Kislingbury, Frederick Foster, 1847-1884

Frederick Foster Kislingbury; BIRTH
25 Dec 1847
East Ilsley, West Berkshire Unitary Authority, Berkshire, England
DEATH
1 Jun 1884 (aged 36)
Nunavut, Canada
BURIAL
Mount Hope Cemetery
Rochester, Monroe County, New York,

Members of the Greely Expedition Second Lieutenant Frederick F. Kislingbury / Born: December 25, 1847 / Died: June 1, 1884 of starvation at Camp Clay; A personal friend of Greely's whose wife had just died, Kislingbury may have been suffering from a nervous breakdown when he signed on to the expedition as the second in command. After just a few weeks at Fort Conger, tension between Greely and Kislingbury mounted, and Greely ordered Kislingbury's resignation. Kislingbury gathered his belongings and went to board the Proteus, but the ship was already pulling out of the harbor. With no official role, he spent the next few years doing odd jobs. After his death, the remaining survivors were too weak to carry his body to the makeshift cemetery, and his body remained outside the tent.

Frederick Foster Kislingbury was born in England in 1846 or 1847 and moved to the United States around 1858. He lived in Rochester, New York, and enlisted in a cavalry regiment during the Civil War. After the war, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he was a clerk, and he received a United States Army commission around 1873. He served as a 2nd lieutenant with the 11th Infantry at Fort Concho, Texas; Fort Standing Rock, Dakota Territory; and Fort Custer, Montana. In 1880, Kislingbury volunteered for Adolphus Greely's expedition to the Arctic. Originally appointed second in command, Kislingbury was relieved from duty in August 1881 at his own request after refusing to comply with orders. He remained with the expedition, as the steamer Proteus , which had brought the men to Lady Franklin Bay, had already left, and only resumed duties after the death of another crew member in April 1884. He died in the Arctic on June 1, 1884 ...