The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-03-29
COURT OF INQUIRY REPORT.

Z It Ftnds that the Maine wa. Destroyed by
Outside Explosion, and the Opinion of
the Court Is that 1t was Caused BIZ a
Submarine Milne.
The following is the tu,l text OF the
report OF the court OF inquiry:
U. S. $: iowa. FIRST RATE.
KEY WEST. Fla.
Monday. March 81, 1898.
After full and mature consideration
of all the testimony before It, the court
Z finds as follows: 4
81. That the United States battlrship
Maine arrived in the harbor OF Havana,
. Cuba, on the twenty-fifth day OF Jana-
I ary, eighteen hundred and ninety
eight, and was taken to buoy No. 4. In
from I'VE and a half to six fathoms of
water. By the regular government pilot.
~ The United States consul general at
: Havana had notified the authorities
n at that place. the previous evening, Of
the intendsd arrival OF the Maine.
g 2, The state OF discipline on board
The Maine was excellent; and all orders
and regulations in regard to the care
and safety OF the ship were strictly car
5 ried out.
All ammunition was slowed In ac-
cordance with prescribed instructions.
and proper care was taken wherever
Ammunition was handled.
Nothing was slowed in any one OF the
magazines or shell rooms which was
I not permitted to be slowed there.
e The ma gazires and she'll rooms were
always locked after having been open
I. ed; and after the destruction ofethe
y Maine the keys were found in their
proper place In the captains cabin.
III l.
that evening at SIP. m. &
The Temperatures OF the magazine
and shell rooms were taken daily and
reported: The only magazine which
had an undue amount OF heat was the
after teH-irch magazine, and that did
! not explode at the time the Maine was
destroyed.
The torpedo war heads were all, stow
ed in the after part OF the ship under
the ward room. and neither caused nor
participated in the destruction Of the
( Maine. The dry gun cotton primers
and decorators were slowed In the cabin
L aft. and remote from the scene of the
explosion. Waste was carefully looked
after on board, the Maine 10 obviate
danger. Special orders in resard to this
: had seen given by the commanding oif-,
cer.@5 sii -
dryers. alcoho! and other
conbustib!es OF this nature were stow
ed on or above the main deck and could
4 not have had anything to do with the
destruction OF the Maine.
70 TIE medical stores were slowed aft.
under the wardiroom and remote from
the scene OF the explosion. No danger
Gus stores OF any kind were slowed be-
low. in any of5the other store rooms.
The coal bunkers were inspected
daily. or those bunkers adjacent TO the
forward magazines and shell rooms.
fourEwere empty, namely: BE-, Bi, Bo,
I b. t.A15" had been In use that day,
: and .th16' was full OF New river coal.
: This coal had been carefully inspected
4 before receiving It on board. The
/ bunker in which it'w slowed was ac-
cessible on three sides at all times, and
+ the fourth side at this time on account
This bunker, .Ai6, - had beer inspected
that, day by the engineer officer on
duty. ~ Il II
The fire alarms in The buEkers were
IN working order. and there had never
( been a case Of spontaneous combustion
OF Goa. on board the Maine.
( The usn after boilers OF the ship Terei
IN use at the time OF the disaster. but
for auxiliary purposes only, With a
comparatively low pressure OF steam.
and being tended BY a reliable watch.
These boilers could not have caused the.
explosion OF the ship. The four for
ward boilers have since been found by
1.-The divers, and arc In a fall condition.
On the night OF the destruction OF the,
Maine everything had been reported se-
cure for the night at y. M. by rell-
e able persons. through the proper aIi-
4 thorities. to the comma ndGng officer.
! At the time the Maine, was destroyed
i the ship was quiet. and therefore least
3 liable to accident caused by movements
from those en- board.
8. Tie destruction, of the Maire oc-
Z Cured at $40 p. M. on the fifteenth day
, OF February, eighteen hundred and
ninety-eight,; in the harborS OF Havana,
h Cuba, she being at the time moored TO
A, the same buoy 10 which she had been
u takea upon her arrival.
~ There were two explosions OF n dis
( tinctly different character, with a very
\ short but distinct interval Y between
them, and the forward part of the ship
. was afted to a marked degree Mt the
4 time. OF the FIRST explosion. X
i5 The first explosion was more In the
4. nature OF n report. like that OF a gun;
z while the second explosions was more
open, prolonged, and OF greater volume.
Z This second explosion was, In the opn-
3tonsof the court. caused by tho partial
explosion oftwo or more of the forward
magazines of the Maine; i;.3 x
25 The evidence bearing upon this being
Z! principaiiy obtained from divers. did
/ not cradle the court TO formsa definite
i3 corclus!on as to :! the condition OF the
\ wreck. although It was established that
Y hes after part of the ship was praet!cal-
iy& intact, and sank In that condition 4
4 very few mirutcs after the destruction
Of the forward part H
!. The following facts In regard to tho
4 forward part OF the ship arc, however,
established by the testimony:
That portion OF the port side5of the
& protective deck, which extends from
y ABOUT frame 10 TO about frame Al WINS