A review of historical documents concerning the 1859 discovery of the skeleton of a member of the 1845 Franklin expedition on southern King William Island revealed a significant but previously unrecognized geographical error about the site’s reported and mapped location. Archeological investigations conducted in 2019 established the site’s correct location and the fact that it had unwittingly been rediscovered in 1973. Misconceptions concerning the site’s location and key aspects of its interpretation highlight the importance of careful evaluation of historical and archeological data regarding the 1845 Franklin expedition.
