Dissecting The Rescue of Greely
The Rescue of Greely was published in 1885 by Commander Winfield Scott Schley and James R. Soley, just a year after the rescue of Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greely and his men. The book provides a firsthand account of the challenges and ultimate success of the rescue mission that was recognized as a national triumph by the Maryland General Assembly and the Massachusetts Humane Society.
Born in Boston in 1850, Soley served as a professor and later head of the Department of History and International Law at the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1882, Soley became Superintendent of the Navy Department’s Office of Naval War Records. Later in his career, Soley took on the role of Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Schley, born in Maryland in 1839, was a U.S. Navy officer renowned for his bravery and several military accomplishments. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1860, Schley served on various vessels and took part in significant military engagements. Schley also served in the Spanish-American War, earning acclaim as a “hero.”
In June 1884, Schley and his crew navigated the perilous waters to Cape Sabine, where they found Greely in a tattered tent. In one of the book's most poignant scenes, Greely, weak and barely able to speak, revealed that only six of his original 24 men remained alive: “Seven of us left. Here we are, dying like men. Did what I came to do—beat the record [of Farthest North].” Upon returning from the successful rescue mission, Schley received the title of Chief of the Bureau of Equipment and Recruitment of the Navy Department and received numerous awards and recognition.
The Rescue of Greely chronicles the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, the subsequent rescue attempts, and Schley’s mission. The original edition was bound in blue cloth and contained five fold-out maps and 13 engraved plates, providing readers with detailed visual aids of the rescue mission and the Arctic terrain. The book also includes notes on the ice conditions from Melville Bay to Smith Sound and additional details on the life of the survivors before their rescue. The book serves as a tribute to not only the courage and resilience of Greely’s men but also the dedication of their rescuers, who braved the grim Arctic conditions to bring the seven survivors home.
Fun fact: In the Summer of 1881, as Greely’s team set out on their ambitious Arctic expedition, Schley happened to be at the Charlestown Navy Yard, reading a newspaper article about the mission. Schley stated to his colleagues that it was unusual for such an endeavor– involving 1,800 nautical miles of steaming, sailing, and navigating treacherous, ice-choked waters from Newfoundland to the northernmost coasts of Canada and Greenland– to be led by the U.S. Army rather than the Navy. He noted, “This means that some Navy officer will have to go up there and bring them back.” Little did he know that he himself would eventually be tasked to lead that daring rescue mission.