Resolute (25 page)

On September 12, the
Resolute
was towed by the steam tug
Achilles
to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where shipwrights and craftsmen refitted her down to the smallest detail. The entire ship was repainted from stem to stern. All of her sails, cordage, flags, and stores were restored or replaced. Everything that could be reconditioned was preserved, including Captain Kellett's library, the pictures in his cabin, and his officers' musical instruments. The
New York Daily Times
noted that “nothing has been overlooked or neglected that was necessary to her most complete and thorough renovation.” The
Times
also spoke of what was sure to be the
Resolute's
welcome in England: “The reception which will be given to her officers and crew will, undoubtedly, be worthy of the generous conduct of the American people.”

By early November, the refitting was completed and on the thirteenth, the completely refurbished
Resolute
, her U.S. colors waving proudly, left New York bound for Portsmouth, England. In command was Captain Henry J. Hartstene, the same officer who only a year earlier had brought Elisha Kane home from his second Arctic adventure.

The
Resolute
docked in Portsmouth on December 12, 1856. And her arrival caused a sensation. The ship that had carried Austin in search of Franklin; the vessel from whose decks M'Clintock had launched his already legendary sledging expeditions and whose men had found and rescued McClure; the ship from whom so many discoveries had been made; the proud vessel that the “unmentionable” Belcher had left to its own fate; and finally the ship that had become the vehicle for the vital cementing of Anglo-American relations was home. And didn't she look grand!

The magnitude of the occasion was perhaps best expressed by George McDougall, who had served as the
Resolute's
master under Captain Kellett. “The abandonment of a ship under similar circumstances is, I believe, without precedent,” he stated in a book he wrote. “Her recovery is equally novel, and her restoration unparalleled…Few events in annals of the civilized world are so deserving of permanent record as the restoration of H.M.
Discovery-ship ‘Resolute'
to the Queen of England by our transatlantic brethren. By such a graceful proof of their affection for the old country, they have lessened party animosity, silenced the noisy declamations of stump orators on both sides of the Atlantic, and have funded a capital of good will in the hearts of all true Englishmen.”

For the British public, it was a time for celebration. (The event inspired poets and songwriters to commemorate America's genorosity; see note, page 273.) And in a country famed for its pomp and circumstance, the English government went all out. The first great occasion was the visit to the HMS
Resolute
of the Queen Victoria herself. “Her majesty having expressed a wish to visit the ship, she was towed to Cowes, and there secured alongside the royal embarcation place at Trinity Wharf,” McDougall wrote, continuing:

The
Retribution
was anchored near for the purpose of firing salutes, whilst in the Roads her Majesty's yachts
, Elfin
and
Fairy
with numerous gunboats, tended to make a holiday scene of the auspicious event. The
Resolute
was dressed in colours, the English and American ensigns floating amicably together at the peak; and on the Queen's stepping her foot on board, the royal standard was hoisted at the main.

The royal party, consisting of Her Majesty, Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice, accompanied by a numerous suite, were received by Captain Hartstene at the gangway, whilst grouped on either side were the officers of the ship in full uniform, as well as many distinguished American visitors, all of whom were in turn presented to the Queen by Captain Hartstene, who then addressed her Majesty in the following words: “Allow me to welcome your Majesty on board the
Resolute,
and in obedience to the will of my countrymen and of the President of The United States, to restore her to you, not only as an evidence of a friendly feeling to your sovereignty, but as a token of love, admiration and respect to your Majesty personally.” The Queen, who was evidently touched by the manly simplicity of the frank and sailor-like address of the gallant captain, replied, with a gracious smile, “I thank, you, Sir.”

The Royal party then went over the ship, and examined her with manifest interest. Captain Hartstene traced her course on a map, and indicated the most important discoveries of the American Arctic Expeditions. After completing the inspection of the ship, the royal party retired amid the enthusiastic acclamations of the spectators—the Queen having invited Captain Hartstene to dine and spend the night at Osborne…Her Majesty also ordered £100 to be distributed amongst the crew.

QUEEN VICTORIA'S
personal reception of the
Resolute
and her tour of the fully restored vessel were the high points in the lengthy and, in many ways, unprecedented celebration that accompanied the ship's return. Here, an
Illustrated London News
article depicts U.S. Captain Henry Hartstene welcoming Her Majesty to the ship (top) and showing the Queen a map (bottom) tracing the
Resolute's
route in her Franklin rescue effort and in her miraculous unmanned voyage.

Over the next two weeks, the celebrations continued as the
Resolute
sailed from one harbor to another, while passing ships, their cheering crews standing at attention atop the yardarms, fired noisy salutes and dipped their colors. Each evening Captain Hartstene and his officers found themselves at a ball, a banquet, or some other type of gala. Perhaps most notable of these was the Portsmouth Banquet, whose attendees included, as one newspaper put it, “the British Officers, late of the
Resolute.”

On December 30, the final ceremony took place—the official handing over of the
Resolute
to Great Britain. “Whilst the salute was being fired,” McDougall wrote, “Captain Hartstene ordered the American colours to be hauled down on board the
Resolute
, at whose peak the British ensign now floated alone, whilst at her main-truck an English pendant was displayed. The salute being ended, and the change of colours effected, the American crew manned the rigging, and gave three hearty cheers, as a return for the salute, and thus did the ice-beaten
Resolute
become once more Her Majesty's ship.”

Captain Hartstene, accompanied by the Chevalier Pappalardo, United States Vice-Consul at this port, and the American officers, then addressed Sir George Seymour, naval commander-in-chief at Portsmouth, saying: “Sir, the closing scene of my most pleasant and important mission has now to be performed. And permit me to hope that long after every timber in her sturdy frame shall have perished, the remembrance of the old
Resolute
will be cherished by the people of the respective nations. I now, with a pride totally at variance with our professional ideas, strike my flag, and to you, Sir, give up the ship.”

ONE QUESTION REMAINED: TO
what use was the
Resolute
now to be put? She was certainly ready to take her place in the naval fleet, more than capable of defending British honor around the world. Many thought, however, that she was now too revered for that. She should be put on permanent display, as was Lord Horatio Nelson's ship, a constant reminder of past British strivings and achievement. But one person had other ideas. Jane Franklin knew just what should lie ahead for the
Resolute.
And as usual, Lady Jane was determined to get her way.

CHAPTER 13.

T
HE BRITISH GOVERNMENT HAD MADE IT OFFICIAL.
Well before the
Resolute's
triumphant homecoming, the Admiralty had issued this proclamation:

Tragic as it was, much of the public now had to agree. The facts were staggering: The British government had spent over £675,000 ($40 million in today's money), the United States government had expended over $150,000, and Henry Grinnell had contributed $100,000. Lady Jane Franklin had added £35,000 of her own money to the cause. Most disheartening of all, more than ten ships had been lost in the search and at least a dozen searchers had died. Almost everybody was ready to give up. But not Lady Franklin. The tremendous cost of the search, she declared, was all the more reason to make certain that the lives, the ships, and the money had not been sacrificed in vain. Besides, it had not been proven that her husband was dead. Perhaps, for example, he was living among the Inuit, waiting to be rescued. Greater miracles had already taken place.

And now, in the latest miracle, the return of the
Resolute
, she saw a new opportunity. Hadn't this noble vessel proven that it could conquer every challenge of the Arctic? What better use could it be put to than sailing out again to at least find out for certain what had happened to her husband and his men?

From the moment the
Resolute
had dropped anchor, Jane Franklin had attended almost every official celebration. She had even baked a plum cake and had it delivered to Captain Hartstene and his crew. But she had not simply been celebrating. She had, once again, been lobbying as well. At every party, every affair, she had cornered government officials and had pleaded her case. She had even persuaded Captain Hartstene, now familiar with every foot of the
Resolute
, to command the new expedition.

She did not act alone. At her urging, both Henry Grinnell and Roderick Murchison, the president of the Royal Geographical Society, wrote letters to the Admiralty supporting her desire. Charles Dickens again devoted articles to her cause. But, for the first time, the Admiralty would not be budged. The search was over; Lady Franklin could not have the
Resolute.

It didn't stop her. Once again she purchased her own search vessel, this time the 177-ton schooner-rigged steam yacht, the
Fox.
She then persuaded Leopold M'Clintock, who through his sledging accomplishments had become one of her personal favorites, to command the vessel.

M'Clintock was delighted. He was absolutely convinced that the search should not be abandoned until physical proof—not secondhand information—of Franklin's fate was found. And he had a strong personal motivation. He had taken part in four searches, but always as second or third in command. This was his opportunity to head a mission that he still regarded as “a great national duty.” Besides, like Lady Franklin, he believed that he knew where Franklin was to be found—at King William Island, the one logical place that had not been probed.

On July 2, 1857, M'Clintock and a twenty-five-man crew set out on their mission. His second-in-command was Lieutenant William Hobson, who had been in the navy for over a decade. As a mate, Hobson had proved himself on an 1853 mission aboard the HMS
Rattlesnake
, which had been sent to supply McClure's and Collinson's 1850 search expeditions. During the mission, Hobson had also honed his sledging skills on a small but strenuous trip he undertook to search for Franklin.

Almost immediately after entering the Arctic, the
Fox
crew became caught in a predicament unlike any that previous searchers or passage-seekers had ever experienced. Entering Melville Bay, they found it almost completely filled with large packs of floating ice, and attempted to force their way through it. But the ice packs took over. Incredibly, they would spend the next eight months not in winter quarters, but being helplessly moved along by ice. Before the end of April 1858, they had drifted helplessly the full length of Baffin's Bay and all the way through Davis Strait—a distance of 1,385 miles.