James Ross

Sir James Ross was an officer in the Royal Navy and a veteran explorer. In 1839, he commanded an expedition to Antarctica, accompanied by Francis Crozier, and was celebrated by the British public upon his return. He did not accompany the Franklin expedition in its search for the Northwest Passage, as he had recently been married.

In November 1847, he attended a meeting of the British admiralty to discuss the disappearance of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with Lady Jane Franklin and Sophia Cracroft. When Lady Jane criticized the men for their inaction, Ross promised her that he would personally search for the missing ships if they had not been heard from by 1850.

With growing public support for a rescue effort, the Admiralty agreed in 1848 to begin searching for the ships. Ross was given command of the HMS Enterprise and HMS Investigator, with the intent that he would approach the search from the east. Prior to his departure, Ross visited the home of Sir John Barrow, where he was greeted by his son, George Barrow. Ross was upset to learn that the elder Barrow's primary goal for the search effort was the discovery of the Northwest Passage, rather than the rescue of the missing ships.

By September 1850, Ross had located a small tribe of Netsilik whose leader had knowledge of the fate of the ships. Through a translator, the leader recounted to Ross how he had found a dying Crozier, who told him to tell any rescuers that the ships had been lost, the men were all dead, and no Northwest Passage existed. Unbeknownst to Ross, Crozier sat listening just outside the tent, having survived the expedition and told the Netsilik leader to lie to Ross.