OK, I will admit something right at the beginning, I decided to do this namesake after listening to a certain conservative talk radio host talk about the Resolute desk. So, that got me to think, where did that word come from.

Resolute is listed as an adjective meaning firmly resolved or determined; set in purpose or opinion. Or characterized by firmness and determination, as the temper, spirit, actions, etc. Synonyms for the word include firm, steadfast, fixed, unwavering, and undaunted. It is believed the word comes from the Latin resolutus, which is a past participle of resolvere. Also from the Middle English 1375–1425 for earlier sense “dissolved”; 1525–35 for current senses.

The Royal Navy likes to use words to name its ship dealing with character. Since 1805 there have been three different ships named Resolute in the Royal Navy. A fourth ship was started but she was never finished. There was also a ship from the Canadian Navy that carried the name Resolute.

The first ship HMS Resolute was a 12-gun gun-brig launched in 1805. She was used as a tender from 1814, a diving bell vessel from 1816 and a convict hulk from 1844. In 1852 she was broken up.

Next we have the HMS Resolute that was not finished. She was ordered in 1847 but the order was cancelled in 1850. The fourth HMS Resolute was an iron screw storeship purchased on the stocks in 1855 and launched that year. She became a troopship and was renamed HMS Adventure in 1857. She was broken up in 1877.

HMCS Resolute was a Bay class minesweeper MCB154. She was commissioned in 1954 and paid off in 1964. Being paid off is a nice way to say she is at the end of her commission.

I could not find much about the above listed ships. They served their countries and were scrapped. There is still one HMS Resolute to cover. She is the best known of the ships to carry the name.

HMS Resolute was not a man-o-war, but a ship of exploration. She was acquired in 1850 and specially outfitted for artic exploration. She actually began her career in the Royal Navy as HMS Refuge in February 1850. Later that same month her name was changed to Resolute. Part of her conversion for Artic service included an internal heating system, extra strong timbers, and a polar bear for a figurehead. Resolute was purchased to fill the gap in suitable artic capable ships. Resolute headed out on an expedition in October 1850 to search for the famed Northwest passage. The passage eluded the 1850-51 expedition and Resolute returned to England.

In 1853 she once again lead a squadron of ships to the artic looking for the passage. During this outing of the six ships sent only HMS Enterprise returned to England. Resolute became trapped in the artic ice and her crew made it to land. Resolute was blown farther out to sea while locked in the ice. IN the spring of 1854 Captain Keller was able to stow her sails and caulk down her hatches. The crew then marched over the ice to search for other ships in the expedition. She was left to the ice and her crew returned to England. In September on 1855Resolute was found by an American whaling ship about 1200 miles from where she was left adrift by her crew. She was freed, rerigged, and sailed to New London Connecticut. Although the British government had already publicly stated the Resolute was still Royal Navy property they waived all claims to her when she made it to the US.

Resolute was still in good condition after spending almost two years trapped in ice flows. She was reconditioned and it was hoped she would once again return to the artic in search for any possible survivors of the ill-fated Franklin expedition. After proof was found confirming the deaths of Franklin and his men any possible expedition was shelved. She was still in private hands and eventually was purchased for $4000 be congress. Her condition was restored to first rate and sailed to England in 1856. She was given to Queen Victoria as a gift in December 1856. She served in the Royal Navy until being struck and broken up in 1879.

Resolute still lives in in the form of two desks. Some of her timbers were used to make a large partner’s desk. This desk was presented to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. It was a token of thanks for returning Resolute. The desk has been used by every American president except for Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford. The other desk is known as the Grinnell Desk. This desk was given to the widow of Henry Grinnell in 1880. The second desk is currently located at the Royal Naval Museum.