Charles Codrington Forsyth (ca. 1810-1873)

Abstract

Forsyth's career in the Arctic was very brief. He was the commander of the first, and least successful, of Lady Franklin's private expeditions in search of her husband and the crews of the H.M.S. Erebus and Terror, missing since 1845. ... It was so badly organised and had such a heterogeneous collection of participants that its commander would have had to be a genius to make it succeed. ... there is no reason to doubt that had he been fortunate enough to find himself on the quarterdeck of one of the naval vessels that sailed north instead of on that of a civilian ship with a difficult, not to say mutinous, crew, his name would have a prominent place in the polar hagiography of the period instead of being virtually forgotten. ... , even though Forsyth was to command the expedition, he had nothing to do with the appointment of the mates of the ship or its crew, who were whalers selected by William Hogarth, a confidant of Lady Franklin at Aberdeen, or of the "chief officer" of the expedition, William Parker Snow, who was selected by Lady Franklin herself. Forsyth was not involved in the choice of vessel. ... The instructions of the expedition were for the vessel to penetrate Prince Regent Inlet, to establish winter quarters, and then for two travelling parties to examine the western coast of Boothia. ... The ship duly entered the inlet, but Forsyth, after seeking the opinion of the mates, of the crew, and of Snow, decided on 22 August 1850 that the ice could not be penetrated and retraced his path. Passing near Cape Riley, Snow went ashore and obtained news of the relics that had been found by one of the other expeditions which indicated that Franklin had wintered nearby. It seems clear, in retrospect, that this was a godsend to Forsyth, who now had a splendid excuse for abandoning the expedition and for returning to Britain. This he determined to do. He was careful to ensure that, on meeting H.M.S. North Star, a vessel also returning home but a faster sailer than Prince Albert, he did not give news of the discovery of the wintering site to Mr. Saunders, her commander. Forsyth did not wish Saunders to steal his thunder. In the event, the reception accorded Forsyth was all that he could have desired, although the Franklin menage was furious at his early return. ... Despite the brevity and lack of distinction of his arctic career, Forsyth's name endures on the map of northern Canada. Two localities are named after him: Forsyth Bay and Forsyth Point on Prince of Wales Island.