Elisha Kent Kane entered the Arctic in search of Sir John Franklin, but returned as something else: one of America’s most unlikely heroes. Frail in body yet formidable in discipline, Kane helped transform a rescue mission into a story of national ambition, scientific discovery, and endurance in the ice.

A 1915 cornerstone speech and a 1917 letter from explorer Donald B. MacMillan reveal a surprising connection between Advance Lodge No. 635 in Queens, Dr. Kane, and the brig Advance.