Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T06:04:28.334Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘The last duty of an officer’: Lieutenant de vaisseau Joseph-René Bellot, 1826–1853, in the Franklin Search

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 April 2013

William Barr ,
Nadine Forestier-Blazart  and
Jean-Claude Forestier-Blazart
William Barr
Affiliation:
Arctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary, Calgary AB T2N 1N4, Canada ([email protected])
Nadine Forestier-Blazart
Affiliation:
54 Rue Guy Mollet, 62113 Verquigneul, France
Jean-Claude Forestier-Blazart
Affiliation:
54 Rue Guy Mollet, 62113 Verquigneul, France
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Lieutenant de vaisseau Joseph René Bellot, (1826–1853) participated, as second-in command, in Lady Franklin's private expedition in search of her missing husband on board Prince Albert, under the command of Captain William Kennedy in 1851–1852. Having wintered at Batty Bay on the east coast of Somerset Island, Kennedy and Bellot sledged south in the spring of 1852, to Bellot Strait, which they discovered. Having passed through the strait, they crossed Peel Sound, and continued west across Prince of Wales Island to Ommanney Bay, then back across Prince of Wales Island, north to Cape Walker, and back to Batty Bay via the north coast of Somerset Island and Prince Leopold Harbour. They discovered no trace of the missing Franklin expedition. In 1853 Bellot again volunteered to go to the Arctic, this time as supernumerary on board the supply ship Phoenix, Captain Edward Inglefield. From Beechey Island, Bellot volunteered to carry dispatches north up Wellington Channel to Captain Sir Edward Belcher who was in that vicinity. Having been driven out of sea on an ice-floe, Bellot disappeared during a gale, and it is assumed that he was blown off the ice into the water and was drowned. Memorials to Bellot may be found on Beechey Island, at Greenwich, England and at Rochefort, France, but probably the most enduring memorial to him is the name ‘Bellot Strait’, applied by Kennedy to the narrow strait between Somerset Island and Boothia Peninsula which represents an integral component of one variant of the northwest passage.

Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 1 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anon (Anonymous). 1853. Bulletin de la Société de Géographie 6: 386.Google Scholar
Barr, W. 1992. Franklin in Siberia? Lieutenant Bedford Pim's proposal to search the Arctic coast of Siberia 1851–52. Arctic 45 (1): 36–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barr, W. 1998. ‘The cold of Valparaiso’; the disintegration of William Kennedy's second Franklin search expedition 1853–1854. Polar Record 34 (190): 203–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belcher, E. 1855a. The last of the Arctic voyages; being a narrative of the expedition in H.M.S. Assistance . . . in search of Sir John Franklin during the years 1852-53-54. London: Lovell Reeve, 2 vols.Google Scholar
Belcher, E. 1855b. Proceedings of Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C.B., Her Majesty's Discovery Ship ‘Assistance’. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Further papers relative to the recent Arctic expeditions in search of Sir John Franklin and the crews of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty, January 1855. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode: 12–20.Google Scholar
Bellot, J.-R. 1852a. Letter to Lady Franklin, 30 October 1852. SPRI MS 248/348/1.Google Scholar
Bellot, J.-R. 1852b. Letter to E.J. Kane, 25 October 1852. American Philosophical Society Archives.Google Scholar
Bellot, J.-R. 1853a. Letter to Lady Franklin, 4 February 1853. SPRI MS 248/348/2Google Scholar
Bellot, J.-R. 1853b. Letter to Lady Franklin, 1 April 1853. SPRI MS 248/348/5.Google Scholar
Bellot, J.-R. 1854. Journal d'un voyage aux mers polaires exécuté à la recherche de Sir John Franklin en 1851 et 1852. Paris: Perrotin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellot, J.-R. 1866. Journal d'un voyage aux mers polaires exécuté à la recherche de Sir John Franklin en 1851 et 1852. Paris: Perrotin, 2nd edition.Google Scholar
Boiteau, P. 1866. Introduction. In: Bellot, J.-R.Journal d'un voyage aux mers polaires exécuté à la recherche de Sir John Franklin en 1851 et 1852. Paris: Perrotin, 2nd edition.Google Scholar
Browne, W.H. 1852. Report of the proceedings of the sledge ‘Enterprize’ in charge of Lieut. W.H. Browne, Her Majesty's ship ‘Resolute’, commencing 15th April, ending 28th May 1851. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Additional papers relative to the Arctic expedition under the orders of Captain Austin and Mr. William Penny. Presented to both houses of parliament by command of Her Majesty. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode: 65–75.Google Scholar
Cyriax, R.J. 1964. The voyage of H.M.S. North Star, 1849–50. Mariner's Mirror 50 (4): 307–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Bray, E.F. 1992. A Frenchman in search of Franklin. De Bray's Arctic journal 1852–1854. W. Barr, translator and editor. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forestier-Blazart, N., and Forestier-Blazart, J.-C.. 2011. Le passage du nord-ouest. Le sacrifice de Joseph-René Bellot à la recherche de Sir John Franklin. Geneva: Georges Naef.Google Scholar
Franklin, J. 1852. Letter to Theodore Ducos, Naval Minister, 20 October 1852. SPRI MS 248.Google Scholar
Franklin, J. 1853. Letter to Empress Eugénie of France, 12 March 1853. SPRI MS 248/210.Google Scholar
Gill, H.B., and Young, J.. 1998. Searching for the Franklin expedition. The Arctic journal of Randolph B. Carter. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.Google Scholar
Gilpin, J.D. 1850. Outline of the voyage of H.M.S. Enterprise and Investigator in search of Sir John Franklin. Nautical Magazine 19: 8–9, 82–90, 160–170, 230.Google Scholar
Goodsir, R.A. 1850. An arctic voyage to Baffin's Bay and Lancaster Sound, in search of friends with Sir John Franklin. London: John Van Voort.Google Scholar
Inglefield, E.A. 1853. A summer search for Sir John Franklin with a peep into the polar basin. London: Thomas Harrison.Google Scholar
Inglefield, E.A. 1854. Letter to the secretary of the admiralty, 4 October 1853. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Papers relative to the recent Arctic expeditions in search of Sir John Franklin and the crews of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror. Presented to both houses of parliament by command of Her Majesty. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode: 11–18.Google Scholar
Inglefield, E.A. 1855a. Letter to the secretary of the admiralty, 14 June 1853. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Further papers relative to the recent Arctic expeditions in search of Sir John Franklin and the crews of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror. Presented to both houses of parliament by command of Her Majesty, January 1855. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode: 4.Google Scholar
Inglefield, E.A. 1855b. Letter to the secretary of the admiralty, 11 July 1853. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Further papers relative to the recent Arctic expeditions in search of Sir John Franklin and the crews of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror. Presented to both houses of parliament by command of Her Majesty, January 1855. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode: 5–7.Google Scholar
Inglefield, E.A. 1855c. Letter to the secretary of the admiralty, 4 October 1853. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Further papers relative to the recent Arctic expeditions in search of Sir John Franklin and the crews of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror. Presented to both houses of parliament by command of Her Majesty, January 1855. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode: 11–15.Google Scholar
Kane, E.J. 1852. Letter to J.-R. Bellot, 22 November 1852. American Philosophical Society Archives.Google Scholar
Kane, E.K. 1854. The U.S. Grinnell Expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, a personal narrative. New York, Harper Bros.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, W. 1852a. Letter to Lady Franklin, 10 October 1852. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Arctic expeditions. Return to an address of the honorable the House of Commons dated 19 November 1852 . . . Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 20 December 1852. 28–32.Google Scholar
Kennedy, W. 1852b. Letter to W.J.S. Pullen, Beechey Island, 20 August 1852. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Arctic expeditions. Return to an address of the honourable the House of Commons dated 19 November 1852 . . . Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 20 December 1852. 21.Google Scholar
Kennedy, W. 1853a. A short narrative of the second voyage of the Prince Albert in search of Sir John Franklin. London: W.H. Dalton.Google Scholar
Kennedy, W. 1853b. Report on the return of Lady Franklin's vessel the Prince Albert under the command of Mr. Wm. Kennedy from the Arctic regions. Royal Geographical Society Journal 23: 122–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, W. 1853c. Letter to the secretary of the admiralty. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Arctic expeditions. Return to an address of the honorable the House of Commons dated 19 November 1852. Commanded by the House of Commons to be printed, 20 December 1852. 25–32.Google Scholar
Krabbé, F.J. 1852. Journal of proceedings for 20th May to 7th June 1851, during a journey to Cape Walker to meet the southern returning party, fix position of Cape, etc. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Arctic expeditions. Return to an address of the honourable the House of Commons dated 19 November 1852. Commanded by the House of Commons to be printed, 20 December 1852. 272–276.Google Scholar
Lemer, J. 1854. Introduction. In: Bellot, J.-R.Journal d'un voyage aux mers polaires. Paris: Perrotin: i–lvi.Google Scholar
Marmier, X. 1840. Lettres sur le nord: Danemark, Suède, Norvège, Laponie et Spitzberg. Paris: H.L. Delloye.Google Scholar
Marmier, X. 1844–1847. Voyages de la Commission scientifique du nord, en Scandinavie, en Laponie, au Spitzberg at aux Feröe, pendant les années 1838, 1839 et 1840, sur la corvette la Recherche . . . . Relation du voyage. Paris: Arthur Bertrand.Google Scholar
MacGahan, J.A. 1876. Under the northern lights. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington.Google Scholar
Mary-Rousselière, G. 1991. Qidtlarssuaq. The story of a polar migration. Winnipeg: Wuerz.Google Scholar
Mathieu, M. 1853. Letter to Etienne Bellot. Bulletin de la Société de Géographie 4 (6): 402–403.Google Scholar
McClintock, F.L. 1859. The voyage of the ‘Fox’ in the Arctic seas. A narrative of the discovery of the fate of Sir John Franklin and his companions. London: John Murray.Google Scholar
McDougall, G.F. 1857. The eventful voyage of H.M. discovery ship ‘Resolute’ in the Arctic regions in search of Sir John Franklin . . . 1852, 1853, 1854. London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans and Roberts.Google Scholar
Morton, A. 2005. Kennedy, William. In: Nuttall, M. (editor). Encyclopedia of the Arctic. New York and London: Routledge: vol. 2, 1069–1070.Google Scholar
Mumford, W.T. 1852–1854. Private journal of an expedition to the arctic regions to ascertain the fate of Sir John Franklin and his crews, under the command of Sir Edward Belcher, Kt., C.B. Library and Archives Canada MG24, H80.Google Scholar
Ommanney, E. 1852. Journal of Her Majesty's Sledge ‘Reliance,’ Captain Erasmus Ommanney searching to the southwest of Cape Walker for the missing expedition under the command of Sir John Franklin. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Additional papers relative to the Arctic expedition under the orders of Captain Austin and Mr. William Penny. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode: 30–52.Google Scholar
Osborn, S. 1852a. Stray leaves from an Arctic journal, or eighteen months in the polar regions, in search of Sir John Franklin's expedition in the years 1850–51. London: Longmans, Brown, Green & Longmans.Google Scholar
Osborn, S. 1852b. Lieutenant Osborn's journey. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Additional papers relative to the Arctic expedition under the orders of Captain Austin and Mr. William Penny. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode: 89–103.Google Scholar
Parry, W.E. 1826. Journal of a third voyage for the discovery of a north-west Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific; performed in the years 1824–25 . . . . London: John Murray.Google Scholar
Powell, B.D. 2006. The memorials on Beechey Island, Nunavut, Canada: an historical and pictorial survey. Polar Record 42 (223): 325–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pullen, T.C. 1954. Journal, Volume one. In: Pullen, H.F. (editor). The Pullen records. Arctic Institute of North America Library (typescript).Google Scholar
Pullen, W.J.S. 1852. Letter to W. Kennedy, Beechey Island, 20 August 1852. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Arctic expeditions. Return to an address of the honourable the House of Commons, dated 19 November 1852 . . . . Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 20 December 1852. 22.Google Scholar
Pullen, W.J.S. 1854. Letter to Captain Inglefield. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Papers relative to the recent Arctic expeditions in search of Sir John Franklin and the crews of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror. Presented to both houses of parliament by command of Her Majesty. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode: 19.Google Scholar
Pullen, W.J.S. 1855. Journal of the proceedings of H.M. discovery ship North Star. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Further papers relative to the recent Arctic expeditions in search of Sir John Franklin and the crews of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror. Presented to both houses of parliament by command of Her Majesty, January 1855. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode: 733–813.Google Scholar
Rich, E.E. 1953. John Rae's correspondence with the Hudson's Bay Company on Arctic exploration 1844–1855. London: Hudson's Bay Record Society.Google Scholar
Ross, J. 1819. A voyage of discovery made under the orders of the Admiralty, in His Majesty's ships, Isabella and Alexander, for the purpose of exploring Baffin's Bay, and inquiring into the probability of a north-west passage. London: John Murray.Google Scholar
Ross, J. 1835. Narrative of a second voyage in search of a north-west passage, and of a residence in the Arctic regions during the years 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833. London: A.W. Webster.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, J.C. 1850. Narrative of the proceedings of Captain Sir James C. Ross, in command of the expedition through Lancaster Sound and Barrow Straits. In: Great Britain. Parliament. Arctic expedition. Return to an order of the honourable the House of Commons dated 5 February 1850 . . . . Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 5 March 1850. . . . 58–64.Google Scholar
Ross, M.J. 1994. Polar pioneers: John Ross and James Clark Ross. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Savours, A. 1999. The search for the northwest passage. London: Chatham Publishing.Google Scholar
Shaw, E.C. 1970–1971. Captain William Kennedy – an extraordinary Canadian. Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba Transactions 3 (27): 7–18.Google Scholar
Shaw, E.C. 1982. William Kennedy. In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 40, 1881–1890. Toronto: University of Toronto Press: 470–471.Google Scholar
Stone, I.R. 1993a. An episode in the Franklin search: the Prince Albert expedition 1850. Part 1. Polar Record 29 (169): 127–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, I.R. 1993b. An episode in the Franklin search: the Prince Albert expedition 1850. Part 2. Polar Record 29 (170): 197–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sutherland, P.C. 1852. Journal of a voyage in Baffin's Bay and Barrow Straits in the years 1850–51, performed by H.M. Ships ‘Lady Franklin’ and ‘Sophia’ . . . . London: Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, 2 vols.Google Scholar
Wilson, C. 1955. Footnotes to the Franklin search, I. Halkett's air boat. The Beaver 285 (1): 46–48.Google Scholar
Woodward, F.J. 1951. Portrait of Jane: a life of Lady Franklin. London: Hodder & Stoughton.Google Scholar