Printed facsimile of the ‘Victory Point note’

This facsimile comes from the third edition of Captain F.L. McClintock's book 'The Fate of Sir John Franklin', published in 1869. Sir John Franklin had departed England in 1845 to attempt to discover the North West Passage. After last being sighted in Baffin Bay in July 1845, the expedition disappeared and from 1848 search parties were sent out to find it.

In 1854, Dr John Rae brought back the news that the crew had likely all perished. Although the Admiralty pronounced all the men dead, Lady Jane Franklin bought a ship, the Fox, and persuaded McClintock to carry out another search. In 1859, McClintock discovered the only written record of the expedition, a note in a metal canister, close to Victory Point on King William Island. The note was originally deposited by Lieutenant G.M. Gore, on King William Island on 28 May 1847 and stated that the expedition had wintered at Beechey Island, and that all was well. The record was added to by Captain Crozier and Captain Fitzjames on 26 April 1848 to state that the ships had been abandoned and that 9 officers and 15 men had died, including Sir John Franklin.