Friday, April 19th
Morning
After questioning Bruce Ismay, Senator Smith calls Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia to the witness stand. He is the second witness to be called on the first day of the American Inquiry.
On the night of April 14, 1912, Rostron was asleep in his cabin when wireless operator Harold Cottam burst in and told him of Titanic's distress signal. Captain Rostron immediately set course to the liner's last known position, over 60 miles.
After all the orders were issued and preparations were underway, Rostron being a devout Christian man, was observed walking away to a place where he thought he would be unobserved and bowed his head for a long prayer.
At 4am the Carpathia arrived at the scene after negotiating surrounding ice fields. The Carpathia picked up the survivors and lifeboats from the Titanic. 712 people were saved and 1,496 perished. Insufficient resources were on board the Carpathia to make it to Europe, so Rostron decided to sail back to New York. When the Carpathia arrived at New York the full horror of the Titanic tragedy was learned. After the last survivor had disembarked and Captain Rostron had completed his statement for the American Inquiry, the Carpathia returned to its usual service.
Titanic survivors, including Margaret Brown, presented Rostron with a silver cup and gold medal for his efforts the night Titanic sank.
He was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the Thanks of Congress, the American Cross of Honor, a medal from the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society, and a gold medal from the Shipwreck Society of New York.
Rostron was highly praised for his efforts in both the American and the British inquiries into the disaster.
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| Titanic survivor Margaret Brown (later known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown) presents Captain Rostron with a silver cup commemorating his efforts in the rescue of the Titanic survivors. |