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On the morning of May 19, 1845, the expedition consisting of two ships - the Terror and the Erebus - sailed from Greenhithe, England, along with 129 men and enough provisions to last at least three years.
At the end of July, 1845, the expedition met two whaling ships -the Prince of Wales and the Enterprise - in Baffin Bay. It was the expedition's last contact with the outside world.
During September, 1846, the Terror and the Erebus became trapped in the ice in the Victoria Strait, forcing the end of the expedition.
From this point, the details of the expedition are scarce, leaving room for myth and mystery. Discoveries from search parties confirm that Sir John Franklin died on June 11, 1847 by an unknown cause, and by the spring of 1848, 24 members of the crew had died. Speculation attributes their deaths to starvation and malnutrition. More recently, theories suggest the Franklin Expedition crew fell victim to lead poisoning.
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