James Fitzjames
Encyclopedia
James Fitzjames was a British naval officer who participated in two exploratory expeditions, the Euphrates Expedition and the Franklin Expedition to the Arctic
. He was illegitimate, and during his life and after his friends and relatives took great pains to conceal his origins. It has recently been revealed that his true father was Sir James Gambier, although the identity of his mother remains unknown.
in London
. The names given by the people who posed as his parents, 'James Fitzjames, gentleman' and 'Ann Fitzjames', must be presumed to be false. It is not clear who they actually were. Shortly after he was given into the care of the Rev. Robert Coningham and his wife Louisa. The Coninghams were wealthy members of an extended family of Scots/Irish ancestry who, with others from a similar background, settled in the Watford
area of Hertfordshire
. Other prominent members of this family were the Campbells, the Boyds, the Sterlings and the Gledstanes.
The Coningham family seem to have lived at several locations in Hertfordshire
, settling in the late 1820s at a substantial 30 acre country estate called Rose Hill in Abbots Langley
. Robert and Louisa had one son, William Coningham
(1815–1884), who was James Fitzjames' closest friend, the two boys being brought up as brothers.
The Coninghams were a well-educated couple who had extensive connections in British intellectual circles of the time. Robert Coningham was a Cambridge educated clergyman although he never took a living. He was a cousin of the well-known author of the time John Sterling
, and a friend of such intellectuals as Julius Hare
and Thomas Carlyle
. Before she married, Louisa Coningham had taught at the Rothsay House girls' school in Kennington
and was the author of two books, 'A Poetical History of England' and 'An Abridgement of Locke's Essay concerning Human Understanding: With Some Conjectures Respecting the Interference of Nature with Education'.
This intellectual background enabled them to provide James Fitzjames and William Coningham with an exceptionally high level of education. William Coningham was briefly sent to Eton College
while James Fitzjames was away at sea serving on HMS Pyramus. On James Fitzjames' return to the Coningham household, William Coningham was withdrawn from Eton
and the boys' education was provided at home by private tutors, including a son of Dr. Cory, who later tutored the Prince of Wales
for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
James Fitzjames's father, Sir James Gambier, was a minor British diplomat. He came from a family prominent, although not always successful, in Royal Naval service. Sir James Gambier's uncle was the controversial Admiral Lord Gambier
. His father, and therefore James Fitzjames' grandfather, was Admiral James Gambier
. At the time of James Fitzjames's birth his father was in grave difficulties personal and financial difficulties. Sir James had been appointed British Consul-General in Rio de Janeiro
in 1809 and held this office until 1814, although a diplomatic faux pas on his part meant that he had to leave Rio for England in disgrace in 1811. Cut off from the revenues he expected to receive in Rio, he ran up enormous debts and was only saved from bankruptcy when a syndicate of his relatives and creditors, led by Admiral Lord Gambier
, William Morton Pitt and Samuel Gambier, took over his financial affairs and placed them in Trust.
Sir James Gambier married Jemima Snell and the couple had 15 children altogether. One of their children was born within one month of the date of James Fitzjames' birth and at that time it seems the Gambiers may have been estranged.
In 1815, with his financial affairs in the hands of his trustees, Sir James Gambier resumed his diplomatic career by being appointed British Consul-General to the Netherlands
at The Hague
, a position he held until 1825. He appears to have had limited contact with his illegitimate son.
. However, clearly James Fitzjames was able to win the confidence of Captain Sartorius as it was he who promoted Fitzjames to Volunteer of the First Class in 1828. During this commission the Pyramus first sailed to Central America and the United States on diplomatic missions and was then involved in scientific research as part of the 'Experimental Squadron' under Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy. Later she served as British guardship at Lisbon
. In Lisbon, at the age of 15, James Fitzjames seems to have spent a lot of time ashore and given the close political links between Portugal
and Brazil
, it has been suggested that he may have had personal links to Portuguese society; possibly his mother was Portuguese.
Although after this the Coninghams and the Gambiers wanted to send him to Cambridge, James Fitzjames was determined to resume his Royal Naval career. But with Robert Gambier effectively retired on half-pay and George Sartorius
now serving irregularly in the Portuguese Navy, James Fitzjames had great difficulty obtaining a position as a Midshipman. Eventually, and through highly irregular means, James Fitzjames was able to obtain such a position on HMS St. Vincent
from 1830 to 1833. The St. Vincent
was the flagship of the Royal Navy
's Mediterranean Fleet
but spend much time in port at Malta
. Fitzjames served detached duty on a cutter, the Hind, sailing twice to Constantinople
, and on HMS Madagascar
, during which time the Madagascar
conveyed Otto of Greece
from Trieste
to Nauplia where Otto was crowned King of Greece. During this time Fitzjames passed his exams to be promoted to Lieutenant, but only with great difficulty due to the highly irregular way he had obtained his position as Midshipman and his illegitimate birth.
Returning to Britain on HMS St. Vincent
in 1833, he almost immediately obtained a position on HMS Winchester
, the flagship of Vice Admiral Hyde Parker
. In this position he would expect to obtain his promotion to Lieutenant.
, who after James Fitzjames' death become famous as Field Marshal Lord Clyde. Campbell introduced James Fitzjames to Francis Rawdon Chesney
, then a Captain of the Engineers, who was putting together an expedition to establish a steamship line in Mesopotamia
. This venture became known as the Euphrates Expedition and, rather impulsively, James Fitzjames immediately resigned his position on the Winchester
to join Chesney's
Expedition.
James Fitzjames served on the Euphrates Expedition from 1834 to 1837. Before the Expedition even sailed, he distinguished himself by diving into the River Mersey
fully clothed to rescue a drowning man. He was awarded a silver cup and the Freedom of the City
of Liverpool
for this.
Although the Expedition was prosecuted with great energy, it was not a success. The two steamers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, had to be transported in pieces 130 miles across the mountains and desert terrain of northern Syria
from the Mediterranean coast to the river Euphrates
, a tremendous effort which took over a year. The smaller steamer, the Tigris, sank with heavy loss of life in a sudden storm and the surviving vessel, the Euphrates, had too deep a draft to sail on the river for much of the year. In addition there were tremendous difficulties caused both by political complications and disease.
While Chesney
was determined to continue with it and would not release his officers, including James Fitzjames, the Expedition was eventually halted by the British government and the East India Company
, its two major sponsors. In 1836, with the steamer Euphrates unable to sail up the shallows of the river, and having broken its engine, James Fitzjames volunteered to take the India Office mails she was carrying 1,200 miles across modern Iraq
and Syria
to the Mediterranean coast and from there convey them to London
. After many extremely dangerous adventures, which included being kidnapped and trapped in a besieged town, James Fitzjames succeeded in this and made it back to London
.
Here he was reunited with the surviving members of the Expedition as they straggled back home. Sadly while he had been away, Robert Coningham had died suddenly and the remaining members of the Coningham family, all apparently in poor health, had sold their substantial house at Abbot's Langley and were living at Watford
.
One positive aspect of the Expedition was that he formed lifelong friendships with two of the other Royal Navy
officers on the Expedition, Lt. Richard Cleaveland and Edward Charlewood. But to their horror Charlewood, Cleaveland and Fitzjames found that contrary to the understanding of Col. Chesney
, the Admiralty
refused to credit their service on the Euphrates Expedition as 'sea-time', and it therefore would not count towards their promotion. To his credit Chesney
did everything in his power to support his subordinates and after nearly a year the Admiralty
relented and granted the three officers their promotion.
Together with his firm friend Edward Charlewood, he next served on HMS Excellent
, the recently established gunnery school, where he passed out with very high marks. At this time he also formed a close, albeit also professionally extremely useful, friendship with John Barrow junior, the son of Sir John Barrow
, highly influential Second Secretary to the Admiralty
. From this point on the two men corresponded regularly.
As a highly qualified Gunnery Lieutenant James Fitzjames was in demand and this, together with his experience of the Middle East, won him the position of Gunnery Lieutenant on HMS Ganges
in the Syrian War
of 1839 to 1840. He was regarded as an effective officer and was especially commended by Admiral Sir Charles Napier for landing at night to distribute a proclamation to the Egyptian soldiers at their camp. This must have been a very risky enterprise, but he was able to escape back to HMS Ganges
. When informed of this daring exploit Ibrahim Pasha
, the Egyptian General, put a price on Fitzjames' head.
Before this service was completed, James Fitzjames was selected by Admiral Sir William Parker as Gunnery Lieutenant on HMS Cornwallis
, his flagship for the force being assembled in Britain to fight the First Opium War
.
His service in this war was again marked by notably reckless bravery and he was almost killed during the capture of Zhenjiang
, being evacuated to the Cornwallis
when a musket ball passed through his arm into his back, lodging against his spine. This gained him further notice from his senior officers. Always an extrovert, he also wrote and published a 10,000 word humorous poem, 'The Cruise of HMS Cornwallis', describing the First Opium War
. Ostensibly anonymous, he referred to himself in this poem and published it in the Nautical Magazine
under the byline 'Tom Bowline'.
En route to the war, HMS Cornwallis
had spend five days at Singapore
. While there, Fitzjames had some sort of encounter with George Barrow, the eldest surviving son of Sir John Barrow
. It is not clear what happened, but George Barrow was clearly in highly compromised situation and Fitzjames appears to have paid someone off and thereby covered up whatever scandal would otherwise have broken over the Barrow family. From now on, Sir John Barrow
blatantly favoured James Fitzjames, and the first fruit of this was his accelerated promotion to Commander and appointment as Captain of HMS Clio.
Joining the Clio in Bombay
, James Fitzjames cruised the Persian Gulf
and carried out various duties before returning to Portsmouth
in October 1844.
. Fatefully this was just the time that the Franklin Expedition was being planned and Sir John Barrow
, a prime mover of the Expedition, campaigned to have Fitzjames appointed to lead it. Fitzjames asked for his friend Edward Charlewood to be appointed as second in command. Barrow was unable to provide the Board of the Admiralty
with a persuasive argument to support these appointments, so after some prevarication Sir John Franklin
and Francis Crozier
were appointed instead. James Fitzjames was appointed as Franklin's Commander, or in modern parlance Executive Officer. Sir John Barrow
clearly thought of this not as a death sentence but as a prestigious appointment for James Fitzjames. Given Fitzjames' knowledge of the George Barrow scandal, he may also have wanted to find an appointment for Fitzjames which would keep him well away from Britain for as long as possible.
in May, 1845 and after replenishing at Disko Bay
in Greenland
and was last seen at the end of July, 1845 by two whalers in northern Baffin Bay
. That was the last definite sighting of James Fitzjames.
After the death of Sir John Franklin
on June 11, 1847, we know that James Fitzjames became Captain of HMS Erebus
and co-leader of the Franklin Expedition with Captain Francis Crozier
of HMS Terror
. This information has been gleaned from the famous 'Victory Point note', which both men signed on 22 April 1848. This is the last definite trace of James Fitzjames, although he may be one of the shadowy 'kabloona's' – desperate survivors of the Franklin Expedition – who Inuit people of the region remembered meeting.
While his family position was always vulnerable, he did have several advantages. He was physically fit and strong, being tall and well-built. He was handsome and although unmarried clearly enjoyed the company of the opposite sex. He was extremely personable and very skilled in winning the confidence of his superiors. Added to this he was highly intelligent and had been very well educated. He had an excellent sense of humour and was always the life and soul of any party or other situation. To judge by his surviving letters and drawings, he was a sensitive writer and an excellent artist.
But he was always very conscious of the insecurity of his social position and this may explain the extreme personal and professional recklessness which he displayed throughout his life. Whether jumping into the River Mersey
to rescue the drowning man, entering the Egyptian soldiers' camp or leading the assault on the walls of Zhenjiang
, the impression left is that he was potentially willing to risk or even honorably sacrifice his life if the opportunity arose in order to demonstrate that he was as good as, or better, than his legitimate contemporaries.
. According to at least one source, he was idolised somewhat by Sir Clements Markham
and Sir Albert Hastings Markham
as an Arctic
explorer, and may inadvertently have acted as a model for the unfortunate Captain Robert Falcon Scott
.
The only overt tribute to him ever was in a family record 'The Story of the Gambiers', written in 1924 for private circulation by Mrs. Cuthbert Heath, a descendant of Sir James Gambier and published in 1924, in which Mrs. Heath wrote:
At this point mention must be made of a Gambier who bore the 'bar sinister', but is worthy to rank with the most distinguished of the legitimate kinsman. Sir James Gambier, Ambassador to the Brazils, had a natural son, James FitzJames, RN, well known to the Gambier family, who styled him the 'Knight of Snowden'. As Captain of HMS Erebus, he accompanied Sir John Franklin on his disastrous attempt to discover the North Pole in 1845, and shared his leader's fate. His signature appears on one of the last entries of the great explorer's log-book, and his name stands in the place of honour next to that of Sir John Franklin on the well-known monument in Carlton House Terrace.
until it was revealed publicly for the first time in 2010, historians have tended to ascribe his position to mysterious upper class 'family position'. As the principal recruiter for the Franklin Expedition he has often been accused unfairly of packing it with effete sons of the aristocracy (as he was assumed to be) rather than with experienced Arctic hands. Recent research has shown this to be untrue, as with the recent canard that Fitzjames spoke with a lisp.
Although Sir John Franklin
and Francis Crozier
are probably the most widely featured characters in the extensive fiction surrounding the Franklin Expedition, Fitzjames often appears also, although usually in the stereotypical and inaccurate guise of a privileged aristocrat of high birth. Ironically this is a complete reversal of the truth. Books where he features in this fantasy role include 'The Terror
' by Dan Simmons
, 'Arctic Drift
' by Clive Cussler
and 'On the Proper Use of Stars' by Dominique Fortier.
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
. He was illegitimate, and during his life and after his friends and relatives took great pains to conceal his origins. It has recently been revealed that his true father was Sir James Gambier, although the identity of his mother remains unknown.
Early life
James Fitzjames was born on 27 July 1813. He was baptised on 24 February 1815 at St Marylebone Parish ChurchSt Marylebone Parish Church
-First church:The first church for the parish was built in the vicinity of the present Marble Arch c.1200, and dedicated to St John the Evangelist.-Second church:...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The names given by the people who posed as his parents, 'James Fitzjames, gentleman' and 'Ann Fitzjames', must be presumed to be false. It is not clear who they actually were. Shortly after he was given into the care of the Rev. Robert Coningham and his wife Louisa. The Coninghams were wealthy members of an extended family of Scots/Irish ancestry who, with others from a similar background, settled in the Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
area of Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. Other prominent members of this family were the Campbells, the Boyds, the Sterlings and the Gledstanes.
The Coningham family seem to have lived at several locations in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, settling in the late 1820s at a substantial 30 acre country estate called Rose Hill in Abbots Langley
Abbots Langley
Abbots Langley is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire. It is an old settlement and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Economically the village is closely linked to Watford and was formerly part of the Watford Rural District...
. Robert and Louisa had one son, William Coningham
William Coningham
William Coningham was a British Liberal politician and art collector.Born in Penzance, he was the son of the Rev. Robert Coningham, a clergyman from County Londonderry and his wife Louisa née Capper, daughter of an officer in the East India Company Army...
(1815–1884), who was James Fitzjames' closest friend, the two boys being brought up as brothers.
The Coninghams were a well-educated couple who had extensive connections in British intellectual circles of the time. Robert Coningham was a Cambridge educated clergyman although he never took a living. He was a cousin of the well-known author of the time John Sterling
John Sterling (author)
John Sterling , was a British author.He was born at Kames Castle on the Isle of Bute. He belonged to a family of Scottish origin which had settled in Ireland during the Cromwellian period...
, and a friend of such intellectuals as Julius Hare
Julius Charles Hare
Julius Charles Hare was an English theological writer.He was born at Valdagno, near Vicenza, in Italy. He came to England with his parents in 1799, but in 1804-1805 spent a winter with them at Weimar, Germany, where he met Goethe and Schiller, and took an interest in German literature which...
and Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
. Before she married, Louisa Coningham had taught at the Rothsay House girls' school in Kennington
Kennington
Kennington is a district of South London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark....
and was the author of two books, 'A Poetical History of England' and 'An Abridgement of Locke's Essay concerning Human Understanding: With Some Conjectures Respecting the Interference of Nature with Education'.
This intellectual background enabled them to provide James Fitzjames and William Coningham with an exceptionally high level of education. William Coningham was briefly sent to Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
while James Fitzjames was away at sea serving on HMS Pyramus. On James Fitzjames' return to the Coningham household, William Coningham was withdrawn from Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and the boys' education was provided at home by private tutors, including a son of Dr. Cory, who later tutored the Prince of Wales
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Ancestry
James Fitzjames was brought up by the Coningham family as a son, and although he was unrelated to them he always referred to them as 'uncle' and 'aunt'. Until recently the identification of his true family has been a mystery. In different sources it has been suggested that he was a Foundling, that he was of Irish extraction, an illegitimate son of Sir James Stephen, or a relative of the Coninghams. It is now established that he was actually an illegitimate son of Sir James Gambier (1772–1844), although the identification of his mother is uncertain.James Fitzjames's father, Sir James Gambier, was a minor British diplomat. He came from a family prominent, although not always successful, in Royal Naval service. Sir James Gambier's uncle was the controversial Admiral Lord Gambier
James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier
Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier GCB was an admiral of the Royal Navy, who served as Governor of Newfoundland, and as a Lord of the Admiralty, but who gained notoriety for his actions at the Battle of the Basque Roads.-Early career:Gambier was born in New Providence, The...
. His father, and therefore James Fitzjames' grandfather, was Admiral James Gambier
James Gambier (Royal Navy officer)
Vice-Admiral James Gambier was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, North American Station. The historian David Syrett presented a study of Gambier, which presented him as corrupt and largely disliked by his fellow officers....
. At the time of James Fitzjames's birth his father was in grave difficulties personal and financial difficulties. Sir James had been appointed British Consul-General in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
in 1809 and held this office until 1814, although a diplomatic faux pas on his part meant that he had to leave Rio for England in disgrace in 1811. Cut off from the revenues he expected to receive in Rio, he ran up enormous debts and was only saved from bankruptcy when a syndicate of his relatives and creditors, led by Admiral Lord Gambier
James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier
Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier GCB was an admiral of the Royal Navy, who served as Governor of Newfoundland, and as a Lord of the Admiralty, but who gained notoriety for his actions at the Battle of the Basque Roads.-Early career:Gambier was born in New Providence, The...
, William Morton Pitt and Samuel Gambier, took over his financial affairs and placed them in Trust.
Sir James Gambier married Jemima Snell and the couple had 15 children altogether. One of their children was born within one month of the date of James Fitzjames' birth and at that time it seems the Gambiers may have been estranged.
In 1815, with his financial affairs in the hands of his trustees, Sir James Gambier resumed his diplomatic career by being appointed British Consul-General to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
at The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, a position he held until 1825. He appears to have had limited contact with his illegitimate son.
Naval service
James Fitzjames entered the Royal Navy at the age of 12 in July 1825 as a Volunteer of the Second Class on HMS Pyramus, a frigate under the command of Captain Robert Gambier. He served on the Pyramus until 15 September 1828, being promoted to Volunteer of the First Class on 1 July 1828. Captain Robert Gambier was actually James Fitzjames' true second cousin, and it was through this covert family connection that James Fitzjames was able to obtain this position notwithstanding his illegitimacy and the Coningham family's lack of Royal Naval connections. Unfortunately Captain Gambier resigned his position only a year later due to the unexpected death of his wife, leaving James Fitzjames vulnerable as he had no connection with the new Captain, George SartoriusGeorge Sartorius
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rose Sartorius GCB was a Royal Navy officer who also commanded the navy of Dom Pedro in the Portuguese Civil Wars.-Naval career:...
. However, clearly James Fitzjames was able to win the confidence of Captain Sartorius as it was he who promoted Fitzjames to Volunteer of the First Class in 1828. During this commission the Pyramus first sailed to Central America and the United States on diplomatic missions and was then involved in scientific research as part of the 'Experimental Squadron' under Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy. Later she served as British guardship at Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. In Lisbon, at the age of 15, James Fitzjames seems to have spent a lot of time ashore and given the close political links between Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, it has been suggested that he may have had personal links to Portuguese society; possibly his mother was Portuguese.
Although after this the Coninghams and the Gambiers wanted to send him to Cambridge, James Fitzjames was determined to resume his Royal Naval career. But with Robert Gambier effectively retired on half-pay and George Sartorius
George Sartorius
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rose Sartorius GCB was a Royal Navy officer who also commanded the navy of Dom Pedro in the Portuguese Civil Wars.-Naval career:...
now serving irregularly in the Portuguese Navy, James Fitzjames had great difficulty obtaining a position as a Midshipman. Eventually, and through highly irregular means, James Fitzjames was able to obtain such a position on HMS St. Vincent
HMS St Vincent (1815)
HMS St Vincent was a 120-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1810 at Plymouth Dockyard and launched on 11 March 1815 before a crowd that was put at 50,000 spectators.-Service:...
from 1830 to 1833. The St. Vincent
HMS St Vincent (1815)
HMS St Vincent was a 120-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1810 at Plymouth Dockyard and launched on 11 March 1815 before a crowd that was put at 50,000 spectators.-Service:...
was the flagship of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's Mediterranean Fleet
Mediterranean Fleet
Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...
but spend much time in port at Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. Fitzjames served detached duty on a cutter, the Hind, sailing twice to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, and on HMS Madagascar
HMS Madagascar (1822)
HMS Madagascar was a 46-gun fifth-rate Seringapatam-class frigate, built at Bombay and launched on 15 November 1822.The Bavarian Prince Otto who had been selected as the King of Greece was delivered to his new capital Nafplion in 1833....
, during which time the Madagascar
HMS Madagascar (1822)
HMS Madagascar was a 46-gun fifth-rate Seringapatam-class frigate, built at Bombay and launched on 15 November 1822.The Bavarian Prince Otto who had been selected as the King of Greece was delivered to his new capital Nafplion in 1833....
conveyed Otto of Greece
Otto of Greece
Otto, Prince of Bavaria, then Othon, King of Greece was made the first modern King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the protection of the Great Powers .The second son of the philhellene King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended...
from Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
to Nauplia where Otto was crowned King of Greece. During this time Fitzjames passed his exams to be promoted to Lieutenant, but only with great difficulty due to the highly irregular way he had obtained his position as Midshipman and his illegitimate birth.
Returning to Britain on HMS St. Vincent
HMS St Vincent (1815)
HMS St Vincent was a 120-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1810 at Plymouth Dockyard and launched on 11 March 1815 before a crowd that was put at 50,000 spectators.-Service:...
in 1833, he almost immediately obtained a position on HMS Winchester
HMS Winchester (1822)
HMS Winchester was a 60-gun Southampton-class sailing frigate of the Royal Navy. She was laid down in 1816 at Woolwich Dockyard, and launched on 21 June 1822. Although designed for 60 guns, she and the rest of the class carried 52 guns. From 1831 to 1861 she served in North America and South East...
, the flagship of Vice Admiral Hyde Parker
Hyde Parker (Sea Lord)
Vice-Admiral Hyde Parker CB was a senior British naval officer who started to serve during the Napoleonic Wars and who was appointed First Naval Lord of the Admiralty in 1852...
. In this position he would expect to obtain his promotion to Lieutenant.
The Euphrates Expedition
Robert Coningham had become extremely close to a relative of his, Major Colin CampbellColin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde
Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde GCB, KSI was a British Army officer from Scotland who led the Highland Brigade in the Crimea and was in command of the ‘Thin red line’ at the battle of Balaclava...
, who after James Fitzjames' death become famous as Field Marshal Lord Clyde. Campbell introduced James Fitzjames to Francis Rawdon Chesney
Francis Rawdon Chesney
right|thumb|200px|General F.R.Chesney in 1863Francis Rawdon Chesney , general and explorer, was a son of Captain Alexander Chesney, an Irishman of Scottish descent who, having emigrated to South Carolina in 1772, served under Lord Rawdon in the American War of Independence, and subsequently...
, then a Captain of the Engineers, who was putting together an expedition to establish a steamship line in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
. This venture became known as the Euphrates Expedition and, rather impulsively, James Fitzjames immediately resigned his position on the Winchester
HMS Winchester (1822)
HMS Winchester was a 60-gun Southampton-class sailing frigate of the Royal Navy. She was laid down in 1816 at Woolwich Dockyard, and launched on 21 June 1822. Although designed for 60 guns, she and the rest of the class carried 52 guns. From 1831 to 1861 she served in North America and South East...
to join Chesney's
Francis Rawdon Chesney
right|thumb|200px|General F.R.Chesney in 1863Francis Rawdon Chesney , general and explorer, was a son of Captain Alexander Chesney, an Irishman of Scottish descent who, having emigrated to South Carolina in 1772, served under Lord Rawdon in the American War of Independence, and subsequently...
Expedition.
James Fitzjames served on the Euphrates Expedition from 1834 to 1837. Before the Expedition even sailed, he distinguished himself by diving into the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
fully clothed to rescue a drowning man. He was awarded a silver cup and the Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
for this.
Although the Expedition was prosecuted with great energy, it was not a success. The two steamers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, had to be transported in pieces 130 miles across the mountains and desert terrain of northern Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
from the Mediterranean coast to the river Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
, a tremendous effort which took over a year. The smaller steamer, the Tigris, sank with heavy loss of life in a sudden storm and the surviving vessel, the Euphrates, had too deep a draft to sail on the river for much of the year. In addition there were tremendous difficulties caused both by political complications and disease.
While Chesney
Francis Rawdon Chesney
right|thumb|200px|General F.R.Chesney in 1863Francis Rawdon Chesney , general and explorer, was a son of Captain Alexander Chesney, an Irishman of Scottish descent who, having emigrated to South Carolina in 1772, served under Lord Rawdon in the American War of Independence, and subsequently...
was determined to continue with it and would not release his officers, including James Fitzjames, the Expedition was eventually halted by the British government and the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, its two major sponsors. In 1836, with the steamer Euphrates unable to sail up the shallows of the river, and having broken its engine, James Fitzjames volunteered to take the India Office mails she was carrying 1,200 miles across modern Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
to the Mediterranean coast and from there convey them to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. After many extremely dangerous adventures, which included being kidnapped and trapped in a besieged town, James Fitzjames succeeded in this and made it back to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Here he was reunited with the surviving members of the Expedition as they straggled back home. Sadly while he had been away, Robert Coningham had died suddenly and the remaining members of the Coningham family, all apparently in poor health, had sold their substantial house at Abbot's Langley and were living at Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
.
One positive aspect of the Expedition was that he formed lifelong friendships with two of the other Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officers on the Expedition, Lt. Richard Cleaveland and Edward Charlewood. But to their horror Charlewood, Cleaveland and Fitzjames found that contrary to the understanding of Col. Chesney
Francis Rawdon Chesney
right|thumb|200px|General F.R.Chesney in 1863Francis Rawdon Chesney , general and explorer, was a son of Captain Alexander Chesney, an Irishman of Scottish descent who, having emigrated to South Carolina in 1772, served under Lord Rawdon in the American War of Independence, and subsequently...
, the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
refused to credit their service on the Euphrates Expedition as 'sea-time', and it therefore would not count towards their promotion. To his credit Chesney
Francis Rawdon Chesney
right|thumb|200px|General F.R.Chesney in 1863Francis Rawdon Chesney , general and explorer, was a son of Captain Alexander Chesney, an Irishman of Scottish descent who, having emigrated to South Carolina in 1772, served under Lord Rawdon in the American War of Independence, and subsequently...
did everything in his power to support his subordinates and after nearly a year the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
relented and granted the three officers their promotion.
Royal Naval service resumed
James Fitzjames resumed Royal Naval service and followed a much more conventional career path.Together with his firm friend Edward Charlewood, he next served on HMS Excellent
HMS Excellent
HMS Excellent is a Royal Navy "stone frigate" sited on Whale Island near Portsmouth in Hampshire.HMS Excellent is itself part of the Maritime Warfare School, with a Headquarters at HMS Collingwood, although a number of lodger units are resident within the site, the principal of which is the...
, the recently established gunnery school, where he passed out with very high marks. At this time he also formed a close, albeit also professionally extremely useful, friendship with John Barrow junior, the son of Sir John Barrow
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, FRS, FRGS was an English statesman.-Career:He was born the son of Roger Barrow in the village of Dragley Beck, in the parish of Ulverston then in Lancashire, now in Cumbria...
, highly influential Second Secretary to the Admiralty
Second Secretary to the Admiralty
The office of Second Secretary to the Admiralty was a former government position in the Admiralty of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Assistants to the Secretary of the Admiralty were initially only intermittently appointed, being sometimes designated...
. From this point on the two men corresponded regularly.
As a highly qualified Gunnery Lieutenant James Fitzjames was in demand and this, together with his experience of the Middle East, won him the position of Gunnery Lieutenant on HMS Ganges
HMS Ganges (1821)
HMS Ganges was an 84-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 10 November 1821 at Bombay Dockyard, constructed from teak...
in the Syrian War
Syrian War
The Syrian War is the name generally given to the war of 1839-40 fought in the Middle East, also known as the Second Syrian War, mainly on territory that is now Lebanon, between the Allied Powers of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Austrian Empire, the Russian Empire and the...
of 1839 to 1840. He was regarded as an effective officer and was especially commended by Admiral Sir Charles Napier for landing at night to distribute a proclamation to the Egyptian soldiers at their camp. This must have been a very risky enterprise, but he was able to escape back to HMS Ganges
HMS Ganges (1821)
HMS Ganges was an 84-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 10 November 1821 at Bombay Dockyard, constructed from teak...
. When informed of this daring exploit Ibrahim Pasha
Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
Ibrahim Pasha was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He served as a general in the Egyptian army that his father established during his reign, taking his first command of Egyptian forces was when he was merely a teenager...
, the Egyptian General, put a price on Fitzjames' head.
Before this service was completed, James Fitzjames was selected by Admiral Sir William Parker as Gunnery Lieutenant on HMS Cornwallis
HMS Cornwallis (1813)
HMS Cornwallis was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 May 1813 at Bombay. She was built of teak. The capture of Java by USS Constitution delayed the completion of Cornwallis as Java had been bringing her copper sheathing from England.On 27 April 1815, Cornwallis...
, his flagship for the force being assembled in Britain to fight the First Opium War
First Opium War
The First Anglo-Chinese War , known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice...
.
His service in this war was again marked by notably reckless bravery and he was almost killed during the capture of Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Jiangsu province in the eastern People's Republic of China . Sitting on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Changzhou to the east, and Yangzhou across the river to the north.Once...
, being evacuated to the Cornwallis
HMS Cornwallis (1813)
HMS Cornwallis was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 May 1813 at Bombay. She was built of teak. The capture of Java by USS Constitution delayed the completion of Cornwallis as Java had been bringing her copper sheathing from England.On 27 April 1815, Cornwallis...
when a musket ball passed through his arm into his back, lodging against his spine. This gained him further notice from his senior officers. Always an extrovert, he also wrote and published a 10,000 word humorous poem, 'The Cruise of HMS Cornwallis', describing the First Opium War
First Opium War
The First Anglo-Chinese War , known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice...
. Ostensibly anonymous, he referred to himself in this poem and published it in the Nautical Magazine
The Nautical Magazine
The Nautical Magazine is a monthly magazine published by Brown Son & Ferguson containing articles of general interest to seafarers. The magazine was first published in 1832 and has variously been known as The Nautical magazine and naval chronicle for ... and Nautical magazine and journal of the...
under the byline 'Tom Bowline'.
En route to the war, HMS Cornwallis
HMS Cornwallis (1813)
HMS Cornwallis was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 May 1813 at Bombay. She was built of teak. The capture of Java by USS Constitution delayed the completion of Cornwallis as Java had been bringing her copper sheathing from England.On 27 April 1815, Cornwallis...
had spend five days at Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. While there, Fitzjames had some sort of encounter with George Barrow, the eldest surviving son of Sir John Barrow
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, FRS, FRGS was an English statesman.-Career:He was born the son of Roger Barrow in the village of Dragley Beck, in the parish of Ulverston then in Lancashire, now in Cumbria...
. It is not clear what happened, but George Barrow was clearly in highly compromised situation and Fitzjames appears to have paid someone off and thereby covered up whatever scandal would otherwise have broken over the Barrow family. From now on, Sir John Barrow
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, FRS, FRGS was an English statesman.-Career:He was born the son of Roger Barrow in the village of Dragley Beck, in the parish of Ulverston then in Lancashire, now in Cumbria...
blatantly favoured James Fitzjames, and the first fruit of this was his accelerated promotion to Commander and appointment as Captain of HMS Clio.
Joining the Clio in Bombay
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, James Fitzjames cruised the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
and carried out various duties before returning to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
in October 1844.
Appointment to the Franklin Expedition
Returning to England, Fitzjames lived with William Coningham, his wife Elizabeth (née Meyrick) and their two young children at their home in BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. Fatefully this was just the time that the Franklin Expedition was being planned and Sir John Barrow
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, FRS, FRGS was an English statesman.-Career:He was born the son of Roger Barrow in the village of Dragley Beck, in the parish of Ulverston then in Lancashire, now in Cumbria...
, a prime mover of the Expedition, campaigned to have Fitzjames appointed to lead it. Fitzjames asked for his friend Edward Charlewood to be appointed as second in command. Barrow was unable to provide the Board of the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
with a persuasive argument to support these appointments, so after some prevarication Sir John Franklin
John Franklin
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...
and Francis Crozier
Francis Crozier
Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier was born in Ireland at Banbridge, County Down and was a British naval officer who participated in six exploratory expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic...
were appointed instead. James Fitzjames was appointed as Franklin's Commander, or in modern parlance Executive Officer. Sir John Barrow
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, FRS, FRGS was an English statesman.-Career:He was born the son of Roger Barrow in the village of Dragley Beck, in the parish of Ulverston then in Lancashire, now in Cumbria...
clearly thought of this not as a death sentence but as a prestigious appointment for James Fitzjames. Given Fitzjames' knowledge of the George Barrow scandal, he may also have wanted to find an appointment for Fitzjames which would keep him well away from Britain for as long as possible.
The Franklin Expedition
Once appointed to the Franklin Expedition, Fitzjames was given specific responsibility for recruitment and also for the scientific research into magnetism which was an important objective of the Franklin Expedition. The ships sailed from GreenhitheGreenhithe
Greenhithe is a town in Dartford District of Kent, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe.Greenhithe, as it is spelled today, is located where it was possible to build wharves for transshipping corn, wood and other commodities; its largest cargoes were of chalk and...
in May, 1845 and after replenishing at Disko Bay
Disko Bay
Disko Bay is a bay on the western coast of Greenland. The bay constitutes a wide southeastern inlet of Baffin Bay.- Geography :To the south the coastline is complicated with multiple waterways of skerries and small islands in the Aasiaat archipelago...
in Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
and was last seen at the end of July, 1845 by two whalers in northern Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay , located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea...
. That was the last definite sighting of James Fitzjames.
After the death of Sir John Franklin
John Franklin
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...
on June 11, 1847, we know that James Fitzjames became Captain of HMS Erebus
HMS Erebus (1826)
HMS Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in Pembroke dockyard, Wales in 1826. The vessel was named after the dark region in Hades of Greek mythology called Erebus...
and co-leader of the Franklin Expedition with Captain Francis Crozier
Francis Crozier
Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier was born in Ireland at Banbridge, County Down and was a British naval officer who participated in six exploratory expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic...
of HMS Terror
HMS Terror (1813)
HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon. The ship, variously listed as being of either 326 or 340 tons, carried two mortars, one and one .-War service:...
. This information has been gleaned from the famous 'Victory Point note', which both men signed on 22 April 1848. This is the last definite trace of James Fitzjames, although he may be one of the shadowy 'kabloona's' – desperate survivors of the Franklin Expedition – who Inuit people of the region remembered meeting.
Character
James Fitzjames struggled to find his position in early nineteenth century British society. While illegitimacy was not unusual, it caused great difficulties for the children concerned, who were not expected openly to refer to their blood families and could not depend on any support from them. In Fitzjames' case the controversial reputations of his Royal Naval ancestors, and the disreputable behaviour of his father, compounded this. In addition, the underhand way he obtained his promotion to Midshipman made his position in the Royal Navy extremely vulnerable and his career up until 1838 open to challenge.While his family position was always vulnerable, he did have several advantages. He was physically fit and strong, being tall and well-built. He was handsome and although unmarried clearly enjoyed the company of the opposite sex. He was extremely personable and very skilled in winning the confidence of his superiors. Added to this he was highly intelligent and had been very well educated. He had an excellent sense of humour and was always the life and soul of any party or other situation. To judge by his surviving letters and drawings, he was a sensitive writer and an excellent artist.
But he was always very conscious of the insecurity of his social position and this may explain the extreme personal and professional recklessness which he displayed throughout his life. Whether jumping into the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
to rescue the drowning man, entering the Egyptian soldiers' camp or leading the assault on the walls of Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Jiangsu province in the eastern People's Republic of China . Sitting on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Changzhou to the east, and Yangzhou across the river to the north.Once...
, the impression left is that he was potentially willing to risk or even honorably sacrifice his life if the opportunity arose in order to demonstrate that he was as good as, or better, than his legitimate contemporaries.
Tributes
After the disappearance of the Franklin Expedition, his loss was recorded on the various monuments to the Franklin Expedition, such as the statue at Waterloo Place in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. According to at least one source, he was idolised somewhat by Sir Clements Markham
Clements Markham
Sir Clements Robert Markham KCB FRS was an English geographer, explorer, and writer. He was secretary of the Royal Geographical Society between 1863 and 1888, and later served as the Society's president for a further 12 years...
and Sir Albert Hastings Markham
Albert Hastings Markham
Admiral Sir Albert Hastings Markham, KCB was a British explorer, author, and officer in the Royal Navy. In 1903 he was made Knight Commander in the Order of the Bath...
as an Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
explorer, and may inadvertently have acted as a model for the unfortunate Captain Robert Falcon Scott
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...
.
The only overt tribute to him ever was in a family record 'The Story of the Gambiers', written in 1924 for private circulation by Mrs. Cuthbert Heath, a descendant of Sir James Gambier and published in 1924, in which Mrs. Heath wrote:
At this point mention must be made of a Gambier who bore the 'bar sinister', but is worthy to rank with the most distinguished of the legitimate kinsman. Sir James Gambier, Ambassador to the Brazils, had a natural son, James FitzJames, RN, well known to the Gambier family, who styled him the 'Knight of Snowden'. As Captain of HMS Erebus, he accompanied Sir John Franklin on his disastrous attempt to discover the North Pole in 1845, and shared his leader's fate. His signature appears on one of the last entries of the great explorer's log-book, and his name stands in the place of honour next to that of Sir John Franklin on the well-known monument in Carlton House Terrace.
Fiction, literature and popular culture
Because no authority had been aware of Fitzjames' true origins and the source of his influence over Sir John BarrowSir John Barrow, 1st Baronet
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, FRS, FRGS was an English statesman.-Career:He was born the son of Roger Barrow in the village of Dragley Beck, in the parish of Ulverston then in Lancashire, now in Cumbria...
until it was revealed publicly for the first time in 2010, historians have tended to ascribe his position to mysterious upper class 'family position'. As the principal recruiter for the Franklin Expedition he has often been accused unfairly of packing it with effete sons of the aristocracy (as he was assumed to be) rather than with experienced Arctic hands. Recent research has shown this to be untrue, as with the recent canard that Fitzjames spoke with a lisp.
Although Sir John Franklin
John Franklin
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...
and Francis Crozier
Francis Crozier
Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier was born in Ireland at Banbridge, County Down and was a British naval officer who participated in six exploratory expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic...
are probably the most widely featured characters in the extensive fiction surrounding the Franklin Expedition, Fitzjames often appears also, although usually in the stereotypical and inaccurate guise of a privileged aristocrat of high birth. Ironically this is a complete reversal of the truth. Books where he features in this fantasy role include 'The Terror
The Terror (novel)
The Terror is the name of a 2007 novel by American author Dan Simmons. The novel is a fictionalized account of Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to the Arctic to force the Northwest Passage in 1845 - 1848...
' by Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
, 'Arctic Drift
Arctic Drift
Arctic Drift is a Dirk Pitt novel, the 20th of the series and was released on November 25, 2008.-Plot:The plot begins in the year 1847, when the Franklin Expedition becomes stranded trying to find the Northwest Passage. They experience a harsh winter. The men are seemingly going mad...
' by Clive Cussler
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
and 'On the Proper Use of Stars' by Dominique Fortier.