Robert McClure's expedition, 1850–54
| Dates | Explorer | Ships | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850–54 | Robert McClure | Investigator,
Resolute, North Star |
Discovered the final chain in the Passage, and navigated it, by water, sledge and on foot. |
In 1850 Captain Richard Collinson commanding the Enterprise and Robert McClure aboard the Investigator formed one of the many expeditions that went looking for Franklin, approaching the search from the Pacific. The two vessels became separated and McClure passed through the Bering Strait first. He carried on without waiting for his commanding officer aboard the Enterprise and discovered (and named) Prince of Wales Strait (between Banks Island and Victoria Island). It was here that the Investigator became frozen in for the winter.
Discovery of the Passage
During the winter McClure went on an overland expedition across Banks Island to a high vantage point on the north coast. It was here that the North-West Passage was discovered, for McClure’s party could clearly see Melville Island and the frozen waters of Melville Sound reached by Parry on his westward Journey in 1820. At last, the North-West Passage had been found, if not sailed through. It was 26 October 1850. McClure decided to attempt a navigation of the Passage when the ice receded but never succeeded.
In the summer of 1851 Prince Wales Strait was still blocked to the north by ice so McClure turned back hoping to navigate around Banks Island. He reached the Bay of Mercy which he so named as it provided some refuge from the indomitable ice which forced him to winter there. During this time a sledge party made it to Melville Island and back (leaving a message in Winter Harbour).
Four winters in the Arctic
By spring 1852 the crew were suffering from malnutrition and scurvy and McClure was convinced many of them would not make it through a third winter. Help arrived in the form of Lieutenant Bedford Pim who walked over the ice to the Investigator. He had come from the Resolute, who had found the message left at Winter Harbour.
McClure was keen to sail the Investigator back to England, but the captain of the Resolute (and a superior officer) Henry Kellett ordered him to abandon it. McClure and crew then spent a fourth winter (1853) in the Arctic when the Resolute itself became trapped in the ice. The following April (1854) McClure went west by sledge to Beechey Island where he joined the North Star which sailed east to England, arriving that September.
First to navigate the Passage?
McClure was heralded as the first man to navigate the North-West Passage, although much of his journey had been across ice, not water. He was court-martialed for the loss of Investigator but in recognition of his achievement was honourably acquitted and Parliament awarded him and his men £10,000. In truth it was Lieutenant Cresswell of the Investigator, not McClure, who had traversed the passage first. Cresswell returned to England the previous October with two sick men.
It would be over 50 years before the Passage was successfully navigated by water, by Roald Amundsen.