Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-04-02
WRECKED BY A MINE.
Official Report Of The Court of Inquiry
Which Investigated The
Maine Disaster.

Washington, March 2S.-The fol-
lowing is the full text of the report
of the court of inquiry:
"U. s. S. Iowa, First Rate.
cKey West, Fla, March 81, 1898.
s'After full and mature consider
alton of all the testimony before it,
the court finds as follows:
.First-That the United States
battle ship Maine arrived in the har-
Dor of Havana, Cuba, on January %,
1898, and was taken to buoy No. 4, in
from five and a half to six fathoms of
water by the regular government
pilot. The United States consul gen
eral at Havana had notified the
authorities at that place the previous
evening of the intended arrival OF
the Maine.
"Second-The state of discipline on
board of the Maine was excellent,
and all orders and regulations in
regard to the care and safety of the
ship were strictly carried out. All
ammunition was slowed IN accord
ance with prescribed instructions.
and proper care was taken whenever
ammunition was handled. Nothing
was slowed in any one of the maga-
zines or shell rooms which was not
permitted to be slowed there.
THE magazines and shell rooms
were always locked after having
been opened; and after the destruc-
ton of the Maine the keys were found
in their proper place in the Captains
cabinet, everything having been re-
ported secure that evening at p: III.
The temperature of the magazines
and shellrooms was taken daily and
reported. The only magazine which
had an undue amount of heat was
the after ten-inch magazine, and
that did not explode at the time the
Maine was destroyed. The torpedo
war heads were all slowed in the
after part of the ship. under the
wardroom, and neither caused nor
participated in the destruction of the
Maine. 1.-The dry gun cotton primers
and decorators were slowed IN the
cabin aft, and remote from the scene
of the explosion. Waste was careful
" looked after on board the Maine to
obviate danger. Special orders in
regard to this had been given by the
commanding officer YarnisheS, dry
eTS. dlCl1OhOl StANA OeliSh SOAA' oSASSANA~N
of this nature were slowed on or
above the main deck and could not
have had anything TO do with
the destruction of the Maine. The
medical stores were slowed aft, I'M
der the wardroom, and remote from
the scene or the explosion. No dan.
gerous stores of any kind were slowed
below in any of the other storerooms..
1.-The coal bunkers were inspected
daily. Of those bunkers adjacent to
the forward magazines and shell
rooms, four were empty, namely, b
3,B4, b 5, 3 g. "A Is had been in
use that day and "A 1G' was full of
New River coal. This coal had been
carefully inspected before receiving
on board. The bunker in which it
was slowed was accessible on three
sides at all times, and the fourth side
at this time on account OF bunkers
b 4 and b G. being empty. This
bunker, "A &c. had been inspected
that day by the engineer officer on
duty. The fire alarms in the bunkers
were in working order, and there had
never been a case OF spontaneous
combustion of coal on board the
Maine.
1.-The two after boilers of the ship
we're 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
forward boilers have since been found
by the divers and are in fair con-
dition.
"The finding Of the court of inquiry
was reached after twenty-three DAYS
of continuous labor, on the 21st Of
afarUu rusCanG, auu having been ap-
proved on the 22d by the commander
in chief of the United States naval
force on the North Atlantic station
was transmitted to the Executive.
ION the night of the destruction Of
the Maine everything had been re-
ported secure for the night at s p. N.
by reliable persons, through the
proper authorities, to the commands
ing officer At the time the Maine
was destroyed the ship was quiet, and
therefore least liable to accident
caused by movements from those Oh
board.
"Third-The destruction of the
Maine occurred at $40 p. M, on
February Is, 1898, in the harbor OF
Havana, Cuba, she being at the time
moored to the same buoy to which
she had been taken upon her arrival.
There were two explosions OF dis
tinctly different character, with a
very short but distinct interval be-
tween them, and the forward part Of
the ship was lifted to marked de-
gree at the time of the first explosion.
The first explosion was more in the
nature of report, like that of gun,
while the second explosion was more
open, prolonged and of greater
volume. The second explosion was,
in the opinion of the court, caused by
the partial explosion Of two or more
of the forward magazines of the
Maine.
Fourth The evidence bearing
upon this, being principally obtained
from divers, did not enable the court !
to form q definite conclusion as to
the condition of the wreck, although |
it was estab lished that the after part
of the ship was practically intact and
sank in that condition very few
after the destruction of the
forward part.
1.-The following facts in regard to
the forward part of the ship are,
however, established by the testi-
mony.
THAT portion of the port side of
the protective deck which extends
from about frame 30 to about frame
Il was blown up aft and over to port.