological]] specimens. Birds collected on the first expedition were described and illustrated by [[George Robert Gray]] and [[Richard Bowdler Sharpe]] in ''The Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Erebus & HMS Terror. Birds of New Zealand'', 1875. The revised edition of Gray (1846) (1875). The future renowned botanist [[Joseph Dalton Hooker]], then aged 23, was assistant-surgeon to [[Robert McCormick (explorer)|Robert McCormick]].<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Hooker, Sir Joseph Dalton}}</ref> |
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{{Main|Ross expedition}} |
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After two years' service in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], ''Erebus'' was refitted as an exploration vessel for [[Antarctica|Antarctic]] service, and on 21 November 1840 – captained by [[James Clark Ross]] – she departed from [[Van Diemen's Land]] (now [[Tasmania]]) for Antarctica in company with [[HMS Terror (1813)|HMS ''Terror'']]. In January 1841, the crews of both ships landed on [[Victoria Land]], and proceeded to name areas of the landscape after [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] politicians, scientists, and acquaintances. [[Mount Erebus]], on [[Ross Island]], was named after one ship and [[Mount Terror (Antarctica)|Mount Terror]] after the other. |
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[[File:'Erebus' and the 'Terror' in New Zealand, August 1841 by John Wilson Carmichael.jpg|thumb|left|'' 'Erebus' and the 'Terror' in New Zealand'', August 1841, by [[John Wilson Carmichael]].]] |
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The crew then discovered the [[Ross Ice Shelf]], which they were unable to penetrate, and followed it eastward until the lateness of the season compelled them to return to Van Diemen's Land. The following season, 1842, Ross continued to survey the "Great Ice Barrier", as it was called, continuing to follow it eastward. Both ships returned to the [[Falkland Islands]] before returning to the Antarctic in the 1842–1843 season. They conducted studies in [[magnetism]], and returned with [[Oceanography|oceanographic]] data and collections of [[Botany|botanical]] and [[Ornithology|ornithological]] specimens. The plants were described in the resulting ''[[Flora Antarctica|The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the years 1839–1843, under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross]]''. |
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==Franklin expedition== |
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Birds collected on the first expedition were described and illustrated by [[George Robert Gray]] and [[Richard Bowdler Sharpe]] in ''The Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Erebus & HMS Terror. Birds of New Zealand'', 1875. The revised edition of Gray (1846) (1875). The future botanist [[Joseph Dalton Hooker]], then aged 23, was assistant-surgeon to [[Robert McCormick (explorer)|Robert McCormick]].<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Hooker, Sir Joseph Dalton}}</ref> |
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== Franklin expedition == |
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[[File:'Erebus' and the 'Terror' in New Zealand, August 1841 by John Wilson Carmichael.jpg|thumb|'' 'Erebus' and the 'Terror' in New Zealand'', August 1841, by [[John Wilson Carmichael]].|alt=]] |
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[[File:John Franklin expedition crew 1845.jpg|thumb|right| |
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''Erebus'' officers:Top row left to right:Lt. Edward Couch (mate); James Walter Fairholme; Charles Hamilton Osmer (Purser); Charles Frederick Des Voeux [2nd Mate]. 2nd row from top Left to right: Francis Crozier (HMS Terror); Sir John Franklin; James Fitzjames. 3rd row from top left to right: Graham Gore (Commander); Stephen Samuel Stanley (Surgeon); 2nd Lt. Henry Thomas Dundas Le Vesconte. Bottom row left to right: Robert Orme Sergeant [1st mate]; James Reid [Master]; Harry Duncan Goodsir (Assistant Surgeon); Henry Foster Collins (2nd Master), sketches from daguerreotypes by [[Richard Beard (photographer)|Richard Beard]] – ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'' (1845)]] |
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{{Main|Franklin's lost expedition}} |
{{Main|Franklin's lost expedition}} |
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On May 19, 1845, HMS ''Erebus'' and HMS {{HMS|Terror|1813|2}} left [[Greenhithe, Kent|Greenhithe]], England on a voyage of exploration to the Canadian [[Arctic]], under Sir [[John Franklin]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bankes|first=Nigel|date=2020-03-09|title=Her Majesty's Ships Erebus and Terror and the Intersection of Legal Norms|journal=The Northern Review|issue=50|doi=10.22584/nr50.2020.003|issn=1929-6657|doi-access=free}}</ref> Both ships were outfitted with [[steam engine]]s from the [[London and Greenwich Railway]] [[steam locomotive]]s. That of ''Erebus'' was rated at {{convert|25|hp|kW|lk=in}} and could propel the ship at {{convert|4|kn|km/h|lk=in}}. The ships carried 12 days' supply of coal.<ref name=HR199>{{cite journal |title=British loco boiler at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean |first=Harry |last=Gow |journal=Heritage Railway |issue=199 |date=12 February 2015 |page=84 |issn=1466-3562}}</ref> The ships had [[iron]] plating added to their [[hull (watercraft)|hulls]]. |
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For their next voyage, to the [[Arctic]] under Sir [[John Franklin]], ''Erebus'' and ''Terror'' were outfitted with [[steam engine]]s (converted from [[Rail transport|railway]] [[locomotive]] engines), and had iron plating added to their [[hull (watercraft)|hull]]s. Sir John Franklin sailed in ''Erebus'', in overall command of the expedition, and ''Terror'' was again under the command of [[Francis Crozier]]. The expedition was ordered to gather magnetic data in the [[Northern Canada|Canadian Arctic]] and to complete a crossing of the [[Northwest Passage]], which had already been charted from both the east and west but had never been entirely navigated. |
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Sir John Franklin sailed in ''Erebus'', in overall command of the expedition, and ''Terror'' was again commanded by [[Francis Crozier]]. The expedition was ordered to gather magnetic data in the [[Northern Canada|Canadian Arctic]] and to complete a crossing of the [[Northwest Passage]], which had already been partly charted from both the east and west but had never been entirely navigated. |
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The ships were last seen entering [[Baffin Bay]] in August 1845. The disappearance of the Franklin expedition set off a massive search effort in the Arctic. The broad circumstances of the expedition's fate were first revealed when [[Hudson's Bay Company]] doctor [[John Rae (explorer)|John Rae]] collected artifacts and testimony from local [[Inuit]] in 1853. Later expeditions up to 1866 confirmed these reports. |
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The ships were last seen by Europeans entering [[Baffin Bay]] in August 1845, by two whaling vessels. The disappearance of the Franklin expedition set off a massive search effort in the Arctic. The broad circumstances of the expedition's fate were first revealed when [[Hudson's Bay Company]] doctor [[John Rae (explorer)|John Rae]] collected artefacts and testimony from local [[Inuit]] in 1853. Later expeditions up to 1866 confirmed these reports. |
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Both ships had become icebound and had been abandoned by their crews, in total about 130 men, all of whom subsequently died from a number of causes, including [[hypothermia]], [[scurvy]], and [[starvation]] while trying to trek overland to the south. Subsequent expeditions up until the late 1980s, including [[Autopsy|autopsies]] of crew members, also revealed that their shoddily canned [[Military rations|rations]] may have been tainted by both [[lead poisoning|lead]] and [[botulism]]. Oral reports by local Inuit that some of the crew members resorted to [[cannibalism]] were at least somewhat supported by [[Forensic science|forensic]] evidence of cut marks on the [[Skeleton|skeletal]] remains of crew members found on [[King William Island]] during the late 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |
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|last=Countryside |
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|first=Anne |
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|title=The final days of the Franklin Expedition: new skeletal evidence. Arctic 50:(1) 36-36 (1997) |
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|format=PDF |
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|url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic50-1-36.pdf |
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|accessdate=January 26, 2008}}</ref> |
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[[File:Model of the HMS Erebus (1826) trapped in the ice, Nattilik Heritage Centre, Gjoa Haven, September 2019.jpg|thumb|Model of ''Erebus'' trapped in the ice, [[Nattilik Heritage Centre]], [[Gjoa Haven]], September 2019]] |
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A British transport ship, ''Renovation'', spotted two ships on a large ice floe off the coast of Newfoundland in April 1851. The identities of the two ships were not confirmed. It has been suggested that these ships may have been ''Erebus'' and ''Terror'', though it is more likely that they were abandoned [[whaling ship]]s.<ref>[http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/archives/digital/abb/1852k.html Arctic Blue Books -British Parliamentary Papers Abstract, 1852k.] University of Manitoba Libraries - Archives and Special Collections.</ref> |
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Both ships had become icebound and had been abandoned by their crews, totaling about 130 men, all of whom died from a variety of causes, including [[hypothermia]], [[scurvy]] and [[starvation]] while trying to trek overland to the south. Subsequent expeditions until the late 1980s, and [[Autopsy|autopsies]] of crew members, also revealed that ''Erebus'' and ''Terror''{{'}}s shoddily canned [[Military rations|rations]] may have been tainted by both [[lead poisoning|lead]] and [[botulism]]. Oral reports by local Inuit that some of the crew members resorted to [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]] were at least somewhat supported by [[Forensic science|forensic]] evidence of cut marks on the [[Skeleton|skeletal]] remains of crew members found on [[King William Island]] during the late 20th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Keenleyside |first1=Anne |last2=Bertulli |first2=Margaret |last3=Fricke |first3=Henry C. |name-list-style=amp |title=The final days of the Franklin Expedition: new skeletal evidence |journal=Arctic |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=36–46 |date=March 1997 |url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic50-1-36.pdf |access-date=26 January 2008 |doi=10.14430/arctic1089 |archive-date=16 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216122748/http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic50-1-36.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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In April 1851, the British transport ship ''Renovation'' spotted two ships on a large ice floe off the coast of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]. The identities of the ships were not confirmed. It was suggested over the years that these might have been ''Erebus'' and ''Terror'', though it is now certain they could not have been and were most likely abandoned [[whaling ship]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/archives/digital/abb/1852k.html |title=Arctic Blue Books -British Parliamentary Papers Abstract, 1852k. |website=University of Manitoba Libraries – Archives and Special Collections |year=1852 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->}}</ref> |
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On 15 August 2008, Parks Canada, an agency of the [[Government of Canada]] announced a CDN$75,000 six-week search, deploying the icebreaker [[CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier|CCGS ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'']] with the goal of finding the two ships and also to reinforce Canada's claims regarding [[Territorial claims in the Arctic|sovereignty over large portions of the Arctic]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=147541d1-0d04-445c-963a-f9c498b32883 |title=Parks Canada to lead new search for Franklin ships |publisher=[[Windsor Star]] |date=2008-01-30 |accessdate=2013-08-30 |first=Randy |last=Boswell}}</ref> |
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== Wreckage discovery == |
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On 8 September 2014 it was announced that the wreckage of one of Franklin's ships was found on 7 September using a remotely operated underwater vehicle recently acquired by Parks Canada.<ref name=bbc-2014sep09>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-29131757 |title=Sir John Franklin: Fabled Arctic ship found |website=[[BBC News]] |date=2014-09-09}}</ref><ref name=cbc-2014sep09>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lost-franklin-expedition-ship-found-in-the-arctic-1.2760311 |title=Lost Franklin expedition ship found in the Arctic |website=[[CBC News]] |date=2014-09-09}}</ref> On 1 October 2014 the Canadian Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]] announced that the remains were that of ''Erebus''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/franklin-expedition-ship-found-in-arctic-id-d-as-hms-erebus-1.2784268 |title=Franklin expedition ship found in Arctic ID'd as HMS Erebus |website=[[CBC News]] |date=2014-10-01}}</ref> The recovery of the [[ship's bell]] was announced on 6 November 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/hms-erebus-ship-s-bell-recovered-from-franklin-expedition-1.2826455 |title=HMS Erebus ship's bell recovered from Franklin expedition |website=[[CBC News]] |date=2014-11-06}}</ref> The remains of the ships are designated a [[National Historic Sites of Canada|National Historic Site of Canada]] with the precise location of the designation in abeyance.<ref>{{CRHP|19683|Erebus and Terror|29 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/r/system-reseau/sec7/sites-lieux79_e.asp |title=National Historic Sites of Canada System Plan |publisher=[[Parks Canada]] |date=2009-05-08 |accessdate=2013-08-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/r/system-reseau/sec6/sites-lieux74_e.asp |title=National Historic Sites of Canada System Plan map |publisher=[[Parks Canada]] |date=2009-04-15 |accessdate=2013-08-30}}</ref> |
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On 15 August 2008, [[Parks Canada]], an agency of the [[Government of Canada]], announced a [[Can$]] 75,000 six-week search deploying the [[icebreaker]] {{ship|CCGS|Sir Wilfrid Laurier||2}}, with the goals of finding the ships and reinforcing Canada's claims regarding [[Territorial claims in the Arctic|sovereignty over large portions of the Arctic]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=147541d1-0d04-445c-963a-f9c498b32883 |title=Parks Canada to lead new search for Franklin ships |work=[[Windsor Star]] |date=30 January 2008 |access-date=30 August 2013 |first=Randy |last=Boswell |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160524112602/http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=147541d1-0d04-445c-963a-f9c498b32883 |archive-date=24 May 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NYTimes2015-12-18" /> The search was headed by underwater archeologist Robert Grenier, of Parks Canada, and local historian Louie Kamookak, who had collected Inuit oral histories related to the wreck, as well as working with the written records. Kamookak, who died in 2018 at the age of 58, was made an officer of the [[Order of Canada]] and a member of the [[Order of Nunavut]] for his work.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cecco |first1=Leyland |title=Inuit oral historian who pointed way to Franklin shipwrecks dies aged 58 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/29/inuit-oral-historian-who-pointed-way-to-franklin-shipwrecks-dies-aged-58 |work=the Guardian |date=29 March 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ferrier MacKay |first1=Susan |title=Louie Kamookak, 58, teacher and Inuit historian, was the 'last great Franklin searcher' |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-louie-kamookak-58-teacher-and-inuit-historian-was-the-last-great/ |work=The Globe and Mail |date=13 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/louie-kamookak-inuit-historian-dies-1.4588260| title = Louie Kamookak, Inuit historian and educator, has died {{!}} CBC News}}</ref> |
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[[File:Ship's bell recovered from the HMS Erebus from Frankin's lost expedition, Nattilik Heritage Centre, Gjoa Haven, September 2019.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Ship's bell from HMS ''Erebus'', bearing the date 1845, at the [[Nattilik Heritage Centre]], [[Gjoa Haven]], 2019]] |
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The wreckage of one of Franklin's ships was found on 2 September 2014 by a Parks Canada team led by Ryan Harris and Marc-André Bernier.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/09/09/the_star_with_the_franklin_search_how_the_franklin_wreck_was_finally_found.html |title=How the Franklin Wreck was Finally Found |date=9 September 2014 |first=Paul |last=Watson|work=The Star}}</ref><ref name=Cbc2014-09-27 /> On 1 October 2014, it was announced that the remains were those of ''Erebus''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/franklin-expedition-ship-found-in-arctic-id-d-as-hms-erebus-1.2784268 |title=Franklin expedition ship found in Arctic ID'd as HMS Erebus |work=[[CBC News]] |date=1 October 2014 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->}}</ref> Recovery of the [[ship's bell]] was announced on 6 November 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/hms-erebus-ship-s-bell-recovered-from-franklin-expedition-1.2826455 |title=HMS Erebus ship's bell recovered from Franklin expedition |work=[[CBC News]] |date=6 November 2014 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->}}</ref> On 4 March 2015, it was announced that a diving expedition on ''Erebus'', by Parks Canada and [[Royal Canadian Navy]] divers, would begin in April.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/03/04/navy-divers-marine-archeologists-will-study-franklins-ship-in-winter-mission.html |title=Navy divers, marine archeologists will study Franklin's ship in winter mission |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |date=4 March 2015 |first=Paul |last=Watson}}</ref> |
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Although the exact location was not released, Nancy Anilniliak, the Field Unit Superintendent of the Nunavut Field Unit, has restricted access to a {{convert|10|×|10|km|mi|0}} square area in Wilmot and Crampton Bay, to the west of the [[Adelaide Peninsula]]. The area runs from Point A ({{coord|68|14|44.8|N|98|52|22.3|W|region:CA-NU_type:waterbody|name=point A}}) to Point B ({{coord|68|17|44.2|N|98|40|17.9|W|region:CA-NU_type:waterbody|name=point B}}) to Point C ({{coord|68|13|15.4|N|98|32|16.2|W|region:CA-NU_type:waterbody|name=point C}}) to Point D ({{coord|68|10|16.5|N|98|44|19.3|W|region:CA-NU_type:waterbody|name=point D}}).<ref>[https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/nu/epaveswrecks/info/plan Restricted area and activities in The Wrecks Of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site Of Canada]</ref> |
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==In fiction== |
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''Erebus'' and ''Terror'' are mentioned in numerous fictional works. |
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On 12 September 2016, it was announced that the wreck of HMS ''Terror'' had been found submerged in Terror Bay, off the south-west coast of King William Island.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Watson |first1=Paul |title=Ship found in Arctic 168 years after doomed Northwest Passage attempt |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/12/hms-terror-wreck-found-arctic-nearly-170-years-northwest-passage-attempt |access-date=9 September 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=12 September 2016}}</ref> The wrecks are designated a [[National Historic Sites of Canada|National Historic Site of Canada]] with the precise location of the designation in abeyance.<ref>{{CRHP|19683|Erebus and Terror|29 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/r/system-reseau/sec7/sites-lieux79_e.asp |title=National Historic Sites of Canada System Plan |website=Parks Canada |date=8 May 2009 |access-date=30 August 2013 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050924044854/http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/r/system-reseau/sec7/sites-lieux79_e.asp |archive-date=24 September 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/r/system-reseau/sec6/sites-lieux74_e.asp |title=National Historic Sites of Canada System Plan map |website=Parks Canada |date=15 April 2009 |access-date=30 August 2013 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060529114414/http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/r/system-reseau/sec6/sites-lieux74_e.asp |archive-date=29 May 2006 }}</ref> On 23 October 2017, British [[Secretary of State for Defence|Defence Minister]] Sir [[Michael Fallon]] announced that the United Kingdom would transfer the ownership of both ships to Canada, retaining only a few relics and any gold, along with the right to repatriate any human remains.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674uk_to_gift_franklin_shipwrecks_to_canada/ |title=HMS Erebus ship's bell recovered from Franklin expedition |work=[[Nunatsiaq News]] |date=24 October 2017 |first=Steve |last=Ducharme |access-date=24 October 2017 |archive-date=12 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112232339/http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674uk_to_gift_franklin_shipwrecks_to_canada/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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===In literature=== |
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*[[Captain Nemo]] mentions ''Erebus'' and [[HMS Terror (1813)|''Terror'']], in the context of [[James Clark Ross|Captain Ross]]' expedition, in [[Jules Verne]]'s ''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea]]'' (1870), as background to establish the difficulty of reaching the [[South Pole]], while Captain Nemo stands upon its fictional summit.<ref>{{cite book |authorlink=Jules Verne |last=Verne |first=Jules |title=[[20000 Leagues Under the Sea]] |publisher=[[Bantam Books]] |year=1962 |ISBN=0-553-21063-7}}</ref> |
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In September 2018, Parks Canada announced that ''Erebus''{{'}} condition had deteriorated significantly, with a {{convert|14|m}} section of the upper deck detaching from the ship, flipping over, and moving towards the stern. Parks Canada attributed the deterioration to "an upwards buoyant force acting on the decking combined with storm swell in relatively shallow water". It was then confirmed that the United Kingdom will own the first 65 artifacts brought up from ''Erebus'' while the wrecks of both ships and other artifacts will be owned by Canada and the Inuit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/franklin-erebus-terror-parks-canada-arctic-dive-artifacts-ice-gjoa-haven-1.5072435|title=Parks Canada battles Arctic ice to explore crumbling wreck|last=Beeby|first=Dean|date=31 March 2019|website=CBC News|access-date=2 May 2019}}</ref> Taking advantage of "sublime" weather conditions in the summer of 2019, Parks Canada were able to recover a number of artifacts from ''Erebus'', namely personal items belonging to members of the crew, which were unveiled at Parks Canada's conservation lab in Ottawa in February 2020.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/erebus-wreck-exploration-franklin-expedition-mystery-artifacts-1.5469843|title=Artifacts recovered from HMS Erebus offer tantalizing links to sailors on doomed Franklin Expedition|last=Davison|first=Janet|work=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]|date=20 February 2020|access-date=26 February 2020}}</ref> The planned exploration of the wreck sites in 2020 was cancelled due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Canada|COVID-19 pandemic]], with access to the wrecks restricted to the Inuit Guardians keeping watch on the sites and for those with harvesting rights in the surrounding waters. Underwater archaeology team leader Marc-Andre Bernier remarked that Parks Canada was "concerned about ''Erebus''", given the wreck's shallower depths and the earlier reports of damage.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/franklin-wreck-exploration-1.5688400|title=COVID-19 pandemic stalls further exploration of Franklin wrecks|work=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]|date=16 August 2020|access-date=20 September 2020}}</ref> Parks Canada's Underwater Archaeology Team returned to the wrecks in May 2022, after a two-year postponement caused by the pandemic; particular attention would be paid to any further damage to ''Erebus'', due to her shallower depths.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2022/04/parks-canada-returns-to-the-franklin-expedition-sites-after-a-two-year-postponement.html|title=Parks Canada returns to the Franklin Expedition sites after a two-year postponement|website=[[Government of Canada]]|date=April 28, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2022/05/research-resumes-franklin-expedition-wreck-sites|title=Research Resumes At Franklin Expedition Wreck Sites|date=May 4, 2022|website=National Parks Traveler}}</ref> Recovered from ''Erebus'' during the 2022 season were 275 items, most prominently a leather-bound folio discovered in the steward's pantry. The Parks Canada team has expressed the hope that deciphering its contents, whatever they might be, may bode well for future discoveries of written materials from both ships.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/franklin-expedition-excavation-1.6690878|title='Hallowed space': Divers pull 275 artifacts from 2022 excavation of Franklin ship|last=Weber|first=Bob|work=[[CBC News]]|date=December 9, 2022|access-date=May 30, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic/2023/01/09/book-recovered-from-franklin-ship-could-show-whether-other-written-items-are-salvageable-historian/|title=Book recovered from Franklin ship could show whether other written items are salvagable: historian|work=[[Radio Canada International]]|date=January 9, 2023|access-date=May 30, 2023}}</ref> |
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== Public access == |
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[[File:On board Parks Canada's archeology support barge "Qiniqtiryuaq" beside the wreck of the HMS Erebus (1926), 2019.jpg|thumb|On board Parks Canada's archeology support barge "Qiniqtiryuaq" beside the wreck of HMS ''Erebus'', September 2019]] |
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On 5 September 2019, passengers of Adventure Canada on {{Ship|MS|Ocean Endeavour}} were the first members of the public to visit the site of the wreck of the ''Erebus''.<ref name="FirstVisit">{{Cite news|url=https://www.vancourier.com/living/northwest-passage-cruise-stops-to-see-franklin-s-shipwrecked-erebus-1.23945719|title=Northwest Passage cruise stops to see Franklin's shipwrecked Erebus|last=Bain|first=Jennifer|newspaper=[[Vancouver Courier]]|date=15 September 2019 |access-date=4 October 2019}}</ref> The wreck site is within the [[Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site|Wrecks of HMS ''Erebus'' and HMS ''Terror'' National Historic Site]] and is managed jointly by Parks Canada and local Inui, and public access to the site is not usually allowed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/nu/epaveswrecks|title=Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site|last=Parks Canada Agency|first=Government of Canada|date=6 June 2019|website=www.pc.gc.ca|access-date=4 October 2019}}</ref> The visit by Adventure Canada passengers was a trial by Parks Canada in creating a visitor experience for the wreck site.<ref name="FirstVisit" /> |
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== Legacy == |
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[[File:Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper @ the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.jpg|thumb|Canadian Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]] appearing at a gala to celebrate the discovery of HMS ''Erebus'', one of two ships wrecked during [[John Franklin]]'s lost expedition, at the [[Royal Ontario Museum]] in [[Toronto]]]] |
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{{Main|Franklin's lost expedition#Legacy|l1=Franklin's lost expedition § Legacy}} |
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=== In art, entertainment, and media === |
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HMS ''Erebus'' is featured, often alongside HMS ''Terror'', in fictional works that use the Franklin expedition in their backstories, such as: |
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*[[Captain Nemo]] mentions ''Erebus'' and [[HMS Terror (1813)|''Terror'']], in the context of [[James Clark Ross|Captain Ross]]'s expedition, in [[Jules Verne]]'s ''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas]]'' (1870), as background to establish the difficulty of reaching the [[South Pole]], while Captain Nemo stands upon its fictional summit.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Jules Verne |last=Verne |first=Jules |title=20000 Leagues Under the Sea |publisher=[[Bantam Books]] |year=1962 |isbn=978-0-553-21063-7|title-link=20000 Leagues Under the Sea }}</ref> |
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*''Erebus'' and ''Terror'' are mentioned in [[Joseph Conrad]]'s novella ''[[Heart of Darkness]]'' (1899). |
*''Erebus'' and ''Terror'' are mentioned in [[Joseph Conrad]]'s novella ''[[Heart of Darkness]]'' (1899). |
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*''Terror and Erebus'' (1965) is a verse radio play for [[CBC Radio]] by Canadian poet [[Gwendolyn MacEwen]], subsequently published in her collection ''Afterworlds'' (1987). |
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*''Ice Blink: The Tragic Fate of Sir John Franklin's Lost Polar Expedition'' (2001), by Scott Cookman, offers a journalistic account of Franklin's expedition that is up-to-date, factual and scholarly, and seeks to shed new light on this century-and-a-half-old mystery. |
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*''Terror and Erebus (A Lament for Franklin)'' (1997) is an [[oratorio]] for solo baritone and chamber ensemble by Canadian composer Henry Kucharzyk, adapted from MacEwen's verse drama and crediting her for its libretto.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.soundmakers.ca/soundstreams-commissions/terror-erebus-henry-kucharzyk|website=Soundmakers |title=Terror and Erebus by Henry Kucharzyk|access-date=24 January 2018}}</ref> |
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*''Erebus'' and ''Terror'' appear in [[Dan Simmons]]' novel, ''[[The Terror (novel)|The Terror]]'' (2007) which is a fictional account of the expedition's fate. |
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*''Ice Blink: The Tragic Fate of Sir John Franklin's Lost Polar Expedition'' (2001), by Scott Cookman, offers a journalistic account of Franklin's expedition. |
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*''Erebus'' and ''Terror'' appear in [[Dan Simmons]]' novel ''[[The Terror (novel)|The Terror]]'' (2007), which is a fictional account of the expedition's fate. |
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**''[[The Terror (TV series)|The Terror]]'' is a 2018 American television series based on Simmons' book. |
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*[[Clive Cussler]]'s novel, ''[[Arctic Drift]]'' (2008), uses ''Erebus'' and ''Terror'' as part of the plot as well as the establishing backstory of the ill-fated expedition. |
*[[Clive Cussler]]'s novel, ''[[Arctic Drift]]'' (2008), uses ''Erebus'' and ''Terror'' as part of the plot as well as the establishing backstory of the ill-fated expedition. |
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*"Erebus" (2012) is a radio play for [[BBC Radio 4]], based on the Franklin expedition, by British poet [[Jo Shapcott]]. |
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*''Erebus'' is the fictional whaling and trading vessel of a 19th-century Russian-German character depicted in James Michener's novel 'Alaska'. |
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*''Erebus: The Story of a Ship'' (2018, published by Hutchinson (a division of [[Random House]]), by [[Michael Palin]], is an account of the ship, covering its loss in the Arctic, Antarctic exploration, and back to its construction in Milford Haven.<ref>'[[The Guardian]]" review [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/30/erebus-story-of-a-ship-review-michael-palin ''Erebus: The Story of a Ship'']</ref> The book was serialized on [[BBC Radio 4]] in 2018. |
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*''Erebus and Terror'' is the sixth track on the 2016 album, ''Further Than Rust'' by Canadian folk band, Nickeltree. |
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*''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]]. |
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*''Erebus and Terror'' is the ninth track on the 2019 album, ''Embrace of the Godless Aeon'' by Welsh symphonic black metal band [[Hecate Enthroned]]. |
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===In |
=== In namesakes === |
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*[[Mount Erebus]], located on [[Ross Island]] adjacent to the volcanically inactive [[Mount Terror (Antarctica)|Mount Terror]], is the second-highest [[volcano]] in [[Antarctica]] (after [[Mount Sidley]]) and the southernmost active volcano on Earth. |
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*In the [[Doctor Who]] Audio Dramas story ''Terror of the Arctic'', ''Erebus'' appears alongside her sister ship, ''Terror''. |
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*[[Erebus Bay]] lies between [[Cape Evans]] and [[Hut Point Peninsula]], on the west side of Ross Island. |
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*[[Erebus and Terror Gulf]], in Antarctica. Named for the vessels used by Royal Navy Captain Sir James Clark Ross in exploring the area in 1842–43.<ref>[https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/scar/display_name.cfm?gaz_id=108699 Erebus and Terror Gulf]</ref><ref name=gnis>{{cite gnis | type = antarid | id = 4559| name = Erebus and Terror Gulf | access-date = 2 March 2012}}</ref> |
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*[[Erebus crystal]] is a type of [[feldspar]] found in the immediate area surrounding Mount Erebus; the crystals grow in the [[magma]] beneath Mount Erebus and are ejected out of the mountain encased in glassy [[volcanic bombs]]. |
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*[[Erebus (crater)]] is a geological feature on the planet [[Mars]], named for HMS ''Erebus'', and visited by the [[Opportunity (rover)|''Opportunity'' rover]] on the way to the much larger crater [[Victoria (crater)|Victoria]]. |
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*Erebus Street in the suburb of [[Keilor Park, Victoria|Keilor Park]] in [[Melbourne]], [[Australia]] |
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==See also== |
== See also == |
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* [[European and American voyages of scientific exploration]] |
* [[European and American voyages of scientific exploration]] |
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==References== |
== References == |
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{{Reflist |
{{Reflist|30em|refs= |
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<ref name=NYTimes2015-12-18>{{cite news |
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| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/19/opinion/could-shipwrecks-lead-the-world-to-war.html |
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| title = Could Shipwrecks Lead the World to War? |
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| work = [[The New York Times]] |
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| author = Campbell, Peter B. |
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| date = 18 December 2015 |
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| page = A23 |
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| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151219085843/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/19/opinion/could-shipwrecks-lead-the-world-to-war.html |
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| archive-date = 19 December 2015 |
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| url-status = live |
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| quote="Franklin’s ships are an important part of Canadian history given that his expeditions, which took place nearly 200 years ago, laid the foundations of Canada’s Arctic sovereignty," Mr. Harper said.}}</ref> |
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<ref name=Cbc2014-09-27>{{cite news |
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| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/erebus-terror-artifacts-1.3244303 |
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| title = Franklin expedition: New photos of HMS ''Erebus'' artifacts, but still no sign of HMS ''Terror'' |
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| work = [[CBC News]] |
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| author = Davison, Janet |
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| date = 27 September 2015 |
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| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151126185037/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/erebus-terror-artifacts-1.3244303 |
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| archive-date = 26 November 2015 |
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| access-date = 19 December 2015 |
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| url-status = live |
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| quote = A big clue in the mystery is the wreck of HMS Erebus, found last year in a location indicated by Inuit oral histories. |
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}}</ref> |
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}} |
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==External links== |
== External links == |
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{{Commons category|HMS Erebus |
{{Commons category|2=HMS Erebus}} |
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* {{OL subject|erebus_(ship)|HMS ''Erebus'' (1826)}} |
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*[http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/antarctic_ships/erebus_terror_antarctica.htm Erebus and Terror] |
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{{Polar exploration}} |
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{{Royal Navy Arctic exploration}} |
{{Royal Navy Arctic exploration}} |
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{{1845 shipwrecks}} |
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{{Polar exploration|state=collapsed}} |
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{{NHSC}} |
{{NHSC}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Erebus |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erebus (1826)}} |
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[[Category:1826 ships]] |
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[[Category:Arctic exploration vessels]] |
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[[Category:Bomb vessels of the Royal Navy]] |
[[Category:Bomb vessels of the Royal Navy]] |
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[[Category:Exploration ships of the United Kingdom]] |
[[Category:Exploration ships of the United Kingdom]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Franklin's lost expedition]] |
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[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Canadian Arctic coast]] |
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[[Category:History of Antarctica]] |
[[Category:History of Antarctica]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1845]] |
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[[Category:National Historic Sites in Nunavut]] |
[[Category:National Historic Sites in Nunavut]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Ships built in Pembroke Dock]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Canadian Arctic coast]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:History of the Ross Dependency]] |
Latest revision as of 14:06, 24 October 2024
Erebus in the Ice, 1846, by François Musin
| |
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Erebus |
Namesake | Erebus |
Ordered | 9 January 1823 |
Builder | Pembroke Dock, Wales |
Laid down | October 1824 |
Launched | 7 June 1826 |
Fate | Abandoned 22 April 1848, King William Island |
Wreck discovered | 2 September 2014, Wilmot and Crampton Bay |
General characteristics | |
Type | Hecla-class bomb vessel |
Displacement | 715.3 long tons (727 t)[1] |
Tons burthen | 372 tons (bm) |
Length | 105 ft (32 m) |
Beam | 29 ft (8.84 m) |
Installed power | 30 Nominal horsepower[2] |
Propulsion | Sail, steam engine |
Complement | 67 |
Armament | |
Official name | Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site |
Designated | 2019 |
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.
The 372-ton ship was armed with two mortars – one 13 in (330 mm) and one 10 in (254 mm) – and 10 guns. The ship took part in the Ross expedition of 1839–1843, and was abandoned in 1848 during the third Franklin expedition. The sunken wreck was discovered by the Canadian Victoria Strait expedition in September 2014.[3]
Ross expedition
[edit]After two years' service in the Mediterranean Sea, Erebus was refitted as an exploration vessel for Antarctic service, and on 21 November 1840 – captained by James Clark Ross – she departed from Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) for Antarctica in company with HMS Terror. In January 1841, the crews of both ships landed on Victoria Land, and proceeded to name areas of the landscape after British politicians, scientists, and acquaintances. Mount Erebus, on Ross Island, was named after one ship and Mount Terror after the other.
The crew then discovered the Ross Ice Shelf, which they were unable to penetrate, and followed it eastward until the lateness of the season compelled them to return to Van Diemen's Land. The following season, 1842, Ross continued to survey the "Great Ice Barrier", as it was called, continuing to follow it eastward. Both ships returned to the Falkland Islands before returning to the Antarctic in the 1842–1843 season. They conducted studies in magnetism, and returned with oceanographic data and collections of botanical and ornithological specimens. The plants were described in the resulting The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the years 1839–1843, under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross.
Birds collected on the first expedition were described and illustrated by George Robert Gray and Richard Bowdler Sharpe in The Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Erebus & HMS Terror. Birds of New Zealand, 1875. The revised edition of Gray (1846) (1875). The future botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker, then aged 23, was assistant-surgeon to Robert McCormick.[4]
Franklin expedition
[edit]On May 19, 1845, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror left Greenhithe, England on a voyage of exploration to the Canadian Arctic, under Sir John Franklin.[5] Both ships were outfitted with steam engines from the London and Greenwich Railway steam locomotives. That of Erebus was rated at 25 horsepower (19 kW) and could propel the ship at 4 knots (7.4 km/h). The ships carried 12 days' supply of coal.[6] The ships had iron plating added to their hulls.
Sir John Franklin sailed in Erebus, in overall command of the expedition, and Terror was again commanded by Francis Crozier. The expedition was ordered to gather magnetic data in the Canadian Arctic and to complete a crossing of the Northwest Passage, which had already been partly charted from both the east and west but had never been entirely navigated.
The ships were last seen by Europeans entering Baffin Bay in August 1845, by two whaling vessels. The disappearance of the Franklin expedition set off a massive search effort in the Arctic. The broad circumstances of the expedition's fate were first revealed when Hudson's Bay Company doctor John Rae collected artefacts and testimony from local Inuit in 1853. Later expeditions up to 1866 confirmed these reports.
Both ships had become icebound and had been abandoned by their crews, totaling about 130 men, all of whom died from a variety of causes, including hypothermia, scurvy and starvation while trying to trek overland to the south. Subsequent expeditions until the late 1980s, and autopsies of crew members, also revealed that Erebus and Terror's shoddily canned rations may have been tainted by both lead and botulism. Oral reports by local Inuit that some of the crew members resorted to cannibalism were at least somewhat supported by forensic evidence of cut marks on the skeletal remains of crew members found on King William Island during the late 20th century.[7]
In April 1851, the British transport ship Renovation spotted two ships on a large ice floe off the coast of Newfoundland. The identities of the ships were not confirmed. It was suggested over the years that these might have been Erebus and Terror, though it is now certain they could not have been and were most likely abandoned whaling ships.[8]
Wreckage discovery
[edit]On 15 August 2008, Parks Canada, an agency of the Government of Canada, announced a Can$ 75,000 six-week search deploying the icebreaker Sir Wilfrid Laurier, with the goals of finding the ships and reinforcing Canada's claims regarding sovereignty over large portions of the Arctic.[9][10] The search was headed by underwater archeologist Robert Grenier, of Parks Canada, and local historian Louie Kamookak, who had collected Inuit oral histories related to the wreck, as well as working with the written records. Kamookak, who died in 2018 at the age of 58, was made an officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of Nunavut for his work.[11][12][13]
The wreckage of one of Franklin's ships was found on 2 September 2014 by a Parks Canada team led by Ryan Harris and Marc-André Bernier.[14][3] On 1 October 2014, it was announced that the remains were those of Erebus.[15] Recovery of the ship's bell was announced on 6 November 2014.[16] On 4 March 2015, it was announced that a diving expedition on Erebus, by Parks Canada and Royal Canadian Navy divers, would begin in April.[17]
Although the exact location was not released, Nancy Anilniliak, the Field Unit Superintendent of the Nunavut Field Unit, has restricted access to a 10 by 10 kilometres (6 mi × 6 mi) square area in Wilmot and Crampton Bay, to the west of the Adelaide Peninsula. The area runs from Point A (68°14′44.8″N 98°52′22.3″W / 68.245778°N 98.872861°W) to Point B (68°17′44.2″N 98°40′17.9″W / 68.295611°N 98.671639°W) to Point C (68°13′15.4″N 98°32′16.2″W / 68.220944°N 98.537833°W) to Point D (68°10′16.5″N 98°44′19.3″W / 68.171250°N 98.738694°W).[18]
On 12 September 2016, it was announced that the wreck of HMS Terror had been found submerged in Terror Bay, off the south-west coast of King William Island.[19] The wrecks are designated a National Historic Site of Canada with the precise location of the designation in abeyance.[20][21][22] On 23 October 2017, British Defence Minister Sir Michael Fallon announced that the United Kingdom would transfer the ownership of both ships to Canada, retaining only a few relics and any gold, along with the right to repatriate any human remains.[23]
In September 2018, Parks Canada announced that Erebus' condition had deteriorated significantly, with a 14 metres (46 ft) section of the upper deck detaching from the ship, flipping over, and moving towards the stern. Parks Canada attributed the deterioration to "an upwards buoyant force acting on the decking combined with storm swell in relatively shallow water". It was then confirmed that the United Kingdom will own the first 65 artifacts brought up from Erebus while the wrecks of both ships and other artifacts will be owned by Canada and the Inuit.[24] Taking advantage of "sublime" weather conditions in the summer of 2019, Parks Canada were able to recover a number of artifacts from Erebus, namely personal items belonging to members of the crew, which were unveiled at Parks Canada's conservation lab in Ottawa in February 2020.[25] The planned exploration of the wreck sites in 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with access to the wrecks restricted to the Inuit Guardians keeping watch on the sites and for those with harvesting rights in the surrounding waters. Underwater archaeology team leader Marc-Andre Bernier remarked that Parks Canada was "concerned about Erebus", given the wreck's shallower depths and the earlier reports of damage.[26] Parks Canada's Underwater Archaeology Team returned to the wrecks in May 2022, after a two-year postponement caused by the pandemic; particular attention would be paid to any further damage to Erebus, due to her shallower depths.[27][28] Recovered from Erebus during the 2022 season were 275 items, most prominently a leather-bound folio discovered in the steward's pantry. The Parks Canada team has expressed the hope that deciphering its contents, whatever they might be, may bode well for future discoveries of written materials from both ships.[29][30]
Public access
[edit]On 5 September 2019, passengers of Adventure Canada on MS Ocean Endeavour were the first members of the public to visit the site of the wreck of the Erebus.[31] The wreck site is within the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site and is managed jointly by Parks Canada and local Inui, and public access to the site is not usually allowed.[32] The visit by Adventure Canada passengers was a trial by Parks Canada in creating a visitor experience for the wreck site.[31]
Legacy
[edit]In art, entertainment, and media
[edit]HMS Erebus is featured, often alongside HMS Terror, in fictional works that use the Franklin expedition in their backstories, such as:
- Captain Nemo mentions Erebus and Terror, in the context of Captain Ross's expedition, in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870), as background to establish the difficulty of reaching the South Pole, while Captain Nemo stands upon its fictional summit.[33]
- Erebus and Terror are mentioned in Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness (1899).
- Terror and Erebus (1965) is a verse radio play for CBC Radio by Canadian poet Gwendolyn MacEwen, subsequently published in her collection Afterworlds (1987).
- Terror and Erebus (A Lament for Franklin) (1997) is an oratorio for solo baritone and chamber ensemble by Canadian composer Henry Kucharzyk, adapted from MacEwen's verse drama and crediting her for its libretto.[34]
- Ice Blink: The Tragic Fate of Sir John Franklin's Lost Polar Expedition (2001), by Scott Cookman, offers a journalistic account of Franklin's expedition.
- Erebus and Terror appear in Dan Simmons' novel The Terror (2007), which is a fictional account of the expedition's fate.
- The Terror is a 2018 American television series based on Simmons' book.
- Clive Cussler's novel, Arctic Drift (2008), uses Erebus and Terror as part of the plot as well as the establishing backstory of the ill-fated expedition.
- "Erebus" (2012) is a radio play for BBC Radio 4, based on the Franklin expedition, by British poet Jo Shapcott.
- Erebus: The Story of a Ship (2018, published by Hutchinson (a division of Random House), by Michael Palin, is an account of the ship, covering its loss in the Arctic, Antarctic exploration, and back to its construction in Milford Haven.[35] The book was serialized on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.
- Erebus and Terror is the sixth track on the 2016 album, Further Than Rust by Canadian folk band, Nickeltree.
- 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 and Terror is the ninth track on the 2019 album, Embrace of the Godless Aeon by Welsh symphonic black metal band Hecate Enthroned.
In namesakes
[edit]- Mount Erebus, located on Ross Island adjacent to the volcanically inactive Mount Terror, is the second-highest volcano in Antarctica (after Mount Sidley) and the southernmost active volcano on Earth.
- Erebus Bay lies between Cape Evans and Hut Point Peninsula, on the west side of Ross Island.
- Erebus and Terror Gulf, in Antarctica. Named for the vessels used by Royal Navy Captain Sir James Clark Ross in exploring the area in 1842–43.[36][37]
- Erebus crystal is a type of feldspar found in the immediate area surrounding Mount Erebus; the crystals grow in the magma beneath Mount Erebus and are ejected out of the mountain encased in glassy volcanic bombs.
- Erebus (crater) is a geological feature on the planet Mars, named for HMS Erebus, and visited by the Opportunity rover on the way to the much larger crater Victoria.
- Erebus Street in the suburb of Keilor Park in Melbourne, Australia
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Bourne, J. (1852). "Dimensions of screw steam vessels in Her Majesty's Navy". A treatise on the screw propeller. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. OCLC 937353412.
- ^ Murray, R. (1852). Rudimentary treatise on marine engines and steam vessels. London: J. Weale. p. 206. OCLC 249509737.
- ^ a b Davison, Janet (27 September 2015). "Franklin expedition: New photos of HMS Erebus artifacts, but still no sign of HMS Terror". CBC News. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
A big clue in the mystery is the wreck of HMS Erebus, found last year in a location indicated by Inuit oral histories.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Bankes, Nigel (9 March 2020). "Her Majesty's Ships Erebus and Terror and the Intersection of Legal Norms". The Northern Review (50). doi:10.22584/nr50.2020.003. ISSN 1929-6657.
- ^ Gow, Harry (12 February 2015). "British loco boiler at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean". Heritage Railway (199): 84. ISSN 1466-3562.
- ^ Keenleyside, Anne; Bertulli, Margaret & Fricke, Henry C. (March 1997). "The final days of the Franklin Expedition: new skeletal evidence" (PDF). Arctic. 50 (1): 36–46. doi:10.14430/arctic1089. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
- ^ "Arctic Blue Books -British Parliamentary Papers Abstract, 1852k". University of Manitoba Libraries – Archives and Special Collections. 1852.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Campbell, Peter B. (18 December 2015). "Could Shipwrecks Lead the World to War?". The New York Times. p. A23. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015.
"Franklin's ships are an important part of Canadian history given that his expeditions, which took place nearly 200 years ago, laid the foundations of Canada's Arctic sovereignty," Mr. Harper said.
- ^ Cecco, Leyland (29 March 2018). "Inuit oral historian who pointed way to Franklin shipwrecks dies aged 58". the Guardian.
- ^ Ferrier MacKay, Susan (13 April 2018). "Louie Kamookak, 58, teacher and Inuit historian, was the 'last great Franklin searcher'". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "Louie Kamookak, Inuit historian and educator, has died | CBC News".
- ^ Watson, Paul (9 September 2014). "How the Franklin Wreck was Finally Found". The Star.
- ^ "Franklin expedition ship found in Arctic ID'd as HMS Erebus". CBC News. 1 October 2014.
- ^ "HMS Erebus ship's bell recovered from Franklin expedition". CBC News. 6 November 2014.
- ^ Watson, Paul (4 March 2015). "Navy divers, marine archeologists will study Franklin's ship in winter mission". Toronto Star.
- ^ Restricted area and activities in The Wrecks Of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site Of Canada
- ^ Watson, Paul (12 September 2016). "Ship found in Arctic 168 years after doomed Northwest Passage attempt". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Beeby, Dean (31 March 2019). "Parks Canada battles Arctic ice to explore crumbling wreck". CBC News. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ Davison, Janet (20 February 2020). "Artifacts recovered from HMS Erebus offer tantalizing links to sailors on doomed Franklin Expedition". CBC. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "COVID-19 pandemic stalls further exploration of Franklin wrecks". CBC. 16 August 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- ^ "Parks Canada returns to the Franklin Expedition sites after a two-year postponement". Government of Canada. 28 April 2022.
- ^ "Research Resumes At Franklin Expedition Wreck Sites". National Parks Traveler. 4 May 2022.
- ^ Weber, Bob (9 December 2022). "'Hallowed space': Divers pull 275 artifacts from 2022 excavation of Franklin ship". CBC News. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ "Book recovered from Franklin ship could show whether other written items are salvagable: historian". Radio Canada International. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ a b Bain, Jennifer (15 September 2019). "Northwest Passage cruise stops to see Franklin's shipwrecked Erebus". Vancouver Courier. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ Parks Canada Agency, Government of Canada (6 June 2019). "Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site". www.pc.gc.ca. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ Verne, Jules (1962). 20000 Leagues Under the Sea. Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-21063-7.
- ^ "Terror and Erebus by Henry Kucharzyk". Soundmakers. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ 'The Guardian" review Erebus: The Story of a Ship
- ^ Erebus and Terror Gulf
- ^ "Erebus and Terror Gulf". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
External links
[edit]- 1826 ships
- Arctic exploration vessels
- Bomb vessels of the Royal Navy
- Exploration ships of the United Kingdom
- Franklin's lost expedition
- History of Antarctica
- Maritime incidents in April 1845
- National Historic Sites in Nunavut
- Ships built in Pembroke Dock
- Shipwrecks of the Canadian Arctic coast
- History of the Ross Dependency