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  • Arctic Hell-Ship: The Voyage of HMS Enterprise 1850 – 1855
  • A.A. den Otter (bio)
William Barr. Arctic Hell-Ship: The Voyage of HMS Enterprise 1850 – 1855. University of Alberta Press. xiv, 318. $49.95, $35.95

On 5 May 1855, hms Enterprise, under the command of Richard Collinson, arrived at Portsmouth after an epic five-year journey to the Arctic. Having left the Thames on 11 January 1850, the Enterprise had spent its first winter in Hong Kong, the next three entrapped in ice, and the fifth on the way home. Along with consort vessel Investigator, under Robert McClure, the two ships were commissioned to search for the missing ships of Sir John Franklin by way of the Bering Strait and incidentally to find the illusive Northwest Passage.

Collinson achieved neither of these objectives, although he did bring a relic from one of the ill-fated Franklin ships and penetrated the passage farther than anyone before him, wintering at Iqaluktuutiaq (then called Cambridge Bay). Moreover, he lost touch with the slower Investigator, which explored Prince Albert Sound and the north shore of Victoria Island on its own and almost a year ahead of Collinson. Most seriously, the expedition’s chief commander was unable to maintain harmony among the officers on his own ship and placed three of them under arrest.

Richard Collison’s skill in manoeuvring the large Enterprise through the treacherous Dease Strait in the late summer of 1852 earned him the admiration of northern sailors, his first biographer, and subsequent historians. So too did his ability to maintain morale among the crew during the three winters in the Arctic by allowing them to construct a billiard room and a skittle alley and encouraging them to perform plays and pantomimes. He also berthed his vessels in plenty of time to make adequate preparations for the winter and ensure a reasonable level of comfort during the dark winter days.

William Barr’s study of Collinson’s search for Franklin brings a new dimension to the largely favourable historiography. By examining a number of his records and correspondence books, in addition to his journal, Barr was able to sketch in detail the disputes between the commander and his officers. What emerges is a leader who interpreted advice from his officers as criticism and, if persistent, as insubordination. Petty in his [End Page 288] relationships, Collinson reacted by placing restrictions on those with contrary opinions, demeaning them in front of their fellows, confining them to their quarters, and eventually demanding their court martial. The fact that the Admiralty dismissed all of the charges and even promoted two of the officers does not detract from Barr’s assessment of Collinson’s actions. It merely suggests that the Admiralty may have had a better understanding of the strains and stresses of men confined in relatively small quarters for several winters in extremely harsh conditions.

Barr’s second revisionist criticism of Collinson is the commander’s timidity and his reluctance to take risks. His decisions, against the advice of the ship’s second master, to take a very cautious but circuitous route to the Bering Sea and winter in Hong Kong when he met the ice pack cost him the 1850 season. The following year, he did venture farther into the ice but berthed the Enterprise relatively early in the season and not as far east as he could have. Not until the late summer of 1852 did he take decisive and skilful action to reach a point farther than any European before him.

Although he has written a balanced account, Barr does not depart far from the sources, and his narrative reads almost like a listing of events. Citing letters in their entirety, Barr draws no conclusions but follows them abruptly by more facts about the progress of the voyage. To be sure, the amount of detail, the lengthy quotations from journals, correspondence, and notebooks provide the reader with a comprehensive summary of Collinson’s thinking and also of the opinions of the most critical of the officers, Second Master Francis Skead. While scholars will applaud the added dimension to the traditional laudatory account of the epic voyage of the Enterprise...

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