HMS Terror Trapped In Pack Ice In The Frozen Straight | William Smyth | Watercolour

This painting depicts one of the ships from the ill-fated Franklin Expedition of 1845, which sought to chart the elusive Northwest Passage. In June 1836, HMS Terror set sail from the Medway, bound for Repulse Bay in the Northwest. But by September, after entering Foxe's Channel, she became trapped in the unforgiving ice of the Frozen Strait. For the next harrowing winter, Terror drifted aimlessly, locked in a frozen prison. Finally, in July 1837, the ice released her, but she emerged battered and barely seaworthy. After makeshift repairs, the brave ship limped home, only to be run aground on the Irish coast that September, nearly sinking—a fitting end to a journey fraught with peril and survival against the odds.

Lieutenant William Smyth was one of the crew members on this expedition under Captain George Back. He documented Arctic exploration, including scenes from the ill-fated Franklin Expedition, capturing the dramatic interplay between ships and the unforgiving polar environment.