Charles Francis Hall Collection: 1858-1871.
Diaries, journals, notebooks, scrapbooks, business cards, correspondence, ships' logs, navigation charts and documents on Hall's Arctic exploration. The correspondence includes letters to and from Henry Grimmell, William Grimmell, J. Carson Brevoont, John Barrow, Cyrus Field, Edward Everett, Clement Markham, Joseph Henry, and the Royal Geographic Society.
Charles Francis Hall Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Armed Forces History (now Division of Political and Military History) on October 8, 1999.
Collection is open for research.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The Arctic explorer Charles Francis Hall was born about 1821, either Vermont or New Hampshire; there are very few details about his early life. He is most notable for spending over ten years in the Arctic among the Inuit, initially focused on locating evidence of the lost British Expedition under Sir John Franklin, and then, in two later expeditions, searching for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole.
Before becoming a polar explorer, Hall began as a blacksmith's apprentice at a young age in Rochester, NH. Sometime in the 1840's he married and moved westward eventually coming to Cincinnati, where Charles opened a business making engraving plates and seals, in 1849. Later he published a small newspaper in Cincinnati, The Cincinnati Occasional.
While publishing news stories of arctic expeditions related to the Franklin expedition, Hall became enamored with the idea of polar exploration. In 1857 he began collecting any material he could gather on the landscape and survival in the Arctic, previous expeditions, and John Franklin's expedition itself, while at the same time seeking financial support for his expedition.
After detailed preparation and a small amount of financial backing, Hall boarded a ship for Greenland, and then on to the "Terra Incognita" of the Arctic. Despite being an amateur explorer with very little support for his first expedition, Hall believed that by living amongst the indigenous Inuit people, a non-native could survive long periods living in the arctic. In May 1860, Hall arrived in Frobisher Bay, Canada and with not much more than a small boat and basic supplies, Hall met befriended local Inuit who took him in for the next two years.
Over those two years, Hall found little evidence of the Franklin expedition, but what he did find proved to be more valuable. While an avid and writer, Hall lived, learned and daily documented in his journals more about the Inuit people that any visitor before him. His journals describe Inuit society, traditions, oral histories, language and culture, as well as the skills necessary to survive in such an unforgiving climate. He also travelled and mapped much of the unknown Frobisher Bay area, correcting many previously incorrect maps that depicted area as an open strait, rather than a closed bay.
Once Hall returned to the United States, he began working on publishing his writings and preparing for a second expedition to Frobisher Bay. In 1864, he left for his second trip spending almost five years living amongst the Inuit, searching for the Franklin expedition and mapping unknown portions of the Arctic.
As soon as he arrived home in 1869, Hall began again planning his next and bigger expedition, but times had changed in the U.S. The Civil War was over and the United States government was now interested in polar exploration and the race to the North Pole. Gaining the attention of President Grant, Hall was appointed as joint commander of the Polaris Expedition.
Departing in 1871, the expedition began with critical problems. The "joint-command" of the expedition put Hall in direct conflict with the other two expedition commanders, each one believing they should have been appointed as sole commander. This eventually led to incredible disasters throughout the expedition, resulting in the total failure of the mission, loss of the ship, as well as the death of Charles Francis Hall. Hall died on the expedition in November 1871, possibly from poisoning by one of his co-commanders. His body was exhumed in 1969 and tested, revealing the presence of arsenic. While Hall claimed on his deathbed he had been poisoned by a crew member, many 19th century medicines contained arsenic.
The collection is arranged into one series.
Collection processed by Archives Center staff, undated.
[Charles Francis Hall's Diary, 1860.]
AC0702-0000018
Diary written prior to Hall's first Arctic expedition.
.002, Journal, with preparations for the 1st expedition
AC0702-0000019
Journal with preparations for Charles Francis Hall's first expedition.
.003, Scrapbook of newspaper clippings
AC0702-0000020
Scrapbook of Newspaper clippings on polar exploration.
.004, Journal for the months preceding the 1st expedition, with newspaper clippings
AC0702-0000021
Journal for the months preceeding Hall's first expedition, with newspaper clippings.
.005, Documents relating to the case of
AC0702-0000022
Documents for the legal case, Pomroy v. Hall, May 1860.
[Volume 1 of Charles Francis Hall's Notes on Arctic Explorers]
AC0702-0000023
First volume of four notebooks on arctic explorers in preparation for Hall's 1st expedition.
[Volume 2 of Charles Francis Hall's Notes on Arctic Explorers]
AC0702-0000024
Second volume of four notebooks on arctic explorers in preparation for Hall's 1st expedition.
[Volume 3 of Charles Francis Hall's Notes on Arctic Explorers]
AC0702-0000025
Third volume of four notebooks on arctic explorers in preparation for Hall's 1st expedition.
[Volume 4 of Charles Francis Hall's Notes on Arctic Explorers]
AC0702-0000026
Fourth volume of four notebooks on arctic explorers in preparation for Hall's 1st expedition.
.010, Notebook with notes on the expedition by Sir John Franklin
AC0702-0000027
Hall's notebook with notes on the expedition by Sir John Franklin.
.011, Loose notes kept by Hall on other Arctic explorers
AC0702-0000028
Loose Notes Kept by Charles Francis Hall on other Arctic Explorers.
.012, Journal, Volume I
[Charles Francis Hall's expedition diary 1]
AC0702-0000002
Diary written during Hall's first Arctic expedition.
.013, Journal, Volume II
AC0702-0000003
Diary written during Hall's first Arctic expedition.
.014, Journal, Volume III
AC0702-0000004
.015, Journal, Volume IV
AC0702-0000005
Ink on paper.
.016, Loose pages of journal
.017, Notebook, with the personal account of John F. Sullivan who deserted ship
AC0702-0000012
Ink on paper.
.019, Journal, Volume V
AC0702-0000006
Ink on paper.
.020, Journal, Volume V
AC0702-0000007
.021, Journal by Hall
AC0702-0000008
Ink on paper.
.022, Journal, with navigational notes
AC0702-0000011
Ink on paper.
.023, Journal by Hall
AC0702-0000010
Ink on paper.
.025, Ship's log and journal no. 1
AC0702-0000009
Ink on paper.
.027, Notebook, with bearings and tables as kept by Hall during his 1st expedition
AC0702-0000014
Ink on paper.
.028, Notes taken by Hall on the Esquimaux vocabulary
AC0702-0000015
Ink on paper.
.029, Notebook, with reckonings as kept by Hall during his 1st expedition
AC0702-0000016
Ink on paper.
.030, Notebook, with miscellaneous notes, and a list of names of all the people who contributed to the expedition
AC0702-0000017
Ink on paper.
.031, Sketch maps and drawings from the 1st expedition
AC0702-0000029
Ink on paper.
.032, Geographical notes of the 1st expedition
AC0702-0000030
Ink on paper.
.033, Rough notebook, containing observations, and navigational notes of the 1st expedition
AC0702-0000031
Ink on paper.
.034, Navigational charts and tables from the 1st expedition
AC0702-0000032 to AC0702-0000038
Ink on paper.
.035, Observation book, containing navigational notes for the 1st expedition
AC0702-0000039
Ink on paper.
.036, Meteorological journal from the 1st expedition
AC0702-0000040
Ink on paper.
.037: Various bills, receipts and business cards collected by Hall
AC0702-0000041
Ink on paper.
.038, Notebook, Index to topics of the 1st expedition
AC0702-0000042
Ink on paper.
.039, Notebook , Index to the Esquimaux of the 1st expedition
AC0702-0000043
Ink on paper.
.040, Hall's letters to Captain Buddington
AC0702-0000044
Ink on paper.
.041, Notebook, with passages and notes from Arctic explorers before Hall
.042, Notebook, with selected passages and navigational notes copied from Hall's journal s of the 1st expedition
.043, Writings on the explorations of Martin Frobisher
.044, Writings on the loss of the "George Henry"
.045, Correspondence s regarding exhibits and lectures on the 1st expedition
.046, Notes for lectures on the 1st expedition
.047, Advertisement for P.T. Barnum's Museum , featuring an Esquimaux family, brought from Greenland by Hall
.048, Letters regarding an agreement between W. Parker Snow and Hall , for preparing a book on the 1st expedition
.049, Notes for Hall's book on the 1st expedition
.050, Rough draft of Hall's book, "Arctic Research and Life Among the Esquimaux"
.051, Letters to and from; Henry and William Grimmell , J. Carson Brevoont, John Barrow, Cyrus Field, Edward Everett, Clement Markham , Joseph Henry, The Royal Geographic Society, and others
.052, Various correspondences to and from Hall
.053, Letters regarding the possibility of a 2nd arctic expedition
.054, Letters from men volunteering for the 2nd expedition
.055, Journal, kept by Hall while preparing for his 2nd expedition
.056, Notebook, with the expenses of H.W. Dodge in account with C. F. Hall
.057, Notebook, day to day planner of Hall
.058, Expenditures of Hall while preparing for his 2nd expedition
.059, Notebook, "List of Stores Put on Board", a checklist preparing for the 2nd expedition
.060, Receipts of items purchase
.061, Pamphlet, stating the rules and regulations governing foreign shipmasters visiting the coast of Greenland
.062, Journal kept by Hall
.063, Journal kept by Hall
.064, Journal kept by Hall
.065, Journal kept by Hall
.066, Private journal kept by Hall
.067, Journal "A", by Hall during the time he spent with the Esquimaux [Inuit] during his second expedition
.068, Journal "B", kept by Hall
.069, Journal kept by Hall
.070, Journal kept by Hall
.071, Nautical Almanac for 1868, with notes by Hall on selected dates
.072, Meteorological journal
.073, Meteorological journal
.074, Meteorological journal
.075, Two chronometer rate reports
.076, Rough astronomical calculations from the second expedition
.077, Eight small notebooks, recording solar observations for latitude and time, astronomical bearings, and triangulations
.078, Two small notebooks, recording Astronomical observations
.079, Two notebooks, listing subscribers to Hall 's second expedition, with business cards mounted within
.080, Seven notebooks, with journal entries and observations
.081, Fourteen small notebooks, with accounts of the ships stores and provisions
.082, Three small notebooks, with lists of articles aboard the ship that will be taken back to the U.S.
.083, Notebook, with list of stores, and accounts of their distribution
.084, Correspondences relating to Hall
.085, Letters written by Hall after leaving New London for his second Arctic expedition
.086, Letters received by Hall while on the 2nd expedition
.087, Letters written by Hall to his friend Edward A. Chapel
.088, Three notebook s with journal entries and observations made by Hall
.089, Two notebooks, with observations and accounts of a sledge trip back to the ship
.090, Notes on boat voyage top Repulse Bay
.091, Miscellaneous loose notes from Hall's 2nd expedition
.114, Letter from Hall , to the Secretary of Navy, during the 3rd expedition. (Letter contained in a Copper Tube)
[Charles Francis Hall's report to Secretary of the Navy, 1871.]
AC0702-0000001
Ink on paper.