#whaler isabella | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

laissezferre · 4 years

Text

a primer on that handsome lad, james clark ross

here’s a bunch of stuff that i’ve learned the past year about the handomest man in the navy, sir james clark ross. we don’t know about him much, and from what we do know, it’s all in relation to the franklin expedition. so here’s a long list of trivia about the man who located the north magnetic pole, the “discoverer” of the antarctic, and francis crozier’s best friend.

feel free to use excessively (i.e. pls write him in fanfic tnx)

early life:

was born on 15th april 1800 to george and christian clark ross. his siblings were andrew clark, george clark, isabella, and marion, and two siblings who died in infancy.

his mother died in 1808 and the ross children were raised more by their uncles than their father.

career:

joined the navy at 11yo. his first ship was the hms briseis, with his uncle john ross as captain, was promoted to midshipman and master’s mate

moved with his uncle to hms actaeon then hms driver

joined john ross’s first and last navy-backed arctic expedition in 1818 (hms isabella)

joined three arctic expeditions under william edward parry (hms hecla, hms fury) from 1819 to 25, was promoted to lieutenant aged 22, then to commander aged 27. this was rather quick by navy standards. in comparison, fitzjames was dodgily promoted to commander at age 29.

joined parry’s 1827 attempt at the north pole as his second (hms hecla, endeavour)

joined john ross’s privately funded arctic expedition in 1829-33 (victory), then was promoted to captain at age 34. for reference, crozier was made captain at 44yo.

embarked on a magnetic survey of great britain from 1835 to 38

was briefly sent on a rescue mission in 1836 to save 11 trapped whalers in arctic waters (cove). he was offered a knighthood afterward but he declined.

led an exploratory voyage in 1839 to antarctica, which lasted four years (hms erebus and terror)

retired from active service at age 43 and was knighted the following year

was the first choice for the 1845 arctic expedition but declined

led an 1848 rescue attempt for the franklin expedition (hms enterprise and investigator), which was almost catastrophic and ended prematurely

was promoted to rear admiral of the red in 1856

physicality:

nearly had his spine crushed while hauling when a boat slipped and pinned him against an outcrop. jcr and the 1827 crew endured hauling boats through uneven ice, large floes, thin surfaces, slush, and rain.

broke two ribs during one of the many sledging trips he took during 1830 and still managed to walk for nine hours the following day

casually walked away from his group to survey an inlet. alone! in the arctic!!! and came back exhausted around midnight. he had travelled 50 miles that day.

spent twenty three days sledging in the area of boothia peninsula. jcr gazed out across the ice from cape felix and remarked on the heavy stream of pack ice (which will trap the franklin expedition years later).

he further sledged west and named his farthest point victory point. *dun dun*

jcr and crozier developed a hand tremour after a fierce gale hit the ships during their final retreat from the antarctic.

returned from the antarctica expedition exhausted mentally and physically

in his late 40s, jcr was described by francis mcclintock as “a very quick, penetrating old bird, very mild in appearance and rather flowery in his style. he is handsome still…and has the most piercing black eyes.”

travelled and hauled approximately 500 miles in 39 days and was in the sick list for 2-3 weeks thereafter. jcr returned from the failed rescue attempt even more exhausted.

science acumen:

natural history

collected birds, mammals, marine life, and plants during his early expeditions. jcr shot down and stuffed a gull (ross’s gull - rodostethia rosea) and later on a penguin. he also discovered a new species of bird (white-billed diver).

provided the the zoological and natural history appendices for the 1824 and 1829 voyages.

assisted joseph hooker in collecting and laying out sea plant specimens for hooker to draw

had a plethora of animals/pets onboard the ships in the antarctica expedition, including goats, rabbits, chickens, and cats.

jcr himself was “an indefatigable collector of marine animals” that he intended to analyze and describe himself. jcr spent hours up to his knees in water and elsewhere dredging.

due to the stress of later years, jcr never got to analyze his collection. it was found as rubbish in his backyard after his death. the loss is considered to have held back oceanography for thirty years or so.

magnetic observations

was allowed to take lunar observations while he was still a midshipman, something that only the most experienced officers carried out

also tested the thickness of saltwater ice, recorded temperatures, checked longitudes, and went on land excursions

!!! located the north fricking magnetic pole !!! on 1st june 1831. he wrote a paper about it titled on the position of the north magnetic pole and read it to the royal society. the paper was eventually printed.

from 1835 to 39, together with edward sabine, jcr conducted the first systematic magnetic survey of great britain. he would also assist in the 1861 ordnance survey.

chaired a committee examining the accuracy of the magnetic compasses supplied to the navy

along with crozier, was lauded as the finest scientific navigators of the age. scholars say that by 1845, crozier was second only to jcr in seamanship and magnetic observations.

scientific involvement

served as “chief scientist” in the antarctic expedition. together with his captain’s duties, this was considered arduous work.

in kerguelen islands, jcr took personal charge of the observatories with crozier, living ashore, and going back to the ships on sundays for inspection and divine service.

was criticized by hooker for not encouraging scientific learning among his officers. jcr said that he and crozier were suitably qualified to handle tasks such as magnetic calculations, water samples and astronomical readings.

he just really wanted to *clenches fist* hoard all the science.

despite that, hooker did positively remark that jcr was uncommonly involved in the scientific activities of the expedition.

recognitions

was elected to many societies; including the linnaean society, royal society, royal astronomical society, and royal geographical society

received a medal from the royal geographical society and its counterpart in paris

received an honorary doctorate of common law from oxford university

finally published his book “a voyage of discovery and research in the southern and antarctic regions during the years 1839-43″ in 1847. the four years it took was a sign of jcr’s mental sluggishness.

although the expedition itself was groundbeaking, the book fell short, and it is of the scientific community’s opinion that jcr didn’t do himself justice.

was chair of the geographical section of the british association for the advancement of science. by god’s own hand probably, jcr was present when the association received a telegram on sept 1859 with the news of the discovery of the victory point note.

seamanship and other skill sets:

arts and languages

was often cast in the female roles in parry’s arctic theatre. 👀 he played corinna in the citizen, mrs. bruin in the mayor of garrett, poll in a musical entertainment called the north-west passage; or the voyage finished, and colonel tivy in bon ton; or high life above stairs.

contributed poetry to the north georgia gazette winter chronicle, a ship’s publication during the first parry expedition in 1819. one poem attributed to him was about the beauty of the aurora.

picked up enough of the inuit language from igloolik and was able to converse with the inuit they met in boothia

like many explorers, dabbled in art and painted sceneries from his voyages

hunting

shot a polar bear which made his crew very ill, either because of overeating or the bear’s poisonous liver

also shot a musk-ox at a range of 15 yards. it didn’t die and jcr had to shoot it again from five yards away. the moment is captured in one of john ross's sketches.

was given the chance to kill a 46ft whale, which his uncle found a distasteful sight. john ross didn’t mind the supply of blubber though.

led fishing expeditions and during one haul baited 3,378 salmon in a single net. he was really out there performing jesus miracles in the arctic.

sledging

readily picked up dog sledging from the inuit, with packs and equipment being pulled by a dog team of 12 while travelers walked. he ended up overworking the dogs and killing all but two of twelve. D:

in some of these sledge journeys, he was accompanied by thomas blanky.

he did pass on the rudiments of sledging to his protege mcclintock, who would perfect the technique and revolutionize british arctic sledging.

was able to sledge and chart peel sound and most of north somerset. he opined that franklin’s ships couldn’t have passed through peel sound because of the heavy ice. but that was exactly what they did.

seamanship

with jcr’s guidance and with the ships’ reinforced hulls, erebus and terror repeatedly rammed against pack ice so they could penetrate into the antarctic circle. they were the first ships to do so.

had an uncanny knack for spotting icebergs

spotted pack ice ahead of their ships and turned erebus away sharply, ramming directly to terror. the two ships were entangled then separated, with erebus's bowsprit, foretopmast, and other spars ripped away.

with the ship in bad condition, jcr executed a complicated manoeuvre to cross a narrow gap between icebergs. the move is like a car going in reverse, braking, and then drifting so the front swings right through an alley. the gap was “not twice the breadth of the ship”.

command:

charisma

was more popular than his uncle in the 1829 expedition, and often received the crew’s complaints

an officer in cove wrote of him: “the captain is, without exception, the finest officer i have met with, the most persevering indefatigable man you can imagine. he is perfectly idolized by everyone.”

quelled a mutiny twice in his career--first in 1829, then in 1836. in 1836, the cove seamen refused to sail after they were hit by a fierce storm, but were convinced when jcr addressed them in the quarterdeck.

had a sort of falling out with the falklands’ governor richard moody. hooker described it as: “they quarrelled most grievously, so that i was often unpleasantly situated.”

administration

was considered parry’s right-hand man though still a middie. as a lieutenant, jcr was was increasingly delegated scientific and other administrative duties that were meant for the captain.

left most of erebus and terror’s fitting out and recruitment to crozier while he finished with the 1839 magnetic survey.

wanted james fitzjames as his gunnery lieutenant for the antarctica expedition but was denied by the admiralty

just can’t do the damn grocery for some reason??? in hobart, van diemen’s land, crozier was “always starved” when it was jcr’s turn to purvey for the table, so crozier always had to eat his fill at franklin’s.

was prone to secrecy. the antarctic crew often had no idea where they were headed until they got there.

lashed out at his officers over minor issues following their second failed attempt at the south pole. robert mccormick wrote: “so strong were his prejudices, and... so difficult to reason with.” one wonders how he and crozier got on during this time.

while jcr did write to his superiors to report on the antarctica expedition, he did not publish a report in the papers. this would be a misstep as the expedition had lost public interest by the time they returned.

decision-making

like crozier, jcr didn’t trust steam engines and even gave it as a half-hearted reason for him to not command the 1845 expedition.

during the franklin expedition, crozier missed jcr’s captainship and expertise. he wrote of his misgivings and said: “james, i wish you were here, i would then have no doubt as to our pursuing the proper course.”

while the enterprise and investigator were stuck in port leopold, jcr ordered that foxes be trapped and fitted with collars carrying details of the relief expedition. they were entirely in the wrong island ofc.

reputation:

in society

described by michael smith as “a charismatic, popular figure with a flair that made him one of the greatest polar explorers of all time--something that more than compensated for his streak of vanity (five portraits), arrogance and occasional sharp tongue... displayed a breezy self-assurance and a strong sense of destiny”.

described by fergus fleming as “politically astute and had the knack of making himself popular”.

was initiated as a freemason, possibly on the recommendation of felix booth

a play was staged in the shady part of hobart about jcr and crozier's first venture in the antarctic. they did not attend. the play was reviewed as “better written than acted”.

hobart liked to throw jcr and crozier parties. one in 1840 displayed flags with jcr and crozier’s heraldry, with mottos written by jane franklin.

jcr’s read: “that flag so nobly won, shall wave once more / waved by thy hand, on th’ antarctic shore”.

in return, jcr threw a huge fricking party with erebus and terror strapped together and used as dance hall and dinner area. the place was decked with mirrors, flowers, swords, and candles.

was bestowed the title of handsomest man in the navy by jane franklin. jcr remained close friends with jane and acted as her advisor following the disappearance of the franklin expedition.

became a kind of recluse in 1844, writing: “my extreme abhorrence of public dinners, of which i have seen so much, has occasioned me to entirely give up attending them”.

became more of a recluse (an alcoholic recluse, sound familiar?) when his wife died

self-worth

in his expeditions to furthest north and south, jcr carried a little red book from his sister titled the economy of human life.

was the typical entitled british explorer afaict. jcr’s reaction to france and america pursuing antarctica can be summed up as: “how dare they? antarctica belongs to britain”.

when jcr received a well-meaning letter from charles wilkes enclosed with a map of the antarctic coastline he managed to chart, jcr decidedly didn’t take the route that his rivals had taken.

later on, he would reply to wilkes and tell him that the chain of mountains he named wilkes land was a mirage and did not exist. jcr is that petty bastard and he wants you to know it.

wilkes land did absolutely exist though, just not in the precise location that wilkes charted it. what did not exist--the mountains beyond the ross ice shelf that jcr named parry mountains. he was not beyond error.

tried to plant the union jack flag on a flat site in possession island, which turned out to be a massive bed of penguin guano. jcr is said to have sworn a blue streak.

cursed roundly at his publisher when he asked why jcr’s book was so delayed and that he would have to sell at a sale-or-return arrangement

influence

recommended john franklin as the commander of the 1845 expedition, but only after crozier told him that he felt he wouldn’t be up to it. several polar veterans tried to sway jcr but he stuck to his recommendation.

was generally optimistic even when the the franklin expedition hadn’t been heard of for almost two years. his opinion was highly valued may well have influenced the admiralty’s decision to stall a rescue effort.

disagreed with richard king’s recommendation to send a small party to back’s fish river since the small party wouldn’t be able to support 100+ survivors. we now know the survivors did make for the river.

was publicly criticised by king and his uncle on his management of the 1848 franklin search. historians are divided on this.

encouraged mcclintock to accept jane franklin's offer for him to lead the fox expedition. the fox expedition would end up finding the victory point note.

personal life:

courting and marriage

met his future wife while visiting isabella and her husband. ann coulman’s parents did not approve of jcr because of their age difference (16 yrs), jcr’s profession, and jcr’s “very uncertain and hazardous views”.

jcr was undeterred and wrote to a friend that “if ann can love me sufficiently to cheer with her smile the hour of difficulty tho’ a host were to rise up against us, in the name of cupid we would destroy them.”

docked a boat opposite ann’s house and met her in secret. the stuff of novels, i tell you.

brought scientific instruments to ann’s house and taught her how to measure terrestrial magnetism

supposedly rebuffed sophia cracroft’s advances in hobart. at this time, he was already engaged to ann.

named geographical features in antarctica after his fiance (cape ann) and his future father-in-law (coulman island)

settling down

with crozier as his best man, jcr married ann shortly after he returned from antarctica in 1843, and then promised to retire from active service. they settled in eliot place, blackheath, london.

crozier stayed with them in blackheath before he left for the franklin expedition in 1845. he described blackheath as “comfortless” and “scorching” and was very glad that the rosses moved to the country.

retreated to a country estate in buckinghamshire in 1845

jcr welcomed his first child james in the autumn of 1844, his second child ann in 1846, third child thomas in 1850, and last child andrew in 1854

the rosses’ married life were described as “a more perfect state of married felicity could not be imagined…if ever an observer could affirm there were two human sympathies concentrated in one, it might have been affirmed of sir james and lady ross....”

duty calls

was offered a baronetcy, a pension, and a year’s postponement if he would agree to lead the 1845 expedition. he turned it down to honour his promise to never sail again.

he probably also turned it down because he hadn’t recovered from four years in the antarctic and had taken to drinking to cope. the drinking probably hastened his death.

athough jcr had promised that he would no longer sail, ann gave jcr her blessing to lead a rescue attempt in 1848 and find their “dear frank”. in! this! house! crozier! was! loved!!

last years

ann died in jan 1857 of pneumonia, and jcr would never recover from the loss.

after his wife’s death, jcr rewrote his will and named edward bird and charles beverley as executors to look after the children. jcr knew bird since 1821 and beverley since 1818. bird, jcr, and crozier were middies together in 1821. ToT

the will was never legally executed and jcr’s sister marion became guardian of his four children.

burned his papers before he died. this one haunts me... why did you do that, james? what did you not want found?

jcr died on 3rd april 1862 and was buried beside his wife. he was 61yo.

after the stress of antarctica, of the franklin searches and public criticism, of the deaths of parry, ann, and most likely crozier and franklin, friends said that jcr died of a broken heart.

strained relations:

testified in a panel that sabine had done more of the 1818 expedition’s magnetic readings than his uncle, calling into question his uncle’s competency, thereby cooling their relations

frequently fought with his uncle regarding the running of the 1829 expedition. one of their arguments was likened by william light/robert huish to lavas bursting from a volcano. take with a grain of salt.

jostled with his uncle for recognition for locating the north magnetic pole and commanding the expedition. the whole affair was m e s s y and the admiralty opted to let it alone and let the family settle their own squabble.

hinted that he would not allow his uncle's account of the expedition to be published if his contribution to the book would be in any way altered (some places jcr named had been rennamed, removed, or added to).

supposedly placed a public advertisement telling the public that the appendix of his uncle’s book was written by jcr but he was not being paid for it

claimed that he was even offered money to publish his own account of the expedition but refused as he didn’t want to interfere with his uncle’s intentions

was accused by his uncle of giving up too soon in 1848 and using the franklin search as a pretense to find the passage. historians have defended jcr as his crew was hit with an early onset of “debility”.

scientists would later theorize that this debility was lead poisoning. six men died during jcr’s 15-month voyage. by contrast, he only lost three men in the four years he sailed with crozier to antarctica.

while their relationship was not entirely strained, jcr’s father george ross is an enterprising character, and would probably be a cause for embarrassment. george ross applied for bankruptcy thrice in his life.

george ross was secretary of the committe to collect donations for the 1829 expedition’s rescue. george back was to attempt an overland rescue, and george ross proposed himself to lead an attempt by sea. he had no sea experience whatsoever.

bestest friend in the whole wide world:

parry days

in 1821, jcr met and became firm friends with francis rawdon moira crozier and their friendship would last the rest of (one of) their lives. jcr was one of the few people who were allowed to call crozier “frank”.

when jcr married, this privilege extended to his wife. crozier often inquired after ann in his letters away, calling her “kind dear ‘thot’”.

franklin describes them as “it is truly interesting seeing them together. the same spirit animates each.” jcr and crozier were also described as “like brothers, so attached by their mutual tastes and dangers shared together.”

found several notes from crozier in supply caches in 1827. one of these charmingly read: “i cannot explain the mingled sensations i experienced the day i parted with you at walden isle. i did not think i was so soft...god bless you my boy and send you all back safe and sound by the appointed time is the constant prayer of your old messmate.”

another note read: “we think of you sometimes, always at dinner time. how much we would give just to know whereabouts you are....”

golden years

jcr’s first command was a rescue effort to save 11 whalers trapped in the arctic circle. many arctic veterans volunteered, but he enlisted crozier as his second in cove.

cove was supposed to be escorted by two bomb class ships in case they overwintered, but plans changed and they were not sent out. the ships were jcr and crozier’s future ships--hms erebus and hms terror.

although he declined the first offer of knighthood, jcr urged for his homie’s promotion to commander. he wrote: “the zealous and efficient manner in which he has fulfilled his trying and difficult duties makes me anxious that an officer of such high reputation and who has given so many instances of distinguished merit should receive that promotion which it has been the invariable practice of the admiralty to bestow...”

endearingly referred to in hobart as “the two captains”. eleanor franklin wrote of them as “very nice people”. bless

at the hobart temporary headquarters, jcr strung his sleeping hammock right next to crozier’s (ToT)

became “comically serious and meditative” when he thought that crozier was considering leaving the antarctic expedition and staying in hobart.

named a headland in ross island as cape crozier.

celebrated new year’s day of 1842 by throwing a party in an improvised ballroom in a nearby iceberg. a throne was chiselled from the ice for jcr and crozier.

“captain crozier and miss ross” sang and danced a quadrille, and when they made their way back to the ships, they were pelted with snowballs by the crew.

it’s all downhill from here

after antarctica, a depressed crozier left london without saying farewell to jcr and ann. he wrote to them while in france: “it has caused me much pain, but the truth is i could not make up my mind to visit london now.”

recommended crozier or edward bird as franklin’s second. when the admiralty asked for his opinion on crozier’s fitness, jcr eagerly supported his friend’s appointment.

crozier reaaaallly missed jcr while he was out on the franklin expedition. in his last letter to jcr ever, crozier wrote: “how i do miss you. i cannot bear going on board erebus. sir john is very kind and would have me dining there every day if i would go... all goes smoothly but, james dear, i am sadly alone, not a soul have i in either ship that i can go and talk to... i am sadly lonely & when i look back to the last voyage i can see the cause and therefore no prospect of having a more joyous feeling.”

while the rescue ships were being fitted, jcr sent an advanced note to crozier via hms plover. he wrote: “we are settled very quietly in the country and it will be a great happiness to us to see you again at our fireside... the command of the expedition is to be in my hands & with old bird as my second i feel satisfied that we shall not be found wanting....”

ann ross also sent a note, displaying the friendship that developed in their brief acquaintance. both letters were returned undelivered.

legacy:

jcr’s coat of arms includes a dipping needle pointing north and the union jack flag flying above it with the date 1st june 1831. his heraldry also includes a fox’s head.

when the entirety of the antarctic expedition’s validated findings were finally published in 1868, six years after jcr’s death, there was little public fanfare, but it’s worth was well-known in the scientific community.

some errors in jcr’s scientific recordings were eventually found, but scientists say that considering his basic, sometimes faulty, equipment, it was a wonder he didn’t have more.

other wildlife named after jcr are flowers, a seal, and a squid.

helped esther blanky and ann reid get their widow’s pensions by testifying that ice masters were indispensable in expeditions. blanky and reid were not technically in the navy. jcr said that not granting the pensions would be “an act of injustice”.

hooker remembers jcr as “really the greatest by far of all our scientific navigators, both in point of length of service and span of the globe. justice has never been done to him.”

robert falcon scott said about jcr’s antarctic achievements: “it might be said that it was james cook who defined the antarctic region, and james ross who discovered it.”

and there it is!!! sir james clark ross is undoubtedly brilliant--even his uncle can’t contest that--but he is also far from perfect. he was a complicated man and certainly had his share of mistakes and character failings. of his grave mistakes, i can say that they were born out of lack of information, and none at all of malice or ambition like many of his contemporaries.

-- -- -- -- --

this is messy and is all in good fun so if there are any mistakes, please let me know. if you want specifics for a certain thing hmu, but i can’t promise i’ll remember the source for all of them.

in general though, i got these from: fergus fleming, michael smith, m.j. ross, owen beattie & john geiger, and of course from several posts and links provided by @tttack @indifferent-century @ltwilliammowett @handfuloftime @skazka @hangingfire

#james clark ross #francis crozier #ann ross #history #thoughts #terror resource #mine #frmc #jcr

402 notes · View notes