At 9:40 on the evening of 15 February, a terrible explosion on board
Maine shattered the stillness in Havana Harbor. Later investigations
revealed that more than five tons of powder charges for the vessel's
six and ten-inch guns ignited, virtually obliterating the forward third
of the ship. The remaining wreckage rapidly settled to the bottom of
the harbor. Most of Maine's crew were sleeping or resting in the
enlisted quarters in the forward part of the ship when the explosion
occurred. Two hundred and sixty-six men lost their lives as a result of
the disaster: 260 died in the explosion or shortly thereafter, and six
more died later from injuries. Captain Sigsbee and most of the officers
survived because their quarters were in the aft portion of the ship.

Spanish officials and the crew of the civilian steamer City of
Washington acted quickly in rescuing survivors and caring for the
wounded. The attitude and actions of the former allayed initial
suspicions that hostile action caused the explosion, and led Sigsbee to
include at the bottom of his initial telegram: "Public opinion should
be suspended until further report."

The U.S. Navy Department immediately formed a board of inquiry to
determine the reason for Maine's destruction. The inquiry, conducted in
Havana, lasted four weeks. The condition of the submerged wreck and the
lack of technical expertise prevented the board from being as thorough
as later investigations. In the end, they concluded that a mine had
detonated under the ship. The board did not attempt to fix blame for
the placement of the device.

When the Navy's verdict was announced, the American public reacted with
predictable outrage. Fed by inflammatory articles in the "Yellow Press"
blaming Spain for the disaster, the public had already placed guilt on
the Spanish government. Although he continued to press for a diplomatic
settlement to the Cuban problem, President McKinley accelerated
military preparations begun in January 1898 when an impasse appeared
likely. The Spanish position on Cuban independence hardened, and
McKinley asked Congress on 11 April for permission to intervene. On 21
April, the President ordered the Navy to begin a blockade of Cuba, and
Spain followed with a declaration of war on 23 April. Congress
responded with a formal declaration of war on 25 April, made
retroactive to the start of the blockade.

The destruction of Maine did not cause the U.S. to declare war on
Spain, but it served as a catalyst, accelerating the approach to a
diplomatic impasse. In addition, the sinking and deaths of U.S. sailors
rallied American opinion more strongly behind armed intervention.

In 1911 the Navy Department ordered a second board of inquiry after
Congress voted funds for the removal of the wreck of Maine from Havana
Harbor. U.S. Army engineers built a cofferdam around the sunken
battleship, thus exposing it, and giving naval investigators an
opportunity to examine and photograph the wreckage in detail. Finding
the bottom hull plates in the area of the reserve six-inch magazine
bent inward and back, the 1911 board concluded that a mine had
detonated under the magazine, causing the explosion that destroyed the
ship.


Joe