Français  Contact Us  Help  Search  Canada Site Volume 1 (1000–1754) Volume 2 (1755-1871) Volume 3 (1872–2000) CHAPTER 1 The Conquest CHAPTER 2 The Revolt of Pontiac and the American Invasion CHAPTER 3 The Coveted Pacific Coast CHAPTER 4 The Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 CHAPTER 5 Demobilization CHAPTER 6 The Royal Navy, Ruler of the Seas A Power Force In Defence From Sail to Steam A Revolution in Artillery Arctic Exploration Franklin's Tragic Expedition Discovery of a Northwest Passage Events in the North West Territories The Red River Volunteers The Pacific Coast The Victoria Voltigeurs The Purported Russian Threat The Gold Rush and the Royal Engineers The Pig War The Royal Navy Patrols the West Coast The Volunteer Corps CHAPTER 7 A Decade of Turbulence APPENDIX A The British Armed Forces APPENDIX B Daily Life of Soldiers and Officers APPENDIX C Uniforms and Arms APPENDIX D Reference      CHAPTER 6 The Royal Navy, Ruler of the Seas           Discovery of a Northwest Passage ( 1 page )                     The tragic fate of Franklin and his men had not been in vain.  In 1852 one of the many expeditions that had gone searching for them, that of Commodore Robert McClure on the HMS Investigator, reached Banks Island through the Bering Strait.  McClure abandoned his ship there and went eastward on foot all the way to Melville Island, where he met another search ship that had arrived via the Atlantic.  He returned to England on board the latter.  A Northwest Passage had finally been found!  But the "passage" was not navigable and from a strategic naval and military standpoint had no value. 116  But the Arctic Ocean played a significant role in defending the Canadian Prairies.        Last Updated: 2004-06-20 Important Notices