#hms terror lieutenants

[peonychikh]

Happy Holidays, @honeyed-badger ! 🐻‍❄️🩵

[mayusz]

all the beauty and the bloodshed

[franciscrozierofficial]

Hello, Captain, it's @nedwardsmol. I was informed that you needed me?

Yes.

@nedwardsmol, @ltgeorgehodgson, @lieutenantjirv You are all to report to the wardroom. We Terrors are long overdue for a meeting of command.

Leave your personals at the door, gentlemen. We have work to do. 😠.

[rpfofficial]

your pfp goes so well with your theme its so beautiful in here

I KNOW i didn't really mean that to happen i just like this screenshot of edward little and wanted to make it brighter and accidentally made it look like it fit with the rest of my theme shfbeszjc it needed some more adjusting before it looked perfect but im very happy with it. it IS so beautiful in here 😌

[kittieshauntedourfantasy]

Sorry I saw the chance and I took it

Acrylics on canvas, 2022

Inspired by images of the 1914-1917 Shackleton antarctic expedition as well as the 2018 series the Terror.

[crustaceousfaggot]

"my daughter turned out fine" ma'am your son knows each of the Lieutenants from HMS Terror's 1845 voyage by name age and birthplace. And he has strong opinions on each of their sex lives.

[ltwilliammowett]

HMS Terror trapped in pack ice in the Frozen Strait, 1836, by William Smyth (1799-1877)

Smyth was first Lieutenant of HMS Terror on George Back's north-west passage expedition to the Wagner River, Hudson River. During this time, he was praised by Back as being pivotal in maintaining crew morale and discipline.

Btw it was common for many naval officers to be taught how to draw for the purpose of navigation.

[asparklethatisblue]

“Francis, your Lieutenant is crying.”

“Hm what? Ah. Edward?”

“Yes?”

“Sob quietly”

Presenting you with scenes from German cinema, aboard the Terror

[rosemarytales]

okay so I rewatched the terror and this time around I understood more because I could somehow tell them apart. here are some random thoughts

jopson's fate was among the cruellest things that happened

hodgson's speech to goodsir made me understand just how deep the writers went when analyzing the psychology of the characters. what is truly interesting is how they also had to forget parts of it because humans barely ever know why they do what they do and yet it still defines who they are (that kieran culkin golf analogy)

I missed so much stuff on my first watch, but Idk how I missed hickey wearing fitzjames' boots, how people were turning against the lieutenants, sophia going barefoot in the snow, etc. those were all fundamental things, no wonder I didn't understand anything

hickey was much much smarter than anyone gave him credit for. the fact he figured out the ritual to become shaman is mind-boggling

goodsir is painfully good and painfully english. both are the reason why he could not have lived on the way crozier did, because he would have never accepted silna leaving and that would have been his demise (because he loves her and because he refuses to see things according to the culture they are happening in). I also know he started realizing he coould never go back to england the moment he said goodbye to silna, when he hesitates saying people there are good. he knew then that it wasn't necessarily true and that was not a fact he could live with, but he still went out trying to save the man he deemed worthy of it

tozer definitely started hating people when they didn't help him save heather

doctor mcdonald's death?? what??? insane

goodsir's visions :((((( I think a lot about goodsir

NO ONE talk to me about bridgens and peglar. no. one.

on that topic, I was surprised this show was actually this queer. I thought people were mostly going off on subtext and the only explicitly queer characters being. well. insane. but no we are talking hms faggot here, this is crazy. I was pleasantly surprised because I know tumblrinas were not the target audience for this show

collins breaks my heart. he just wanted peace :((

for some reason I grew so attached to hodgson and mcdonald. they are like potatoes to me and I grow them on my windowsill

fitzjames. just. 23 layers of façade to hide his insecurities. relatable queen

crozier, hickey, hodgson and goodsir monopolized my attention tho. don't ask why

[representative-democracy]

gotta know one thing about the HMS Terror which its got three flavours of lieutenant: dandy, homophobic homosexual, and the saddest, wettest man you have ever had the displeasure of seeing

[prev][next]

[even-in-arcadia]

A Consideration of 1st Lt. Edward Little of HMS Terror (As Played by Matthew McNulty)

The thing about Lt. Edward Little is that he had the highest ideals and yet was set up in so many ways to fail them.  

We occasionally see glimpses of the man Edward Little must have been in order to be appointed First Lieutenant on a very prestigious expedition: reliable, capable, stalwart. 

He had that, before, when he was doing the job he was trained for, ie running a ship at sea.  What he hasn’t been trained for at all is managing 129 126 119 105 ? men stuck in pack ice in endless night, later trudging over ice and shale, trying to keep them busy and out of trouble and from getting killed by a demon bear.  Of course he’s out of his depth, but honestly aren’t most of them?  Of the lieutenants Gore (RIP) is the only one who seems to be in his element and he’s the only one with Arctic experience so that tracks.  Even Le Vesconte is getting by on charisma and the power of peer pressure, neither of which actually make for competent officering.  So that’s the scene he’s stuck in, and no wonder if he’s out of his depth.  

Then we have the circumstances specific to Edward Little.  He's spent the first two-plus years of the voyage as the first for a captain who is very depressed and increasingly alcoholic. As Crozier's state deteriorates and especially after Franklin dies, Little has to tread a very fine and somewhat blurry line. He has to cover for Crozier, picking up the slack that is inevitably dropped; he also has to prop Crozier up in such a way that his leadership as Captain isn't undermined with the crew. A big part of both of those is making sure that the right questions are being asked, that all practicalities are being factored in, but he has to ask those questions without seeming to question Crozier’s authority. Thus he must essentially be an acting captain without seeming to do so either to the men or to Crozier . He is not someone who wants power per se; in fact I think what he wants most is to be a good and competent 1st Lt. But because he's under an semi-incapacitated captain, he has no choice but to take on some of that power while appearing to be no more than a loyal lieutenant. He's leading without being seen to lead, and he's already seen Crozier flog three men for among other things insubordination and disrespect (and without due process).

(Continued below the cut, as this got very long)

Crozier has also put him in a position of having to lie - both directly and by omission! For example, when questioned he tells Fitzjames (who outranks him) "much to do on Terror is all” - leaving JFJ to draw his own conclusions on the source of that “much” and the extent to which it is falling on Little.  The instruction to procure more whiskey “discreetly” is nearly if not actually insulting in how far below Little's rank it is.  Having to do it “discreetly” is even worse.  He is being treated as an errand boy, and not just an errand boy but one tasked with something that is clearly unsavory, even illicit.   By ordering him to to this, he makes Little complicit in the very vice that is causing all of these problems, and Little by virtue of his position is unable to refuse any of these direct orders, even ones that are way below his station. (The fact that Jopson, Crozier's actual steward who was actually in charge of these things, was not given that task is also telling although I’m not sure of what - perhaps that Crozier wanted someone who outranked the Erebus’ steward to do the asking; perhaps that he felt some shame in asking Jopson.)

Through all of this, Little is having to cover for a man who continues to lose his own respect in ways both large and small, personal and professional. Crozier has endangered the crew for which Little feels himself bound to care - leading directly to Blanky losing his leg - and has spoken flippantly of the situation ("How fares the raft of the Medusa?"). In 1x04, he is clearly galled by both the disregard of due process and severity of Hickey’s punishment.  (While both are not unstandard in the Navy, Crozier’s manner makes it seem like spite as much as anything - which I’m sure Little clocked.)  Overall, Little observes him making inebriated decisions that are based as much on his internal demons as any the practicalities at hand while men continue to die under his watch. This erosion of trust will come back to haunt them all, because even when its causes have been overcome, the deep root and the effects are there. (JFJ gets to have reckonings with Crozier and say his piece in a way that Little never does or will.)

Edward Little also cares deeply about the welfare of his men, perhaps more than anything. Command is a responsibility not just to the navy but to those whose lives his decisions affect. And so he as he sees this disregard for them (and for himself) he is angry, and he is in a profession and position where one is not allowed to be angry with one's superiors. So he spends a lot of his time pretending that he is not quietly furious while carrying out orders that he knows he shouldn't be, and hiding it from everyone , even Fitzjames, because he is also, deep in his heart, loyal (even if he feels it is unearned) and married to Naval structures.  Crozier and JFJ have their reckoning, but Little never gets that, because subordinates aren’t allowed to be angry.  

This combination, the lack of trust both given and received, the anger, the care & loyalty, the necessity to fill the void in leadership, means that he asks a lot of questions . A well placed "Are you sure, sir?" can go a long way. "Yes, but--" is not a phrase that would often have been uttered to a commander by a lieutenant, but Little has not just earned but hard won the right to say it.  Every time he questions Crozier, I think it is out of a sense of duty, not defiance. A duty to the expedition, to Crozier, and above all to the men, because for so long Crozier’s judgement was not something he was able to rely on. He can’t even attend a sunrise party without thinking of the supplies that are being used up! 

To top everything off, he also never appears to be someone who is particularly congenial nor gregarious, he is very aware of his rank, and is competent while not being loved (except by me).  I like to imagine that he and Jopson and Macdonald were able to commiserate in some way as Crozier was going through his detox.  But everyone is so conscious of class & rank & secrets being guarded that it seems unlikely that anyone actually confided in each other. By getting dry and in such dramatic fashion, Crozier earns back his loyalty & respect, but by doing so in secret I wonder if he hasn't further eroded Little's relationship with the other lieutenants.  Do they even know Crozier is drying out or is Little lying to them as well as to the entire rest of the crew?  Little does not seem like a man who cares for lying, and covering up the captain's "gastritis" would only have made Little feel more cut off and burdened by the captain's confidence. (To say nothing of the fact that all of this is going on with the Tuunbaaq in the background - these lieutenants were not designed to contend with alcoholic spirits let alone the spirit world.)

 Crozier’s trust does often  end up being more burden than anything, and it’s beyond the responsibility that would normally come with his rank. That moment when he practically shoves the pistol away from him is so telling of this.  We really were robbed of the moment when Little is so angry after leaving Crozier that he can’t even slam his door: because that’s what’s building up this entire time!  

By covering for Crozier both before and during his sobering up, Little probably lost some of his authority over the crew. They know he's hiding something, and that earns some distrust. He's obviously worn out, and there must be some observation that Crozier is literally using him as an errand boy. In the best of circumstances the commanding-without-commanding is a hard line to walk while maintaining one’s own air of authority. He's also angry, and in working so hard to cover and subdue his anger, what he's left with is the "sad, wet man" that fandom has dubbed him. The crew may not know exactly what’s going on (although what do those men have to do besides gossip) but they must have sensed how Little is being worn away. As much as he cares for them, he wouldn’t fraternize - it seems like he barely fraternizes in the wardroom.  (Which is why that moment of camaraderie with Jopson outside Crozier’s cabin is so important to me personally.) 

That brings us to the mutiny.  We may love a sad, wet man, but in the face of a charismatic mutineer he's never going to match up. He doesn't have the authority, the love of the crew, or really the energy to go against it. At this point, he has no reason to know or suspect that a mutiny is what's the offing in the first place! He is someone who wants to believe the best of his men, and he's been given no reason to doubt Tozer's motives. And what was he supposed to do in the face of a marine sergeant surrounded by frightened, armed men?  They are clearly on edge and afraid, a dangerous combination.  He is practical, and although ultimately it loses him even more face by going along with Tozer, he was never going to be able to stop that in its tracks. Even JFJ wasn’t able to reel back in what had already been done.  So he chooses the pragmatic route: agree publicly to the logic, let Tozer do with him what he's been doing with Crozier, in making the subordinate's idea appear to be the superior's. With the situation and facts at hand, what else is he to do? 

The irony is that Little has been quietly looking out for all of them and their best interests for so long; but because it was so quiet, an undercurrent, when it comes down to brass tacks, none of them have ever seen that, or feel that they owe him any respect or loyalty. Tozer and Hickey appear to be men of action, and unfortunately in a moment like this a group of frightened men is going to follow the one who appears strongest. 

I also want to point out that Crozier specifically says *while the fog holds off*. Well the fog has rolled in! The situation changed! Crozier clearly has suspicions of Hickey and Tozer that he hasn't confided to Little, and whose fault is that! When it comes to investigating Irving’s and Farr’s murders, Little asks what the evidence is, which suggests to me that he has no knowledge of any concerns about Hickey that have arisen post-lashing.  Again, he is inclined to trust them.

One of the realest moments we get from him is "I'm the worst kind of sorry." It's one of the very few times he breaks from naval demeanor. The worst kind because he feels it deeply, but also because he was stuck, and he knows it, and also knows the expectations both from himself and from others that he be Better.

What it comes down to is what he says to Hodgson: "All we have are our instincts and training. If both told you to proceed with what you ordered, then be easy with yourself." That is all Little has had for so long. He certainly doesn’t seem to be having heart to hearts with Irving and Hodgson, let alone JFJ and Crozier; his counterpart on Erebus is long gone.  Who has he to confide in, especially at this juncture of events, when there are no clear paths and no right answers. I imagine this is what he told himself over and over in the long watches of the night.  

And yet!! Matthew McNulty has said that “Little's probably one of the most hopeful out of them all. [...] He still thinks that humanity will prevail in this dark, dark world.”  I’m not sure where to put this, but I think it’s important.  I think it’s part of why he doesn’t always quite have the authority he should: poor, worn down Edward Little sees the best and hopes for the best, and can’t quite reckon that not everyone has the same moral compass he does.  That’s why Tozer & Hickey get the best of him, because he wants to believe the best of them.  He doesn’t compromise his moral compass or belief in humanity, and unfortunately that turns into a blind spot.I think it’s also why Tozer invites him to join them: because some part of him recognizes that they both have that idealism deep down.  They are both doing their best in an inconceivable situation to cling to hope and take care of those they see as under their protection. It pains me to think what they could have accomplished had they worked together rather than against each other. 

(Incidentally, I don’t believe Little ever would have been swayed to join them, but I can’t blame him for the fact that Tozer’s claim about Crozier leaving them gave him pause.  He’s seen Crozier finally grow into a commander he can respect, but to find out that Crozier’s judgment was not just impaired for so long but extended to actively planning to abandon ship & crew, as Tozer frames, as he was working so hard to hold things together - even if he doesn’t believe it, in his heart of course there must have been some doubt.) 

All of these, the erosion of respect, the concern, the exhaustion, the lack of direction and support, the HOPE, come together in a moment for which he (unjustly, in my opinion) gets vilified for: 

We’ve slowed our pace hauling some of the ill in the boats. But if we extend this temporary camp more than a few days, we can allow the ill to rest here while the bulk of us proceed south. We can hopefully find game and trek back for the others once we have something more to offer them–

And Jopson’s anger is both understandable and not unwarranted - but. Based on that look Le Vesconte gives him, this most likely is not a thought that originated with Little.  It’s  being grumbled by those hauling, maybe even obliquely discussed by the officers.   That look says to me “It has to be said.”  And it does, the logistics are evident to everyone and that needs to be discussed.  They’re sending out hunting parties every day, sure, but in an area very close to the one they’re trekking through.  It genuinely does make practical sense to have some unencumbered, able-bodied (relatively) men go ahead quickly to what would hopefully be better hunting grounds, while the sick conserve what strength they have: those able to hunt could move quickly and bring back game, while those who are dying could do so while not being jostled about on boats on shale.  Little does not say (and, I think, would never say) that they should leave them behind entirely: only that this current system isn’t really helping anyone (and it isn’t).  He needs to make sure that Crozier has fully considered the situation, because for so long that was not the case. (Historically, in fact, they did set up a hospital camp while a smaller party moved south.)

I actually do think he says this with hope: the hope that they really will find game, that the ill do just need to rest, that he can save as many of them as possible.  He's also thinking of the practicalities and (though I may be biased) really does intend to return to the ill once they have something to actually provide them with. He doesn't say so that they can move on unencumbered, to better their own chances, he says to let them rest , to find something to offer them.  He knows the situation and the feeling in camp, and that the time has come to have the conversation. It's not even necessarily a conversation he wants to have or believes in, but it has to be had. Once it's been talked about, once Crozier has come out with not just a position but a direction (to leave supplies behind if necessary), Little is entirely on board. Shortly thereafter, when Le Vesconte suggests the exact same thing, he retorts that " Most of us are ill" (note the us - the identification with) and further responds with disgust and anger that "The Captain also ordered that we not leave any man behind. You expediently leave that out."  The Captain isn’t there; Jopson isn’t there: if Little really in any way wanted to leave anyone behind, this was his chance to order it and save himself.  The fact is that he is still arguing for and trying to lead with compassion as well as duty; the fact that he can't override the more selfish majority doesn't negate that.

I wish we could see his decision to go with Le Vesconte even though he so clearly believes that these lesser mutineers are in the wrong; I know why we don't. I like to think that it's because he believes he's doing the best thing for all, that he knows one semi-able bodied man staying behind is not going to help anyone, and that by going south with the group he may be to able to sway them, or find game for the ill. But again - he has been put in a position where there is no right choice, and where any authority he had has been too far eroded to matter.

Regardless: we go from his vehement protestation that they must a) rescue their captain and b) not leave behind the ill to die to this:

A man completely broken, weathered almost beyond recognition, with his flesh pierced by and draped with the chains of watch fobs. That's fobs plural: they're clearly different chains, from different watches, from different men.  But in still uniform.  Because he clung to the to his identity, to hope, to grounding structure of the Navy in which he trained and believed, until the very end.

We don't know what happens in between. Is it madness? Did the mutineers do this to him?   Is it penance? A memorization of the men whose watches those were?  A punishment on himself for what happened on his watch - despite the fact that really, he was powerless to stop it? And this is the only watch he can keep now - watch chains in his face, his eyes forced open to the horrors. Or did 1st Lt. Edward Little spend so long suppressing his anger, marrying that anger to hope, being responsible, keeping confidences, bearing all that alone, with authority that is both shoved on him and disregarded - did he finally snap? Are the chains not a decoration, not a punishment, but an attempt to literally bind himself up and tack himself down to this terrible world where he’s found himself?  

All we know for certain is his last word - “Close?” Close to what? To death? To salvation?  The only comfort either Edward Little or we, the audience, will get - is that at the very end, his captain was there to release him from the duty to which he clung for so long, so fiercely, with so much hope.

[seagulls-nautical-sailors]

I absolutely love how the characterization of the Lieutenant in the terror series has been done. The show makes us feel empathy for them. However, in every chance it has, it also reminds us, THEY ARE NOT OUR FRIENDS. They are but a part of the grand picture that is the symbolism of colonialism. Lieutenant Edward Little is the one to think first and foremost the necessity of violence for their protection when encountering with the Inuit people in the beginning of the series, when HMS Terror was first stuck on ice. Why? Because as he sees it, the Inuit are savages. He says "if this is how they treat one of their own, how will they treat us?" Which just reflects his mindset. Because he would treat them that way, he just assumes the worst, implicitly telling us his views.

What about John Irving? Irving is one of the reminders of hierarchy in the ship- It is Lieutenant Irving that forces Magnus Manson to complete his tasks and is one of the reasons of Hickey's punishment. He has power and he is not withstanding to remind us that fact. However empathetic he may seem at first, he is part of the picture of colonialism and power abuse.

Lieutenant Henry Hodgson is... wow. We find him so empathetic throughout the show. Only for him to order his man to shoot an innocent Inuit family. Don’t ever start with the argument “he didn't know that they were innocent”, because I would remind you, HE AND HIS MEN WERE THE ONES INVADING THEIR HOMES AND LANDS. This is especially striking when Hickey, a literal murderer, is given a trail and is order to be hanged. Hickey, a literal murderer (we know that he killed more than one as well) was given time and consideration and was given the courtesy of last words. Compare it with the Inuit family that was shot? How brutal it is! How unfair it is! Lieutenant Hodgson, the lovable nerdy Lieutenant, is too an imperial and a cold reminder.

Last but not least, Le Vesconte. At first adorably eating cookies in the background, only to have a major side arc and reveal what was inside of him all along in the later episodes: a selfish brute. Not trusting to Inuit people and ready to leave and even cannibalize his own man. He was never the proper man in the uniform. It was all but a facade. A facade. Proper on the admiralty paper, horrible in person.

We emphasis with every single one of them. We grow to even love them. But they are not our friends. Never. They are but a part of the grand picture that is the symbolism of colonialism...

[lonlonranching]

lieutenant john irving of the hms terror quick what’s hornier sodomy or whatever this was

[acheronist]

my bonus special celebration gift from me to you though is *drumroll* the only page that I've actually gotten completely typed up LMAO

November 1825

H Peglar has Served on board of his MS Clio 1825 Toured HM Ship magnificant at Spit Head Sail for Jamaica. Toured the command lieutenent Meendel tern Over to HM Hulk Serriapis Commander Ellot. Tour […] HM Ship Rattelsnake Captain Leith Sailed Under thre years Toured HM Perseus Captain […] I did pass Muster Tower Hill London Toured HM Ship Princes Regents dis Chared for […]ing aprentice sail under the command of Tommy Larkings to China left for dallis and his lady and daughters at saint helena. Struck with lightning and the passadge But two men struck dead Seargent And private Return to England Join […] Entered Car […] H M Ship Ramelies tern over to HM later antelope lieutenant Loveless. Johns and lapped […] ttl Grog End […] S […] th Entered for the Tallaverre Cap Goalby Summer saild by Cape Brown. Rote for my discharge id […] […] Since in the Marquis Camden Lost our chief After That going in to Bombay […] Return to England 1835 Some time on Ship Gannett I’m ma […] off S & Toured K mer Smard Denman alas Seaman Now in the Terror

[...]arted for HM Ship Temerraire 1838 [...]n over to HM Ship [...] Sir John [...] Hill [...] Shearness

[full-of-terrors]

In May 1845, Sir John Franklin, commander of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, departed England to seek a navigable route across the top of the Americas. He and his 128 men never returned.

Four years later, Royal Navy Lieutenant Frederick Robinson and Assistant Surgeon Edward Adams are determined to find the men missing in the Arctic. While they are united in purpose, they are divided in ambition. The pious and idealistic Adams strives to save his boyhood hero. Robinson hungers for promotion through the Admiralty ranks. Weathering a relationship as volatile as the icy, barren land upon which they trek, Robinson and Adams lead a team of seamen in search of the lost expedition. What awaits them is a struggle against not only the elements but each other as loneliness, starvation, and maddening isolation prove more chilling than the deadliest Arctic blast.

A harrowing novel set against the background of true events, Bitter Passage explores two men’s driving need for redemption and the lengths to which a desperate soul will go to survive.

[scotianostra]

On November 3rd 1819 the physician and naturalist Henry Duncan Spens Goodisr was born.

Henry was born in Anstruther, Fife, the son of a surgeon, his elder brother was Prof. John Goodsir, who became Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh. Harry as he became known, was trained in Edinburgh, where his lecturers included the infamous anatomist Robert Knox and was licensed by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1840.

Harry served as Conservator to the Museum of the Royal College from 1843 until 1845, when he was appointed assistant surgeon and naturalist to the Franklin Expedition. This sailed to the Arctic aboard two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, under the command of Captain Sir John Franklin, in search of a North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

Last seen in July 1845, the expedition was the focus of numerous searches and much speculation. His brother Robert Anstruther Goodsir, sailed twice to the Arctic in an attempt to determine the fate of Franklin's Expedition. Through talking to the Inuit, Orcadian John Rae was finally able to solve the mystery in 1854. The ships had become ice-bound and eventually the entire crew of 129 had starved to death.

Goodsir's name was inscribed on the Franklin Memorial at the entrance to the Chapel of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Over the succeeding years, the remains of several individuals were discovered in the vicinity of King William Island in the Canadian Arctic. In 1869, the American explorer Charles Francis Hall was shown a grave by local Inuit on the island. Based largely on the clothing, the remains were identified as those of Lieutenant H. T. D. Le Vesconte and were returned to Britain to be interred beneath the Franklin Memorial at Greenwich.

Further investigation in 2009, which involved facial reconstruction and isotopic analysis of the teeth, led to the conclusion these were not the remains of Le Vesconte rather they were most-likely those of Goodsir. It was my friendr Leonard Low who questioned the identity of the bones...his full story and facial reconstruction is in his book Largos Untold Stories, Leonard opened up his own Witchcraft Museum in Leven earlier this year.

The Goodsir Papers, held by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, comprise letters sent by Harry to his family before his disappearance. In 2018, a plaque was laid by family members near the spot where Goodsir died on King William Island.

The second pic is a memorial is to commemorate the Goodsir family in Largo and Newburn Parish Church.