abandoning the ship and leaving passengers to fend for themselves, this is so contrary to he jnds you've heard so often. the ship is in trouble, women and children off first, then the men. that happened in 1852 when a british ship carrying troops began to sink off the coast of south africa. the captain and military offices on board famously allowed the women and children to board the lifeboats first. the captain and many of the troops stayed on the ship until the last dying in the ocean. sounds very chvivle russ. randi kaye looks at the heroic captain who went down with the ship and the ones who did not. >> reporter: he is blamed for one of the worst maritime disasters of all time. but to some, captainest j. smith is a hero. he had already turned in for the night aboard the titanic when his crew told him they'd hit an