Featured Article: Senator Smith and the United States Senate Inquiry Into the Loss of Titanic

Senator William Alden Smith and his son had made a North Atlantic voyage aboard the Baltic under the command of Captain E.J. Smith in 1906. Captain Smith would later be the commander of Titanic in 1912. While aboard the Baltic, the senator had the chance to meet Captain Smith and developed a great respect for the man. After Titanic went down, the senator was determined to find out why the largest and most state-of-the-art ship in the world went down at the command of one of the most experienced and respected captains on the sea?

Senator William Alden Smith (left) and Captain E.J. Smith (right)

He telephoned to Charles Hilles, Secretary to President Taft, to ask what action was to be taken. The reply was that the President intended to do nothing. After hearing this, he began working on a draft of a resolution to investigate the disaster.

Early morning of Thursday, April 18th, word had been received showing that there were no other survivors of the disaster, except for those aboard the Carpathia. The true scope of the disaster was now apparent to all. Shortly after hearing the news of the true reality of the survivors, the Senate met that same morning and the floor was turned over to Senator Smith, who immediately asked for passage of his resolution which authorized the Committee on Commerce to investigate the disaster. 

The resolution called for a hearing with witnesses being subpoenaed who could offer information about the disaster. With very little opposition the resolution was carried, and Smith was appointed by the Commerce Committee chairman, Knute Nelson, as chairman of the subcommittee to look into the Titanic disaster. Neslon and Smith spent the remainder of the day selecting the panel of Senators that would aid him in the inquiry.

J. Bruce Ismay

Later that morning, the Department of the Navy contacted Senator Smith, advising him that they had intercepted several significant messages being sent from the Carpathia by Bruce Ismay, President of the White Star Line. 

Other than announcing the loss of Titanic and requesting personal needs, some of telegrams that were intercepted indicated that Ismay was hoping to go directly back to England, along with the crew, without setting foot on American soil. Some of these messages were signed with the name "Yamsi". It didn't take much to interoperate that Yamsi was Ismay spelled backwards.

At noon, Smith immediately arranged a  meeting at the White House. During the meeting, Smith asked about the legalities of subpoenaing British citizens. President Taft, checking with Attorney-General George Wickersham, said there was no question so long as they were in the United States.

That afternoon, the first meeting of the investigative subcommittee was held, during which the Ismay messages were discussed. Smith asked which of the other Senators would accompany him to New York to serve subpoenas and interrogate witnesses.

That evening at around 9:30pm, Titanic survivors begin to disembark the Carpathia shortly after her arrival.

Ismay had hoped for a quick return to England for himself and the surviving crew members by immediately boarding another White Star ship, most likely the Cedric. However, that hope was quickly diminished with the arrival of Senator Smith and his men, intercepting Ismay and the others before they could disembark the Carpathia. The men carried subpoenas for Ismay, as well as various members of the Titanic crew.

Smith also was accompanied by Senator Francis G. Newlands, US Steamship Inspector General - George Uhler, Sheriff Joe Bayliss (an old ally of Smith's that was deputized as an Assistant Sergeant at Arms of the US Senate specifically to serve subpoenas), and Bill McKinstry (Smith's private secretary).

The inquiry began at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City the following morning on Friday, April 19th. After two days, the inquiry was moved to Washington D.C. All together inquiry lasted 18 days and recorded the testimonies of 86 witnesses.

Timeline Article: Survivor Lists Become More Accurate / Southampton Is Hit Hardest By The News of Titanic

Friday, April 19, 1912

Morning

The lists of names of Titanic's survivors become more accurate after Carpathia's arrival in New York. Crowds of people gather outside the White Star offices in both America and the United Kingdom. They watch with hope and fear for familiar names.

Southampton is hardest hit by the news that only about 200 of Titanic's 900 crew members were saved. The majority of Titanic's crew were recruited directly from Southampton not long before Titanic departed. 

The London Daily Mail reports:
"In the humble homes of Southampton, there is scarcely a family that has not lost a relative or friend."

Timeline Article: Titanic's Survivors Disembark

Carpathia at the New York docks

Thursday, April 18, 1912

Around 9:30pm

Darkness and heavy rain have delayed the warping of the Carpathia to the dock. A crowd of 10,000 to eventually 30,000 people have gathered, and are awaiting the arrival of Titanic's survivors. Among the crowd is a large detachment of city officials, immigration commissioners, doctors, priests, sisters, nurses, ambulances, and coroners. The Salvation Army is also there to care for the survivors of Titanic’s steerage passengers. Delegates from the New York Stock Exchange have sums of cash for those who have lost everything. Organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America along with many others have set up fundraisers to help those in need.

The Boy Scouts of America collecting money
to help support Titanic's survivors.

Once the Carpathia was tied to the dock and the gangway prepared, a large number of stretchers were taken aboard. As Titanic's passengers began making their way down the gangway it soon became evident to the crowd that a large number of survivors had lost all their clothing, and had to make due with whatever was available to them aboard the Carpathia. Some were ill physically and or mentally. Others were violently hysterical, and evidently deranged, while there were a considerable number of cases that were in a state of shock. As the survivors made their way to the street, silence fell over the crowd, and even the flashes of the Press photographers' cameras ceased for a moment.

Titanic's surviving Wireless Operator
Harold Bride being carried from the
Carpathia.

Dr. Henry Frauenthal and his wife were the first to land from the Carpathia. They were driven off quickly in a motor car, and no one had any opportunity to speak to them. Many soon followed in the same manner. 

Some of the survivors needed assistance getting down the gangway such as Titanic's Wireless Operator Harold Bride who had injuries to his feet. One was sprained and the other had frostbite.

As Titanic's survivors disembark, the people in the crowd started shouting out names in hopes to get a response. The people that were reunited with their loved ones clung to them and kissed them tenderly. 

The sick and injured of Titanic's survivors were carried on stretchers and taken to a hospital by ambulance. 

For the others that waited and waited but never saw their loved ones, it was a horrible reality. Out of the 2,208 people aboard Titanic only 712 survived. That meant 1,496 were dead.

One man in the crowd waiting to greet the survivors is William Alden Smith, a U.S. Representative and Senator from the state of Michigan. He has been appointed to investigate the sinking of Titanic. Senator Smith along with a group of U.S. marshals board Carpathia. He has a handful of subpoena, one of which is for Bruce Ismay. The investigation hearings begin the very next day and Senator Smith wants Ismay to be there.

Senator William Alden Smith (left) and
White Star Line President J. Bruce Ismay (right)

Timeline Article: Carpathia Arrives in New York with Titanic's Survivors

Carpathia approaching New York.

Thursday, April 18, 1912

Evening

By 6pm, Carpathia slowly makes her way through the dark and rainy evening, a harbor pilot from the Ambrose lightship is brought aboard as well as an escort of tugboats to lead her into New York. Private craft surround Carpathia. Photographers' camera flashes light up the evening and reporters shout out questions with megaphones. One reporter manages to board the ship only to be grabbed by crew members and taken below deck. Some people in the boats surrounding Carpathia hold up signs asking for Titanic survivors by name. Nearly 30,000 people gather at the Cunard's pier 54 braving the rain and cold waiting for Carpathia to arrive. Nearly all of New York's police force was on duty. Hundreds of officers were required to hold back the crowds of people. Many were relatives of the survivors desperately seeking answers.

Crowds of people waiting for Carpathia to arrive
with Titanic's survivors.

Around 8pm, Carpathia appears out of the rainy darkness only to be lit up by the constant flashing of photographers' cameras. The crowds watch in confusion as Carpathia slowly moves past her Cunard pier 54 and stops at White Star's pier 59. After a few moments it all becomes clear as Carpathia's crew begin unloading Titanic's lifeboats at the pier where Titanic would have docked. Only 13 lifeboats were all the remained of the great liner.

Titanic's 13 remaining lifeboats dropped off by
Carpathia at Titanic's pier.

After all of Titanic's lifeboats were unloaded from Carpathia's deck, she slowly makes her way back to the Cunard dock. The crowd grew silent as the gangplank was lowered, and by 9:30pm Titanic's survivors began to disembark.

Timeline Article: The Uneasiness Aboard Carpathia

Titanic's survivors aboard Carpathia

April 15 - 18, 1912

Titanic's survivors settle into their crowded new quarters among Carpathia's sympathetic passengers and crew. Under these conditions the ship is too small to allow anyone much privacy. The passengers and crew share or give up their cabins to their cold and fatigued guests. The common areas of the ship are soon filled causing many to move out onto the decks. Titanic's recovered lifeboats loom over them as a haunting reminder. Among the crowds, some family members are reunited. Newly made widows recalling the recent deaths of their husbands, are tortured by the presence of men that have survived.

Titanic's lifeboats on the deck of Carpathia

Then on Tuesday night, Carpathia runs into a thunderstorm. On Wednesday she encounters heavy fog that doesn't clear until Thursday afternoon. The bad weather frightens many of the survivors. By the time the fog clears many can hear the Fire Island fog horn. New York City is only hours away.

Fire Island Lighthouse

Timeline Article: Olympic Officially Informs New York About Titanic

RMS Olympic

Monday, April 15, 1912

6:15pm New York Time

Throughout the day, the people of New York City have heard nothing but rumors. 

With no real news on what has happened, all the conflicting and confusing stories begin to seem true. 

Finally, at 6:15pm Olympic sends New York a simple message, 

"Titanic has gone down". 

White Star Line's Phillip Franklin announces it to the American public. The news crosses the Atlantic by cable. The first numbers appear listing that only 675 passengers and crew were rescued. For a ship that had a crew of 900, this could mean the worst for Southampton, England where nearly all of Titanic's crew were employed. 

New rumors start to circulate when London's Daily Sketch makes an unsupported claim that the Carpathia with Titanic's survivors on board had also begun to sink. Lists showing the names of Titanic's survivors are posted. Some of the names posted are misspelled, then corrected, or even omitted as vague new reports come in.

There will be no relief to the confusion until Carpathia arrives.

People gather outside The Sun Building in New York
awaiting news about Titanic.

Timeline Article: Cottom And Bride Send Messages from Carpathia

Harold Cottom

Carpathia's wireless operator Harold Cottom has been on duty all night. He is completely exhausted and overwhelmed. He has a huge number of official messages that must be sent out informing the world of Titanic's sinking as well as messages going out from survivors. On top of that, Captain Rostron wants a complete list of survivors to be sent out as quickly as possible.

Harold Bride

Titanic's wireless operator Harold Bride decides to assist Cottom with the outgoing messages. Despite his exhaustion and frostbitten feet, he relieves Cottom at the wireless whenever necessary.

During voyage to New York, Carpathia's signal will be broadcasting constantly. Cottom and Bride will ignore all incoming messages from news reporters and including President Taft. The two men have both committed themselves to serving Titanic's survivors.

Timeline Article: Carpathia Proceeds to New York with Titanic's Survivors

RMS Carpathia

Monday, April 15, 1912
8:50am

After departing New York just a few days before, Carpathia was on a vacation cruise upon receiving Titanic's distress call. Now this pleasant cruise has become a mission of mercy.

With 700 additional passengers, the spaces aboard Carpathia have become limited.



Titanic's passengers crowd the decks and saloons as Carpathia's passengers try to offer aid and comfort. Captain Rostron sails his ship to the location of the sinking. Some wreckage and one floating body are visible.

The ice field is a low wall that is blinding white in the sun. One of the icebergs stands out with what appears to have a spear of Titanic's red paint at its base. 

A photograph taken of the ice field with bergs visible.

Captain Rostron asks his purser and steward for a full survivor count and prepares to return to New York. Before leaving the area, Rostron makes one more request to have a brief funeral for the victims. Titanic's survivors are overwhelmed by grief.

Timeline Article: Carpathia Receives All of Titanic's Survivors. Californian Is Too Late to Help.

Monday, April 15, 1912
8:30am

Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia

Carpathia's crew finish receiving Titanic's survivors around 8:30am. Once everyone is on board, Captain Rostron asks for a full survivor count.

The survivors immediately begin looking for family and friends that had been separated during Titanic's evacuation. The married women search for their husbands that they were forced to leave behind. Unaware that Carpathia was the only ship to come to Titanic's rescue, many of the survivors have hope that their loved ones could possibly be on another ship.

After traveling through 19 miles of ice, the Californian approaches the Carpathia from the north. Californian's Wireless Operator Cyril Evans has just learned of Titanic's fate, and has relayed this information to Captain Stanley Lord.

After hearing this horrible news, Lord and the rest of his crew can't help but wonder if the rockets and lights they saw disappearing on the horizon, was actually the Titanic sinking before their eyes. As Californian gets closer to Carpathia, they realize that they are too late to help.

Captain Stanley Lord and his ship, SS Californian

See Related Articles: Californian Notices Rockets, The Mystery Ship