Crushed Jeannette Expedition

map showing progress of jeannette crew after leaving ship. dotted lines indicate routes taken de long, chipp, , melville after separation storm.

at beginning of 1881 de long noted that, after 16 months, jeannette still 220 nautical miles (410 km; 250 mi) point had been trapped. wrote: drifting modern flying dutchman ... thirty-three people wearing out lives , souls . on may 16 island sighted, followed another—the first land seen on year. there beside ice in world! , wrote de long. in uncharted seas, these islands discoveries. de long named first henrietta island , after bennett s mother, , second jeannette island . sled party under melville despatched henrietta island, claim territories united states.

at around time, revenue cutter thomas l. corwin in alaskan waters, seeking news of de long s expedition. corwin s captain, calvin hooper, heard stories of shipwreck in far north, , set off investigate. 5 weeks circled bering sea; encounters locals convinced him wreck not of jeannette. on june 16, 1881, relief vessel, uss rodgers left san francisco, destroyed fire in saint lawrence bay in november.

on board jeannette, discovery of islands had raised de long s spirits—the expedition would, wherever drift took it, have concrete geographical achievement credit. onset of brief arctic summer brought fresh hopes jeannette @ last released ice, , on june 11 briefly free, afloat in small pool. however, next day ice returned renewed force, battered ship , penetrated hull beyond repair. de long supervised orderly evacuation of men, dogs, equipment , provisions. on evening of june 12, 1881, jeannette sank, final recorded position being 77°15n, 155°e, around 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) siberian coast.