Countdown to Disaster
The Final Day of the R.M.S. Titanic
Monday, April
15, 1912
Monday, April 15th, 1912, were the final day of the Titanic's
career and the last day of over one thousand-five hundred people. The horror
experienced by the ship's passengers and crew in the opening hours of the 15th
can never be fully understood. Within twenty minutes of scraping the black
iceberg in the darkness at 11:40, the ship was already sinking fast, and the
deck was already beginning to grow steeper. Captain Edward J. Smith had already
given the order to uncover the lifeboats. There was nothing else one could do
under the circumstances. By now,
not only had the Postal Office become submerged, but the Squash Court was also
underwater.
After giving the order to uncover the boats, Captain Smith
made his way to the Wireless Cabin and ordered the Operators, Phillips and
Bride, to send a message of distress, asking for assistance. Phillips began
sending off the distress code CQD, but under Bride's suggestion he also used the
new distress code SOS, and became one of the very first ships in history to use
this code. This done, Captain Smith gave orders for passengers to be awakened.
Stewards were sent around to knock on cabin doors, or go into the smoking rooms,
and ask the passengers to come up on deck, as there had been an emergency. At
first no one suspected there was much amiss, a propeller had been dropped, or
something to that effect, but gradually there came the realization that Titanic
was sinking.
Some of these awakened passengers did not first make for the
Boat Deck at all, instead heading for C-Deck to the Purser's Office. There they
demanded their valuables from the pursers, Hugh McElroy and Reginald Barker, as
well as the Clerk, Ernest King.
By 12:25, the orders had been given to swing out and fill up
the boats and then to lower them. As officers began to persuade passengers to
get into the boats, the bellhops and other stewards began rushing about, putting
foodstuffs and blankets into the boats. While making his way up to assist in
lowering the boats, the author Colonel Archibald Gracie bumped into the Squash
Instructor, Fred Wright. In a jovial sort of way, Gracie commented to Wright
that he had better cancel the appointment he'd set with him for the afternoon.
Wright already knew that the Squash Court was already underwater, but did not
say so to Gracie. Wright would not survive to see the afternoon.
At 12:45, Boat 7 became the first of Titanic's lifeboats to be
lowered that morning. In the darkness it had been filled with such passengers as
Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson Bishop, Mrs. Boulton Earnshaw, the Gibson women, Mr.
William B. Greenfield, Mrs. Leo Greenfield, Mr. Pierre Marechal, Mr. Paul Cherve
(the sculptor who had just finished a bust of Charles Hays, who would go down
with the ship), Mrs. Thomas Potter, Mr. and Mrs. John Snyder, Mr. James McGough,
Mr. William T. Sloper, Miss Margaret Hays, Mr. Robert Williams Daniel, Mr. Fred
Kimber Seward, and Mr. Gilbert Tucker. Boat 7 was put under the charge of
Lookout George Hogg, and was manned by Lookout Archie Jewel and Able Seaman
Weller. Although the boat could hold a good 65, only 28 passengers were aboard.
At the same time Boat 7 was lowered down the tremendous side of the ship,
Quartermaster George Rowe and 4th Officer Boxhall began to launch several white
signal rockets from the ship's bridge, after Captain Smith had suggested it.
Boxhall then proceeded to attempt to contact a light in the distance, which he
took to be a ship. He used a Morse Lamp for this, but after some time of this,
he gave up, with no success.
Not far away, on the Leyland Liner California, officers on
watch saw these rockets, and indeed what they took to be a ship. As Operator
Evans was asleep, they were not receiving Titanic's distress calls, and so the
ship, commanded by Captain Stanley Lord, did nothing. It was stopped for the
night. Had it have gone on to the sinking vessel, the passengers and crew of
Titanic would have been saved.
On Titanic, people were beginning to become much more
concerned than earlier. The deck was noticeably getting steeper. However, no one
saw this as being life-threatening. At most, there would have to be a trip to
Belfast to fix up the ship, and the passengers would simply have to take another
vessel to America. Colonel Astor and his wife Madeleine were seated in the
gymnasium on one of the electric camels. Mrs. Astor was hesitant of putting on
one of these lifebelts that she had been given, and was indeed hesitant of
entering a boat as well. Finding an extra lifebelt, he cut it open with his
penknife to show her what was inside, and to demonstrate how safe it was. He
should know about this sort of thing after all, he had been an inventor, he may
have reminded his wife.
At 1:25, Quartermaster Rowe left the bridge, finished with the
rockets. Only eight had been fired, each at seven-minute intervals, and they had
done little good. No ships would be coming simply because they saw rockets, it
seemed. Several ships were coming however, because of the efforts of the
wireless operators. The closest that was reached was the Carpathia, but it was
still hours away. Below the Boat Deck, on the A-Deck Promenade Deck, Lightoller
began lowering Boat 4. It held the richest women aboard the ship, such as Mrs.
Widener, Mrs. Carter (and her children), Mrs. Thayer, and Mrs. Astor. As he
watched his wife's boat row off away from the ship, Colonel Astor stepped back
into the crowd.
By 12:45, Boiler 5 was almost empty of her crewmen, but the
valiant remaining crewmen still worked to keep back the green seawater. While
running from one area of the room to another, Junior Assistant 2nd Engineer
Jonathan Shepard slipped and fell down an empty manhole, breaking his leg.
Junior 2nd Engineer Herbert G. Harvey and Firemen Frederick Barrett ran to help
him, dragging him up from the darkness of the manhole, putting his dirtied and
injured body in the Pump Room, where he sat against a wall, watching the others
work. Suddenly, a nearby bulkhead seemed to explode, and the sea rushed in on
the crewmen. Shepard could not move out of the way of the emerging sea and was
engulfed in the surf. Harvey ordered Barrett to get up on deck. Barrett reached
the deck safety and was saved, but he would always remember that as he made his
way up the ladder, Barrett took one look back, seeing Harvey making his way into
the Pump Room to help his friend Shepard. The farther he went towards the room,
the deeper the water became. Soon it rushed over his head, and Herbert Harvey
disappeared under the green water.
At 12:55 a.m., Boat 6 was lowered from the Boat Deck. Mr.
Tyrrell Cavendish was seen here, putting his young wife into the boat. He then
stepped back into the crowd. Aboard also are Mrs. Helen Candee and Mrs. Molly
(Margaret) Brown of Denver. The 'unsinkable' Molly Brown was seen to walk away
from the boats when two men, among them Edward P. Calderhead, picked her up and
tossed her into the boat. The Boat was commanded by Quartermaster Hitchens, who
had been at the helm when Titanic struck the iceberg. However, once in the
water, QM Hitchens discovered, to his horror, that he had only a single crewman
(Lookout Fleet) in the boat to help him, and he called up to Officer Lightoller
that he needed another crewman. There were few about, and so Lightoller asked
for a passenger to volunteer who had experience as a seaman. A Yachtsman, Major
Arthur Godfrey Peuchen volunteered himself. He had to climb down the falls to
assist, and as he jumped into the boat he became a hero.
On the other side of the deck, where Murdoch directed the
loading and lowering of the Boats, Boat 5 was swung out and lowered by Murdoch,
Pitman, Lowe, and Mr. Ismay. It contained Mr. Calderhead, Mr. Karl Behr (the
Squash Champion), Mrs. H.W. Frauenthal, Mrs. Washington Dodge, and the
Frollichers. Officer Pitman commanded it, himself. As the boat was lowered away,
Murdoch shook Pitman's hand, saying, "Goodbye, good luck." Watching
the boat lower away, Dr. Frauenthal became very much afraid, and took a jump
into the boat, landing on poor Mrs. Stengle. Two of her ribs were broken, and
she herself was knocked unconscious. At 1 o'clock a.m., the painted name of
Titanic disappeared under the sea. After lowering Boat 5 into the water, Murdoch
and another officer (either Lowe or Moody) made their way to Boat 3 to load it
up. He instructed Seaman Moore to get into the boat and to pass in the ladies.
When there were no more women in sight, Murdoch allowed several men to get in.
Among them was Mr. Frederick O. Spedden, who came aboard to join his wife and
young son. Another hero was made this night when Mr. Howard B. Case assisted in
helping the women into the boat. He then stepped back and made no attempt to get
into the boats. The boat would contain 32 passengers and 11 crew. Walking to
Murdoch, Sir Cosmo Edmund Duff Gordon saw another rocket, soaring 800 feet into
the air, and then bursting. He pointed to Boat 1, sitting empty, asking,
"Can my wife and I go in?" The answer was problem an "all
right", but Duff Gordon always insisted Murdoch said, "I wish you
would." Lord and Lady Duff Gordon went aboard with Lady Lucille's
secretary, Miss Laura Francatelli. Also coming aboard was Mr. C.H. Stengle
(who's roll into the boat gave Murdoch a good reason to laugh), and Mr. Abraham
Salomon. Lookout George Symons (at the boat's helm) and Fireman Sam Collins
commanded the boat. Only eleven people were aboard Boat 1 when lowered, and most
of them were crew.
At about this time, Boiler Room 3 was flooding, and most of
the stokers had been relieved of their posts and they were now scrambling to get
away from the fast moving currents. Chief Engineer Bell was sending them out of
these flooding rooms as quickly as possible. Only a handful of men still worked
in Room 3, directed by several surviving engineers. Soon that room too was
filled with the water of the North Atlantic, and all the crew of Room 3 were
taken under the water as well. At least one engineer had made it to the Boat
Deck. Senior Second Engineer William Edward Farquarson was now helping load and
lower boats. He and all the engineers of Titanic would die that morning. Bands
of men would stick together that night. All the members of the nine strong
Guarantee Group of Harland & Wolff would go down with the ship. At this
time, Lightoller sent Bo'sun 'Big Neck' Nicholls and a group of his seamen down
below into the ship to open some blocked passages and to prepare a way to load
boats from passengers on lower decks. Nicholls and his men would not return from
their mission. They all vanished without a trace, no report came from them. It
was assumed that they had found themselves trapped on a lower deck and had been
lost when the water rose.
At this time, on the port side, Boat 8 was being loaded. As
this was happening, Mrs. Ida Straus was asked to step in. She refused to do so
without her husband. When Mr. Straus was allowed to get in because of his old
age, he refused to go before the other men. The couple would stay together in
life and death. Mrs. Straus handed her jewels to her maid Miss Ellen Bird, who
then stepped into the boat. The couple then sat down together on deck chairs,
and would not be seen again. Passing them was the Countess of Rhodes and her
cousin Gladys Cherry. They were put in the boat, and the Countess would become
quite a hero for her work at the tiller. Boat 8 was put under the command of
Able Seaman Tom Jones. Passing as the boat was lowered was Captain Smith
himself, who would remain, like Chief Officer Wilde, very aloof and brisk that
evening, appearing every so often, and then seeming to disappear into some
unknown area of the deck. He appeared to be in shock and oblivious to everything
about him.
Boat 9, on the starboard side, was filled to capacity, holding
58, including several men who had come when women were scarce. The ship had now
developed quite a list to the starboard. During the loading of Boat 9, Purser
McElroy sent three men in to help the women get past a large gap between the
deck and the boat after a French woman nearly fell through it. Mrs. Jacques
Futrelle was the last to go aboard, after refusing several times to leave her
husband. When the ship hit the water, the crew found to their horror that none
of them had a knife to cut the falls, and a woman from the 3rd Class finally
handed them her pocketknife.
Boat 11 was sent down to the A-Deck Promenade windows, where
70 passengers boarded, including Mrs. Emma Schabert and her brother, Philip
Mock. But it was all very dangerous, the boat having been loaded over five times
her wait. The ship's pump discharge was a fat jet of icy water, and when the
boat reached the water she was nearly swamped. The boat only barely escaped.
At 1:25 a.m., Boat 13, holding 64 (including Mr. Lawrence
Beesley and Dr. Washington Dodge), was lowered. The boat also came dangerously
close to the discharge but those aboard the boat cried out to the seamen at the
davits above, and the boat ceased lowering. The occupants managed to push the
boat away from the discharge. But now Boat 15 was descending directly above it,
endangering everyone in both boats. Once again there were shouts, and the
lowering of the 15th Boat was temporarily ceased, giving Boat 13's crew to cut
the falls and float away. Boat 15 hit the water as soon as Boat 13 was safety
away. At 1:30, Lightoller lowered Boat 12. It was under command of Seamen
Frederick Clench and John Poigndestre. At about this time, Officer Lowe,
standing next to Boat 14, fired three shots along the side of Titanic as a rush
at the boat from several passengers began. A man leapt towards the Boat, but
missed altogether and fell into the sea. Lowe stepped into Boat 14 and ordered
it lowered away. On deck, Ben Guggenheim, his valet, Victor Giglio, and
Chauffeur Rene Pernot were dressed in their finest clothing. Guggenheim remarked
that he would die like a gentleman. It was now clear to most of the passengers
that the ship was doomed. At 1:36, Boat 16 was lowered. It held 50, including
the famed Stewardess Violet Jessop. At 1:40, Officer Wilde lowered Collapsible
C. At the last moment, William E. Carter and another man came aboard. The other
man was the Chairman of the White Star Line. It was Joseph Bruce Ismay.
The last boat to be lowered was Collapsible D, containing 54,
which included the famous Navratil children. In the Smoking Room, Thomas
Andrews, Titanic's designer, stood alone, his lifebelt lying discarded on a
nearby table. A steward running past would be the last to see him. Thomas
Andrews was last seen staring blankly at a painting entitled "Approach to
the New World."
According to some people, with the seawater now closing in, an
officer shot himself on the Boat Deck. Some have suspected that this man was
Chief Officer Wilde. However, there is no conclusive evidence that this indeed
happened at all, and so it should never be brought to a conclusion as to whom it
was, if indeed there was any officer who shot himself. Collapsibles A and B were
still on top of the Officer's Quarters as a huge wave swept over the ship's
side. There were many crewmen who were attempting to free these boats when the
wave struck, knocking the boats and the seamen (probably including Murdoch and
Moody) into the sea. Collapsible A landed upright and swimmers got into her, but
Boat B landed upside down. However, a few men managed to survive by standing
atop it. These men included 2nd Officer Lightoller, Junior Wireless Operator
Bride, Jack Thayer, and Colonel Gracie. It is believed that Operator Phillips
also made it to the boat, but was dead before dawn.
At about this time, Captain Edward John Smith of the Titanic
was last seen, reportedly on the bridge. He may have been there even when the
bridge went under. At the same time the bridge went under, the forward funnel
collapsed, falling forward, smashing part of the bridge and crushing several
swimmers in the water nearby, including Charles Williams and Colonel Astor. At
2:20, the stern of the White Star liner faced the stars. The band was playing a
hymn, and Father David Byles was taking last moment confessions on the Boat
Deck. Everyone was soon struggling to remain upright. The ship was beginning to
make its final slide into the glass-like sea. It was then that the ship broke in
half, the bow going under first, the stern rearing up once more, and then
sinking into the sea. In one instant, the cries of the passengers and crew
aboard the ship were suddenly silenced forever.
Titanic had died. With her died Edward Smith, Henry Wilde,
William Murdoch, James Moody, Thomas Andrews, John Jacob Astor, Jack Phillips,
Alfred Nicholls, Hugh McElroy, Reginald Barker, William O'Loughlin, James
Simpson, Andrew Latimer, Benjamin Guggenheim, John Thayer, George Widener, Harry
Widener, Isidor Straus, Ida Straus, Archibald Butt, Francis Millet, William
Stead, Joseph Bell, and a host of others.
Two hours later, a Cunarder, the Carpathia, appeared in the
distance. It then began picking up the survivors and the boats at about 4
o'clock a.m., the last boat at 8 o'clock.
712 people had survived the sinking of the Titanic.
1,523 had not.
Countdown to Disaster has been prepared for ACT I by Titanic Researcher Addison Hart of DeKalb, Illinois.
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