The reports of the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912 are horrific and heart-rending enough, but there is also a firsthand account, the testimony of Col. Archibald Gracie, one of the few male survivors, before the U.S. Senate inquiry into the event later that month.

A much more detailed account is in his 1913 book, “The Truth about the Titanic,” essentially an hour-by-hour account of the disaster, including interviews with other survivors, almost 20 photographs and inquiry testimonies.

Gracie mentions John Jacob Astor IV, great-grandson of Astoria’s founder, in a rather derogatory remark: “I may say further that with the single exception of Colonel Astor’s plea for the protection of his wife, in delicate condition (pregnant), there was not one (man) who made a move or a suggestion to enter a boat.”

A lifeboat passenger’s account confirms the stern actually did rise upward, almost vertically, staying stationary for about 20 seconds before diving “straight down out of sight.” 

Gracie died in December 1912, leaving behind this harrowing, but fascinating read. (Engraving: Willy Stöwer)