Terror Tidbits

Terror Tidbits

Here at long long last is my recap of James Fitzjames’ biography. A few people have made posts summarising some of Fitzjames’ more, er incredible exploits before he joined the Franklin Expedition so I will skim or summarize them because hoo boy is there a lot to get through here.  

Things I learned from reading James Fitzjames: The Mystery Man of the Franklin Expedition by William Battersby:

1. To start with, there is some evidence that our boy was born in July 1813 in Brazil, the illegitimate child of Sir James Gambier and an unknown woman of possible Portuguese or Brazilian origin. Although Fitzjames’ guardian, Robert Coningham, took pains to hide the boy’s true origins, it was noted by the captain on Fitzjames’ first voyage that the 14-year-old volunteer could speak fluent Portuguese. 

2. Fitzjames had another secret. Battersby notes that Fitzjames did not complete his full term as a volunteer and, through a combination of luck and obfustication, was promoted to midshipman early. It’s likely he was allowed to continue his career because the man who made the mistake was too embarrassed to admit what happened, so the incident was covered up.

3. Fitzjames was 33 when he sailed with Franklin on HMS Erebus in 1845. In those 33 years he had: broken several bones, been shot on multiple occasions, been kidnapped by bandits and held for ransom, performed in drag, written some fairly horrendous poetry, been attacked by his pet cheetah, survived various diseases, and much more besides. Had the Franklin expedition found the Northwest Passage, it was his intention to travel overland from Russia and to arrive back in the UK before the rest of the Expedition, thereby circumnavigating the globe and making himself famous before he was 40.

4. Sir John Franklin: “You know, some people say that I’m rather bad at leading Naval expeditions.”

Colonel Francis Rawdon Chesney: “HOld mY bEer.”

5. Like The Proclaimers, Fitzjames walked 1,000 miles. Not for love, just to deliver some mail.

6. While fighting in the Opium Wars in China, Fitzjames did indeed think of Caesar crossing the Rubicon “but…a marine behind me was shot through the head and effectually knocked all thoughts of Caesar out of mine.” In fact, Fitzjames’ entire story about China in AMC’s The Terror is lifted straight from Chapter 8.

7.  Dr. Stanley served with Fitzjames as ship’s surgeon on HMS Cornwallis and probably operated on him. Lieutenants Hodgeson, Fairholme, Gore and Le Vesconte also served with Fitzjames prior to the Franklin expedition.

8. According to Fitzjames, Birdshit Island (real name: Ichaboe Island) smells like “rotten kittens”. And yes, it is a capital story.

9. After unsuccessfully applying to go on Sir James Ross’ voyage to the Arctic, Fitzjames was keen to go with Franklin to find the Northwest Passage. Or, as he claimed, “I shall have to marry in a fit of desperation.” It seems that Fitzjames was broke for much of his life and talked about marriage several times, presumably as a way to alleviate his money troubles.

10. Fitzjames’ close friend, Edward Charlewood, would likely have been chosen to captain HMS Terror had Crozier not pointedly claimed his right to the position as a more experienced officer. This, in addition to Fitzjames being given responsibility for taking magnetic observations on the expedition over Crozier (who was also experienced in this area and was even a Fellow of the Royal Society), probably played a large part in the two officers’ dislike of one another. It is worth noting that Fitzjames and Charlewood had experience with steamships, unlike Crozier.

11. Drs. Peddie, MacDonald, and Goodsir all seem to have known each other prior to joining up on the Franklin expedition, perhaps from their time as medical students in Edinburgh. MacDonald had already been to the Arctic and met Eenoolooapik, an Inuk from Greenland who visited Aberdeen. Goodsir was friendly with Joseph Hooker and Charles Darwin and was perhaps inspired by them to join a naval expedition.

12. Historians have accused Fitzjames of ignoring sailors with previous Arctic experience and only appointing his friends to the Franklin expedition. However, Battersby notes that the crews of Erebus and Terror were made up of a mixture of Antarctic veterans, experienced merchant seamen (some of whom, like Collins and Blanky, had previously worked on Arctic whaling ships), and experienced Royal Navy sailors with ties to senior officers (eg. Crozier specifically selected Jopson as his steward, while Fitzjames selected his steward from his old command, HMS Clio). The crew was also not completely English, as has sometimes been claimed, but included men from all parts of the UK. 

13. Fitzjames was a notorious prankster and had often made jokes at the expense of various religious figures. It is perhaps a testament to how much he liked Franklin that he did not make fun of his piousness. 

14. As well as being a kind of 19th century Lord Flashheart, Fitzjames was a bit of a science nerd. Most of his time on the Chesney expedition, and later on HMS Erebus, was taken up with magnetic observations and his letters show a genuine interest in Goodsir’s studies into Arctic nature. He also showed a lifelong enthusiasm for steam travel and other scientific innovations.

15. Crozier was so petty that he deliberately didn’t tell Franklin that HMS Erebus was sailing in the wrong direction to the anchorage at Disko Bay. The incident lost them a whole days sailing and would have embarrassed Franklin and Fitzjames in front of the crew. Battersby speculates that this may have caused a scene between Fitzjames and Crozier on HMS Terror that evening.

16. Goodsir visited the Inuit settlement at Disko Bay with Lieutenant Fairholme and began compiling a dictionary of the Netsilik language.

17. The Inuit at Disko Bay let the men try out their kayaks. Fitzjames paddled around in one without any trousers on until he overturned the kayak and had to be rescued.

18. Before leaving the bay, four men were discharged. According to Crozier “two were ill and two completely useless.” These four men were perhaps the first signs of debility and lead poisoning among the crew.