Copper nail

A square-section copper nail from the 1845 British Northwest Passage Expedition led by Sir John Franklin. There are three copper nails in the collection, the others being AAA2214 and AAA2215.

The nail was found at the boat site in Erebus Bay by Captain F. L. McClintock's sledge team on 30 May 1859, as part of the search expedition led by McClintock The site had been visited and partially investigated by Lt. William Hobson on 24 May but his report does not list everything he saw or removed. McClintock records ’a few copper nails'. [McClintock, Voyage of the Fox (1859), page 366].

The nails were presented by Miss Sophia Cracroft in 1892 to the Royal Naval Museum, Greenwich, and displayed in Case 2, No. 5. 'Copper nails'. The items are shown in - 'Stereoscopic slides of the relics of Sir John Franklin's Expedition' photographed by Lieutenant Cheyne RN, at the United Services Museum, Whitehall, No. 7 (bottom left, right of the musket balls with an unreadable label).

Object Details

ID: AAA2213
Collection: Polar Equipment and Relics
Type: Nail
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Unknown
Events: Arctic Exploration: Franklin's Last Expedition, 1845-1848; Arctic Exploration: Franklin Search Expedition, McClintock, 1857-1859
Vessels: Fox (1855)
Date made: Before 1845
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
Measurements: 78 x 13 mm
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