Visions of America: The Stephen White Collection

9 1/2 x 7 3/8 in. albumen photograph on 9 3/4 x 8 7/8 in. cardstock mount. Subjects identified in ink on mount recto.

The Lady Franklin Bay Expedition (also known as the Greely Expedition) of 1881-1884 was one of a number of explorations of the Arctic in the late 19th century. The expedition was designed to establish a weather observation station on Ellesmere Island, and consisted of a party of 21 men lead by Lt. Adolphus Greely. The expedition gained fame after multiple resupply ships were thwarted by pack ice and Greely and his men were forced to endure starvation conditions at Cape Sabine before being rescued in June 1884. By that time, only 7 of the original expedition members -- 6 of whom are depicted here -- had survived. The seventh initial survivor, Joseph Elison, died on the journey home. Sensational rumors of cannibalism followed the survivors though this was never proven.

The survivors of the Greely expedition were rescued at Cape Sabine in June of 1884 by a group led by Commander Winfield Scott Schley. The emaciated men were taken to recover their health at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where this image is believed to have been captured. Noteworthy are two sailors leaning against the building in the background of the photograph.