Its main effect was to open a route for whale ships to the northern Baffin Bay and provoke Parry to re-explore Lancaster Sound and find a major portion of the North West Passage. This expedition failed to discover much that was new. The account of his voyage published a year later, brought to light their disagreement, and the ensuing controversy over the existence of Croker Mountains ruined his reputation. He then returned to England despite the protests of several of his officers, including Parry and Edward Sabine, who thought he should have more thoroughly examined the "mountains". He named the apparent mountains "Croker Mountains", in honour of John Wilson Croker, then first secretary of the Admiralty. He sailed a number of miles west but went no further, for he was misled by a mirage that appeared to show mountains at the end of the strait. In August, he entered Lancaster Sound at the north end of Baffin Island this later proved to be the eastern gate of the Northwest Passage. Ross sailed anti-clockwise around Baffin Bay repeating the observations made by William Baffin two hundred years before. The expedition left London in April, with Ross commanding Isabella, a vessel that the Admiralty had hired, and accompanied by Alexander, another hired vessel, under Lieutenant William Edward Parry. He was also to note the currents, tides, the state of ice and magnetism and to collect specimens he found on the way. This entailed going around the extreme north-east coast of America and sailing to the Bering Strait.
ODYSSEY HOUSE WARDS ISLAND ADDRESS SERIES
In 1818, Ross received the command of an Arctic expedition organised by the British Admiralty, the first of a new series of attempts to solve the question of a North West Passage. Arctic expeditions 1818: First Arctic expedition
In late 1808, Ross was seconded to the Swedish Navy. During his service, Ross was wounded several times, the most severe of these being in 1806 when boarding a Spanish vessel he received wounds inflicted by a sabre and bayonet, and also suffered broken legs and a broken arm. This included a period on HMS Grampus and HMS Victory, the flagship of the commander of the Baltic fleet, Rear Admiral James Saumarez. Short periods of service on HMS Clyde and HMS Diligence followed, during which he acted as a lieutenant.įrom 1803, he served on various vessels mainly with the Baltic station. In September 1799 he was recalled to the Navy and appointed midshipman on HMS Weazel, which shortly joined in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. He then served aboard HMS Impregnable for several months before a transfer to the merchant marine for eight years. It soon sailed to the Mediterranean Sea, where it remained until 1789. In 1786, aged nine, Ross joined the Royal Navy as a first-class volunteer and was assigned to HMS Pearl. His family home was on the shore of Loch Ryan, at Stranraer. John Ross was born in Balsarroch, West Galloway, Scotland, on 24 June 1777, the son of the Reverend Andrew Ross of Balsarroch, Minister of Inch in Wigtownshire, and Elizabeth Corsane, daughter of Robert Corsane, the Provost of Dumfries. He was the uncle of Sir James Clark Ross, who explored the Arctic with him, and later led expeditions to Antarctica. Sir John Ross CB (24 June 1777 – 30 August 1856) was a Scottish Royal Navy officer and polar explorer.
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