James Fitzjames entered the Royal Navy in 1825, serving in the Euphrates Expedition under Colonel Chesney from 1834 until 1837. Promoted lieutenant in 1838, he served off the coast of Syria and during the first China War between 1840 and 1842. Advancing to the rank of commander in 1842, he was appointed to HMS Clio, in which he served until 1844. He was appointed commander of HMS Erebus on the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition, 1845-1848 (leader Sir John Franklin), sent to search for a Northwest Passage beyond Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait in the unexplored region south-west of Barrow Strait. Sailing from London in company with HMS Terror in May 1845, the expedition was last seen heading for Lancaster Sound by two whalers in northern Baffin Bay in late July 1845. After that, the expedition disappeared and Europeans never again saw its members alive. Many searches were conducted for the missing expedition, during the course of which the main facts regarding the route taken and final fate of the expedition were established. The two vessels had become beset north of King William Island, where they had spent two winters between September 1846 and April 1848. According to a message left by Fitzjames, Franklin died on 11 June 1847 and the command had devolved on Francis Crozier. Abandoning the two vessels on 22 April 1848, the 105 survivors led by Crozier, with Fitzjames acting as second-in-command, set out toward Back River. All perished during the journey. Fitzjames had been promoted captain in December 1845 during the expedition.
Published work The last journal of Captain Fitzjames, of the lost polar expedition edited by William Coningham, W Pearce (late Wallis) Brighton SPRI Library Shelf (41)91(08)[1845-1848 Franklin]
From the guide to the James Fitzjames collection, 1825-1845, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
