The Eventful Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ship Resolute to the Arctic Regions
In Search of Sir John Franklin and the Missing Crews of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebusand Terror

Written by the ship's master, this 1857 publication gives an account of H.M.S. Resolute's 1852–4 voyage to the Arctic.

George Frederick McDougall (Author)

9781108070843, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 March 2014

594 pages, 8 colour illus. 1 map
21.6 x 14 x 3.4 cm, 0.75 kg

The Resolute was a merchant ship purchased by the Royal Navy for service in the search for the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin. Its first voyage to the Canadian Arctic, which took place between 1850 and 1851, proved fruitless, so a second, larger expedition was launched in 1852. Again the Resolute could find no trace of Franklin, and the crew came close to perishing themselves. With their ship trapped in ice, they endured the freezing temperatures and a harrowing trek to Beechey Island to survive. Published in 1857, the present work is the journal of George Frederick McDougall (c.1825–71), who served as master aboard the Resolute. The book features numerous woodcuts and plates, as well as an account of the ship's salvage by an American vessel. Notably, a desk made from the ship's timbers has been used by a number of American presidents in the White House.

List of officers
Preface
1. Leave the Nore
2. First sight of ice and land
3. Land to obtain coal
4. Constantly on the move
5. Sir E. Belcher addresses officers and men
6. Melville Island
7. The first death
8. Routine of day during the winter
9. Supposed proceedings of Investigator
10. I am ordered to accompany Lieut. Hamilton
11. Proceedings of the North Star
12. Mecham and party return to the ship
13. Anecdotes of lemmings
14. Attempts to ascertain daily drift
15. Read a second paper on Arctic explorations
16. Journal from Resolute to North Star
17. Recovery and restoration of H.M.S. Resolute
Appendix.

Subject Areas: Historical geography [HBTP]