On This Day…1807 – with giveaway – by Donna Schlachter

Robert McClure by Stephen Pearce 1858 from Wikipedia Sir_Robert_McClure_by_Stephen_Pearce.jpg

The history of Europeans in the United States stretches back more than 500 years, so this year I will look at a variety of men and women who helped shape our nation.

My first post is about Robert McClure, whose given name was a mouthful—Sir Robert John Le Mesurier McClure. He was born January 28, 1807, to Captain Robert McClure from Ulster, Ireland, who married Jane, the daughter of Archdeacon John Elgee. Interestingly, his father had died by the time little Robert was born, so he was raised by his godfather, John Le Mesurier, after whom he was named. His godfather, the governor of Alderney, educated him for the army. One item of note is that legend says his real name was MacLeod, but their surname had been changed in the 1650s because of a misspelling or a misreading of the name. We see many instances of that in families who emigrated to the United States, with related branches of families have different spellings of their names.

At the age of 16, he entered the Royal Navy, and in 1836, served as Mate of HMS Terror on an Arctic exploration. On his return, he was commissioned as a lieutenant (pronounced lef-tenant in England), then sailed on the Great Lakes for a year, before being attached to the North American and West Indian naval stations, where he remained for seven years.

In 1848, he joined a search expedition seeking to recover Franklin’s lost expedition, which had tried to cross the Northwest Passage in 1845. They returned unsuccessful in their search, but that didn’t stop him from trying again in 1850, this time commanding his own ship, HMS Investigator and partnering with another ship. They sailed from the east coast of the United States, south to the Strait of Magellan and around to the Pacific Ocean.

HMS Investigator stuck in ice, from Wikipedia HMS_Investigator_stuck_in_ice_(cropped).jpg

 

 

While he lost track of the partner ship, McClure continued his assignment, entering the Arctic Ocean via the Bering Strait, joining another expedition. When his ship became trapped in ice in the spring of 1853, he abandoned it, undertook a sledge journey, finally being rescued by HMS Resolute. While the Resolute was subsequently abandoned, McClure and his crew were the first both to circumnavigate the Americas and to cross the Northwest Passage—considered feats at that time.

On his return home in 1854, McClure faced court martial for losing his ship, which was an automatic action in that situation. However, he was honorably acquitted, then knighted and promoted. British Parliament awarded him and his crew ten-thousand pounds to share. He was also honored by both the British and French geographical societies, as well as the American Antiquarian Society.

His latter years were spent in a slower-paced assignment for which he received the Order of Bath, before he retired to country life as Vice-Admiral. He married Constance Tudor in 1869 at the age of 62. He passed away in 1873.

Robert McClure's grave, from Wikipedia Robert_McClure_grave.jpg

 

 

 

Much happened during McClure’s life, including the confirmation and traversing of the Northwest Passage, the exploration of the Arctic Circle, the circumnavigation of the Americas, the American Civil War, The Mexican-American War, and the War of 1812. He didn’t participate in these conflicts, but his contributions to exploration enabled him to live a life of adventure and bravery. By all accounts, McClure was an honorable man.

Thanks for sticking with me on this exciting peek into the life of an early explorer.

 

Giveaway: Leave a comment to enter a random drawing for an ebook copy of Recipe for Disaster: A 1784 cooking mystery. Please remember to cleverly disguise your email address so the ‘bots don’t get you. For example: donna AT livebytheword DOT com

Check out the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMGFKVKN and the Series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGM7Q2GM

About Donna:

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 60 times in books; is a member of several writers' groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both, and is an avid oil painter. She is taking all the information she’s learned along the way about the writing and publishing process, and is coaching committed writers.

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Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McClure