Discovering the North-West Passage

Glenn M. Stein has researched maritime and polar history since 1975, and regularly publishes in journals and magazines. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, life member of the American Polar Society and a member of the Orders and Medals Research Society and the Life Saving Awards Research Society. He lives in Apopka, Florida.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments delete viiiPreface delete 11. The Frozen Grail, up to 1845 delete 32. Into the Fray, 1846–50 delete 143. The Pacific, 1850 delete 334. Western Arctic Gateway, 1850 delete 545. The Wily Arctic, 1850 delete 666. The Coldest Crucible, 1850 delete 827. Decisions, 1850 delete 1008. Jack Frost, 1850–51 delete 1209. The Grand Sledding Chorus, 1851 delete 13610. The Trap Is Sprung! 1851 delete 15411. “The fatal error of our voyage,” 1851–52 delete 17012. Starvation, Madness—and Mutiny, 1852 delete 18813. Infinity’s Brink, 1853–54 delete 20914. Scattered Bones and Frozen Memories, 1853 Onward delete 226Epilogue. Found Beneath the Ice, 2010–11 delete 249Appendix 1. Weights and Measurements delete 253Appendix 2. Notes on Sources delete 254Appendix 3. HMS Investigator Crew List delete 265Appendix 4. Extracts from Admiralty Orders to Captain Richard Collinson, CB, RN delete 279Appendix 5. Notable Sled Parties of the Investigators delete 282Appendix 6. Notes on Map Features delete 289Appendix 7. Polar Crumbs: Creation of the Arctic Medal 1818–55 delete 292Chapter Notes delete 307Bibliography delete 351Index delete 367

“provides new insights into how geographical discovery received the recognition of a grateful nation. Recommended”—Choice; “excellent...fully documented to the highest academic standards. Perhaps the author’s greatest accomplishment is that he demonstrates conclusively that careful attention to scholarly apparatus need not be any impediment to producing an exciting and absorbing adventure story”—Nautical Research Journal; “valuable...an enjoyable and informative story of the Royal Navy’s mid-nineteenth century Artic explorations”—Ocean Challenge; “his book is the product of extensive research, finding diaries and letters in many local repositories—Canadian Nautical Research Society; “research is extensive...comprehensive...excellent”—Ocean Challenge; “the author is well versed in the traditions of nineteenth-century sailing ships, the equipping of them and the society of the sailors aboard them...well-researched and has such great detail that, even though it is quite readable, it doubles as a reference work for Arctic exploration”—The Journal of the Society for Nautical Research; “deserves credit for bringing the story of the McClure expedition to center stage...readable account of the complex history...high scholarly quality...high technical quality...a most welcome addition to the literature about early polar exploration...Stein provides a most welcome and enjoyable historical background story...recommended”—Navy History; “the definitive account of the last voyage of HMS Investigator.... Stein’s exhaustive research turns up a multitude of little-known nuggets”—Arctic Journal; “a lively, readable account...as an example of thorough historical research, Stein’s work has few equals...extremely valuable...recommended highly”—Polar Record; “deep research. A volume of very considerable scholarship which deserves to be on the bookshelves of everyone interested in naval life in the 19th century, and in the search for the North-West Passage.”—The Journal of Orders and Medals Research Society; “a stirring account...compelling...meticulously assembled”—Geographical Magazine; “this is the human story of this historic expedition, and includes a wealth of unpublished information within a thoroughly readable text”—Heritage Florida Jewish News; “Glenn M. Stein’s Discovering the North-West Passage gives a stirring account of the perilous journey of Robert McClure and his men, the first ever to pass through the Arctic from the Pacific to the Atlantic. In Stein’s words, McClure and his men are fully brought to life in a way no previous account of nineteenth-century exploration has managed.”—Russell Potter, author of Arctic Spectacles: The Frozen North in Visual Culture.