E 1,315,107




,,   ir., ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ER T:;~"%~r:*~"   r.:Il   f
c'r* ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~UESPNNSL1-ML
IR    pie   TIL
IMUM AN    17A




i
~,,~;       I
l 9 i~~~~~gul W   l~~~




C~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I




55TH CONGRESS, }
2d Session.  5


SENATE.


DOCUMENT
{ No. 207.


-
-


MTESSAGE
FROM THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
TRANSMITTING
THE REPORT OF THENAVAL COURT OF INQUIRY UPON THE
DESTRUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES BATTLE SHIP
MAINE IN HAVANA HARBOR, FEBRUARY 15,1898,
TOGETHER WITH THE TESTIMONY
TAKEN BEFORE THE COURT.
at            a
MARCH 28, 1898.-Read, referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations, and ordered to be printed.


WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1898.


N"




J




0


MESSAGE.
To the Congress of the United States:
For some time prior to the visit of the Maine to Havana Harbor our
consular representatives pointed out the advantages to flow from the
visit of national ships to the Cuban waters, in accustoming the people
to the presence of our flag as the symbol of good will and of our ships
in the fulfillment of the mission of protection to American interests,
even though no immediate need therefor might exist.
Accordingly on the 24th of January last, after conference with the
Spanish minister in which the renewal of visits of our war vessels to
Spanish waters was discussed and accepted, the peninsular authorities
at Madrid and Havana were advised of the purpose of this Government to resume friendly naval visits at Cuban ports, and that in that
view the Maine would forthwith call at the port of Havana.
This announcement was received by the Spanish Government with
appreciation of the friendly character of the visit of the Maine, and
with notification of intention to return the courtesy by sending Spanish
ships to the principal ports of the United States. Meanwhile the Maine
entered the port of Havana on the 25th of January, her arrival being
marked with no special incident besides the exchange of customary
salutes and ceremonial visits.
The Maine continued in the harbor of Havana during the three
weeks following her arrival. No appreciable excitement attended her
q    stay; on the contrary, a feeling of relief and confidence followed the
resumption of the long interrupted friendly intercourse. So noticeable
was this immediate effect of her visit that the consul-general strongly
urged that the presence of our ships in Cuban waters should be kept
up by retaining the Maine at Havana or, in the event of her recall, by
sending another vessel there to take her place.
At forty minutes past 9 in the evening of the 15th of February the
T   Maine was destroyed by an explosion, by which the entire forward part
of the ship was utterly wrecked. In this catastrophe two officers and
two hundred and sixty-four of her crew perished, those who were not
killed outright by her explosion being penned between decks by the
~ tangle of wreckage and drowned by the immediate sinking of the hull.
~     Prompt assistance was rendered by the neighboring vessels anchored
in the harbor, aid being especially given by the boats of the Spanish
-3                                                         3
C)




4


DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


cruiser Alfonso XII and, the Ward Line steamer City of Washington,
which lay not far distant. The wounded were generously cared for by
the authorities of Havana, the hospitals being freely opened to them,
while the earliest recovered bodies of the dead were interred by the
municipality in a public cemetery in the city. Tributes of grief and
sympathy were offered from all official quarters of the island.
The appalling calamity fell upon the people of our country with
crushing force, and for a brief time an intense excitement prevailed,
which in a community less just and self-controlled than ours might
have led to hasty acts of blind resentment. This spirit, however, soon
gave way to the calmer processes of reason and to the resolve to investigate the facts and await material proof before forming a judgment as 
to the cause, the responsibility, and, if the facts warranted, the remedy
due. This course necessarily recommended itself from the outset to
the Executive, for only in the light of a dispassionately ascertained
certainty could it determine the nature and measure of its full duty in
the matter.
The usual procedure was followed, as in all cases of casualty or disaster to national vessels of any maritime State. A naval court of
inquiry was at once organized, composed of officers well qualified by
rank and practical experience to discharge the onerous duty imposed
upon them. Aided by a strong force of wreckers and di Ters, the Court
proceeded to make a thorough investigation on the spot, employing 
every available means for the impartial and exact determination of the
causes of the explosion. Its operations have been conducted with the
utmost deliberation and judgment, and while independently pursued no
attainable source of information was neglected, and the fullest opportunity was allowed for a simultaneous investigation by the Spanish
authorities.
The finding of the court of inquiry was reached, after twenty-three
days of continuous labor, on the 21st of March, instant, and, having
been approved on the 22d by the commander in chief of the United
States naval force on the North Atlantic Station, was transmitted to
the Executive. 
It is herewith laid before the Congress, together with the voluminous
testimony taken before the court.
Its purport is, in brief, as follows:
When the Maine arrived at Havana she was conducted by the regular Government pilot to buoy No. 4, to which she was moored in from
5j to 6 fathoms of water.
The state of discipline on board, and the condition of her magazines,
boilers, coal bunkers, and storage compartments, are passed in review,
with the conclusion that excellent order prevailed, and that no indication of any cause for an internal explosion existed in any quarter.
At 8 o'clock in the evening of February 15 everything had been
reported secure, and all was quiet.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.              5
At forty minutes past 9 o'clock the vessel 4as suddenly destroyed.
There were two distinct explosions, with a brief interval between
them.
The first lifted the forward part of the ship very perceptibly; the
second, which was more open, prolonged, and of greater volume, is
attributed by the court to the partial explosion of two or more of the
forward magazines.
The evidence of the divers establishes that the after part of the ship
was practically intact and sank in that condition a very few moments
after the explosion. The forward part was completely demolished.
Upon the evidence of a concurrent external cause the finding of the
court is as follows:
At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship, from a point 11 feet from the middle line
of the ship and 6 feet above the keel when in its normal position, has been forced
up so as to be now about 4 feet above the surface of the water, therefore about 34
feet above where it would be had the ship sunk uninjured.
The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed V shape (A), the after wing of
which, about 15 feet broad and 32 feet in length (from frame 17 to frame 25), is
doubled back upon itself against the continuation of the same plating, extending
forward.
At frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two and the flat keel bent into an angle
similar to the angle formed by the outside bottom plates. This break is now about
6 feet below the surface of the water and about 30 feet above its normal position.
In the opinion of the court this effect could have been produced only by the
explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship at about frame 18 and
somewhat on the port side of the ship.
The conclusions of the court are:
That the loss of the Maine was not in any respect due to fault or
negligence on the part of any of the officers or members of her crew;
That the ship was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine,
which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward
magazines; and
That no evidence has been obtainable fixing the responsibility for the
destruction of the Maine upon any person or persons.
i         I have directed that the finding of the court of inquiry and the views
\1
of this Government thereon be communicated to the Government of
Her Majesty the Queen Regent, and I do not permit myself to doubt
that the sense of justice of the Spanish nation will dictate a course
of action suggested by honor and the friendly relations of the two
Governments.,t  ~   It will be the duty of the Executive to advise the Congress of the
result, and in the meantime deliberate consideration is invoked.
WILLIAM MCKINLEY.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
March 28, 1898.




4


I




R  OF THE  
OF THE
PROCEEDINGS OF A COURT OF INQUIRY
CONVENED
ON BOARD THE UNITED STATES LIGHT-HOUSE TENDER MANGROVE,
BY VIRTUE OF A PRECEPT SIGNED BY REAR-ADMIRAL
MONTGOMERY SICARD, U. S. NAVY, COMMANDER IN
CHIEF, UNITED STATES NAVAL FORCE ON
NORTH ATLANTIC STATION,
TO
INQUIRE INTO THE LOSS OF THE U. S. B. S. MAINE,
IN THE HARBOR OF HAVANA, CUBA,
ON THE
NIGHT OF FEBRUARY FIFTEENTH, EIGHTEEN
HUNDRED AND NINETY-EIGHT.


7




4




PROCEEDINGS
OF A
Court of inquiry convened on board the United States light-house tender
Mangrove, by virtue of a precept signed by Rear-Admiral Montgomery
Sicard, United States Navy, commander in chief United States naval
force on North Atlantic Station.
FIRST DAY.
U.S. LIGHT-HOUSE TENDER MANGROVE,
Harbor of Havana, Monday, February 21, 1898-10 a. m.
The court met pursuant to the above-mentioned precept.
Present: Capt. William T. Sampson, United States Navy, president;
Capt. French E. Chadwick, United States Navy, and Lieut. Commander
William P. Potter, United States Navy, members; and Lieut. Commander Adolph Marix, United States Navy, judge-advocate.
The court was cleared and the orders constituting it, together with
all the accompanying instructions, were read aloud and appended,
marked as follows:
Precept, together with two accompanying telegrams forming a part
of it, marked "A."
Letter from the convening authority to the president of the court,
giving certain officers the right to be present at the investigation,
marked "B."
Second letter from the convening authority to the president of the
4   court, allowin aany other persons to be present during the investigation
should the evidence develop any facts which might implicate such persons, marked "C." All other matters preliminary to the inquiry were
determined, and, after deciding to sit with closed doors, the court was
opened.
<  ~   The judge-advocate, having requested and received permission, introduced as stenographer Frederick J. Buenzle, chief yeoman, United
States Navy.
Captain Sigsbee, United States Navy, commanding the U. S. battle
ship Maine, whom the convening authority had notified of his right to be
present during the investigation, appeared and requested permission
to be present at such times during the investigation as he might desire,
but did not want any counsel.
The judge-advocate read aloud the precept and accompanying
instructions heretofore referred to.
Captain Sigsbee was asked if he objected to any member of the court,
to which he replied in the negative.
9




10    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


The members were severally duly sworn by the judge-advocate, and
the judge-advocate was duly sworn by the president, all of which oaths
were administered according to law.
Chief Yeoman Frederick J. Buenzle, United States Navy, was duly
sworn as stenographer by the judge advocate.
All witnesses were directed to withdraw.
The court being duly organized, the inquiry proceeded as follows:
Capt. CHARLES D. SIGSBEE, United States Navy, a witness called by
the judge-advocate, was duly sworn by the president.
EXAMINATION IN CHIEF.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What is your name, rank, and present station?
A. Charles D. Sigsbee; captain, United States Navy; commanding
U. S. S. Maine.
Q. When did you take command of the Maine?
A. On the 10th day of April, 1897.
Q. When did the Mlaine arrive at Havana the last time?
A. On the 24th day of January, 1898.
Q. About what time?
A. About half past 9 in the morning.
Q. Do you know, or have you any reason to believe, that the authorities of Havana knew of the Maine's coming?
A. Yes; I understand that they were notified by the United States
consul-general.
Q. Upon your arrival, did you take a pilot?
A. I did; I took an official pilot sent off by the captain of the port
of Havana.
Q. Did he berth the Maine?
A. He did.
Q. Where?
A. The berth is in the man-of-war anchorage off the Machina, or the
Shears. It is to all appearances one of the regular mooring buoys of
the place. My recollection is that the pilot said that it was buoy No.
4. Our bearings, taken soon after mooring, did not place it exactly
according to the charted position of buoy No. 4, but no note was taken
of this because it was assumed that the charted position might repre- 
sent former positions, and the buoys might have been changed somewhat in the examinations of the moorings.
Q. Have you been to Havana before frequently or recently?
A. I was here about 1872, and again about 1878.
Q. Do you know if you were placed in the usual berth for men-of-war?
A. No. I can only state that by remarks I have heard since the
explosion.
Q. State what you heard.
A. I have been informed, since the explosion on board the Maine, by
Captain Stevens, who is temporarily in command of the steamer City of
Washington, of the Ward Line of steamers, that he had never known in
all his experience, which covers visits to Havana for five or six years,
a; man-of-war to be anchored at that buoy, and that he had rarely known
merchant vessels to be anchored there, and that it was the least used
buoy in the harbor.
Q. Will you please describe the surroundings when first moored to
this buoy?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


11


A. The Spanish man-of-war Alfonso XI1 was moored in the position now occupied by the Fern-about 250 yards to the northward and
westward of the Mlaine. The German ship Gniesenau was anchored at
the berth now occupied by the Spanish man-of-war Segaspe, which is
about 400 yards about due north from the Maine. A day or two after
the arrival of the Maine the German man-of-war Charlotte came in and
was anchored about four or five hundred yards to the southward of
the Maine's berth. Other vessels, merchant vessels, came and went,
anchored and moored in localities more or less remote, from 200 yards
upward.
Q. Will you please describe your surroundings at the time of the
explosion?
A. It was a calm and still night. At the time of the accident the
Spanish man-of-war Alfonso XII was at the berth, as before stated.
The small Spanish dispatch boat Negaspe had come out, I think, the
day before and taken the berth occupied by the Spanish man-of-war,
the Gniesenau having left.  The steamer City of WMashington was
anchored about two hundred yards to the southward and eastward of
the Maine's stern, slightly on the port quarter. That is as much as I
can give. Other vessels were remote, so far as my recollection goes.
Q. When did you coal before the last coaling?
A. We coaled at Key West within a week of the time of our arrival.
Q. How much coal did you take at that time, if you remember?
A. I think about one hundred and fifty tons.
Q. Was the coal regularly inspected?
A. My recollection is that it was. It was from the Government coal
pile, and we had the usual men on shore; and while I can not now state
specifically, it was our invariable custom on board the Maine to inspect
all coal before it was brought on board.
Q. How much coal did you take in the last coaling previous to this,
and where?
A. It was at Key West, and I think in the neighborhood of 300 tons.
Q. Into what bunkers was the coal placed at these coalings?
A. Generally in the forward bunkers, because it was customary to
use coal from the forward bunkers first. These bullkers naturally, therefore, were replenished with new coal.
Q. There is a peculiar bunker under the forward turret, abreast the
10-inch magazine. Do you know when that was last emptied?
A. I can not personally recollect that particular bunker.
Q. Dii you ever receive any report from the chief engineer of your
ship that any coal had been too long in any bunker?
A. Never that I can recollect.
Q. l)id the fire-alarms in the bunkers work?
A. They were sensitive. They worked occasionally when there was
no undue heqt in the bunkers, on which occasions we invariably
examined the bunkers and got a report.
Q. Regarding inflammables and paints on board the Maine, were the
regulations strictly carried out in regard to the stowage?
A. Strictly, so far as my knowledge and my orders were concerned.
I was very particular on points of that kind. I was especially particular in my directions to the chief engineer concerning the disposition of
waste which had been used. He had informed me that it was always
kept in a covered metal bucket until thrown overboard with the ashes.
He has since informed me that it was habitual to'throw it overboard
every day with the ashes.
Q. How often did you discharge ashes in Havana?
A. I can not now recollect; but I remember giving certain directions




12     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


in connection with hired lighters and not dumping in the harbor. The
chief engineer was generally very solicitous about getting ashes out of
the ship promptly.
Q. Where were ashes kept until discharged 
A. Those that I saw were dumped about the region of the bulkhead
between the two fire rooms. There was a passage out of the forward
part of the forward fire room which would have been blocked by ashes.
Q. Regarding paints and inflammables, was there not a paint room
well forward below the berth deck?
A. The paint room was in what is called the eyes of the ship, just
below the berth deck, the extreme forward compartment.
Q. What were the regulations in regard to that paint room? Was
the painter allowed to stow any inflammables there?
A. He was not. The inflalnmables were stowed in chests aft, according to regulations, and when inflammables were in excess of our chest
capacity they were allowed to be kept in the bathroom of the port or
admiral's cabin.
Q. I believe Japan (lryers, turpentine, and such were kept forward
inside the superstructure. Am I not correct?                       &
A. That is my recollection.
Q. Regarding the electric plant of the Maine, have you any reason
to believe, from your observation of the lights or from any reports that
may have been made to you, that there had been serious grounding?
A. None whatever; and there was no sudden flaring up of the lights
before the explosion.
Q. No perceptible disturbance of the lights?
A. None whatever; there was a total and sudden eclipse.
Q. What were the regulations of the ship in regard to taking the
temperature of the magazines, etc.?
A. There were no special regulations other than those that were
regulations. The magazines were examined according to regulations,
and reports made accordingly and sent to the Department. I always
examined the temperature myself and conversed with the ordnance
officer as to the effect of various temperatures on the contents of the
magazines, and in his opinion, and my own, the temperatures were
never near the danger point. I do not think there was any laxity in this
direction. I can not recollect any. When I joined the ship I found it
was considered unnecessary to use slippers in the magazine, and I
directed that they should be used.
Q. Do you recollect any work going on in the magazine or shell rooms  F
on the day of the disaster?
A. My recollection is tlfat the keys were called for that morning at
quarters in the usual way. I can not recollect any other call for the
keys on that day.
Q. Were the keys properly returned after quarters?
A. Yes; so far as I can recollect. The regulation reports were made
at 8 o'clock by the executive officer. The keys of all the shell rooms
and magazines, and the spare keys, have been recovered by the diver
in my stateroom, where they were always kept.
Q. At the time of the disaster what boilers were being used?
A. The two after boilers in the after fire room. More than one boiler
was in use, for the reason that our hydraulic system was somewhat
leaky.
Q. Please inform the court in a general way, giving any particulars
you wish to give, in regard to your relations to the Spanish authorities
and native authorities or people, from the time of the arrival of the
Maine until the time of your disaster.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.  13


A. My relations with the officials were outwardly cordial, and I have
no ground for assuming that they were not really cordial. Tie members of the autonomistic council of the Government, however, seemed
to have brought to the attention of the Navy Department the fact that
I did not visit them. They made me no suggestions to visit them.
From the letters and telegrams received from the Navy Department
there seems to have been some embarrassment caused the Government
at Washirgton by the fact that I made them no visit. I took the ground
to the department that it was unknown etiquette to call on the civil
members of the colonial government other than the governor, but that
I would have exceeded etiquette at any time on suggestion from the
council. Without waiting for orders I made a visit afterwards. My
visit was pleasantly received, and promptly returned by certain memWc-    bers of the council. They sent on board a large party of ladies a day or
two afterwards. The president of the council, on board l the Maine,
made me a very cordial address, which I could not understand, and
which was interpreted to me briefly. I replied briefly, expressing kind
sentiments and a hope for the continuance of cordial relations between
Spain and the United States. Fancying that some expression cordial
to the colonial or autonomistic government might be expected of me,
I evaded the point, and used only this expression: "I beg to express
my admiration for the high purpose of your honorable body." My
reply was afterwards printed in at least two papers in Havana, but the
terms made me favor autonomistic government in the Island. I am
informed that the autonomistic government in Havana is unpopular
among a large class of Spanish and Cuban residents. I have no means
of knowing whether my apparent interference in the political concerns
of the island had any relation to the destruction of the Maine.
Q. Was there ever any demonstration of animosity by people afloat?
A. Never on shore, so far as I am informed; but afloat there was a
demonstration. It was the first Sunday after our arrival, on board a
ferryboat, densely crowded with people, both civil and military, who
were returning to Havana from a bull fight in Regla. The demonstration consisted of yells, -whistles, and apparently derisive calls emanating from about thirty or forty people at most. It was not general.
Q. During the stay of the Maine at Havana did you take other than
the ordinary precautions which are usually taken on every man-of-war
for her protection?
A. I did.,        Q. Please state them fully.
A. I had sentries on the forecastle and poop, quartermaster and signal boy on the bridge, signal boy on the poop; the corporal of the guard
especially instructed to look out for the port gangway; the officer of
the deck and quartermaster especially instructed to look out for the
a,    starboard gangway; a quarter watch was kept on deck all night; sentries'. cartridge boxes were filled, their arms kept loaded, a number of
rounds of rapid-firing ammunition kept in the pilot house, and, in the
spare captain's pantry. under the. after superstructure, additional
charges of shell close at hand for the secondary battery; steam kept up
in two boilers instead of one; especial instructions given to watch carefully all the hydraulic gear and report defects; the officer of the deck
charged with the necessity for making detailed reports to me, even in
minor matters. I had personally instructed the master at arms and
the orderly sergeant to keep a careful eye on everybody that came
on board, and to charge all their subordinates to the same purpose. I
instructed them that, when any persons came on board to go below,
they were to go with them, and carefully observe any packages that




14    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


might be held, on the supposition that dynamite or other high explosive might be employed; and to afterwards inspect the routes these peopie had taken, and never to lose sight of the importance of my order.
I further instructed the marine officer to make at least two visits during the night to the posts of the vessel. The whole purport of my
orders and directions was that we should consider the Maine in a position demanding extreme vigilance. Doubtless 1 gave many other
detailed orders of a minor character that I can not now recall.
Q. Regarding strangers being in the ship, at what time were they
compelled to leave the ship?
A. I think Lientenant-Commander Wainwright was rather severe on
desultory visitors. Very few visited the ship, except people of the
highest social standing in the city. They came commonly from 2 to say
5 o'clock. They were always accompanied about the ship by officers,
and of course under the supervisory orders of the master at arms and
sergeant of marines. People were allowed to visit the ship from about
10 to 12, and about I to 4. I think there were but two visits of Spanish
military officers. Once, about two weeks ago, a party of five or six
Spanish officers came on board during my absence. They were reported
to me as having been constrained, and not desirous to accept much
courtesy. They accepted no refreshments, but I afterwards learned
that it is Spanish custom not to accept refreshments unless they are at
hand at the time the offer is made. On another occasion, about the
same time, a Spanish officer came off with his wife. He made a visit
to my cabin, and was shown about the ship by an officer under my direction. I invited Spanish officers to visit the ship; in fact, I made considerable effort to get them on board socially in order to show good will
according to the spirit of the liMaine's visit to Havana; but with the
exceptions noted, no military officer of Spain visited the ship socially, so
far as I can remember. I know that the purser of the Alfonso XII
made a social visit; but I can not recollect a purely social visit from
other Spanish officers. The ward-room officers of the Maine, perhaps,
have further information on this point.
Q. Among the precautions which you took was the fact of having
extra lookouts on the deck. Was there ever any report of any unauthorized boats attempting to approach the ship and being ordered off!
A. Never, to my knowledge.
Q. On the night of the disaster, were all your extra precautions in
force? I mean, in regard to quarter watches?
A. I assume that they were; they were never rescinded, and up to
the night of the explosion, as far as my observation could go, my
knowledge is that they were carried out. I was especially impressed
during the whole visit here by the prompt tendency of the sentries to
report any infractions of orders on uhe part of the crew.
Q. At the time of the accident, do you know what boats were down,
and where?
A. I assume that one of the cutters was down, and one of the steam
launches. I think the first steam launch was down. The steam launch,
I have since been informed, was riding at the starboard boom, and that
one of her crew was saved. He is now in the hospital at Habana.
Q. What kind of a night was it at the time of the explosion?
A. It was a very quiet and warm night, and I remember distinctly
that the echoes of the bugle at tattoo were singularly distinct and
pleasant. A little rain fell after the explosion, which may have been
precipitated by the concussion of the explosion.
Q. Was it a dry night?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MIAINE.


15


A. There were stars, but I think it was somewhat overcast. I think
I saw several stars after the accident, but it was somewhat overcast
according to my recollection.
Q. How was the Maine heading at the time of the explosion?
A. Approximately northwest. She pointed toward the shears-somewhat to the right of the shears, near the admiral's residence.
Q. Where were you at the time?
A. I was writing at my port-cabin table, after side. I was dressed.
Q. Please give your experience in full?
A. I was just closing a letter to my family when I felt the crash of
the explosion. It was a bursting, rending, and crashing sound or roar
of immense volume, largely metallic in its character. It was succeeded
by a metallic sound-probably of falling debris-a trembling and lurching motion of the vessel, then an impression of subsidence, attended
by an eclipse of the electric lights and intense darkness within the
cabin. I knew immediately that the Mlaine had been blown up and
that she was sinking. I hurried to the starboard cabin ports, thinking
it might be necessary for me to make my exit in that way. Upon looking out I decided that I could go by the passage leading to the superstructure. I therefore took the latter route, feeling my way along and
steadying myself by the bulkheads. The superstructure was filled with
smoke, and it was dark. Nearing the outer entrance I met Private
Anthony, the orderly at the cabin door at the time. He ran into me
and, as I remember, apologized in some fashion, and reported to me
that the ship had been blown up and was sinking.
I reached the quarter-deck, asked a few questions of those standing
about nie-Lieutenant Commander Wainwright, I think, for one-then
I asked the orderly for the time. He said that the exact time of the
explosion was 9.40 p. m. I proceeded to the poop deck, stood on the
side rail, and held on to the main rigging in order to see over thp poop
awning, which was baggy and covered with debris; also in order that
I might observe details in the black mass ahead. I directed the executive officer to post sentries all around the ship, but soon saw that
there were no marines available, and no place forward to post them.
Not being quite clear as to the condition of things forward, I next
directed the forward magazine to be flooded if practicable, and about
the same time shouted out myself for perfect silence everywhere. This
was, I think, repeated by the executive officer. The surviving officers
were about me at the time on the poop. I was informed that the forward magazine was already under water, and after inquiring about the
after magazine was told that it was also under water, as shown by
the condition below reported by those coming from the wardroom and
steerage.
About this time fire broke out in the mass forward, over the central
superstructure, and I inquired as to the spare ammunition in the captain's pantry. That region was found to be subsiding very fast. At
this time I observed, among the shouts or noises apparently on shore,
that faint cries were coming from the water, and I could see dimly
white, floating bodies, which gave me a better knowledge of the real
situation than anything else. I at once ordered all boats to be lowered,
when it was reported that there were only two boats available, namely,
the gig and whaleboat. Both were lowered and manned by officers and
men, and by my direction they left the ship and assisted in saving the
wounded jointly with other boats that had arrived on the scene from
the Spanish man-of-war, from the steamer City of Washington, and from
other sources. Later-I can not state precisely how long-these two




16     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAIIE.
boats of the Maine returned to the starboard quarter alongside, and
reported that they had gathered in from the wreck all the wounded
that could be found and had transferred them to the other boats-to the
Alfonso XII or to the City of Washington.
The poop deck of the Maine, the highest point, was by that time
level with the gig's gunwale while she was afloat in the water alongside. The fire amidships was burning more fiercely and the spare
ammunition in the pilot house was exploding in detail. We had done
everything that could be done so far as I could see. Lieutenant Commander Wainwright whispered to me that he thought the 10-inch magazine forward had been thrown up into the burning mass, and might
explode in time. I directed him then to get everybody into the boats
over the stern, and this was done, although there was some little delay
in curbing the extreme politeness of the officers, who wanted to help 
me into the boat. I directed them to go first, as a matter of course,
and I followed and got into the gig. We proceeded to the steamer
City of Washington, and on the way I shouted to the boats to leave the
vicinity of the wreck, and that there might be an explosion. I got Mr.
Sylvester Scovell to translate my desire to one or two boats which were
at that time somewhat nearer the fire than we ourselves were.
Having succeeded in this, I went on board the -City of Washington,
where I found our wounded all below in the dining saloon on mattresses,
covered up, and being carefully attended by the officers and crew of
that vessel. Every attention that the resources of the vessel admitted
was being rapidly brought into use. I then went on deck and observed
the wreck for a few minutes, and gave directions to have a muster taken
on board the City of Washington and other vessels, and sat down in the
captain's cabin and dictated a telegram to the Navy Department. At
this time various Spanish officers-civil, military, and naval-appeared
on board, in their own behalf and in representative capacity, expressing
sympathy and sorrow for the accident. The representatives of General
Blanco and of the admiral of the station came on board, and the civil
governor of the province was on board in person. I asked them to
excuse me for a few minutes, until I completed my telegram to the
Navy Department.
After finishing the telegram and putting it in the hands of a messenger to be taken on shore, I conversed for a few minutes with the
various Spanish gentlemen around me, thanking them for the visit
and their sympathy. I was asked by many of them the cause of the
explosion, and I invariably answered that I must await further investigation. For a long time the rapid-fire ammunition continued to
explode in detail. The number of the wounded was reported to me
later. I have some difficulty in remembering figures. I think we found
about 8 or 85 men that night who survived. It was also reported
to me that the wounded on board Spanish vessels had been taken to 
the hospitals on shore, as were also the survivors who had reached the
machina, in the neighborhood of the shears on shore. To keep a clear
head for the emergency I turned in about 2 o'clock, getting little sleep
that night, owing to the distressing groans of the wounded.
Q. By the time you reached the quarter-deck, were all the large
explosions over? 
A. So far as my experience is concerned there was simply one
impression of an overwhelming explosion. I do not recollect details.
I have already stated the explosions of minor character.
Q. But you yourself saw no large upshoot of flame?
A. When I came from the cabin, I was practically blinded for a few




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


17


seconds. I thought only of the vessel, and took no note of the phenomena of explosion. It is probable that the explosive column had
subsided wholly or practically by the time I reached the deck. I am
not sure, because of the intense blackness.
Q. You state in your story that the City of Washington attended to
the woulnled. Did not the Spanish man-of-war also do the same?
A. I am not very sure personally, but the reports were that they
were doing all that was possible. There was no reference to me on the
part of the Spanish officers for sending the wounded on shore. I
assume and believe that they did everything in their power to care for
the wounded, and have continued to do so most conscientiously ever
since.
Q. How many were wounded; how many killed; and how many were
saved not wounded?
A. 1 would have to refer to my figures for that, and they are not now
at hand. The muster, I think, shows 101 saved, including the wounded,
- (_   and 253 lost. Some of the wounded have since died. My duties have
been too complex since the explosion to enable me to memorize all the
figures.
Q. From your examination of the wreck, as far as you have been able
to make, what magazines or shell rooms, if any, should you say were
blown up 
A. From the appearance of things about the wreck it is extremely
difficult to come to any conclusion. The centerof the explosion appears
to have been beneath and a little forward of the conning tower, and on
the port side. The forward part of the superstructure has been
thrown upward backward over the after part and toward the starboard
side, indicating an explosion on the port side of the ship. In the
region of the center or axis of explosion was the 6 inch reserve magazine, which contained very little powder-probably, I am informed,
about 300 pounds. The 10-inch magazine is in the general region,
but it is on the starboard side, under the forward turret, which is
well out on the starboard side. Over the 10-inch magazine in the
loading room of the turret, and in the adjoining passage, and well on
the starboard side, were a number of 10-inch shell, permanently placed.
There were also several additional shell in the loading room. It is
difficult, therefore, to conceive that the explosion involved the 10-inch
magazine, because of the location of the explosion, and because I have
had no reports that any 10-inch shell were hurled into the air by the
explosion. The violence of the explosion, although not its immediate
locality, indicates that the 10-inch magazine may have been involved.
Q. Where was the 10-inch shell room?
A. The 10-inch shell room was abreast the 10-inch magazine on the
port side. It opened on the port side of the vessel.
Q. Was it not between the reserve 6-inch and 10-inch magazines?
A. It was.
Q. Do you know the thickness of the bulkhead between those three
divisions?
A. I can not recollect. I should say that it was of ordinary metal,
the thickness of a bulkhead of similar construction in other parts of
the ship.
Q. Do you know what was between the coal bunker and the magazine,
A. I think nothing but the ordinary steel plate. It is so aft.
Q. Where was the small-arm ammunition locker forward, and what
was in it?
A. We had received a new supply of ammunition, and this was kept
S. Doc. 207 —2




18    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


forward of the thwartship armor bulkhead. 1 mean the small-arm and
rapid-fire ammunition.
Q. Was there any smokeless powder?
A. There was no great gun smokeless powder ammunition. All the
great gun ammunition was the ordinary brown powder.
Q. Was there not a 6-inch ammunition room forward of the smallarm ammunition rooms?
A. There was; supply for the forward 6-inch guns.
Q. On what side was the powder stowed in that one?
A. I have visited it, but I can not now exactly recall the exact position of the stowage. I know the powder chute is on the starboard side?
Q. Do you think that the forward (-inch magazine blew up?
A. I do not think so. I can not find reason to suppose so. One man
at least was blown out of the forward superstructure into the water.
It is more than probable that he would have been blown to atoms if
that magazine had exploded.
Q. Where did you keep your gun cotton?
A. Aft, under the cabin. The war heads were all stowed in that
part of the ship which was not affected by the explosion. It was
away aft.
Q. Where were the gun-cotton primers and detonators kept?
A. They were always kept in my cabin.
Q. Was any torpedo of the Maine fitted with its war head at the
time of the explosion?
A. It was not. They were put in especially good condition, but
none were fitted with war heads.
Q. Please state all the steps you have taken since the accident to
ascertain its cause, and any results you may have obtained.
A. ^ have examined the wreck myself, conversed with other officers
and men, and to some slight extent, in a categorical way, with the
Spanish admiral. I have had a board of three officers make inquiries
throughout the bay, but I have not yet received the reports from all the
officers; nor have I had time to read the preliminary reports now in
hand. I have not sent down any divers until this morning, not having
had the necessary facilities. The best divers here are apparently in
the employ of private parties, and since the Spanish authorities are
very much averse to an investigation except officially, on the ground,
as stated by the Spanish admiral, that the honor of Spain is involved,
I have foreborne to examine the submarine portion of the wreck for the
cause of the explosion until this morning. The divers of the fleet are
now at work. I have had divers down in the cabin, and have recovered
by that means the cipher code and magazine keys.
Q. What was the state or the condition of the Maine as far as discipline was concerned?
A. It was excellent. This is attested by the fact that the Maine was
chosen for the duty on which she was engaged. She would not have
been chosen had she been in any other than good discipline. The
marine guard was in excellent condition. The medical reports from
the medical department will show, I think, that about one man and
one-quarter per diem were on the sick list during the past year. In the
paymaster's department I think I am justified in saying that none of
the reports of the paymaster to the Government at Washington were
returned to the vessel for correction during my period of command. In
the engineer's department the vessel was always ready and always
responsive. I can recollect no letter from any source relating to the
engineer's department which could be considered in the least of an




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


19


adverse nature, except that the bureau once objected to a boiler being
used in any degree as a tank. I think the punishment reports of the
Maine are as small as those of any other vessel of the Navy in proportion to complement. They were uncommonly small. A quieter, betternatured, well-ordered, and apparently satisfied crew I have never
known on board any vessel in which I have served.
Q. Have you any fault to find with the behavior of any officer or man
at the time of the disaster?
A. None. I consider that the conduct of all was admirable. The
behavior of the officers toward me personally and the prompt and responsive recognition of my authority was admirable, and instances of
bravery are known both among the officers and crew in the direction
of rescuing shipmates.
(The judge-advocate announced that at present he had no further
questions to ask Captain Sigsbee.)
Examination by the COURT:
Q. What is the highest temperature you remember to have been reported in the forward magazines?
A. The highest temperature that I remember-and I think I can recall
the figures-was 1120; but that was in the after magazine, where the
temperatures were higher than in the forward magazines. I do not
recollect the temperature in the forward magazine, because they were
not so high as in the after magazine.
Q. Was any loose powder kept in the magazines, or was it all stowed
in the usual air or water-tight cylinders, which each contains a charge?
A. I never permitted any to be kept loose, and do not believe that
any was so kept.
Q. What was the status of the coal bunkers next to the forward
magazines? Were they full, or had there been any coal used out?
A. All the bunkers were ventilated through air tubes, examined
weekly by the chief engineer, and otherwise as was necessary, and
they were connected electrically to the annunciator near my cabin door.
The forward coal bunker on the port side was full, so I understand;
the forward coal bunker on the starboard side adjoining the magazine
has been reported to me as being one-half full, and it was in use at the
time of the explosion.
(The judge-advocate here informed Captain Sigsbee that no further
testimony would be taken from him at present, and that he should
appear to-morrow, Tuesday, at 10 a. m., when the testimony given by
him to-day will be submitted to him for his approval.)
The court then, at'l p. m., adjourned to meet to-morrow, Tuesday, the
22d instant, on board the United States light-house tender Mangrove, at
10 o'clock a. m.
SECOND DAY.
U. S. LIGHT-HOUSE TENDER MANGROVE,
1 HARBOR OF HAVANA,
Tuesday, February 22, 1898-11 o'clock a. mt.
The court met pursuant to adjournment of yesterday, but was one
hour late on account of official visits to the captain-general and the
admiral commanding the naval forces.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and Capt.
Charles D. Sigsbee, ". S. Navy.




20     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


The record of the proceedings of yesterday was read and approved.
Lieut. G. F. M. IHolman, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness, and was
sworn by the president.
Examination by the judge-advocate:
Q. Please state your name, rank, and present station.
A. George F. M. Holman, Lieutenant, U. S. Navy, stationed on board
the U. S. S. JMaine.
Q. When did you join the Mciaine?
A. When she went into commlission, on the 17th day of September,
1895.
Q. What duty have you performed on board the Maine during that
time 
A. The duty of navigator and ordnance officer.
Q. Did this duty also put you in charge of the electric plant?
A. Yes.
Q. Were you on board the oaine when she last came into the harbor
of Havana, Cuba?
A. I was.
Q. Upon what day was that?
A. The date of arrival-January 24, 1898, this year.
Q. You have been on duty on board the Maine ever since?
A. Yes.
Q. In what depth of water was the Maincte moored?
A. Five and a half fathoms. Around the mooring buoy the water
varied in depth from 5A to 6 fathoms.
Q. What kind of bottom? 
A. Very soft, muddy bottom.
Q. Were you on duty on board the Maine from the time she arrived
here up to the present?
A. Yes.
Q. Regarding the magazines of the Maine, what precautions do you
know were taken for safety whenever the magazines were opened?
A. The usual precautions were taken with regard to all lights, if any
were burning, and to stop smoking. The police, the master at arms,
and others were always notified, and word sent, in fact, all over the
ship. The galley was screened and the flag was hoisted in receiving
ammunition on board, or putting it out. On all occasions, when magazines were opened, word was sent, as already said, all over the ship.
Q. What precautions were taken by the men in entering the maga- 
zines or shell rooms?
A. The question came up some time ago as to putting on the magazine shoes, that is, a short time after Captain Sigsbee took command.
Prior to that time the order had not been enforced in regard to magazine shoes and slippers. Captain Sigsbee gave the order to make them
wear their magazine shoes when they went down.
Q. Were all other precautions taken described by regulations?
A. Yes; so far as I know.
Q. Please state whether any work had been going on in the magazine or shell rooms, or in the small-arm ammunition rooms, within a day
or so of the explosion?
A. On Monday we had our usual drills, and part of it being a drill
of the powder division at their stations. I do not know of any work
going on around the magazines. I would, no doubt, have known if any
had been undertaken.
Q. Was Monday the day of the explosion?




D)ESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


21


A. No; Tuesday was the day of the explosion.
Q. On the night of the explosion, at 8 o'clock in the evening, when
the reports are usually made, were the magazines and shell rooms
reported secure?
A. That I do not know. The reports were not made to me.
Q. But you have no reason to believe that any of them were opened?
A. No, sir.
Q. Who. was in charge of the gunner's work at that time?
A. Chief Gunner's Mate Brofeld; the gunner had not been on duty
for something like three weeks.
Q. Had Brofeld been chief gunner's mate of the Maine during her
whole commission?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you consider him a thoroughly reliable man?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you consider the individual members of the gunner's gang
reliable?
A. Yes.
Q. How many of the gunner's gang were saved?
A. I have not seen the list.
Q. Please state to the court how the orders in regard to the taking
of the temperatures of the magazines and shell rooms were carried out
on board the Maine.
A. The temperature was taken daily of the magazines and shell
rooms and ammunition rooms, and recorded in monthly reports to the
Bureau.
Q. Was this fully carried out up to the time of the explosion 
A. I have no doubt that it was. I know of its having been carried
out to within at least two or three days previous. I presume that it
was carried out the remaining part of the time.
Q. Who took this temperature?
A. The chief gunner's mate; previously the gunner.
Q. How high did the temperature reach during your experience on
board the Maine?
A. The hottest magazine was the 10-inch after magazine, where it
reached as high as one hundred and ten in hot weather, remaining there
for some time.
Q. Can you state to the court how much ammunition was stowed in
the 6-inch reserve magazine which was on the port side of the ship
abreast of the 10-inch shell room 
A. I think there were about 200 pounds of saluting powder in tanks.
If there was any other powder there, it was of small amount. I am
not sure.
Q. Were there any 6-inch charges stowed there?
A. I think not. We had room for all our 6-inch powder in the regular 6-inch magazines. I know of no 6-inch charges.
Q. How are the magazines and shell rooms on board the Maine constructed? Are they lined with wood?
A. No; the bulkheads are iron and not lined with wood. They are
floored with gratings-a wooden flooring; the powder is kept on
wooden racks. The shells are stowed in chocks.
Q. Do you know the thickness of the bulkhead between the reserve
magazine and the 10-inch shell room?
A. No; I do not.
Q. There is, I believe, a steel bulkhead between the two?
A. Yes; I think so.




22     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. How much powder was stowed in the forward 10-inch magazine?
A. I think there were about 150 or 160 tanks, representing seventyfive or eighty charges, say, approximately, some of these being full and
others reduced charges, some 125 pounds to the tank, that being the
weight of one of the tanks of a full charge. These figures I give I
can not be exact in.
Q. I suppose there were about as many shell iu the shell rooms as
there were full charges in the magazine?
A. Yes, probably the same number.,
Q. How was the fixed-ammunition room forward located?
A. Over near themidship line of the vessel, abaft the 6-inch magazine.
Q. Can you state approximately what that contained at the time of
the explosion?
A. That contained 6-pounder and 1-pounder shell and small-arm —
that is, rifle and 6-millimeter-ammunition. I can not say how much.
Q. What was in the forward 6-inch magazine?
A. About two hundred or more 6-inch charges and a corresponding
number of shell in the shell room adjoining.
Q. On which side was the powder stowed?
A. A little over to the port side of the midship line.
Q. In the 10-inch magazine forward the powder was to starboard of
the shell, was it not?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you know what there was between the coal bunkers and the
reserve magazine-how thick a partition, and of what material?
A. I do not know positively.
Q. You have stated that you were also the electric officer of the
ship. Will you please state what wiring went down into the magazines and shell rooms? I mean the forward one.
A. None. There were electric lamps in the light boxes, and wires
leading to these lamps, but they were separated from the magazine by
a double plating of glass.
Q. Were there any steam pipes in dangerous proximity to the magazine or shell room?
A. No.
Q. Were you on board at the time of the explosion?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you notice any serious action of the electric light which would
indicate grounding just previous to the explosion?
A. No.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion 
A. In the after part of the wardroom mess room.
Q. With whom?
A. With Lieutenants Jungen and Jenkins and with Chief Engineer
Howell.
Q. Please describe your experience in full.
A. While conversing with Mr. Jungen and Jenkins, a heavy explosion occurred, which was evidently in the forward part of the ship.
This explosion shook the ship violently, and the noise it made consisted of a low grumbling, comparatively speaking, a low and heavy
grumbling, followed by a heavy booming explosion. It was precisely
similar to many other submarine explosions I have heard, except that
it was on a much larger scale. A submarine explosion always gives
two shocks-one transmitted by the water, the other immediately following-the atmospheric shock. The lights went out at once, and we




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


23


were left in darkness. My first impression was that the ship had been
attacked. I called to the rest, "'We have been torpedoed. Get up on
deck." In the darkness I could not see whether the others were ahead
of me or following me. I made my way to the wardroom ladder, and
found the ladder intact, so far as I could judge by feeling, and went
up this ladder and out through the door in the after superstructure to
the main deck. I found the ship settling very fast, and a great deal of
wreckage about, so I went up on the poop, where I found Captain
Sigsbee and a number of officers and a few of the men.
The quarter boats that were in condition were lowered at once and
sent to pick up men who were around the ship in the water crying for
help. Efforts were made to extinguish the fire, which had broken
out in the wreck of the middle superstructure. These efforts were
unavailing, and there was little that could be done beyond rescuing a
few people who could be gotten at forward. The ship settled slowly,
and careened slightly to port. After everything had been done that
could be done the ship was abandoned, Captain Sigsbee being the last
one to leave. The condition of the wreck was practically the same as
now, except that the ship has settled lower in the water since we left
her. When we got into the boats the poop deck was dry, and, I should
judge, about 2 feet above the water. The condition of the forward part
I do not know. I did not know the state of the tide at the time.
Q. When you first heard the rumbling noise you spoke of, did the
ship list either way?
A. Not so far as I observed. I observed a heavy shaking of the ship.
If there was any lifting either way, it was not perceptible to me.
Q. When the heavy explosion took place which followed it, had you
reached the upper deck?
A. No. The first part of this explosion I have spoken of and the
second part, the heavy one, succeeded each other almost simultaneously,
and a very short interval of time separated the two features.
Q. Did the second explosion list the ship, as far as you can recollect?
A. No; not as far as I can recollect or observed.
Q. You have had considerable experience at Newport in matters of
explosives, I believe. What was your impression of the whole affair?
A. My impression, not verified yet by what the divers are finding,
is that a very heavy mine went off under the Maine's bottom.
Q. Did you think that the explosion of this mine-remember I am
only speaking of your impression-was followed by the blowing up of
any of the Maine's magazines?
A. The noise produced by a heavy mine would be great in itself, and
adding this noise to it would probably be coincident, practically forming one and the same explosion. From. the noise alone I can hardly
form an opinion whether the magazine went off also.
Q. During the stay of the Maine at Havana were you executive
officer at times?
A. No.
Q. Were you acquainted with the special orders issued by your
commanding officer in regard to extra lookouts at night and the
quarter watches on deck?
A. I heard them spoken of officially.
Q. Did you ever hear of any unfriendly demonstration being made
at night, or any unauthorized boats attempting to approach the ship
and being ordered off?
A. No.




24     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATrTLE SHIP MAINE.


By Capt. CHARLES D. SIGSBEE:
Q. What was the state of discipline on board the Maine just following the disaster?
A. Remarkably excellent, every one doing his duty with coolness.
By the COURT:
Q. Would, in your opinion, the noise produced by the explosion of
her magazine so low in the water as those of the Maine be very similar
to an explosion of a mine from the outside of the ship?
A. I think it might be.
Q. Was there any private ammunition or loose ammunition stowed
in the forward magazine?
A. No.
Q. Was there any other ammunition other than the ordinary powder
used on board? 
A. No; none that I know of. I am sure there was none.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Where were the fixed torpedo charges stowed?
A. We had only a few filled ready for use in the torpedoes, and they
were kept by the officer of the powder division, Mr. Hood. I think
that he had them in the supply boxes of the torpedoes, together with
the other accessories.
Q. Where was the gun cotton stowed?
A. The wet gun cotton in the war heads was stowed in the torpedohead room, which was aft, under the forward part of the steeringengine room. The dry gun cotton for the torpedo primers and the
exploders were stowed in lockers in the cabin.
By the COURT:
Q. At what times were the temperatures of the magazines taken, and
was it necessary to open the magazines and shell rooms to do so?
A. The order which I gave for taking the temperatures of the magazines and shell rooms, and which, I believe, was generally carried out,
was to take the temperatures after quarters, or as near quarters as may
be convenient. It was not necessary to open them to take the temperature-not to open them completely-a small plate, ordinarily closed,
being removable from the hole through which the thermometer could
be reached.
Q. In describing the manner in which the magazines were fitted, you
say the floor of the steel deck of the magazine was covered with a grating. Was there any grating on the sides of the magazines?
A. No.
Q. Did the tanks stow against the steel bulkheads?
A. No, they were not stowed to touch the steel bulkheads, as I recollect; the uprights and the framework for holding the tanks were set a
little ways from the bulkhead. I do not think that it would have been
possible to stow the powder tanks to touch the side. They rested in
chocks and did not touch the sides.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, he was notified
to appear to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock to read over his testimony,
and after having been cautioned by the president of the court not to
converse in regard to matters of the inquiry, he withdrew.
The court here took a recess until 1.45 p. m.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


25


The court reassembled at 1.45 p. m.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and
Capt. Charles D. Sigsbee, U. S. Navy.
Lieut. Commander RICHARD VWAINWRIGHT, U. S. Navy, appeared
as a witness and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What is your name, rank, and present station?
A. Richard Wainwright, lieutenant-commander, U. S. Navy, executive officer of the United States battle ship Maine.
Q. Since when have you been executive officer of the Maine?
A. I relieved Lieut. Commander A. Marix at Norfolk on the'7th day
of December, 1897.
Q. Have you been on board the Maine ever since then?
A. Every day; until February 15.
Q. Will you please tell the court how the regulations in regard to
paints and inflammables were carried out on board the Maine?
A. Strictly carried out. None below.
Q. What were the regulations on board the Maine about closing the
doors and evelything below decks at 8 p. m., when holds and storerooms were irported?
A. Not only the holds and storerooms were closed, but all the.watertight doors, excepting those absolutely needed for communication. All
the hatches from the protective deck up, excepting those over the
dynamo room, and those two that communicate through over the evaporators and allow the heat to come up.
Q. Was the usual report made by you to the commanding officer at
8 p. m., on the night of the disaster?.
A. It was. I can state here in special connection that the captain
instructed me on Saturday to be particular to see if the inner passages
were closed. Yes, it was about Saturday. We had a board with
hooks on it, and tallies for all the doors that were not regularly closed,
but only closed for collision, or for night, or for guard quarters, etc. I
made an examination myself of that, and found some of the tallies
missing about the same time, and gave special instructions to Mr.
Cluverius to go through the inner passages prior to the time of closing,
and see all the tallies in place, and to afterwards examine the board so
as to see if they had been closed; and I had also the intention on
Tuesday night in my mind to examine the board, but I did not get
around.
Q. Were the regular reports made to you at 8 o'clock that night?
A. They were.
Q. Had the magazines been opened that day?
A. Not to my recollection.
Q. What were the orders in regard to visitors and people not belonging to the ship while you were in Havana?
A. All visitors were scrutinized by the officer of the deck before
coming on board, and only those that were thought desirable were
allowed to come on board. Unless a special party belonging to the officers, only a few at a time were allowed on board. All the masters-atarms and sentries had special orders to allow nobody below unaccompanied. When there were people not taken around by officers, but who
the officer of the deck thought desirable to be shown around, they were
always accompanied by a reliable member of the crew, and at such




26


DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


times they were not to take them into intricate parts of the ship, and
they were confined to the berth deck.
Q. Captain Sigsbee, of the Maine, issued certain orders and instructions in regard to special lookouts at night and a quarter watch to be
kept on deck. Did you take steps to see this order carried out?
A. I did.
Q. Were they in force and being carried out at the time of the disaster?
A. They were. I heard the quarter watch mustered, and the officer
inquiring whether they all understood their stations, where their stations were at the guns, etc. The men had been standing quarter
watches for some time, knew their stations, and therefore the officer of
the deck merely questioned those he was doubtful about as to whether
they knew their stations. I saw the sentry from the poop after the
disaster. He came on board the City of Washington and brought his
belt and rifle. None of the other lookouts were saved that I know of.
Q. Who was the officer of the deck at the time of the disaster?
A. Mr. Blandin.
Q. During the stay of the Mlaine at Havana, did any hostile demonstration afloat ever come to your notice?
A. No, sir.
Q. Do you know of any case, either reported to you or from your
personfal observation, of an unauthorized boat attempting to approach
the ship and being warned off?
A. Not warned off; but frequently these small boats were hailed and
came very close. The hail was answered and they went on.
Q. Did you have confidence in the police force of the Maine?
A. The utmost confidence.
Q. Did you have confidence in the marine guard of the Maine?
A. Yes; a good marine guard and under good discipline.
Q. What is your opinion of the discipline and the character of the
crew of the  aince?
A. Fine discipline; the crew were very obedient, very quiet men.
They needed a little more exercise, that was the only fault that I could
find.
Q. Do you know what boats were down at the time of the explosion?
A. I know that the first steam cutter was down. I believe that to
be the only boat.
Q. Where was she at the time?
A. At the starboard boom.
Q. Where were you at the time of the disaster?
A. When the explosion took place I was in what is used as the captain's office, called on the plan the admiral's office.
Q. Will you please state your experience at the time of the explosion?
A. I was standing in the office with Mr. Holden, who was in there
at the time. I felt a very heavy shock, and heard the noise of objects
falling on deck. I was under the impression, from the character of the
noises, that we were being fired upon. I moved out and came on the
main deck through the starboard door, and passed up on the aftersuperstructure deck by the ladder on the starboard forward corner. I
then recognized the captain's voice. As near as I can recollect the
course of events, the captain told me to see the boats ready to be lowered, and I gave the order to clear away the boats. I saw very few
men coming, and I went from davit to davit to see someone ready to
cast off the falls. I found generally that they were all officers. Most




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


27


of the officers I recognized from time to time right on the poop. I then
noticed indications of fire forward. This all occurred very quickly
together. I spoke to the captain about flooding the magazines, or he
spoke to me about it. Someone then pointed down the hatch, where
the water was coming up, and of course there could be no reason to
flood the magazines. I then called someone to help me to go forward
and see if we could get the fire out.
I remember Mr. Hood and Mr. Boyd started with me, and we succeeded together by going over the awning to what was apparently the
break of the central superstructure-the afterpart. As soon as I got
there it was evident from the mass of what appeared to be burning
cellulose there was no chance of fighting the fire. Mr. Boyd got upon,
the superstructure and passed two men who were crying out very
loudly-one had his arm broken, I think-and got them both in the gig.
They were both able to help themselves after they recovered from the
shock. Before going forward I gave the order to lower the gig, the
captain acquiescing to this order, and when I returned lowered the two
remaining boats-the second whale boat and the barge. The three
boats had different officers in them that I had detailed to go into this
boat or that. We pulled about the afterpart of the ship and picked
people out of the water. By that time the ship was crowded with
boats. The first one that I noticed was from the City of Washington.
I'noticed a number of Spanish boats. I suggested to the captain that
there might be danger from the mass that was burning of further
explosion. I was equally confident that there was no one left in the
water, and that we had better get the crowd of boats out of the way.'
He authorized me to shove the boats off.
I ordered the gig to back in, and ordered the other boats off. The
captain did not want to go. I pressed him finally, and the only way
to get rid of the men was to shove off ourselves. When the captain
followed me into the gig, we pushed in among the boats and induced
them to go off, taking the wounded to different vessels. The captain
then took the gig to the City of Washington, lying on our port quarter,
say between three and four hundred yards distant. I then ordered an
officer to commence taking a list of the saved 'and: wounded of the
Maine's crew. I sent Mr. Blandin in the gig t6 pull around the ship,
and sent Mr. Holman over to the Spaunish flagship to get our well men,
if there were any, and take a list of the wounded.:Not having sufficient men to keep up the patrol, I called the 'gig in by the captain's
direction. That was some considerable time after the disaster, when
there was no chance of any wounded being left.
Q. What was the discipline on the part of the officers and men
immediately following the explosion?
A. I consider it excellent.  All orders were obeyed with the promptness of a drill. The captain told me what orders he wished me to give,
and the only order not promptly obeyed was the final order to leave the
ship, and the officers hesitated until it was given in an imperative
manner.
Q. Please state your experience of the shocks and noises you heard
during the explosion.
A. I only remember one very heavy shock. I was so much shaken
up that it took me an appreciable time to find the handle of the door,
the door having been closed by the shock, and pull it open.
Q. Did the ship list any at this time?
A. The first list I noticed was after we commenced lowering the
boats-a list to port.




28    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. When did you first see and examine the wreck after the disaster?
A. At daylight the following morning I took the gig and Lieutenant
Hood and a few of the men and attempted to board the wreck. I was
warned off by au armed boat's crew-Spaniards. I then pulled around
the wreck. It was not fully daylight enough to make my impression at
that time valuable. There were still some burning fragments. I know
that parts of the wreck which I thought I recognized then I found I
was mistaken in when I had a chance to examine it in daylight.
Q. Will you please describe the wreck as you found it after you had
a full chance to examine it by daylight?
A. The after part of the ship appeared to be intact from the crane
aft, with a heavy list to port, the port turret being about 2 feet under
'water. The main deck was folded back, carrying the central superstructure with it at a line between the two cranes and about the line
between the two fire rooms. It was folded in a direction from port to
starboard, so that the port 6-inch gun was lying nearly over the starboard 6-inch gun, the conning tower pointing downward about where
the armory was-that is, the starboard after corner of the superstructure.  The forward smokestack was lying abreast and partly over
where the first whaleboat nung; the siren was on the starboard side
of the after superstructure. The after smokestack was lying on the
port side abreast of the fore-and-aft bridge, between the after and central superstructure. At the lowest tide we had I stood on. the port
waterways, and could see nothing that I could recognize as any part
of the ship forward of the crane on the port side of the main deck.
There were some portions of the wreck forward of this line mentioned
on the starboard side. By looking in underneath it I saw a torpedo
port, apparently of the starboard forward torpedo. I recognized part
of the washroom-I believe it was part of the foremen's washroomimmediately abaft the starboard turret' having a small scupper with a
lip, a hold-down valve, and also a half round bulkhead separating portions of the washroom. Forward of that again I recognized pieces of
bottom plating with anchor scars. They had a triangular piece that
led me to believe it to have been under the starboard anchor. Forward
of that was some wreckage with old rope, which I think had been
where the anchor gear was stowed. Forward of that one of the fore
yardarms was sticking up. As far as I can tell from the above water
view, there is an angle between the after body of the ship and the
forward, with an apex to starboard.
Q. You have had charge since then of. the wreck?
A. With Captain Sigsbee's orders, I have had general charge.
Q. Have divers been at work? If so, since when?
A. Since about the 17th.
Q. Will you please describe any discoveries of importance that have
been made by any of these divers, and, if it is a matter of importance,
give the name of the diver, if you can?
A. The first thing of importance that I know of having been found
was the finding yesterday of two powder tanks, one 6-inch and one
10-inch. They were crushed together and flattened in. The divers
could report very little that day. That diver was Chief Gunner's
Mate A. Olsen. I will bring those tanks to the court to-morrow.
These cases did not contain any powder. The 6-inch case, while ruptured and torn, did not appear to me as if it had been injured by an
explosion of powder within it. The 10-inch case I thought to have
been ruptured by the powder within it when I examined it, but I was
far from certain. I could not understand its not being more seriously




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


29


torn apart. If I had seen the case without any knowledge of an
explosion, I should have said it was not an exploded case. These were
found in the forward body of the ship, and I now believe them to have
been found in the reserve magazine.
This morning a 10-inch tank was recovered full of powder, with the
cover slightly opened. That gave me the impression that the tank had
been forced open by weights or pressure without flame or heat, as there
was sufficient opening, had there been flame or excessive heat, to reach
the powder, and as I carried it in my mind, with pressure in there it
would have been fired before any water could have possibly reached
and drowned it. Ensign Bromby is looking out for the divers forward
and Navel Cadet Cluverius for the divers aft. The divers tell me that
they can find nothing of the port side of the ship foiward of this general line that I have mentioned. They find the cellulose belt, I am not
certain on which side. They also think they have been in the coal
bunkers. They found one shell fused for 6-pounder near where they
found the full case, or somewhere in that vicinity, only approximately.
Q. I forgot to ask you in speaking of the crew, to give me the record
of Chief Gunner's Mate Brofeld, as far as you know?
A. He was the most painstaking, obedient, hard-working man. I
have known him to be working in the turrets most of the night.
Q. Do you know anything about his good-conduct medals and continuous-service certificate?
A. No.
Q. But you do know that he had a permanent appointment?
A. I do. I can say that he was well acquainted with all the work
of the ship, and while he was acting gunner things went in a very satisfactory manner, whereas they had not done so before.
Witness desired to state the following:
I saw in the chief engineer's room of the City of Washington a large
piece of cement heavily coated with oil. I then thought it was a piece
of bottom cement. I now am inclined to believe it camne from the forward blower on the port side.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, he was notified
to appear before the court to-morrow at 10 a. m. and read over his testimony; and he was furthermore informed that it was the wish of the
court that at any time any important discoveries were made in the
wreck he should at once appear and notify the court.
The witness having been cautioned by the president not to converse
on matters relating to the inquiry, he withdrew.
Naval Cadet W. T. CLUVERIUS, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court and was sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What is your name, rank, and present station?
A. Wat Tyler Cluverius; cadet U. S. Navy; attached to the U. S.
battle ship Mlaine.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine?
A. Ever since the 15th day of May, 1897.
Q. Have you, during that time, ever been assistant navigator?
A. About four months of that time.
Q. Do you know all about the electric wiring of the ship?
A. A great portion of it, sir.
Q. Is there any electric wire on board the Maine so laid as to endanger the magazines or shell rooms? 




30      DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
A. To my knowledge there is not.
Q. Were you on board the Maine on the night of the explosion?
A. I was, sir.
Q. Where were you?
A. I was in room 3 of the junior officers' quarters.
Q. Will you please state to the court what shocks you experienced
and what next you heard?
A. My first knowledge of anything occurring was a slight shock as
if a 6-pounder gun had been fired somewhere about the deck. After
that a very great vibration in my room, which was then followed by a
very heavy shock, and still continued vibration and rushing of water
through the junior officers' mess roolm, and the sound as if something
breaking up all the time.
Q. Were you asleep when you felt the first shock?
A. I was not, sir.
Q. What work have you been engaged on since the disaster?
A. I have been engaged in working with the divers.
Q. Will you please state to the court any important discovery or
discoveries made by the divers? Give the name of the diver or any
important reports made to you which might give us some information
as to the state of the wreck and the cause of the explosion.
A. I was in charge of the diving aft, from the after part of the ship,
when we found several important papers, which were turned in to the
commanding officer. I was present this forenoon on the float forward
where they had gotten up a 10-inch powder tank intact. That is about
all of importance that I know of in connection with this. My work
has been wholly aft.
Q. What is the situation of the junior officers' mess room?
A. The junior officers' mess room is in the same compartment as the
wardroom officers' mess room, directly forward of it.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, he was notified
to appear before the court to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock and read
over his testimony; and, after being cautioned by the president not to
converse on matters relating to the inquiry, the witness withdrew.
Naval Cadet J. H. HOLDEN, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before
the court, and was sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What is your name, rank, and present station?
A. Jonas Hannibal Holden, naval, cadet, U. S. Navy, attached to
and recently serving on board the U. S. S. Maine, now wrecked in the
harbor of Havana, Cuba.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine?
A. Since the 15th day of May, 1897.
Q. How much of that time have you been assistant navigator?
A. About four or five months.
Q. Do you know of any electric wiring on board the Maine that would
endanger the magazines or shell rooms?
A. I do not.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?
A. I was in the captain's office with Lieut. Commander Wainwright,
the executive officer of the Maine.
Q. By the captain's office you mean, I suppose, the one marked as
the admiral's office on the plan?
A. Yes, sir.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.       31
Q. Will you please state to the court what shocks you experienced
and what noises you heard at the time of the explosion?
A. At the time of the explosion, first, there was an explosion of considerable force, and about three or four seconds afterwards there was
another explosion of far greater force, and a terrible shaking; then we
rushed up on deck.
Q. Did the ship list any during either of these explosions?
A. She seemed to be picked up and listed slightly to starboard.
Q. Was that the first or second explosion, this list to starboard?
A. It seemed to me to be the first.
Q. What duty have you been on since the explosion?
A. On duty as aide to the captain.
Q. Have you had anything to do with the divers?
A. No, sir.
Examined by the COUlT:
Q. Where would you locate either of these two explosions-on the
starboard or on the port side?
A. The first explosion, my impression is, occurred on the port side.
I saw a shoot of flame, which seemed to be on the port side.
Q. How about the next and larger explosion?
A. I could not distinguish anything at the second explosion.
Q. Was there any water?
A. All I saw was a column of flame.
Q. Did this column of flame seem to come up through the ship or up
through the decks?
A. I could not tell. It seemed to be well to port. It was well over
to port.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, he was notified
to return to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock and read over his testimony
when conyenient.
The court then adjourned to meQt to-morrow, Wednesday, February
23, 1898, at 10 o'clock a. m.   -
The court then proceeded to make a personal examination of the
wreck.
THIRD DAY.
U. S. L. H. TENDER MANGROVE,
Harbor of Havana, Wednesday, February 23, 1898-10 a. in.
The court met pursuant to adjournment of yesterday.
Present: All the members of the court, the Judge-Advocate, and
Capt. Charles D. Sigsbee.
The record of the proceedings of yesterday, the second day of the
inquiry, was read and approved.
Lieutenant HOLMAN was called before the court and handed so much
of the record of yesterday as contained his testimony, whereupon he
withdrew, after being directed to read over his testimony and indicate
any corrections he desired to make.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I, now ask the permission of the court to
introduce as stenographer Mr. John W. Hulse, and Mr. H. L. Bisselle,
assistant to the stenographer. I should like to have them sworn, and
assist me in preparing the record of the court.




32     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Permission being granted, the stenographer, John W. Hulse, was
duly sworn by the judge-advocate, in accordance with U. S. Navy
regulations, and took his seat as stenographer of the court. Mr. H.
L. Bisselle was also sworn as assistant to the stenographer.
Chief Engineer CHARLES P. HOWELL, U. S. Navy, appeared as a
witness for the prosecution, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE- DVOCATE:
Q. What is your name, rank, and present station?
A. Charles P. Howell, chief engineer, U. S. Navy, stationed on the
Maine.
Q. When did you join the Maine? 
A. The 21st day of December, 1895, to the best of my recollection.
It was either the 19th or 21st, I have forgotten which-about the 21st.
Q. You have been chief engineer of the Maitne ever since?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. 'What coal bunkers on board the Maine are adjacent to the magazines in the forward half of the ship; I mean magazines and shell
rooms?
A. If I could refer to the blue print I could tell you the numbers of
them. A15 is on the forward starboard side under the forward turret.
That is adjacent to the 10-inch magazine. A16 is similarly situated on
the port side, and that is adjacent to the 6-inch reserve magazine, I
think they call it. B3 is on the starboard side, and B5 is also on the
starboard side. They are adjacent to the magazine. B4 and B6 are
on the port side, also adjacent to the 6-inch reserve magazine.
Examined by the COURT:
Q. The first two are adjacent to the 10-inch magazine 
A. Yes, sir. Perhaps I could state that a little better now, as I first
went from the starboard side to the port side and back again.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Go ahead in your own way. Make it as plain as you can.
A. On the starboard side, adjacent to the 10-inch magazine, are coal
bunkers A15, B3, and B5. On the port side, adjacent to the 6-inch
reserve magazine, are coal bunkers A16, B4, and B6.
Q. Please state to the court, as near as you can recollect, the history
of coal bunker A15, from the time you joined the ship up to the time
of the explosion?
A. A1 is a bunker which it is difficult to put coal in or to take coal out
of, and, besides, you have to go through B4 and B5. To take coal out
of A15 you first have to empty B3 and B5, and to put coal in A15
you have to partially fill B5, and then fill from B5 into A15. As I
say, it is a difficult bunker to put coal in and take coal out. Those
bunkers forward have been emptied as frequently as possible in order
to lighten the ship forward. We have always tried to take coal out of
the forward bunkers as much as possible, because when they are full
the ship has a tendency to go down forward. It was the same way on
the port side. A16 is a difficult bunker to fill, and is the last one that
is emptied on the port side, because we have to take coal out of B4
and B6 before we can take any out of A16.
Q. Have you always inspected coal on board the Mlaine before receiving it?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you, during the time you have been chief engineer of the




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.      33
Maine, had any signs of any kind of spontaneous combustion in the
coal bunkers?
A. No,sir; none whatever. In connection with that I have frequently
examined the different bunkers all around everywhere, and the different kinds of coal. I have never seen any signs whatever of any bunker
heating. I have examined them from the outside, and when they have
taken coal out of them; also particularly when we have taken in coal
that I thought was more liable to spontaneous combustion than other
coal. I have never seen any signs of heating.
Q. When did you make your last examination of these bunkers, previous to the explosion?
A. Bunkers B3, B5, B4, and B6-unless you want to consider some
others, I will not mention any others-are emptied, and they have been
emptied about two weeks.
Q. That is, previous to the explosion?
A. Yes, sir; B3, B5, B4, and B6.
Q. Those have been empty?
A. They have been empty ten days or two weeks. All of those have
been entirely empty., In that time we have painted all those bunkers
and we have s4led them;. Also we have scaled the chutes that led
down-,tp them, and painted them. A15 was about half empty until the
day of this explosion. On that day, at 4 o'clock, we began taking coal
from A15, to keep the ship on an even trim. I have not been in that
bunker personally since they began taking coal out of it, though I have
passed around these bunkers, and I felt of them within a week on both
sides. I have been to the wing passages, and every time I go through
there I can feel those bunkers. I pass right by the bunkers. It is a
quarter of an inch thick, and I put my hand on them. I never have
gone through there without putting my hand on them to feel the temperature.
Q. You never found any signs of heating?
A. I never found anysigns of heatingl-any variation.
Q. At the time of the explosion what was the condition of bunker
A L6?
A. It was full of coal.
Q. Is it easy of access for the purpose of feeling the temperature?
A. Yes, sir; on all four sides.
Q. Do you mean that it can be easily felt for temperature on all four
sides?
A. Outside; yes, sir, for temperature.
Q. How close is this bunker to the magazine itself?
A. Personally I do not know what is between the bunker and the
magazine. I know there is sheet iron, but whether that is lined with
wood on the magazine side I do not know.
Q. The inboard bulkhead'*of the bunker is against the magazine, is
it not?
A. Yes, sir.            '"n
Q. Is not a portion of the inboard bulkhead of this bunker easily
accessible without going into the magazine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The escape hole is there, I believe?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Leading into the loading room?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then, in case there' should be any spontaneous combustion in
S. Doc. 207 —3




34      DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
bunker A16, would it not be likely that it would be felt by people
going to and fro in the passing room?
A. Yes, sir; decidedly so.
Q. What kind of coal was in bunker A16?
A. To the best of my recollection,. it was New River coal. I have a
memorandum of that in my notebook, but I haven't it here. It is lost.
Q. Where do you receive New River coal?
A. At Newport News.
Q. Regarding the steam piping of the Maine, was there any piping
in dangerous proximity to the forward magazines or shell rooms?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did any steam pipes lead through bunker A16?
A. No, sir.
Q. What boilers were in use at the time of the explosion?
A. The two aftermost boilers in the ship, one on each side.
Q. What was the condition of those boilers?
A. In good condition. We were in the habit of carrying about 80 to
100 pounds of steam in port.
Q. For auxiliary purposes?
A. For auxiliary purposes, in port.
Q. How much did you carry in those same boilers when steaming at
sea?
A. One hundred and twenty pounds.
Q. Who was the engineer of the watch at the time of the explosion?
A. Assistant Engineer Merritt.
Q. I believe he was lost?
A. Excuse me; I made a mistake. It was Mr. Morris-Assistant
Engineer Morris.
Q. Did you have what you consider a competent watch on duty for
two boilers?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. A watch of reliable men?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In your opinion it would have been impossible for those two
boilers to explode with the pressure they were carrying?
A. Yes, sir; the explosion would not have done much damage under
ordinary circumstances.
Q. What is the approximate length of the two fire rooms?
A. Each fire room is about 48 feet long.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?
A. In the ward-room mess room.
Q. Will you please state to the court what noises you heard and
what shocks you felt at the time of the explosion?
A. I was suddenly startled with an unusual shock. There was then
a continued series of convulsions and a noise like the tearing of the
ship to pieces, then a tremendous crash, then apparently the sound of
falling d6bris. Then the ship felt as if it was waving and unsteady on
the deck.
Q. Did you notice any list of the ship at the first explosion or the
first shock?
A. No, sir; I did not notice it until after this series of shocks, when I
started to go on deck. Then the ship appeared to be listed over about
100.
Examined by the OoUST:
Q. Which way?
A. To port.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


35


Q. That is a great list, you know.
A. Let me modify that. I should say it was listed over about 5~ to
port.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. After you reached the deck, did you see any upshoot of flame, or.
anything of that kind?
A. No; none to any extent. Now and then there would be a small
explosion, like the explosion of a 6-inch shell, perhaps.
Examined by Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. You have said that bunker A-16 was full of coal?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was that bunker not exposed on two sides on the deck immediately above the 6-inch reserve magazine?
A. It was.
Q. Was not the immediate vicinity used by the men employed in the
hydraulic room as a sleeping place or loafing place?
A. There was a storeroomQ. I mean on the inboard side?
A. Yes, sir; there was a storeroom on the port side of the hydraulic
room. One side of it was up to the bunker, and that room was much
frequented.
Q. But was there not another side of that bunker in the hydraulic
room itself-the inboard side of the bunker?
A. No, sir; there was a storeroom between the hydraulic room and
the bunker.
Examined by the COURT:
Q. It was the electric storeroom?
A. The electric storeroom.
Examined by Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. What I am trying to get at is that the men used to habitually lie
in that corner-the port forward corner in the hydraulic room-with
their heads right against what must have been that bunker?
A. There is a storeroom between the hydraulic room and the bunker.
Q. There was?
A. Yes, sir; on the same level.
Q. Was not thatbunker exposed on three sides at theforward entrance
of the port-wing passage?
A. Yes, sir; that bunker was exposed on three sides, which was much
requented. It was exposed on the fourth side by an empty bunker at
this time, and we had had men in there painting.
Q. It is not likely that the hands of the crew must have rested on
that bunker many times a day through the use of that wing passage?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In traversing the passage?
A. Yes, sir.
Examined by the COURT:
Q. Could the entire length of the bunker A16, abutting against the
6-inch reserve magazine, be examined from the outside of the bunker?
A. Not from the magazine itself.
Q. That is, from the outside of the coal bunker?
A. Allow me to explain that. I have never been in that magazine,
but I do not see any reason why the temperature could not be found
from the magazine as well as any other place.




36     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. How could you examine the temperature of that coal bunker on
the outside where it abutted against the top of the magazine?
A. We did not examine it from the magazine; we examined it from
aft and outboard.
Q. This coal bunker is represented on the same deck as this magazine. How could you get at the outside of that coal bunker on this
deck?
A. Not on the deck shown here, but on another deck.
Q. But the magazine is not on another deck.
(Captain Sigsbee here made a rough drawing of the bunkers and
explained it to the court.)
Examined by the COURT:
Q. Would the heating of coal in the bottom of such a bunker cause
such a heat two decks above as to be very noticeable?
A. I should say yes, sir.
Q. That is, no heating could take place in one part of the coal bunker
which would not diffuse itself through the mass?
A. Without rising up to the highest point of the bunker.
Chief Engineer HOWELL desired to add the following testimony:
The dynamo room also goes out of that bunker, in addition to what
has been brought up.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to
withdraw for the considertion of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted and the witness was instructed accordingly,
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not
to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Lieutenant HOLMAN appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. If the court please, I request that the witness be cautioned that the oath previously taken by him is still
binding.
The witness was duly cautioned as requested by the judge-advocate.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Lieutenant Holman, you have read over the
testimony given by you on yesterday. As it it now recorded, is it correct?
Lieutenant HOLMAN. It is correct, as now recorded, with one exception.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Sit down, please, and make that correction.
Lieutenant HOLMAN. I would like to change my evidence with regard
to the amount of saluting powder that was on board.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Make your statement.
Lieutenant HOLMAN. I stated 200 pounds. It must have been considerably more than that, but how much more I do not know. On
reflection, thinking of the amount that we used for one salute, and the
saluting powder not being down so as to require a new supply or a new
requisition, we must have had very much more than 200 pounds.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. You can not give us approximately how
much was in that magazine?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


37


Lieutenant HOLMAN. No; I can not.
Examined by the COURT:
Q. What was the ordinary temperature of the dynamo room?
A. The temperature of the dynamo room in weather such as exists at
present was about 90~-not far from 90~.
Q. If there had been a serious rise of temperature in bunker A 16,
which abuts on the port side of the dynamo room, do you think it would
have been quickly noticed in the dynamo room?
A. No; not unless it were such a rise in temperature as to set fire to
woodwork-such as to manifest itself in that way, setting fire to the
woodwork in that bulkhead.
Q. Would not the men naturally frequently come in contact with that
bulkhead 
A. No.
Q. It was the port side, and it formed in that way [indicating]?
A. In the port side dynamo room, aft, betweel the entrance to the
central station and the side of the ship, was a desk and several searchlight ammeters.
(A blue print was here shown to the witness.)
Q. What 1 wish to know is whether in case of a serious rise of temperature in the bunker would it not have been noticed in the dynamo
room?
A. I do not think it would.
Q. You said, in answer to a question, that a rise in temperature would
not be noticed unless it were such a rise as would set fire to the woodwork on that bulkhead. There was woodwork on that bulkhead, was
there 
A. Yes.
Q. Was that in such close contact with the bulkhead that in case
that bulkhead had become very hot, or heated to a heat which would
have ignited wood, it probably would have ignited that switchboard or
caused it to char?
A. Yes; if the heat had been maintained for some time. The woodwork, as I recollect, was not in immediate contact with the bulkhead,
but set off a little way from it.
Q. But would not a serious rise of temperature in that bulkhead have
made itself felt in the general temperature of the dynamo room to such
a degree as to be very noticeable; because a temperature which will
ignite anything like coal or wood is a very high one?
A. Yes; I can conceive that there might be such a temperature as to
manifest itself in that way.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read aloud to him, and by him pronounced to be correct; and, having
been cautioned by the president not to discuss matters pertaining to
the trial, he withdrew.
Lieutenant-Commander WAINWRIGHT here appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright, I now
hand you so much of the record of the proceedings of yesterday as
contains your testimony before the court of inquiry. I ask you to
withdraw, read it over, and make any corrections you desire, after
which you will please return and inform the court of those corrections.




38     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Paymaster CHARLES M. RAY, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness and
was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADvOCATE:
Q. What is your name, rank, and present station?
A. Charles M. Ray, paymaster, U. S. Navy, attached to the U. S. S.
Maine.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine?
A. I joined her on the 2d of February last.
Q. Referring to your storerooms in the forward part of the Maine,
was there any inflammable or dangerous matter stowed in any of those
storerooms?
A. Not to my knowledge and belief, sir.
Q. What was stowed forward belonging to your department, and
where was it stowed?
A. I think these are the only two rooms I had [indicating on blue
print]. There was stored in them preserved meats, small stores, and
some clothing.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?
A. I was in my own room, sir. 
Q. In the wardroom?
A. In the wardroom.
Q. Will you please state to the court what shocks you experienced,
and what noises you heard?
A. My first impression, my first shock, you might say, was a sort of
an upheaval. My impression then was, from the downward tendency,
that the ship had been broken in half, and that she was sinking. I
immediately got out of my chair and stood under the lintel of the door.
There were small pieces falling from above-small pieces of the deck,
I suppose. I gathered myself together from that, and heard the water
rushing in from forward, and then I made my way on the superstructure. After that, the only explosions I heard were from the City of
Washington, of the small arms.
Q. At the first shock you felt, did you notice any perceptible list of
the ship?
A. No, sir.
Q. After you reached the deck, did you notice any upshoot of flame,
or anything of that kind?
A. No, sir; not except the ordinary burning of fire.
Examined.by the COURT:
Q. What was the usual temperature of your storerooms just forward
of that magazine?
A. That I can not say. I am not familiar enough with the storerooms.
Q. You had not been in the ship long?
A. No, sir; just two weeks, and I had not settled down, in fact.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Was your jack-of-the-dust saved?
A. No, sir.
Q. Was your yeoman saved?
A. No, sir; their names are not on the list.
There being no further questions to ask this witness his testimony
was read aloud to him and by him pronounced to be correct; and, having been cautioned by the president not to discuss matters pertaining
to the trial, he withdrew.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.      39
Suig. LUTOIEN G. HENNEBERGER, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What is your name, rank, and present station?
A. Lucien G. Henneberger, surgeon U. S. Navy, attached to the
Maine.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine?
A. Since November 10, 1896.
Q. Where did you stow inflammable matters belonging to your
department?
A. We had alcohol,-whiskies, and brandies in the medical storeroom,
and a few bottles of each for immediate use in the dispensary.
Q. Where was the medical storeroom you speak of situated?
A. Beneath the wardroom.
Q. Did the dispensary lead into the sick bay?
A. It did.
Q. Were there any sick at the time of the explosion?
A. There were three or four on the sick list at the time of the explosion.
Q. Were there any attendants to the sick?
A. Three.
Q. Did the apothecary sleep in the dispensary?
A. He did.
Q. Then you feel reasonably certain that if there had been any explosion of any kind there it would have been noticed at once?
A. At once.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?
A. In my bunk.
Q. Will you please state to the court what shocks you felt and what
noises you heard at the time of the explosion?
A. I was lying in my bunk reading, and I felt a sudden upheaving of
the ship. The lights were extinguished, and this was followed immediately by a deep boom, asof.an explosion. That was all I heard.
Q. Did you notice any list of the ship at the first shock?
A. A list to port. As I went up the ladders the ladders inclined
toward the port side.
Q. That was after you had felt the first shock-this list?
A. Yes, sir. I felt the shock before getting out of my bunk; but just
as I got out of my bunk I made my way forward to the wardroom door
and began to climb the ladders.
Q. What I wish to know is whether, at the very first shock you felt,
there was a perceptible list?
A. No.
Q. After you reached the upper deck did you notice any upshoot of
flame or anything of that kind-any more than the ordinary burning of
fire?
A. No.
Q. Can you give the number of the wounded that were sent to the
hospital at Havana?
A. There were 29 sent to the San Ambrosia-approximately 29; I do
not know whether that is the exact number-and 6 to the Alphonso
Treize.
Q. How many of these patients have since died?
A. Six.
Q. How many of the wounded were sent to Key West?




40    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. I do not know how many went by the Olivette the first trip.
She left in such a harry that it was almost impossible to tell. There
were 10 sent by the Mangrove the following day but one.
Q. You are not able to give this court the number of killed, are you?
A. No, sir.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read aloud to him and by him pronounced to be correct; and, having
been cautioned by the president not to discuss matters pertaining to
the trial, he withdrew.
Private WILLIAM ANTHONY, U. S. Marine Corps, appeared as a
witness, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What is your name, rank, and present station?
A. William Anthony, private, U. S. Marine Corps, U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Were you one of the marine guard of the Maine during her last
stay at Havana?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you on board the day of the explosion?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On what duty?
A. On orderly duty, aft.
Q. What watches had you had that day?
A. I had the 8 to 12 p. m. watch-the first watch, sir.
Q. Had you had any watch during the daytime?
A. Yes, s4r; from 8 to 12 in the forenoon. 1 had both watches, 8 to
12 p. m. and 8 to 12 a. m.
Q. During the forenobn watch had the magazine keys been taken
out of the cabin?
A. Not by me, sir; not by anybody, to my recollection. The drill
was that day, and it did not necessitate opening the magazine.
Q. Do you knew whether the keys of the magazine and shell rooms
were in their proper place in the cabin at 8 p. m. that night?
A. No, sir; my business did not call me as fart as the captain's
stateroom.
Q. You made the usual reports to the captain that the magazines
were in proper condition that night?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?
A. I was standing on the main deck, just outside of the door, on the
starboard side.
Q. Please tell the court what you felt and what you saw.
A. I first noticed a trembling and buckling of the decks, and then
this prolonged roar-not a short report, but a prolonged roar. The
awnings werb spread, and where the wing awning and the quarter-deck
awning should join there was a space of at least 18 inches. I looked
out and saw an immense sheet of flame, and then I started in to warn
the captain.
Q. Did you notice any perceptible list to the ship at the first shock?
A. At the first shock the ship instantly-that is, the quarter deck,
where I was standing-dipped forward and to port, just like that [indicating]. It apparently broke in the middle like that [indicating] and
surged forward, and then canted over to port.
Q. Canted over to port after the first shock?
A. Yes; it was continually settling more to port while I was on
board.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


41


Examined by the COURT:
Q. I would like to have you describe a little more particularly where
you saw this upshoot of flame.
A. It was well forward. It must have been forward of the superstructure. I could see the d6bris going up with it. I do not know
what it was, but I saw firebrands going up.
Q. Was it on the port side or the starboard side?
A. It looked more to port than it did on the midship line. It looked
like it covered the whole ship. It was an immense glare that illumined
the whole heavens for the moment, as much as I could see for the awnings.
Q. Did you see any water with it?
A. I didn't notice that, sir. I started in the cabin at once.
The court had no further questions to ask the witness.
There were no further questions to ask the witness.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony, and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which ]e will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the trial.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I would like to state to the court that there
are three gentlemen of whom I have knowledge not belonging to the
Government who, I believe, saw the explosion from outside the ship,
and if the court wishes their testimony, I think~I can produce them
to-morrow morning. One of them is Captain Teasdale, of the British
bark Deva; another one is the engineer of the floating dock, Mr. Rolfe.
and the third one is the manager of the oil works at Regla, Mr. Van
Sickle.
The PRESIDENT. We should have them.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I think they are willing to come to-morrow
morning. I only got this information over night.,
Lieutenant Commander WAINWRIGHT here appeared before the
court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. you have read over your testimony given
before the court on yesterday. Is your testimony as recorded correct?
Lieutenant Commander WAINWRIGHT. It is.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Capt. CHARLES D. SIGSBEE was then called upon by the judgeadvocate to state whether his testimony as given to the court in the
first day's proceedings was correct as recorded, and he announced that
it was correct as recorded.
Captain Sigsbee was then requested to take the stand and did so,
being cautioned by the president that the oath previously taken byhim
was still binding.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What officers have been detailed by you to obtain information in
regard to any outsiders who may have seen the explosion of the Maine?




42     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright, Lieutenant Holman, and
Chief Engineer Howell, all of the Maine.
Q. Have any of those officers made any report to you as to obtaining
any information?
A. I have had no report made to me yet, but I know that Mr. Holman has some notes.
Q. I have MIr. Holman's notes before me, and I know the witnesses
he has found.
A.JI submitted to the board, especially to Mr. Holman, whose time
was available when I made out the order, a series of questions relating
to the phenomena of the explosion, and I gave him directions to interview persons about the bay and in the city, in order to gather information relative to these questions.
Q. Mr. Holman's notes are the only reports that have been made?
A. That is all I have now.
Q. He is one of the members of that board?
A. He is one of the members of that board.
Q. Do you wish to give any further testimony in regard to coal
bunker A16? You informed me that you did.
A. Is that the one on the port side?
Q. Yes.
A. It is my opinion that if the interior of coal bunker A16 had been
so hot as to be dangerous, to the 6-inch reserve magazine that this heat
would have shown itself in the outside plating of the bunker, in the
passing room of the forward turret, in the wing passage connecting
therewith, and in the passage communicating with these two apartments. In passing from the passing room into the wing passage there
was a turn to the left. On three sides of this turn the plating of the
bunker was exposed. The passage was narrow. The tendency, therefore, of a person in passing and in turning to the left would have been
to place the left hand on the plating. 1 went through this intermediate passage, I think, the day before, and observing that one of the
dogs of the manhole escape from that, bunker was not tightly wedged
in place, I gave directions to see that it was always kept tightly closed,
except when intended to be opened altogether. I put my hand on the
dog and there was then no appearance of undue heat. This was either
the day before or two days before-I think the day before the explosion.
Also, there were electric leaves on the outside of this bunker, in the
wing passage, and it is probable that undue heat would have interfered
with the insulation, and have given warning somewhere. That is all
I desire to say on that.
Q. Do you also wish to testify in regard to the record and character of
Chief Gunner's Mate Brofeldt?
A. Yes, sir; I had occasion to send Brofeldt's record to the Navy
Department two or three weeks ago. His record was a very fine one.
He had three good-conduct medals on his present enlistment record, covering about two years. According to my recollection, every mark under
every heading was a maximum. He had received no punishment whatever. His record was absolutely perfect, and he would have gained on
it, had he continued in the same course, another good-conduct medal.
The court had no further questions to ask this witness.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be furnished
with as much of the record as contains his testimony upon the meeting
of the court to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock; that he be directed to




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


43


examine the same, upon the completion of which he will be given an
opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct.
The court then (at 12 o'clock noon) took a recess until 1.30 o'clock p.m.
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, the
stenographer, and Capt. Charles D. Sigsbee.
Ensign W. V. N. POWELSON, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness, and
was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What is your name, rank, and present station?
A. W. V. N. Powelson; ensign, U. S. Navy; serving on board the
U. S. S. Fern.
Q. Were you on board the Fern when she arrived at Havana shortly
after the explosion of the Maine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long after the explosion did you arrive? The explosion took
place at 9.40 p. m.
A. We arrived on Wednesday at about 3 p. m.
Q. What duty have you been engaged on since you have been in
Havana, regarding the wreck of the Maine?
A. I have not been on any official duty in connection with the Maine.
Q. What duty have you done with regard to the wreck of the iflaine?
Have you not been present a great deal during the diving?
A. Yes, sir; 1 have been on the Maine every day since the Fern has
been here, and have been present most all day.
Q. Will you please tell the court, as far as you can, the condition of
the wreck, and also of any important discoveries made by any of the
divers, giving the name of the diver, if you can?
A. The forward part of the ship, forward of the after smoke pipe,
has been completely destroyed, as far as all appearances go. The conning tower now lies in a position opposite the door leading into the
superstructure aft, and to starboard. The conning tower is inclined at
about 110 degrees to the vertical, with the top of the conning tower
inboard. The forward 6-inch superstructure gun now lies completely
turned upside down over the after starboard 6-inch superstructure gun.
The frames which supported the deck plating and planking of the port
gangway forward of the main deck are bent upward and against the
superstructure, the angle of bend decreasing as you go aft. The
fixtures underneath the main deck on the port side, consisting of pipes,
wood casing for the electric wires, standing lights, etc., have been com1letely wrecked, while on the starboard side these fixtures, occupying a
similar position, are in some cases almost intact.
This is especially so under the conning tower at the starboard side,
where the woodwork of the electric wires is scarcely burned at all
The port bulkhead, between the main deck and the berth deck at the
conning-tower support, has been blown aft on both sides, but a great
deal more on the port side than on the starboard. The fire-room hatch
immediately abaft the conning-tower support, between the main and
the berth deck, has been blown open in three directions, aft, to starboard, and to port. The forward side of the hatch, being stronger,
forming the support of the conning tower, was not much injured. The
pipes in this hatch were very little injured. The protective deck under
the conning-tower supports, where it is secured to the armor tube
from the conning tower is bent in two directions. The plates on the
port side are bent up and the plate on the starboard side is bent down.




44     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


By the COURT:
Q. Do you mean with reference to their original positions?
A. With reference to their original positions. There is a beam supporting the protective deck a few inches abaft the armored tube. This
beam, to port of the midship line, was bent up to starboard of the midship
line. The rivets were sheared. The beam broke at the midship line,
due to weakening at this point by pipes passing through it. These
rivets, holding the beam to the deck, were sheared almost at right
angles to the fore-and-aft line. The starboard crane was broken completely off, due to the superstructure falling upon it. The pprt crane
supports are bent, but the crane itself seems intact. The forward
smokestack now lies forward side up along the starboard quarter-deck,
about the position of the waterways, and almost clear of the awnings
stanchions. The after smokepipe lies with its forward side uppermost,
just inboard of the port turret. The main masthead was broken at a
point about 4 feet from the lantern. The foremast fell forward and a
little to port. The break just forward of the port crane at the main
deck is a very clean one, the wood still remaining fastened to the deck
plating at the edge of the break.
Just foward of the conning tower, underneath the main deck, two
beams meet at right angles, one fore and aft, and the other athwart
ships. The fore-and-aft beam is broken at the point where it touches
the athwartship beam. Both parts of the broken beam are pushed
from port to starboard. A grating was found on the poop awning, just
foward of the after search light. A piece of the side plating, just
abaft the starboard turret, between the torpedo tube and the turret, is
now visible, about 15 feet forward of the starboard crane, and about at
the position of the ship's side. This plate was bent outward, and then
the forward end bent upward and folded backward upon itself. This
plate was sheared from the rest of the plating below the water line.
This plating below the water line has been pushed out to starboard.
The gratings from the engine-room hatch were blown off.
Q. Those were the unarmored gratings?
A. Yes, sir; the superstructure gratings. In hauling in some wires
a strainer was picked up from the bottom at a point about opposite the
poop capstan and 70 feet from it-a composition strainer.
Q. The composition strainer, you say, was picked up where?
A. It was picked up on the starboard quarter. I was hauling in the
electric wires yesterday and hooked on to it, anfd picked it up at that
point.
Q. Is there anything to show where the strainer came from?
A. The chief engineer thinks it was a strainer from the firemen's washroom.
Q. It was not an exterior strainer?
A. No, sir; it was not a strainer in the ship's side. The athwartship
beam, at the point where the break occurs on the port side, is pushed a
little forward at the point where it joined the outside plating.
Q. When you speak of the break, you mean the break in the main
deck?
A. Yes, sir; the break in the main deck. Near the piece of outside
plating, near the turret to which I have just referred, and just inboard
of it are'somle pieces of red shellacked planks. On these planks is bolted
a composition track about 2 inches wide and an inch thick. At the
ceiling of the central station a standing light on the port side was
found completely blown from its supports, only three screws remaining
in the protective deck to mark its position. On the starboard side,
about 5 feet from' this light, was [another deck light, fastened to the




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


45


protective deck, and nothing in this light was destroyed except the
glass globe protecting the light and the glass of the incandescent light
itself. The woodwork and wires were intact. Did you mean for me to
say anything about what the divers reported, or just what L saw?
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. I would like to have you state any important discoveries which
might lead us to draw some conclusion as to the cause, and if the discovery of a diver gave you the information, state the name of the
diver; but before you do that, I would like to ask you whether the forward and after parts of the ship were in line.
A. As far as I could judge, the forward and after parts of the ship
were not in line. The ends, where the explosion occurred, seemed to
have been pushed from port to starboard, I should judge from 5 to 10
degrees.
Q. That makes an angle of the ship with the apex to starboard?
A. With the apex to starboard; yes, sir.
Q. Will you please go ahead with the discoveries of the divers?
A. The divers reported to me that at a point where the 10-inch shell
room should be they discovered 10-inch shell, regularly arranged, but
the ship had sunk down so much that some of the shell were in the
mud.
By the COURT:
Q. That mud was inside the ship, of course?
A. Yes, sir. They were not able to determine that exactly. The
name of one diver was Olsen, I think. The diver Smith reported that
he saw a number of broken 10 inch powder tanks. He secured a 10-inch
powder tank that still contained powder, and it was hoisted to the surface, and is now on board the Fern. He also secured some tanks in a
better condition, one 6-inch and one 10-inch tank that I saw. This
diver reported that he had found more full tanks, but a diver who went
down next after Smith was unable to secure any. At a place where
the paymaster's storeroom should be we found a great many vegetable
cans. Gunner Morgan reported that in walking on the bottom he fell
into a hole on the port side and went down in the mud. He also
reported that, as far as he could judge, everything seemed to be bent
upward in the vicinity of this hole. He also reported that the plates
seemed to have been pushed over to starboard and bent down over the
top of the 10-inch magazine, from which he reasoned that he would be
able to find, perhaps intact, powder tanks farther down; that the
broken ones on top had been broken up by these plates. The one 6-inch
tank that I saw appeared to me to have been an empty tank, broken
by the explosion, as it was not badly dented, and merely ripped the
length of the seam.
By the JUrDGE- ADVOCATE:
Q. How did the empty 10-inch tank appear to you?
A. The empty 10-inch tank was badly battered. When I saw it it
had been already dipped in a sterilizing solution, and I could see no
I    evidences of powder upon it.
Q. Was it ruptured, as if a charge had exploded inside of it?
A. It was flattened out and battered out of all conceivable shape. I
could not say.
By the COURT:
Q. Have either of the divers been on what you consider the outside
of the ship?
A. They had not up to last night. They report that the mud is so




46


DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


deep that it will be impossible for them to walk on the bottom, and
they wish some large scow moored over that part, so that they can be
supported from the scow, and that, I believe, is being done to-day. I
requested the diver to go aft and see if he could see the condition of
the port forward boiler. He started aft and found coal, and discontinued
his work before he got as far aft as the boiler.
Q. What is the condition of the starboard turret?
A. To my knowledge it has not been found, sir.
Q. That is, the place where it belongs has been examined, and you
think it is not there?
A. I understand that something was found at or about the place
under which the turret formerly was, but they have not been able to
determine exactly what it was. I have had no information from the
wreck to-day. I have not been there.
Q. What impression is produced upon your mind by the reports, so
far as you have quoted them?
A. From reports alone, or from the appearance of the wreck?
Q. I mean either the reports that have been made to you, or the conditions which you believe to exist.
A. The impression produced upon me is that an explosion took place
well to port of the midship line and at a point in the length about opposite the conning tower.
Q. What weight are you giving now to the statement made by the
gunner, Mr. Morgan?
A. That opinion is based entirely upon the observation of things above
water. The fact that a full powder case was found and the fact that
empty powder cases were found does not, in my mind, admit of an
expression of opinion until something further is produced.
Q. You do not see anything upon which to base an opinion?
A. No reports so far from the divers upon which to base an opinion.
Q. I say again, what weight do you give to the statement made by
Mr. MSorgan as to his falling into a hole on the port side?
A. No weight, sir.
Q. You give no weight to that?
A. No, sir; because I think he may be mistaken about it.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. You have stated all that you know about it, have you?
A. I think I have, sir. I have a little notebook in my pocket, in
which I made notes of things at the time.
Q. Please refer to that and see if there is anything else?
A. The arc of the engine-room telegraph and the shaft of the steering gear, coming down through the armored tube (turret), was bent
from port to starboard underneath the protective deck, and the port
side of the protective deck under the conning-tower supports was covered
with a greasy sort of deposit, while the starboard side was comparatively free from it.
(At this point Naval Cadet Holden entered the court and was handed
so much of the record of the court as contained his testimony. He
was then directed to retire, examine it, and return and state whether
or not his testimony as recorded was correct.)
Ensign POWELSON then resumed his testimony.
The WITNESS. The forward smoke-pipe hatch, between the main and
the superstructure decks, while it is dented, does not show signs of
internal pressure of gases. I said that the fire-room hatch did; that




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


47


it was blown out in all directions, and the hatch at the engine room
where the funnel came through was not exploded. It is dented. The
fire main running along under the main deck had its asbestos covering
and canvas burned much more on the port than on the starboard side.
On the main deck, just forward of the conning tower, where the fore.
and-aft angle bulb beam to which I have referred was located, the
planking was blown off on the only remaining plate of themain deck on
the port side, while the wood was still attached to that part on the starboard side between the base of the conning tower and the turrets. The
wood planking there on the plating was still fast to that, while on the
port side it had blown off the plating. All the wood-deck planking and
the plating was blown off the main-deck beams of the port gangway
forward of the break. On the starboard side of the conning-tower support the protective deck is pulled away from the support about 5 inches.
On the port side it is not.
By the COURT:
Q. Would that show a pressure from port to starboard?
A. That would indicate that the pressure lifted the protective deck
up on the port side, and the protective deck on the starboard side held
fast and bent that deck downward, away from the conning-tower support, broke that one end of that beam off, and sheared it right straight
across. / I have a little sketch here, which the court might look at, to
make clear what I have said.
(Witness here exhibited to the court two sketches, showing diagram
of various parts of the sunken ship, and explained them to the court.)
Q. Mr. Powelson, you spoke of that strip which is on the starboard
side of the outside plating of the ship, which was folded and rolled
back?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you gave it as your opinion that the portion of the outer
plating underneath that, from which that was torn, was bent outward?
A. Yes, sir; I can see that. That is about 2 feet under water, where
that shear occurs.
Q. Can you see the outside plating on the opposite side?
A. No, sir.
Q. You can not?
A. I took some soundings. I forgot to tell you about that. I found
about 5 fathoms of water all along the ship, on both sides, down to the
mud. I took a 14-pound lead line, 41 fathoms, and I dragged with a
wherry along on the port side for obstructions. I dragged right close
to where I imagined the waterways on the port side of the ship had
been, judging from the position of the ship, and I found no obstructions
at all. With 4A fathoms of line out, going along slowly on the starboard side, I did find obstructions for a distance of 20 feet from where
I had reason to suppose the waterways had originally been.
Q. That is to say, the fact that there were obstructions on the starboard side and not on the port side would indicate that while the port
side was not ruptured, if it was ruptured, the burr was on the inside?
A. I do not think you understood me exactly. There is nothing left
of the port plating at all. As you go right in across the ship there is
nothing. I dragged along the outside to see if there had been anything that had fallen out, and I could find nothing. As I came in, taking soundings right along from the port side, after I got inside a few
feet, or nearly under the waterway, then I began to find obstructions
in about 34 fathoms of water. I dragged right along here [indicating]




48     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


on the port side, and I found nothing along in there; but over on this
side [indicating] I did find things all along here; and I found something hard right in here, just abaft that crane [indicating].
Q. Which may be the turret?
A. It was hard for about 15 or 16 feet along there, as near as I could
judge, and not much out of mud; probably only 4 feet out of mud;
but the lead had a different feel there from what it had anywhere else.
That is what I thought was the turret. Of course, I could not be certain, and there is not enough evidence to state that opinion absolutely.
Q. Have you ever been attached to the MCaine?
A. No, sir; I have never been attached to the Maine.
Q. How have you become so well acquainted with the Maine?
A. I thought I was going to the Maine when she went in commission. I was on the Vermont at that time, and I used to go over to the
ship frequently and go through her, with an idea of learning. Then I
was on the staff of Admiral Buuce, and made an inspection of the
Maine and learned more at that time.
Q. You think the ship on the port side opposite that support is
entirely gone?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Entirely blown out?
A. Yes, sir; because I could get nothing less inside, I think, than
three fathoms and a half of water; but from the break itself it goes
right down standing here over the waterway [indicating]. You can go
down there about 4 fathoms with the lead line, but there does not seem
to be anything out here [indicating]. That little plate to which Captain
Chadwick referred is exactly in line with the mainmast.
Q. That protective deck?
A. The protective deck of which you speak. It is on a line with the
mainmast at the port crane, and goes to this plate [indicating]. That
is the reason I thought that, whether it was the starboard or the port
plate, there would not be much difference, except as to the angle, because
that was so far over from the side, coming from the mainmast [witness indicates on diagram].
Q. It is an important thing to know. That [indicating] is a piece of
the quarter-deck. If that had been broken off the ship's side, and was
thrown up in here [indicating], that is very material.
A. It is over to port. You can not tell exactly where that place was
in the beginning.
Q. Could you not tell by very careful soundings around that or by
the divers? You see the divers are even now down at the floor of that
[pointing out of the window at the wreck].
A. The divers do not seem to be able to express themselves as to
what they see down below. I have talked to them and have not been
able to learn very much.
Q. That is the difficulty; they do not know what they find.
A. They see things there, but they do not know exactly what they
are or what the conditions are.
Q. How often were you on duty over there at the wreckS
A. As I said, we are not detailed for the duty over there. We have
days duty on the Fern, but of course Mr. Bookwalter and myself
attend to the work on the ship, or on the wreck, or anything Lieutenant
Wainwright wants us to do.
There being no further questions to ask the witness, the judgeadvocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not
read to him by the stenogranher, but that he be directed to report




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


49


to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, bringing with him an ink sketch
similar to the one shown to the court to:day, lettering the different
parts, and also an ink sketch of that piece of protective deck referred
to in the testimony, the sketches to be on foolscap paper, either on
separate sheets or on the same sheet, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which
he will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to
amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted and the witness was instructed accordingly,
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Naval Cadet HOLDEN here appeared before the court.
The JUDGE ADVOCATE. Naval Cadet Holden, is the testimony given
by you before the court on yesterday correct as recorded 
Naval Cadet HOLDEN. It is.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
The court then (at 2.30 p. m.) adjourned to meet to-morrow, the 24th
instant, at 10 o'clock a. m.
FOURTH DAY.
U. S. L. H. TENDER IMANGROVE7
Havana Harbor, 10 a. m., Thursday, February 24, 1898.
The court met pursuant to adjournment of yesterday (Wednesday).
Present: All the members of the court, the Judge-Advocate, the stenographer, and Captain Sigsbee.
Previous to the meeting of the court the members were engaged in
making an examination of the wreck.
The record of the proceedings of yesterday was read and approved.
Chief Engineer HOWELL appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Chief Engineer Howell, I now hand you so
much of the record of the proceedings of yesterday as contains the testimony given by you before the court. Please withdraw, read it over,
and then return to the court and state whether you desire to make any
corrections in the testimony, or whether it is correct as recorded.
The witness then withdrew.
Naval Cadet CLUVERIUS appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Naval Cadet Clnverius, I now hand you so
much of the record of the second day's proceedings as contains the
testimony given by you before this court. Please withdraw, read it
over, and return to the court and state whether you desire to make
any corrections in the testimony, or whether it is correct as recorded.
The witness then withdrew.
Mr. WILLIAM H. VAN SYCKEL appeared as a witness, and was duly
sworn by the president of the court.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name, your residence, and what business
you are engaged in.
S. Doc. 207-4




50    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. My name is William H. Van Syckel. My business is superintend-ent of the West India Oil Refining Company.
Q. Are you a resident of Havana?.A. No; I am a resident of what would be a part of Reglas. 
Q. Were you in either Havana or Reglas on the night of February
15, when the Maine exploded?
A. I am in a part of the Province of Reglas, but my situation is in
the building which they called formerly Billott's Hospital, now the
petroleum works; but we belong in part to Reglas. I was in the house,
answering your question, at the time of the explosion.
Q. Will you please state to the court all you saw and heard in regard
to that explosion?
A. I was inside at the time of the explosion, and immediately went
-outside. What I saw was a bad sight. Everything was flying in the
-air. There were columns of black smoke, and pieces and parts of the
-ship.
Q. Was there any flame flying up into the air?
A. Yes; all those pieces of timber were aflame. It was like pieces
of rag and pieces of timber.
Q. You saw no solid upshoot of flame?
A. No; that had passed. There were particles. When I saw it,
there were still particles arising.
Q. Please state to the court what sound you first heard which made
you leave your house and go out. What was the nature of it?
A. First a rumble. Then the terrific explosion. That rumble startled
us, and then the explosion was almost instantaneous. That is, no quicker
-had we heard the rumble than the shot came.
Q. How long a time elapsed from the time you first started until you.oame out and saw these pieces in the air?
A. That is hard to state. If you are sitting here at the table and
run right to the door when you hear a concussion, it is perhaps one or
two seconds.
By Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. Did you see anything like shooting or falling stars or fireworks?
A. Yes; apparently. Those pieces afterwards came down. We stood
and saw them come down. There were different colors amongst them,
apparently different kinds of timber or different pieces of coal or ash.
Some fell very slowly. Others came down more rapidly.
By the COURT:
Q. Were there many small pieces that were on fire?
A. Seemingly, yes; thousands of them.
Q. I mean piecesA. They were all sizes from what I should judge from where-I stood.
My position was about a mile and three-quarters from here.
Q. In sight of the ship?
A. In sight of the ship; yes, sir.
Q. Did you notice whether there were a great many of these what
Captain Sigsbee describes as stars, all of one size?
A. No; I could not say that. I couldn't say there were. They
-appeared to be all of different sizes, going in all directions.
By Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. Did you see any bursting shell?
A. That was afterwards; but they all appeared to be aboard.
-Q. There were no bursting shell in the air?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
I


51


A. No; no bursting shells in the air. I saw nothing that appeared
to be bursting in the air, any place.
Q. Did any stuff fall ill Reglas, near you?
A. No.
Q. Have you heard of any shell or pieces of shell being picked up
on shore?
A. No; I have not.
By the COURT:
Q. Was your view such that you could tell from which part of the
ship this explosion took place?
A. No; not at the moment. We were not in a position-that is, we
knew that the forward funnel had gone immediately after the explosion.
That we could see by the glasses.
Q. That the forward funnel had gone?
A. Had gone. In fact, both funnels had gone, but we could see afterwards with the light that the forward funnel appeared to be lostthrown overboard-and of course the forward mast also. We could
see these things from there.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read aloud to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced to
be correct; and, after being cautioned by the president not to converse
about matters pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.
The witness then added the following testimony:
The people who would be able to give more exact information, and
who were at the time looking at it, were aboard the bark Matanzas.
They are on their way to New York. They were there in that vessel,
and they could see if there was any water column or anything of that
description. Of course they were closer by, and would be better judges,
and could give better ideas than we could from shore.
The COURT. But they, you say, are on their way to New York?
A. They are on their way to New York.
There being no further questionsjo ask this witness, his additional
testimony was read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced correct. The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by
the president not to converse about the matters pertaining to inquiry.
Chief Engineer HOWELL here appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mr. Howell, you have read over your testimony?
Mr. HOWELL. I have.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Mfr. HOWELL. It is.
Chief Engineer Howell then resumed the witness chair, and gave
the following additional testimony:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. After the explosion, Captain Sigsbee appointed you a member of
the board to make certain inquiries and get certain information. Is
there any information which you have obtained which would be useful
to this court?
A. No, sir; I have heard a number of versions of the explosion. I
do not see how they could be of particular use to the court, unless it
be with one exception. If you would like to have that man come aboard,
he was on the City of Washington.




52     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Do you refer to Mr. Rothschild?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Will you send him over, if you can?
A. I will do the best I can.
Q. Are there any combustibles of any kind stored below decks belonging to your department? If so, please state what and where.
A. Cotton waste is the only one I think of at this moment. That is
stowed in the storeroom abaft of the engine room.
By the COURT:
Q. Clean cotton waste?
A. Clean cotton waste, stowed in a storeroom abaft of the engine
room.
Q. Did you have no driers or anything of that sort belonging to
your department?
A. They are kept on deck in proper tanks, with wooden boxes outside
the tanks.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What instructions did you have from your commanding officer in
regard to old cotton waste that had been used?
A. We have a number of copper tanks in the engine room and fire
room, about 22 inches high and 15 inches in diameter, with covers on
them. They are kept there for the purpose of putting old refuse in
them, and oil waste and anything of that style that has been used.
Every day they are carried away, thrown in the ash pile and thrown
overboard.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced
correct.
After being cautioned by the president not to converse about matters
pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.
Naval Cadet CLUVERIUS appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mr. Cluverius, is your testimony as recorded
correct?
Mr. CLUVERIUS. It is correct, sir.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Capt. FREDERICK G. TEASDALE appeared before the court as a
witness, and was sworn by the president of the court:
Examined by the JUDGE ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name, residence, and profession.
A. Capt. Frederick G. Teasdale, Walker Hall, Winston, Darlington,
County of Durham, England. I am master of the Deva.
Q. What is the D)eva?
A. It is a bark.
Q. Where is the bark Deva now?
A. Lying at the Reglas wharf.
Q. How far from the place where the Maine was anchored on the
15th of February?
A. Nearly half a mile; between quarter and half a mile.
Q. Were you on board the Deva when the Maine exploded?
A. I was on board, writing my mail, getting ready for the next day.
Q. Where were you?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


53


A. Sitting at the cabin table writing when I heard the explosion. I
thought the ship had been collided with. I ran on deck when I heard
the explosion. I felt a very severe shock in my head also. I seized my
head this way [indicating]. I thought I was shot, or something. The
transoms of the doors of the cabin are fitted in the studs on the side,
and they were knocked out of place with the shock. The first seemed
to be a shot, and then a second, or probably two seconds, after the first
report that I heard, I heard a tremendous explosion; but as soon as I
heard the first report-it was a very small one-thinking something had
happened to the ship, I rushed on deck, and was on deck just in time
to see the whole d6bris going up in the air.
Q. Please describe, as graphically as you can, how this appeared to
you-what you saw.
A. The stuff ascended, I should say, 150 or 160 feet up in the air. It
seemed to go comparatively straight until it reached its highest point
of ascent. Then it divided and passed off in kinds of rolls or clouds.
Then I saw a series of lights flying from it again. Some of them were
lights-incandescent lights. Sometimes they appeared to be brighteir,
and sometimes they appeared to be dim, as they passed through the
smoke, I should presume. The color of the smoke, I should say, was
very dark slate color. There were fifteen to twenty of those lights that
looked like incandescent lights. The smoke did not seem to be black,
as you would imagine from an explosion like that. It seemed to be
more a slate color.
Q. Was there anything that appeared to you to be shooting stars or
anything like that?
A. No; I never saw anything like that; only a series of smaller
explosions, after the first one, you know. That occurred at stated
intervals, probably twenty minutes or half an hour each. You would
hear small reports from the deck, as if they were scattered shells about
the deck which were going off, but they would not do any harm; some
going in one direction and some in another.
Q. When you first saw this thing, was there a large batch of solid
flame V
A. No; I didn't see any flame whatever. There never was any flame
whatever.
Q. You are sure you reached the deck in time to see the large explosion ~?
A. I was on deck in time to see everything. I could bring forward
evidence by bringing my mate or any of my officers. I was the first
one on deck, and they came up afterwards. The stuff had not reached
its final ascent when they came up, and I was up two or three seconds
before they were. The stuff was still ascending when they came up.
Q. Could you see whether water was thrown up?
A. No; I was too far away to testify whether there was water or
not.
By the COURT:
Q. Could you tell from where you were at wlat part of the ship this
explosion took place 
A. Oh, yes; I could see the ship distinctly from stem to stern. They
were working a search light fromn the shore, and they threw the search
light on the ship, and that is the first time I knew it was the American
man-of-war had blown up. We were under the impression before that
that it was one of these large Spanish steamers that had blown up.
They put the search light on the vessel, and the first thing I saw about
her was the davit for lifting the steam launch out with. ' Then I saw the




54     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


fighting top on the mizzenmast, or the mainmast, as we call it. I could
distinctly see the stem of the vessel, and I could see this patch of debris
right in the light. I could see that the funnel was lying at an angle of
about 35 degrees, I should say, on the top of the debris, but it seems to
have altered its position during the night. I suppose when the stuff
finally got settled it changed its position somewhat.
Q. What I refer to particularly was, when you saw this column of
smoke and d6bris ascending, could you tell then what part of the ship
it was coming from? 
A. No; I could not see anything then. It was too dark then. I
don't suppose we noticed very particularly for that, because we were
so much interested in seeing the stuff going up that we couldn't see
anything of that sort, I suppose. I should say it was somewhere about
the middle of the vessel from the appearance of other craft about there 
at that time. I passed the ship the afternoon before, about 7 o'clock,
in a boat.
0 Q. How many explosions did you hear?
f A. I heard two distinct explosions. The first one was a very sharp
one, and when that explosion took place it was as though some steamer
had collided, and the shock was something tremendous.
Q. That is to your own shipI
A. Yes; I am alluding to our own vessel at the present time. Then
there was a tremendous explosion after that, but before the second
explosion took place I rushed out of the cabin on deck, thinking something was the matter with our vessel; that she had collided, or something. I rushed up on deck to see what was the matter, and I do not
suppose I was more than a second from the time I heard the first explosion until I was on deck. The sound was not fully gone from the second explosion when I reached the deck.
By Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. Did you see the vessel lift in the water at all
A. No, sir; I can't say that I saw that, but I could distinctly see the
vessel from the fore end to the after end-lthe whole of the stem and
stern and everything. I mentioned something to my officers then.
There was something on the forecastle head. I tlink they appeared
like two men standing there. I was looking at the ship with a long
telescope. It may have been a gun or something of that sort. I do not
see how a man could have been standing there, the state the ship was
in. I could distinctly see the guns on the foredeck, but there was
nothing surrounding them. It seemed as if the protections of the guns
had been blown away. The ship was lying with the deck over toward
me, from the position we were in at that time, and I could see one gun
distinctly there and another one up here again [indicating]. Then on
the forward deck I could see two objects. They appeared to me, with
a glass, in the dark, like two men standing there; but, of course, it
may have been something else.
Q. How much of a wave was thrown over in your direction?
A. There didn't seem to be much of a wave with us, but there was
a decided movement of the vessel shortly afterwards. My mate remarked to me afterwards —he said: "Do you feel the vessel rolling
now?" And that was my first mate remarked that to me.
Q. Was the vessel heading as she is now?
A. No; we were lying at anchor.
Q. I mean the Maine?
A. No; I think the wind was northwest at the time.
Q. I mean the Maine. Was she heading practically as she is now?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.       55,
A. Yes; practically as she is now; but she seems to have moved her
position somewhat from what I saw her the afternoon before.
Q. I am speaking now of the time of the explosion.
A. Yes; she is lying much in the same position as she was at the time
of the explosions. She did not seem to leave altered her position in
any way since that night-not the slighest.
Q. Did you see any dead fish around the bay?
A. I never saw any; no, sir.
Q. Have you ever heard that fish leave this harbor at night and go,
outside?
A. I never heard any remark about that. I have seen a good many
fish here, but they were very small fish, just spluttering about on the
top of the water. I have never seen any in the night time, but any
time when there is any spluttering among the fish it generally occurs
in the daytime, so far as my observation has gone. The wind coming
in that direction carried a lot of light material over our vessel that.
night. Quantities of paper and small fragments fell over our ship.
and for some time after. I picked up some boiler coating or coating
from steam pipes the next morning. There also seemed to be felt
and hair. I also picked up an envelope addressed to Mr. Silley, United
States ship Maine. The stamp was gone from the envelope. The
envelope was somewhat charred,. and showed as though it had been in
the midst of an explosion, or something like that, and where the stamp
came off the place underneath was perfectly clean. I gave it to the
officer who came aboard our vessel.
Q. You gave it to Mr. Holman?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. To whom was that addressed?
A. I think Silley or Seller. The writing was rather bad and hard to
make out.
Q. Is that all, Captain?
A. I think that is all, sir. If you wish to ask me any questions, I
will be glad to answer them.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer and by him pronounced correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Private ANTHONY here appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Private Anthony, I hand you so much of
the record of the proceedings of this court as contains the testimony
given by you. Please withdraw, read it over, and then return to the
court and state whether you desire to make any corrections, or whetherthe testimony is correct.
The witness then withdrew.
Chaplain JOHN P. CHIDWICK, U.S.Navy, appeared before the court
as a witness, and was sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name, rank, and present duty.
A. John Patrick Chidwick, chaplain, U. S.Navy. I have no relative
rank.
Q. You are attached to the Maine?
A. Attached to the Maine.




56     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Where were you on the night of the 15th of February, when the
Maine was blown up?
A. In my room, aboard the ship.
Q. _Please state to the court what shocks you felt, what noises you
heard, and what you saw in regard to the explosion.
A. I heard a loud report, and everything became dark as soon as I
heard the report. The lights were out, and there was a crashing sound
of things falling. I then rushed on deck. I got on the captain's poop
and saw the captain there giving his orders. After trying to cheer up
the men who were crying out in the water for help, I was ordered by
Lieutenant Jungen to go into a boat, which I did. We rowed around
the ship and picked up one man. Then, at the orders of the captain,
we pulled off for the City of Washington.
Q. How many shocks did you feel?
A. I remember only one.
Q. Did you notice any list to the ship when that shock was experienced?
A. It struck me that I did, to the port side. I am not positive about
that.
Q. Port down?
A. Port down; yes, sir.
Q. But you are not positive?
A. No, sir.
Q. At the time you reached the deck had the large explosion taken
place and was it over?
A. Yes; it was over and the forward part was then aflame.
By the COURT:
Q. From what direction did this first explosion or shock seem to
proceed?
A. The impression on my mind can not very well verify anything I
would say. It was like a loud report; everything became dark, and
then the noise of falling things. As I say, I have an indistinct remembrance of the ship falling toward the port.
Q. Afterwards or at the same time?
A. Yes, sir; when I was in the room; when I heard the report.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer and by him pronounced correct. The witness then withdrew.
Private ANTHONY here appeared before the court.
'The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is your testimony as recorded correct?
Mr. ANTHONY. Yes, sir.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
mot to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry..Ensign POWELSON then appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mr. Powelson, have you brought the drawings you were instructed to make?
Ensign POWELSON. I have one. I have not quite finished the other.
The JUDGE-ADTOCATE. You can bring that later.
Ensign POWELSON. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. If the court please, Mr. Powelson has brought ~
with him one of the drawings he was instructed to make, which I request
-may be appended to the record..(Said-drawing is hereto appended, marked B.)




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


57


The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mr. Powelson, I now hand you so much of
the record of the proceedings of this court on yesterday as contains
your testimony. Please withdraw, read it over, and then return to the
court and state whether you desire to make any corrections, or whether
the testimony as recorded is correct.
The witness then withdrew.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I ask that the court be cleared.
The court was cleared, all persons except the members of the court
and the judge-advocate withdrawing.
The court was opened, and the stenographer and Captain Sigsbee
entered.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Captain Sigsbee, the court was cleared in
order to permit me to tell the court what steps I had taken to ascertain
what mining had been done in the harbor of Havana, and the difficulty
experienced in obtaining any testimony on that subject; also to submit
to the court certain letters, which can not be used as evidence, but
which also bear on the same subject, and to receive instructions of the
court in regard to this matter.
The court (at 12 o'clock noon) took a recess until 1.30 o'clock p. m.
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, the stenographer, and
Captain Sigsbee.
Ensign POWELSON appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mr. Powelson, is the testimony given by you
as recorded correct? 
Ensign POWELSON. I wish to make the following corrections ii the
testimony:
On page 27 insert the words "top of the" before " conning tower.'
On page 28, in the fifth line, strike out the word "port." In the fifth
line from the bottom, the sentence should end with "up." In the
fourth line from the bottom add: "From port to starboard,7 after the
word "sheared."
On page 30, third line, change "the" to " a."
On page 32, first line, change "one" to "the," making it read
"name of the diver."
On page 33, sixth line, "better" should read "battered."
On page 35, the first one in the first line, "turret," should be erased.
In the seventeenth line "exploded" should be "burst."
On page 36, fifth line, "five inches" should be "twenty inches." In
the twelfth line the words "with one end of" should be erased.
On page 39, fourth line, change the phrase "at port crane" to "and
port crane." In the fourteenth line, change "quarter" to "protective."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is your testimony as now changed correct as
recorded?
Ensign POWELSON. Yes, sir. I have with me now the other sketch
which I was directed by the court to make.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. If the court please, I ask permission to
append the sketch produced by the witness to the record.
(Said sketch is appended hereto, marked E.)
SIGMOND ROTHSCHILD appeared as a witness before the court and was
sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name, residence, and business.
A. My full name is Aigmund Rothschild. My residence is in Detroit,




58    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Mich. My business is packing tobacco on the Island of Cuba, being
here since 1871.
Q. Were you in Havaua on the 15th day of February when the Maine
was blown up?
A, I was.
Q. Where were you?
A. On the City of Washington, coming that evening.
Q. How far was the City of Washington. from the Maine at the time
of the explosion?
A. I can not give the exact distance, bit I asked Captain Stevens,
captain of the Washington, what distance he would call it, and he said
about 300 feet.
Q. Where were you at the time it happened?
A. Right on the stern of the boat, and for the following reasons:
Let me explain, gentlemen. We were only 17 passengers, and after
the Washington, which came in about 8.30, had received her place, all
the other passengers went down to take beer. They invited me and I
said I wouldn't drink any, and my friend who is upstairs, MIr. Wertheimer, also said he would not drink any. We were sitting then in
the smoking room.. This was about 9.30. I said, "Let us go to the
stern of the boat and watch the Maine." I made a joke about it. I
said, "We are under the guns of the United States; we are well protected, and we can sit here." The chairs were sitting in the center of
the open place aft, and we wanted to pull the chairs toward the bench,
toward the railing. In doing so, I had brought my chair just about in
this condition [indicating], and had not sat down when I heard a shot,
the noise of a shot. I looked around and I saw the bow of the Maine
rise a little, go a little out of the water. It couldn't have been more
than a few seconds after that noise, that shot, that there came in the
center of the ship a terrible mass of fire and explosion, and everything
went over our heads, a black mass. We could not tell what it was.
It was all black. Then we heard a noise of falling material on the place
where we had been, right near the smoking room.
One of the lifeboats which was hanging had a piece go through it and
make a big hole in it. After we seen that mast go up, the whole boat
lifted out, I should judge, about 2 feet. As she lifted out, the bow
went right down. It didn't take a minute after the lifting of the boat
until the bow went down.. We stood spellbound, and cried to the captain. The captain gave orders to lower the boats, and two of the boats
which were partly lowered were found broken through with big holes.
Some iron pieces had fallen through them. Naturally, that made a delay,
and they had to run for the other boats, or else we would have been a
few minutes sooner in the water. Then the stern stood out like this,
in this direction [indicating], and there was a cry from the people " Help,"
and " Lord God help us," and" Help! Help! " The noise of the cry from
the mass of human voices in the boat did not last but a minute or two.
When the ship was going down, there was the cry of a mass of people,
but that was a murmur. That was not so loud as the single voices
which were in the water. That did not last but a minute, and by that
time we saw somebody on the deck in the stern of the ship, and it
took about a few minutes when the boats commenced to bring in the
officers. We took them to our rooms. A great many of them came
without anything on but a pair of pants and nothing else. That is
about the whole story in regard to the shot.
To prove to you, gentlemen, about that shot which was heard, the
gentlemen who have gone on to Mexico in the same steamer, they were




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.'      59
drinking beer, and they were about as far from the portholes as this
would be [indicating]. They heard the shot first, and the shot brought
the gentlemen sitting on this side of the table immediately to the porthole. Then the fire came out of the center. So the shot was heard by
everyone, as we stated that night in the papers. It was a shot similar
to a cannon shot. I do not know what it was, because I am used to
this island, and I know at 8 o'clock they fire a shot. This was about
9.35 or 9.40, and it was an unusual time for hearing a shot. If it had
been about 8, I would not have been looking around, because every
night we hear that here; but being an unusual hour I looked around,
and I saw the upheaving bow of the Maine, just a little, not very much;
but the next minute the middle section commenced to go up. She commenced to go down, and in less than a minute after the upheaving she
was down in the water.
Q. Which. side of the Maine was toward you?
A. We were lying in the same direction; that is to say, when we sat
on the stern we looked at the stern of the Maine. Our boat lay pretty
near in the same direction. I looked out from the stern to my right
side..
Q. You mean the Maine was pointing right toward you-the stern of
you 
A. No.
Q. Which side of the Mlaine was toward your vessel?
A. The right.
Q. The starboard side?
A.' Yes, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. You were lying here somewhere [indicating]?
A. Yes; just like looking in this direction, on this side [indicating].
Q. You were looking toward the port side of the Maine then. Were
you on the Morro Castle side of the Maine or on the other side of the 
Maine?
A. We were on the side away from Havana. If this is the bow
[indicating] this is our boat. I was looking from here to here.
Q. Then you were looking at the port side of the Maine?
A. Whatever you call it. I am not a good sailor. I must make that
confession. I was looking from this stern to this stern [indicating].
Here is where our stern was, and I was standing about here [indicating]. Here is the place where I stood. That is the smoking room, and
this is where all that stuff fell down, the iron; and here, a little nearer
the engine room, was where the engineer was sitting when that cement
fell. Have you seen that?
Q. We have heard of it.
A. It is kept by the engineer for me. He says he will bring it back
from Mexico. It broke a chair and made a large hole through the deck.
It is a large piece. I think it must weigh about 30 pounds.
Q. How thick was the cement?
A. The cement was about 2 inches in thickness.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. When you heard that first explosion, did you feel any vibration on
board of your own vessel?
A. No, sir; none-nothing but hearing it. There was no feeling at all.
Q. Did you feel any vibration when the Maine blew up?
A. I did.




60.DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. You are certain there was a distinct interval between the first
shot and the blowing up?
A. Sure, because it was the shot which made me look first in that
direction.
Q. Which side of the Maine did the explosion seem to come out of?
A. This we will call the Maine [indicating]. The explosion came about
here. Take that as the entire boat. There is where it came [pointing
at about the middle of the Maine]. I am positive, because I saw the
whole width of it.
Q. Was it on the side toward you or away from you?
A. On our side. The whole mass came over our heads.
Q. On your side?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Will you tell us whether you saw anything going up in the air
which exploded after it got there, like rockets?
A. No, sir; nothing exploded in the air, because we would have seen
everything. Nothing exploded. It was merely a dropping against our
boat. It came over our boat and on our boat, but nothing exploded
after it went in the air.
Q. At the time of the first report, or at the time of the second
explosion, did you see any water flying up?
A. From the boat, nothing, except when the Maine went down.
Then there was a splurge of water from the lurch of the 'boat.
Q. You saw no great upshoot of flame at the second explosion, either 
A. No; the flame came after, more like a burning fire flame. It was
an explosion which showed that it was fire, you know, but not that
flame which we seen afterwards, burning for hours-what we call a
flame. It was an explosion, and it ended with that and set it on fire
afterwards. This ship was burning until 2 o'clock in the morning.
Q. That is, the explosion made no great illumination?
A. No, sir.
Q. This upheaval caused by the second explosion was limited, you
say, to that portion of the ship which you have marked out there?
A. No; the first shot I heard I saw the upheaval here at the bownot a great deal. When the second explosion came the whole of it
was raised, only less from the stern, and immediately she went down
just as fast as she could.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. The forward half of the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. Did that extend clear across the ship?
A. Naturally, we couldn't tell from the masses and from the fire how
far it. extended on the other side, because we were on one side of it;
but it looked as if that whole center here was torn out, from the place
where I looked at it. Whether there was anything untouched here
[indicating] we couldn't see it from this end. It was impossible,
because on this end everything came out clean, so that the whole
surface was taken out. We couldn't tell from our side exactly how
much it took out.
Q. In regard to the interval of time between the first explosion and
the second, did you do anything which would enable you to make a
measure of that time?
A. No; and I will tell you why. When that shot, or that noise, was
heard, it gave me merely time to look around to see where it came from.
It was night on the water, and I couldn't tell. I just turned my eye




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.       61
around, and by the time I turned my eye around this explosion commenced to come.
Q. One or two seconds only?
A. Not more than few seconds, just as a man could look around. It
would only take a few seconds.
Q. A second is a long time under such circumstances.
* A. I know what seconds are since that time, when we were getting
our boats down to help the people that were drowning. I know what
seconds are since that time. I never knew it before. The noises of
these two explosions had no connection, but they were two distinct
things. That is to say, the noise and the fire did not come together.
First was the noise, the shot, and when the shot was over, then this
X explosion took place.
Q Q. You saw the ship move at each one of these explosions'?
\ A. At the first shot the bow of the boat just lifted about that much
[indicating]. At the second one it was more of an upheaval of the
hull, with the exception of less here at the stern. Then the bow went
straight down like this in this direction [indicating].
Q. The people on board the M1aine were quiet before this?
A. They were all down stairs, with the exception of Mr. Wertheimer
and myself, only two.
Q. I mean on board the Maine?
A. Perfectly quiet. We even made the remark how quiet everything
looked on board of that vessel.
Q. You saw no strange boats about her?
A. Not from our side, and it was pretty well lit up, if everything could
have been seen. We were interested because we had just arrived, and
having read so much in America about the Maine. We were interested
to inspect the boat, not to look for any strange thing; but we saw nothing under the boat or near the boat. When we came in, all these harbor
boats were on the other side of the Maine, up toward this part of the
city [indicating]. The ferry which runs from here to here [indicating]
was taking her regular course amidst all the cry.' She was right here
then and she did not come to help. The ferry runs across from here to
here [indicating]. I went to Captain Stevens and I said: "For God's
sake, can't you holler to that boat to go nearer?" Naturally, being in
midstream, I did not expect she would with a lot of passengers, because
it looked threatening with that stern part out, as if another explosion
might happen; but after she had taken her passengers off she had ample
time to go to their assistance before we could get there. She was under
steam and she ran steady. Those boats run steady.
Q. The Spanish man-of-war in the harbor did send boats?
A. Oh, yes. By the time our boats were in the water we saw the
flash light coming toward the Maine and their boats were ahead of the
light, so they came immediately. They also got a big piece of iron,
which fell on our boat, which was used for binding the boat together
on both sides.
Q. An angle iron?
A. An angle iron. That also fell on our deck.
Q. Did you notice any very large pieces of iron plate that were torn
off or thrown up?
A. No, I did not see any large pieces. I saw a big bulk flying. It
didn't look like heavy pieces. It might have been a human body,
because everything that came over us looked dark. We saw large
pieces of timber in front of our vessel which flew against it, but nothing you could see with your eyes, because it was so glaring on account




62     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


of this explosion when it went up that you could see nothing until it
went over, and then you could see it as a ihass and not as an article
which was lit up. You could see it as a dark mass.
Q. Some of the pieces, you think, went over the Washington?
A. I am sure they went over our heads. You see, this stern of the
Washington is pretty clear. Everything would go over, while here in
front they would fall against something. We were sitting back of the
cabins, which was a large space free from the deck, and everything went
over us; some of them went not more than about 10 or 12 feet over
us; the others went very high, but you could not tell what it was,
except it was a dark matter. There was afterwards many single shots
going off; that kept on for hours afterwards until about 2.15 in the
morning, but it was nothing like an explosion. It was single pieces of
something going ott, that stopped right there.
Q. Did you notice anything flying aloft when the first shock was
heard?
A. No.
Q. Nothing flew up in the air?
A. Nothing flew up in the air. I looked around. I thought the shot
may have come from something else. If anything flew up I would have
seen it; but my eye went not alone to the boat but went all over, to
see where that shot could have come from. Nothing went up, because
my eye was directed the moment the shot was heard. I saw no commotion, no lurch, like this [indicating; just a little lift. Then came
the explosion, which gave the whole mass a lift.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer and by him pronounced
correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
of the court not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Louis WERTHEIMER appeared before the court as a witness and
was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Will you please give your full name, residence, and what business
you are in?
A. Louis Wertheimer; business address, 148 Water street, New
York; private address, 133 West Ninety-third street, New York City.
Q. What business are you engaged in?
A. Dealer in leaf tobacco.
Q. Were you in the harbor of Havana on the 15th day of February
when the Maine exploded?
A. I was a passenger on the City of Washington.
Q. How far was the City of Washington from the Miaine at the time?
A. I should judge between 100 and 125 yards.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?
A. At the actual moment of the explosion I was in the stern of the
Washington, having left about halfway between the smokestack and
the chief engineer's cabin, where I was standing talking with Mr.
Rothschild, to take a seat on the chairs which were on the stern of the
Washington. We left our post because there were no chairs there, and
when we reached the stern of the boat and had just taken hold of the
chairs to move them out from the center of the vessel the explosion
occurred.
Q. Then the Maine was in full view of you at the time.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.        63
A. We were looking directly at her at the time.
Q. On which side of the Maine were you looking?
A. We were on the starboard side of our boat-the stern starboard
side-and we were looking at the Maine.
Q. The Maine was abreast of you?
A. I should judge she was parallel to us. The same tide must have
put her in the same position we were in.
Q. Please tell us what you felt and saw.
A. We heard a report.
Q. You?
A. I heard a report, a minor report, minor in comparison with the
greater report which immediately followed, and at an interval of anywhere from five to fifteen seconds following this first minor report came
a great explosion. We saw an upheaval, and the air was black with
flying objects which we could not distinguish, but there were sufficient
of them to blacken the sky. nl the same burst of flame which followed
this immense upheaval I saw, clearly and plainly, the vessel rise in the
water a distance which apparently was 3 yards, but which in reality
must have been greater, and then settle down before the light of the
explosion went out. The whole thing was over so quickly that I could
not hazard a guess at the time, but suffice it to say that in the burst
of flame which followed the upheaval of this flying mass 1 saw the vessel settle in the water.
Q. Do you say you noticed an upleaval at the first explosion or first
shock-an upheaval of the vessel?
A. As closely as I can say, I should say the upheaval followed the
flying objects-either that or simultaneously. The time was so very,
very short between them, if there was a difference between the rising
of the vessel, the upheaval of the vessel and the upheaval of the
objects flying in the air, that it would be difficult to mark it.
Q. I am now referring to the first shot you heard. Did you notice
any movement of the Maine together with that?
A. No; not at all; and bear in mind that the interval was very, very
short between the first and the great explosion.
Q. You probably meant, when you said from five to fifteen seconds,
less time than that, if you count in your own mind how long five seconds
would take.
A. Let me see how long five seconds actually took and I can judge
better. [Witness examines his watch.] It certainly was less. 
Q. Less than five seconds?
A. Yes, sir; it certainly was less.
Q. Did you feel any shock aboard the Washington at the first explosion that you heard?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you at the second?
A. Yes, sir; decidedly-a strong tremor running through the vessel.
Q. Did you see any shell explode in the air at this second upheaval?
A. No; nor was I looking upward at the time. My eyes were fixed
then on what was left of the Maine-the deck-settling in the water.
I didn't look in the air at all. I have heard it said here that people in
the city saw a great burst of colored lights in the sky, as though signal
rockets were exploding there. I saw nothing of that from the Washksngton, because my sight was not fixed in the sky. It was fixed on the
vessel itself-the hull.
Q. Had you been looking at the Maine for some little time previous
to this 




64    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. Fully ten minutes.
Q. Did you see any boats around her?
A. Nothing; but the night was very dark. Between the time that
the cornet-I took it to be the cornet-sounded on the Maine and the
extinguishing of lights at the explosion there was very little light in
the bay. It was a very, very dark night, so much so that Mr. lRothschild, myself, and another passenger were discussing the color of the
Maine, whether she were white or gray.
Q. There were some electric lights showing on board the Maine, 
though, were there not?
A. When we entered, yes; as we came up to our buoy there was a
great deal of light. There seemed to be a good deal of moving about.
We heard a concertina playing when we moored, which was all previous to the cornet sounding.
By the COURT:
Q. I would like to ask if, on thinking it over, there is in your mind
any confusion between the upheaval of the ship following the principal
explosion and the fact that she immediately went down?
A. Will you repeat that question, please. I didn't quite catch it.
Q. You say when this explosion took place, either simultaneously or
instantly after, you saw the vessel rise in the water?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You should say at least 5 feet?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Of course she immediately stopped and went down entirely under
the water?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you suppose that if she had simply gone back to the position
from which she started, it would appear in your mind to be as much as
5 feet that she rose out of the water?
A. I think she raised more than 5 feet. I say it was what appeared
to me to be 3 yards-9 feet-but I think in reality it must have
been more, judging from the size of the vessel. She certainly settled
deeper when she came down after being heaved up than she had been
originally.
Q. Yes; she went entirely under the water then.
A. Yes; she settled immediately in the water.
Q. You think it was as much as 9 feet that she was raised?
A. I should estimate it at that; yes, sir.
Q. What part of the ship was it that was lifted so much?
A. The part that was nearest to us, which was the part we were looking at. It must have been her stern, because her stern was probably
parallel with our own.
Q. Whereabouts did this explosion occur with reference to the Maine?
A. In what part of the Maine?
Q. Yes.
A. That would be very difficult for me to say, because I am not familiar enough with the ship. It looked to be rather more forward than
the middle of the ship.
Q. Was it that part of the ship that was lifted out of the water?
A. No; not the part that I refer to as being lifted out of the water,
because what I saw lifted out of the water must have been her stern,
being the nearest to us, while the part that exploded was farther away
from us.
Q. Was not this lifting of the stern due to the fact that the bow was
depressed?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.         65
A. That I.couldn't say.
Q. Just as if this [indicating] was the bow of the ship, and the explosion took place here forward of the center, could the raising of the
stern be due to the fact that this end went down?
A. No, sir; it was too quick for that. It was too sudden a lift. It
must have been an independent force that lifted that hull as I saw it
lifted. It could not possibly be the depression of the forward end raising the hind end, because that would result in a gradual motion, and
this was a decided lifting up.
Q. Could not that [indicating] have been the portion of the ship
where the explosion took place?
A. No; the explosion was forward of the stern which I speak of
seeing raised from the water.
Q. That part which was raised was to your right hand as you looked,
was it, or to your left hand?
A. To the right. We were lying reversed from this, were we not,
with the stern to the mouth of the bay?.Q. The Maine is lying now just as she was on that occasion. You
were on that side of her, looking this way, and the stern was to your
right hand.
A. Yes, sir; the stern was to our right hand.
Q. It would depend on how you were facing, yourself; but the explosion was to your left, if you were not looking directly at it?
A. We were looking directly at her, though.
Q. Then the explosion was to the left end of the part you saw raised?
A. I really can not agree with you on that, because I take it that we
were looking immediately at her. She was in front of us. We were
facing the vessel directly. Supposing that she was lying parallel to
us-yes, you would be right, it would be to the left then. I should
prefer, as a layman, to omit the words " bow" and "stern" because I
distinctly say that part of the vessel nearest to us. I was standing on
the stern of the Washington. That I can say positively, but I can not
say positively which was the stern or bow of the Maine. I simply take
it for granted that she was lying parallel to us, and that the same tide
that swung us swung her.
Q. Suppose this is the Maine [illustrating]. Instead of lying in that
position, she might have been lying in that position [indicating[?
A. We looked to that part of the Maine which was nearest to us, and
we were on the stern of the Washington.
Q. If you were looking right opposite you, and she was in that position, then it was the part you were looking at that was raised 
A. Yes, sir; decidedly and emphatically.
Q. That is the bow of your ship [indicating]. Did the Maine appear
in that direction or in that direction [indicating]?
A. That I didn't notice.
Q. For instance, as you stood on the deck of the Washington, was
your head turned somewhat toward the bow of the Washington, or
were you looking over the stern somewhat?
A. Somewhat astern; yes, sir.
Q. In other words, there would be the Maine and here would be the
Washington [indicating].
A. If this was our ship, my line of vision, more or less, was directed
in this direction [indicating]. The Maine was to the right of us. That
part I am reasonably positive of.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
S. Doc. 207  -5




66     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


was read over to him by the stenographer, and by him. pronounced
correct.
Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright asked permission at this point
to be present, and permission was granted.
Gunner CHARLES MORGAN, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness and
was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your name, rank, and present duty.
A. Gunner Charles Morgan, serving on board the U. S. S. Nezw York,
of Key West, Fla. I am on duty here, diving.
Q. Have you personally done any diving about the wreck of the
Maine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How often have you been down?
A. I was down once.
Q. How long did you remain down?
A. An hour and twenty-five minutes.
Q. Will you describe to the court, from your own knowledge, what
you yourself saw and felt, the condition of the wreck of the Maine, and
anything you may have discovered down there of importance.
A. On being dressed and going down the ladder and lowered down
to the bottom, I was landed among a lot of tanks, some being 6-inch
and some being 10-inch powder tanks, all being empty and broken up.
I also found what I supposed to be the ceiling and the linings of the
magazine woodwork. Then walking around a little way from the tanks,
I fell off. I landed down in soft mud. I tried to pick my way back
again and I came across what I supposed to be the bulkhead. Placing
my hands upon it, I found it went in, and overhauling it a little more,
coming up higher on it all the time until I got to the top, I found
myself back among the tanks again. Then moving away from there a
little way, I found that I got among a lot of wires, which I supposed
to be in the dynamo room, and also among some accumulators; and
everything in the line of bulkheads and frames had a tendency of showing from port to starboard. After overhauling these frames, I started
to walk away from that direction, going along a little way to the left,
as I supposed it to be, and there I came across a lot of frames, as they
seemed to be. They were turned up and over. A little way from there
I got among the paymasters stores, canned wet provisions. In turning
around again, I began going back toward the same amount of powder
tanks-the empty tanks. Being satisfied I was around the 10 and
6 inch tanks, I had the signal to be called up.
Q. You say the tanks were empty and broken. Broken in what wayS
A. Some were just split and others had their heads off, and others
were just simply pressed down; some had the impression of the powder showing on them.
Q. Did many tanks appear to have been burst open by the charge
inside of them having been exploded?
A. Not so many as those which appeared to be just split open.
Q. Would the brown powder, exposed to constant weather, like the
powder aboard the Maine has been exposed in an open tank, be likely
to melt out?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Dissolved?
A. Yes, sir.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.       67
Q. And some of these tanks might have been full at the time of the
sinking, and the powder has since been dissolved and leaked out?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Will you explain what you mean by saying the frames went from
port to starboard?
A. I would say that the edges of what I supposed to be frames that
held the bulkheads and things of that kind had a tendency of being
turned over from port, facing down to starboard, from left to right.
They had a curve.
Q. Are you fairly well acquainted with the construction of the Maine?
A. Not very well. I have been on board of her two or three times.
Q. You have looked at the plans since you commenced diving?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where do you think you were when you struck all these tanks?
A. I thought I was forward of the boilers and in around the hydraulic
pumps. I ought to have been.
Q. Did you ever explore what you consider to be the outside of the
ship?
A. I was down in the soft mud there, but I suppose I was on the
outside.
Q. What is the condition of the port side of the ship?
A. The place I was at was all gone.
Q. Perfectly open to port?
A. Perfectly open, except little ragged edges from the pieces there
on the bottom?
Q. Did you touch the starboard side of the ship at all; did you reach
that?
A. Just on the starboard side, over the 10-inch magazine. That
was all.
Q. Did you touch the starboard sides
A. No, sir.
Q. It has been stated in this court by another witness that you fell
into a hole. What about that?
A. There is a space there where it is deeper than any other place.
That is where the soft mud is.
Q. You could'find no bottom to that hole at all?
A. Yes; there is bottom there.
Q. How far did you get in?
A. About half waist. Near the armpits.
Q. What was the nature of the hole? Did you find the boundaries
of the hole at all?
A. No; it is an open space, very soft, slushy mud.
Q. But you did not touch the edges of this hole?
A. It is simply an incline, but nothing to make a round hole.
Q. You do not know how big the hole was then?
A. No, sir.
Q. You do not know how the metal was bent at the hole?
A. There was no metal at the hole.
By Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. Do you know whether you reached the outside shell of the ship
anywhere?
A. I couldn't say, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. You spoke of being among the 6 and 10 inch powder tanks when




68     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


you first went down. How many powder tanks do you estimate you
found 
A. I would say there were at least from 20 to 25 there, sir.
Q. If the powder had dissolved and leaked out of the tanks, would
not the powder bag have been left intact in the tank?
A. It would depend if they were cut and jammed in the tank. We
found pieces and brought them up to the surface. If they were not cut,
they would be found in the tank.
Q. Where would they go?
A. Down there among the wreckage.
Q. Do you think powder would dissolve sufficiently to entirely leak
out through the cartridge bag?
A. If it was broken and crushed-yes, sir.
Q. But if the cartridge bag were not broken?
A. It would stay in the tank, just the same as the 10-inch, if it was
not broken, but it would dissolve.
Q. Did you find any powder cases that were full and closed tight?
A. At the time I was down?
Q. Yes.
A. No, sir.
Q. You said in answer to a question as to wher6 you were when you
found these powder tanks, that you thought you were in the hydraulic
room?
A. Because the accumulators were there, and also the position of the
accumulators, and the magazine would make it around that room, near
the 10-inch magazine.
Q. But the hydraulic room is over the magazine?
A. Yes, sir; but the lining of the top floor and the magazine all
being broken open, just as though it had been crushed up to the woodwork and sticking out, the woodwork being tongued and grooved, and
the woodwork leaving an open space there, showed the accumulators
lying around.
Q. I am referring to the powder tanks. I asked you where you were
when you found these tanks. You said you were in the hydraulic pump
room. Is it possible that during all the time you were down you had
not been as low as the magazine?
A. I am quite sure I was as low as the magazine, because no wood
of that kind would be down there below that deck.
Q. Were you ever in her magazines when she was in order, before
this occurrence?
A. No, sir; I never was in her magazines. I took special notice of
it when I struck it, knowing that that was something strange to be
down there. I put my hands over it and noticed it particullrly, and
found it was an inch thick. Then I put my hand right along and
noticed it was a part of the flooring. Then when I came across these
other things together it led me to understand I was at the magazine.
Q. How could these powder tanks have been in the hydraulic room?
A. There probably being no solid deck there, probably they got down
in below there. The accumulators were right around in that surface,
and they were secured to that after bulkhead above the magazine.
Q. But they were not in the hydraulic room?
A. No, sir; they were all around the magazine at that time.
Q. They just dropped down into the magazine. Is that it?
A. Yes, sir; they just dropped down in there.
By Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. Do you find any 10 or 6 inch shell below?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


69


A. There were four 6 inch shell lying there. The man wanted to
hook them up, and I told him not to, because we didn't have men to
haul them up. He also put a 10-inch shell on.
Q. Was this your own experience when you went down under the
water 
A. No, sir.
Q. You did not find any shell yourself, individually?
A. No, sir.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read aloud to him, and by him pronounced to be correct, and having been cautioned by the president not to discuss matters pertaining
to the trial, he withdrew.
Chief Gunner's Mate ANDREW OLSEN, IU. S. Navy, appeared as a
witness and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What is your name, rate, and to what ship are you attached?
A. My name is Andrew Olsen, chief gunner's mate, U. S. S. Iowa.
Q. Have you been sent over here for the purpose of doing diving
duty on the wreck of the Maine?
A. Yes. sir.
Q. How many times have you been ddwn?
A. I have been down four times.
Q. About how many hours in all?
A. About eight or nine hours, I guess-around there. I couldn't
say exactly how many.
Q. State to the court your own experience while under water, as far
as the condition of the Maine is concerned, and any discoveries of any
importance that you may have made while under water yourself.
A. The first time I went down, I went right down over the forward
part where she was blown up, seemingly over some fire rooms. I found
the wreck all blowed up. I found a lot of grate bars down there. The
second time I went down, I went down farther forward. I struck a lot
of 10-inch shells. Forward of the 10-inch shell, the plates were bent
right inboard over them.
By the COURT:
Q. Forward of the shell?
A. Yes, sir; forward and outside of the 10-inch shells. Some of the
shells are laid with the point of the shell pointing up. Some are armorpiercing shell and some are common shell. The points of some are
standing up and some are lying down. Right forward and to the left
of them, and seemingly on the left side of the shells, there are plates bent
inboard over the shells.
Q. You imagine yourself looking forward?
A. Yes, sir. Going over them plates, I struck into a lot of 6-inch
shells with their slings on them. Then going to the right from there
over in that direction [indicating], I found a lot of wreckage over that
way. It seemed blown over to starboard. I put my hand in some of
the cracks and pulled out some 6-pounder shells. I pulled out one complete 6-pounder cartridge, shell, and all, and one shell that was all
blown up-all of them 6-pounder cartridges.
The next time I went down I went right down outside the ship, right
forward of the crane on the port side. I followed the bottom along.
The ship's side was blown outward, and right alongside the crane you
can walk on it. Following the ship's side from there forward, the ship's




70     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


side seemingly goes into shape again. You come to the part where she
is blown up completely. Then part of her bottom plates are turned up.
Then you follow the bottom from there up and the plates are blown
outward. At the top and underneath the bottom they are blown inboard like that [indicating]-bent in. About 3 feet forward of that
there is a piece of iron laid along, seemingly the bulkhead. The skin
of the inside of the double bottoms is curled over like a sheet of paper
inboard, from stem to stern. Right in amidships on the same place
there is an armor plate, one plate complete, the top of the plate standing up.
The plate is inclined over to starboard. It is laid over to starboard
completely. It stands up with the thick part of the plate down. It is
inclined forward, like that [indicating], and over to starboard-one
whole, complete plate. The thickness of the plate on top is 7 inches
exactly. I measured it. On the forward part of that plate is wooden
backing, and forward of that wooden backing there is a thin sheet of
steel, and the bolts holding the armor plate into the backing are there,
two of them. I felt them. I could feel the hexagonal ends, with
washers. Whether they are rubber or leather washers I couldn't say.
I couldn't see them. I could feel them underneath those ends; and
that place extends over to starboard about the midship line of the
ship. Inside the 10-inch shell room, seemingly, where all those shells
are, I found a lot of empty tanks. Some of them were small piecesthree or four small pieces there which I couldn't get hold of. Most of
the tanks are cracked right in the seam, and there are some 10-inch
leaves or parts of tanks in there in amongst the shells. Right over this
place that is bent in by the 10-inch shell room there seemed to be the
frame of the ship, standing up and bent inboard on the port side.
On the edge of this armor plate, on this thin sheet of steel that is inside of the backing, you can see the rivet holes, and seemingly some
kind of an angle iron inside this steel. You can feel the rivet holes on
the edge of it. If you follow this armor plate you do not strike anything at all. Everything is completely blown away. There is nothing
but the bare bottom, mud. If there is anything in the mud I can not
find it, because it is so deep down; but I have been trying to dig down
as far as I could. I have been down about five feet in the mud, digging
and scraping.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Whereabouts on this plan would you put that armor plate? Here
is the shell room, you see. There is the 6-inch spare magazine and here
is the 10-inch powder magazine.
A. This plate would be around here [indicating].
Q. At the after end of that shell room?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. To the port of the midship line?
A. Yes, sir; port of the midship line. May be it might be a little
over on the midship line; but if it is, it is not much.
Q. Near frame 30?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where did you find the skin of the double bottom turned up
and in?
A. A little abaft here, seemingly.
Q. A little abaft of frame 30?
A. Yes, sir; a little abaft this armor plate-a few feet abaft it.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


71


Q. How far out from the middle line of the ship would you estimate
it to be-half way, or two-thirds of the way to the side?
A. I should judge it was about here [indicating].
Q. About two-thirds of the way from the middle line of the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. At frame 30         -
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where did you find the bottom entirely blown away?
A. Right about here [indicating].
Q. Between frames 24 and 28?
A. Yes, sir. This armor plate, I should judge, would be about here
[indicating]. The bottom seems to be gone there.
Q. How about these shell? Are those shell there still?
I      A. Yes, sir; there are some shells right in the after end of it, I judge,
right here [indicating].
Q. There are no shell in the forward end?
A. No, sir; not there, but right over here, seemingly. At those
shells the plates are bent in over them.
Q. That is on the port side of the shell room the plates are bent in
over the shell?
A. Over the shells; yes, sir, and right over here [indicating], that
is where I found some tanks broken up. About here, I should judge
about the end of the ship's bottom, that is the part that is blown out.
You canl walk in on it.
By the COURT:
Q. In speaking of being able to walk on the top of the plate ---
A. The plate seemed to be fiat, like that [indicating], and I could
walk on it.
Q. Was there nothing above that?
A. No, sir.
Q. How deep was that under water?
A. 1 judge between 4 and 5 fathoms-about 5 fathoms, I think.
Q. Pretty well down toward the bottom?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. That would be from frame 36 to frame 41?
A. I walked on them, and then they began to take their proper shape
again. As you feel the bottom up, you can feel the shape of it. I
crawled over in the mud, and that is where I found the plate bent upthe bottom plate, the bottom of the ship, bent up. As I walked in a
place higher up I found them bent out.
Q. But under the bottom, about in the vicinity of the 6-inch spare
magazine, they were bent up?
A. This place must be abaft here [indicating].
Q. That is between frames 30 and.32?
A. About here there is a space that is nothing.
Q. What I am trying to get at is where you found the bottom of the
ship bent in?
A. That is where I found it, right about here [indicating].
Q. Between frames 30 and 32?
A. Yes, sir; right abaft where this armor plate is.
Q. How far out from the middle line of the ship?
A. I couldn't say exactly how far from the middle line of the ship on
account of I could not get underneath the mud far enough to tell the
middle line on that part.
Q. Was it a hole blown into the ship, apparently?




72     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. In most places the plate is cracked off, spread in ragged edges,
and in three or four places the plates are bent in like a curve. Then
as far as you go up the ship's bottom from there up, she is bent out
that way [indicating].
Q. I will draw a little sketch here to indicate what I mean. That is
the ship's side [indicating]. Do you mean that is bent in so here and
out so here?
A. This plate I am talking about on the bottom is complete, like that
[indicating]. There are no holes through the bottom at all. It is just
the edge where, seemingly, it has been blown apart, and here the plates
are bent in, curved in a little, and up here they are bent out on that
side like that [indicating]. They seemed to be about that curve. That
is about the curve of the bottom itself, right there.
Q. Is there not a hole blown through.
A. No, sir; it is no hole. It is a ragged edge which is bent out.
From here aft the bottom is whole [indicating].
Q. What do you mean by bent in  Is it simply a depression or a
hole?
A. It is no hole. It is a curve. The plate is warped like, like some
external force drove it in like that [indicating].
Q. You did not find a hole? 
A. No, sir; no hole, not in that part. From here aft the bottom is
complete as far as you can see for the mud. Where I struck those 10 -inch shells there are plates bent in like that right over them. You go
down like in a little hole and find plates over you like that [indicating].
You can stand right underneath that plate. It is bent from the outboard in, over the starboard, and the shells are down below. I tried to
dig down underneath the shells; but if there was anything underneath
in the bottom I could not find it. I couldn't get below them. If you
go away over to starboard like that [indicating], you strike mud again.
There is nothing there. Then you go over where this plate is. You can
climb over thatuntil it is bent over like that [indicating], and you go down
into some 6-inch shell. That is seemingly outside of this outboard
plate, which is bent over like that. Going from that place over there
[indicating], there are some pieces of wreckage. Then there is a lot of
wreckage blown over to starboard. Then underneath of that I put my
hands way underneath. I couldn't get my body in there. I pulled out
two 6-pound cartridges.
Q. What was the condition of the tanks?
A. The majority of the tanks-I found a few pieces blown up entirelythat is, small pieces left of the tanks; but the majority of the tanks I
seen down there were split in the center-that is, the seam of the tank
was split, just melted away like.
Q. Can you imagine a 10-inch charge bursting inside of a tank?
Would they look like that?
A. If a 10-inch charge burst inside of a tank, there would be nothing
left of the tank. It would be blown into small pieces.
Q. Did you bring up any tanks?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you bring up?
A. Six-inch and 10-inch tanks.
Q. Describe fully the condition of th'ose tanks.
A. The 6-inch tanks I brought up were corrugated, the outside of
the tanks, and the seam was split. The tank, seemingly, was not
hurt, merely the seam being split, and the whole tank was corrugated.
Q. Crushed in?
A. No; corrugated, in waves like; the whole tank itself on the outside.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


73


Q. Was it empty?
A. It was empty; yes, sir.
Q. Were both cylinder heads on?
A. No, sir; the top was out of one of them. In fact, 1 didn't fetch
up the whole tank. One 6f the tanks I fetched up the lid was on it
and the bottom was out of it. It was corrugated and split up. Then
I fetched up a 10-inch tank that was merely the sheeting of it. The
lid was gone and the bottom was gone, and the tank was all bent in as
though it struck some place and was doubled out of shape. In the fireroom, or where the fire-room had been, where I found those grate bars,
I found a couple of tanks.
Q. Were they full or empty?
A. Empty.
Q. Apparently blown to pieces by a charge inside? 
A. No, sir; not blown to pieces. They were ripped, the same as the
rest of them, in the seam.
Q. You have given considerable testimony according to your best
knowledge and belief, as you have sworn. Do you think that all you
have stated is quite correct, or do you imagine considerable of this?
You know you are not supposed to be as good a judge under water as
you are above water. Above water I would not question your testimony at all; but do you feel positive of what you have stated here, and
are you satisfied that it is perfectly correct?
A. Yes, sir. I am perfectly sure it is all correct, the way I found the
deck.
Q. Are you a good diver?
A. I have had a couple of years' experience of it, sir.
Q. Do you feel comfortable under the water?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know what you are feeling when you feel anything?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you have your gloves on?
A. No, sir; bare hands.
Q. You do not feel ill under water?
A. No, sir.
Q. You fully believe that what you have testified to is quite correct?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you able to see at all?
A. Yes, sir; I could see, and when I was not quite sure of what I did
see I used to wait until the mud cleared away, so I could see perfectly
clear.
Q. Were you using any electric lights in diving?
A. Yes, sir; but the electric light was not much use to me. It
merely showed a red glare, and I came to the conclusion that I was
better without the light.
By the COURT:
Q. You could make out forms better?
A. Yes, sir; better without a light.
By Lieutenant-Commander WAINWRIGHT:
Q. In describing where you saw the plate blown in from the outside,
was there any part of the outside of the ship above that plate? You
say it did not make a hole. I want to know whether that was the upper
plate, or whether there were other plates above it?
A. On the outside of this armor plate were a couple of frames of the
ship sticking up, bent inboard on the outside of the plate.
Q. The armor plate I am speaking of now?




74    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. On the outboard port side of the armor plate.
Q. What I particularly wanted to know was this. Captain Chadwick
asked you whether it was a hole or whether it was bent in, and you said
it was no hole.
A. No hole.
Q. Was there anything above it; was it a plate bent in, or was it
just an indentation in the plate?
A. It was a plate bent in.
Q. Were there any plates above that?
A. Yes, sir; I could feel above it something that felt like a coal
bunker, above it and abaft. Where this place was bent in 1 found a
lot of cement.
Q. We will say this was the plate bent in [indicating].
A. Yes, si. 
Q. Was that plate attached to any other plate, or was it the last
plate you could get hold of?
A. It was not attached to anything.
Q. It was bent in?
A. Yes, sir; and above it there seemed to be some cement inside. I
could reach away in, and then from there up was something like a coal
bunker. I couldn't say whether it was a coal bunker or what it was.
Q. Did you make any effort to reach the region of the 6-inch magazine forward?
A. Yes, sir; but I couldn't get there on account of mud. To get
there I will have to go on the starboard side where this 6-inch magazine was originally. Down among that wreckage is where I want to
go down. Abaft that wreckage, sticking up out of the water, there is
nothing but mud right beneath that.
Q. You find wreckage above where you think the 6-inch magazine
was?
A. Yes, sir; it must be right where that big pile of wreckage is,
over there.
By the COURT:
Q. Speaking of this plate that is doubled back over the 10-inch magazine, is that, do you think, a bulkhead, or is it the outside of the ship?
A. Over the 10-inch magazine?
Q. Yes, or the 6-inch. Which was it you referred to?
A. The 10-inch shell room. If it had been outside of the ship, I
should have judged there must be green paint on it, but I couldn't find
any green paint on that part of the plate. It seems to be a plate in- 
side of the double bottom.
Q. It might be a vertical bulkhead, might it not?
A. It might have been a bulkhead or an inside part of a double
bottom. It turned inward over to starboard.
Q. To have a clear understanding of where that plate was bent in,
was it separated from any plate above, or was the ship's side continuous?
A. Where this plate in the 10-inch shell room was bent in?
Q. This plate you speak of. You walked forward on what had been
the ship's side. bent outward? Then you came to a place where the
ship's side was bent in?
A. That is on the bottom. To get into where these 10-inch shells
are, I get clear of that entirely. That is above me, and I get into those
10-inch shells, and there seems to be a plate. Outside of this plate is
mud, nothing but the bottom, and rightover here is this plate bent in,
like that. By that I mean that the ship seems to be broken off for



DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


75


ward, and a little way from the midship line the plating is bent in.
Higher up, in the same section, it is bent out-that is, on the crosssection of the ship. The last plate I refer to is the one that is thrown
over to starboard, over the shell, but not the bottom plate.
Q. That is, it is bent in parallel to the keel of the ship?
A. It is bent in, not exactly parallel with the ship. It is more on an
angle over to starboard. Take this as the line of the ship, it is thrown
over like that-thrown over to starboard.
Q. Here is the keel of the ship [illustrating with a piece of paper];
here is the magazine. Is that bent in over it like that? [Placing the
piece of paper parallel to the keel of the ship on the magazine plan.]
A No, sir; there is a piece sticking down at the bottom and bent in,
and it comes up to a point like that [indicating]. That. is the way it is
bent in. There was a vertical fore and aft plate, the lower part stuck
in the mud, and the top part bent over to starboard on top of the-shell
in the 10-inch shell room.
Q. You say outside of that is nothing but the mud bottom?
A. Nothing but mud; and between this plate here and this part that
is blown away, where the bottom stops, there is no more bottom there.
There is a plate. It seems to lay over a part of the plate. It lays over
where this plate is bent in, and it is rolled up from port to starboard.
Q. Is that a part of the ship's skin?
A. I can't tell what part of the ship that is, sir; it is very thin plate,
whatever it is.
Q. Do you think the ship is cut right in two there?
A. It is cut in two from out here to pretty near the midship line, but
I couldn't get underneath it. I found that part is down in the mud,
but from here in here it is blown right in two. That is about the bend
of it, like that, and here it is blown out, like that, and here it is
bent in.
(Witness points to the region of the afterpart of the 6-inch reserve
magazine.)
By the COURT:
Q. Do you know how many salient angles there are in a 6 and a.10
inch charge as made up? You know, when you build up a 10-inch
charge, it is made of a humber of grains. How many salient angles
are there; how many edges when it is piled up there'
A. I don't know how many in a 10-inch charge. Every part of the
powder comes out and forms an angle in itself. I don't know just how
many grains of powder there are on the outside of it. I don't know
exactly the amount.
The PRESIDENT. The question that occurred to me was whether these
corrugations on the outside of the powder tank are produced by a
pressure on the outside, which makes the circular section of the tank
press in to take the hexagonal form of the powder charge itself, or
whether it is due, in the first place, to the first ignition of the powder,
acting outward and making the tank take the hexagonal form of the
powder charge. It does not look very probable that it is due to a pressure from the inside, but that it is due to a pressure from the outside, in
which the hexagonal pile of powder forms the base on which the pres.
sure forces the tangs to take the same shape.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to with



76


DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


draw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which
he will be again called before the court, and be given an opportunity to
amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
The court then (at 4.15 o'clock p. m.) adjourned until to-morrow, the
25th instant, at 10 o'clock a. m.
FIFTH DAY.
U. S. L. H. TENDER MANGROVE,
Harbor of Havana, Cuba-10 a. in., Friday, February 25, 1898.
The court met pursuant to adjournment of yesterday, the fourth day
of the inquiry.
Present: All the members of the court, thejudge-advocate, the stenographer, and Captain Sigsbee.
The record of the proceedings of yesterday was read and approved.
Gunner's Mate THOMAS SMITH, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court, and was sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rate, and to what ship you are attached.
A. My name is Thomas Smith; gunner's mate, second class, serving
on board the U.S. S. S. Iowa, lying at Key West, Fla.
Q. You have been engaged in diving here recently?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How many times have you been down?
A. I have been down altogether four times.
Q. In the wreck of the Maine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. About how long a time in all?
A. Eight hours.
Q. Are you a good diver?
A. Yes, sir; I am a fair one. I have been down lots of times.
Q. Do you get sick under water?
A. No, sir; I do not.
Q. Do you feel perfectly well?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Strong?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Can you see well?
A. I can see well, when the water is anyway clear, but this water is not
clear. We can't see any more than about a foot or eighteen inches out
from you.
Q. I want you to give certain testimony, and in giving it I want you
to be sure that what you testify to is perfectly correct, and not make
any guess.. You will please state to the court exactly what you found
under water as far as the construction of the MIaine is concerned, and
any other important discoveries, or any discoveries that you may have
made.
A. First, when I was lowered over the side I landed into a 10-inch
shell room-the flooring of it. I knew it was the 10-inch shell room, as




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


77


the 10-inch shells were lying there in good order. Some of them were
lying with their noses up, others down. There was also pieces of the
wood used as linings in the magazines lying around them. In this
10-inch shell room the fore-and-aft bulkhead is blown from port to starboard, over toward the 10-inch magazine. I crawled up and over this
and down behind it. I found a 10-inch powder tank. It was sort of
bent, but it was not burst. I didn't see it after it came up. It was
full of powder, and the bag and everything was in it, I guess. That
was lying in the mud, well underneath this sheet of a bulkhead that
was thrown over. Then I came up out of the water and I went down
again in the afternoon. I came down from the port crane. I followed
the ship right down until I struck plates that were blown from port to
starboard, inboard. I followed that right down until I struck the
6-inch shells. The shells there had their slings on them-what is used
for sending them up out of the shell room. They were lying with the
noses of them pointing up and to starboard. The forward part of the
6-inch reserve magazine, it seems to me, was gone altogether-completely blown away. The ragged edges of the shell-room steel are
turned up.
By the COURT:
Q. The ragged edges whereabouts in the shell room? Do you mean
in the bottom of the shell room?
A. Right at the bottom of it; yes, sir. As you leave that you walk
right over into the mud. There is nothing left there at all.
Q. Going still forward 
A. Still farther forward. I came back on the wreckage, and walked
over to my right, and I came across a lot of 6 pounler shells, and also
the 6-pounder cases. Some of the cases were not broken away from
the shells. They were sent up on the deck of the lighter that we were
using.
Q. In your description, include the number of these things.
A. I sent up two shells and one cartridge case. I also found lying
around there lots of accumulators, used for accumulating the air for
the torpedoes.
Q. You can read these plans, can you not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. There is the 10-inch magazine [indicating on plan]?
A. I have something else I want to say before that. Lying right
across this 10-inch shell room there is an armor plate. The end of it
that is sticking up is thinner than the part that is down in the mud.
The reason I take this for an armor plate is that the plate has been
torn right from the ship's side and turned completely over, so that the
thin sheet of steel where the bolts pass through to bolt the oak backing and the armor plate of the ship's side is right over, pointing to
port. The thick part of this plate is down. in the mud, and the thin
part of it is sticking up.
Q. Just where is that plate?
A. Right across this part of the 10-inch shell room [pointing to the
middle of the 10-inch shell room], pointing from port to starboard.
Q. It runs from aft forward?
A. Just in that angle, like that, across it [indicating]. I felt the
bolts that go through this oak backing and the thin sheet that screws
into the armor plate. I felt those. Then around here [indicating]
there were lots of those 6-inch powder tanks. In most of them the
seams are split. They are lying all over in the 10-inch shell room and
the magazine-all around it.




78    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Have they all been sent up?
A. No, sir; they have not. There was a number of them sent up,
though, and the excelsior-long strips of stuff, which was put in the bottom to help fill the tanks, is in them yet. There is a number of these
tanks down there, that are in pieces as big as your hand, all torn to
pieces. This 6-inch forward magazine, I don't think we have been in it.
It is away forward. This one here we have been all through and all
around, and that one [indicating].
By the JUDGE-ADVCATE:
Q. Describe what you found the other times you went down?
A. The third time I was lowered down I was landed right about in
the same place as the first, and I took the same direction toward the
10-inch magazine, to the starboard side of the ship. I can not make
much headway there because the plates and everything seemed to be
blown right down that way. I had to climb up and get in under them
That is where the 10-inch powder tank came out of. I traveled well
forward there as far as I could where this fixed ammunition was, and
I found any number of them still there. There are 6-pounder shellls
and cartridge cases. Yesterday when I went down-this was the
fourth time-I went down where this crane was. I followed the skin
of the ship right under. The skin of the ship looks in good condition
right there until you walk out to where this 6-inch shell room starts.
The plates are bent that way, from out inboard. They are all ragged
edges. You can get in there. You can crawl up and go into a place
and find the double bottom. I can feel the pieces of cement and things
where you crawl over these ragged plates. That is about all I can
explain now, I think.
Q. The first time you went down you struck a 10-inch tank, and you
described it. Did you find any more 10-inch tanks at that time?
A. I found lots of 10-inch tanks; yes, sir.
Q. None of them had been blown open by a charge exploded inside
of them, according to your opinion?
A. The seams in the majority of them are just split fore and aft. It
seems as if the solder had been melted away from it, and it burst right
in and flatted out. In that one part I was in you would find the lids
of them.
Q. You say you never reached, according to your opinion, the forward
6-inch magazine and shell room?
A. No, sir.
Q. Suppose I were to tell you there are no 6-inch shell in that
reserve magazine. How would you account for the 6-inch shell you
found there?
A. They had been blown there from the forward one.
Q. Blown aft?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You also said there were certain plates blown inboard. Show on
the plan and describe fully where those plates are that you say were
blown inboard.
A. Do you want me to take the bottom ones?
Q. Yes; the ones you said were blown inboard. I do not mean the
bulkhead that was blown across the 10-inch shell room that you crawled
over to get at the magazine. I mean the plates that you said were
blown inboard. Describe exactly where they were.
A. They are about in the middle of the 6-inch reserve magazine and
the 10-inch shell room, from about frame 26 forward. This plate runs
right across. Those other plates are blown up. They are coiled right




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


79


up in that shape [indicating], from out inward. One of them particularly that I noticed is coiled right over, just the same as if you took a
piece of paper like that [indicating].
Q. Do you think that was the bulkhead or the inboard lining of the
double bottom?
A. No, sir; I do not.
Q. What do you think it is?
A. It is the ship's bottom.
Q. The outside skin of the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You place that about the middle of the 6-inch shell room?
A. The middle of the 6-inch shell room.
Q. The reserve shell room?
A. Yes, sir; and from there it comes in a circle, like that [indicating],
and there is nothing of the outside of the ship there at all. 1 do not
know what is forward here, because I have not been there. There is
nothing of the ship's skin there at all [indicating].
Q. Nothing forward of the reserve shell room 
A. No, sir; as far as I went. About half of that reserve magazine
is there, but it is blown that way [indicating to starboard]. There is
just the position the shells are sticking [indicating]. They are standing right on their bases, the points sticking up and pointing toward
starboard. I counted six of them  standing right close together.
About three out of that six had the slings on them, the hemp slings
used for sending them out of the magazine. In that part of it, there is
nothing of the ship's bottom at all [pointing to the forward part of the
6-inch reserve magazine and the 10-inch shell room on the plan].
Q. Give a little more full description of the side and skin of the ship
abaft that reserve magazine.
The COURT. May I suggest one thingS He mentioned that [indicating] as the crane. The crane stands about there [pointing to the middle
of the side].
A. I started down from the crane.
Q. When you walked forward to the magazine, the skin of the ship
was in good condition, you say?
A. In good condition as you go down, in that shape [indicating].
Q. And the first sudden break is abreast of the reserve magazine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You think abaft that, as far as the crane where you started your
work, it is complete up to the waterways?
A. I think it is all right from there aft, sir.
Q. From where aft?
A. From the break in the 6-inch shell room to the crane.
Q. Here is the crane right here [indicating]. You went down at the
crane, did you not?
A. Yes.
By the COURT:
Q. What do you mean, Smith, when you say you walked down? It
would seem as though there was an inclined plane there?
A. There is an incline from there down; yes, sir. It is all old
wreckage. There is so much of it right in there that I couldn't tell
really what it was. We will come across a ventilator or a piece of air
compressor or something else right aft there, where the boiler originally was. You can't make any head or tail of anything until you
come to this place here [indicating]. My work is confined right
around these magazines all the time.




80     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


By the JUDGE ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you been down on the starboard side?
A. No, sir.
Q. Anywhere on the starboard side?
A. No, sir; I have been a little over the center line of the ship.
Q. Coming from port?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. But you have not gone down on the starboard side?
A. No, sir.
Q. Do you know whether the bulkhead outboard of the 10-inch magazine is still standing?
A. I can't tell, because I haven't been over there.
Q. You did not reach that far?
A. No, sir.
Q. Will you describe fully the different articles you brought up?
A. The first thing I brought up was a 10-inch powder tank, full.
The next thing I sent up was a 6-pounder shell that had been
broken away from its case. I sent up a 6-pounder charge complete. I
sent up one case that was broken away and one 6-inch powder tank that
had been split open. That is all I sent up.
Q. What was inside that last 6-inch powder tank?
A. Excelsior packing.
Q. Was it full or was it empty?
A. Empty.
Q. Were both cylinder heads on?
A. Yes, sir; just the seam was split. That is all.
Q. Was the bag inside that had contained the powder?
A. No, sir.
Q. Then it might have been an empty tank stowed down there?
A. It might have been an empty tank.
Q. You can not account for the powder getting out and the bag getting out with both cylinder heads on, can you?
A. If they had been burst open, the powder would have melted as
soon as it got wet and probably have floated out of it.
Q. Was the split in the side big enough to let the bag come but?
A. The whole length of the case; yes, sir.
By Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. Is there any great difficulty in getting over to the starboard side
below in the magazine?
A. There is; yes, sir; because everything is blown from port to starboard.
Q. You think, then, it is not possible to get into the 10-inch magazine?
A. Yes, sir; I can get in there. Any one of us can get in. there; by
very hard work, though.
Q. Nobody has been in there yet?
A. No, sir; not right into it. They have been on the edge of it, but
they have not been properly into it.
Q. Would it be very dangerous to go in there?
A. It is a pretty dangerous place; yes, sir, on account of you have to
go up some frames and crawl down, and you are right underneath them.
Q. Could you tell anything about the location of the barbette, or turret, while you were down?
A. I didn't run across it at all, sir. I seen no part of it.
Q. Did you come to the conclusion that it was missing from its regular place on the forward side starboard, abreast of where you were?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


81


A. Yes; it was missing from its proper place.
Q. Was it on the port side?
A. It was on the starboard side, forward. It was right plumb over
the magazine. I didn't come across anything that would lead me to
believe that I was around the turret at all.
By the COURT:
Q. Smith, you described that forward portion of the 6-inch reserve
magazine as being entirely gone. The outside of the ship has entirely
disappeared?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. There is a hole through the bottom of the ship at that point?
A. The side and everything is gone right away from it.
Q. Then, there must be a hole through the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How high up does that extend-that hole? Here is the side of the
ship, you know, and you go down underneath. This is entirely gone,
a certain portion of it [ indicating]?
A. Entirely gone; yes, sir.
Q. How high up on the side does it extend, or is that all gone, clear
to the water?
A. Yes, sir; you can take me and lower me right from the diving
launch down into the mud, and I can walk.
Q. That might be, too, and if you were inside of the ship, there might
be continuous metal outside of you?
A. No, sir.
Q. Suppose this were the magazine [indicating].
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You say that portion is all gone?
A. That portion is all gone; yes, sir.
Q. Why do you say this portion is all gone [indicating]?
A. That is the upper part.
Q. That is the upper part, I know, but when you are lowered down,
you go right down into the mllud?
A. I can walk off in this direction [indicating to port] and I come
across nothing. I walk in here [indicating to starboard] and I come
across the wreckage.
Q. That is, you say you can go right out there into the mud [indicating] 
A. Yes, sir; and there is nothing there at all until you walk aft.
Q. That is, the whole side has disappeared there?
A. The whole side has disappeared. It is completely gone right up
to there [indicating frame 26]. Then you can walk over. I don't know
about this side [indicating].
Q. Do you mean all that part of the ship is gone [indicating everything over the 6-inch reserve magazine and 10-inch shell room]?
A. That part of the ship is gone, and everything up here is gone.
Taking this for the port side of the ship, it seems that the midship bulkhead and everything on here is off in that direction [pointing to starboard].
Q. You have not been far enough to see what there is beyond? ' Yo
do not know whether this hole extends clear forward or not?
A. No, sir; I don't know where that part goes. As far as I can give
any good explanation, this was up to the fixed ammunition magazine
[indicating]. Around in this part here [pointing tojthe 10-inch magaS. Doc. 207  6




82      DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
zine] we have not been much. Here is that armor plate [indicating on
plan]. If you wish me to give a better explanation than I did before,
probably I can do it now. This is the part [indicating the midship section] that is sticking up out of the mud [pointing to the lower part].
That has been torn off the ship altogether, and turned right over, and
it is at that angle across the 10-inch room [showing an angle of 45
degrees to the keel].
Q. The greatest force of the explosion seems to have been forward
here [indicating]?
A. Yes, sir; In the forward part of the 10-inch shell room, and the
6-inch spare magazine.
Q. Is forward of that?
A. It takes in part of the 6-inch shell room and part of the 10-inch
shell room, too. Where these plates are ripped up, and all forward of
that, is completely blown out.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Suppose the part that you say is blown away is a hole with a portion of the ship's side still over it. Could you walk athwartships out
of the ship or into the ship without catching your tubes and life lines?
A. No, sir; I could not.
Q. Then if there were a part of the ship still standing above that
holeA. I could feel my life lines hauling over it. Besides, I have a guide
line right from the diving lines down, and made fast into the shell
room-into the after part of it.
Q. Referring to that armor plate, you say it is thin edge up?
A. Thin edge up; yes, sir.
Q. It is at an angle of 45 degrees across the keel?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The face which used to be outboard. Is that toward the starboard quarter of the ship or the port bow?
A. You take that [indicating] for an angle of 45~. It is pointing to
the starboard quarter of the ship.
Q. And the place that has the nuts and bolts on it is facing which
ways?
A. To the port bow.
Q. I want to ask you one more question in regard to the port side of
the ship, from the derrick forward to the part which was exploded most
severely. What is the condition of the ship's side from the derrick
forward to the reserve magazine?
A. The condition of the side seems to be pretty good.
Q. Give it a little more plainly than that. Is it complete up to the
waterways, or is it gradually torn away down to this hole?
A. It is gradually torn away down to that; yes, sir.
Q. Commencing abreast of the derrick, it is gradually torn down
until it reaches this hole of the large explosion?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is that it?
A. Yes, sir.
By Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. Did you see any indications in the direction of the metal below
or otherwise to indicate that the 10-inch magazine had exploded?
A. No, sir; I can't see anything that indicates that the 10-inch
magazine has exploded so far, because the plates all point to starboard.
Q. Did you notice any tendency of plates away from this 10-inch




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


83


magazine over toward the port side-of the plates bent from the
magazine to port?
A. No, sir.
Q. They were all in the other direction?
A. They were all in the other direction-to starboard.
The testimony of the witness was then read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Seaman MARTIN REDEN, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before
the court, and was sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your fall name, rate, and to what ship you are
attached.
A. Martin Reden; seaman; attached to the Maine.
Q. Have you been diving into the wreck of the Maine since her
explosioln?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How many times have you been down forward?
A. Twice.
Q. Twice forward?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was your profession before you entered the Navy?
A. Diving, sir.
Q. You are a professional diver?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. For how many years?
A. Seven or eight years; eight years, I think, sir.
Q. Have you done much wrecking diving?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where?
A. Key West, Oldtown, Mexico, Colon, and on the Mosquito Coast.
Q. Were you in good health when you went down to the wreck of
the Maine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you think you can give testimony correctly as to what you
saw and felt down there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long were you down each time forward?
A. The first time, I think, I was down about three hours, sir.
Q. Tell the court all you saw down there during that time which
can give them information as to the condition of the Maine, and any
discoveries you made, and describe anything you may have brought up
during that dive.
A. The first time I went down, I went down about where the dynamo
room is. There is nothing left whatever, only some plates and beams.
I can not tell if there has been a dynamo there, or anything else.
Everything is gone entirely. I felt away down in the mud as far as I
could go from outside. I walked from outside the ship into the ship,
and I could feel nothing else there. I only came across a plate or a
beam or a shell. That is all, sir. I went from aft the superstructure,
and went right down, and the mud goes aft I couldn't say how far. It
is very dark there. I struck one bottom plate away down in the mud,
and the plate is bent in this way, and up that way [indicating].
Q'. It is bent in and up?




84     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. It is bent in this way, right underneath the bulge of the plate.
I went into the mud down to the plate, and the rivet is bent out. The
plate is bent in this way.
By the COURT:
Q. You say it is bent "in this way." Which way do you mean;
bent to starboard, or to port?
A. Bent right out. That is the ship's side [indicating]. The plate is
bent this way, and the rivet comes out that way, and so the plate lies.
Q. Inboard or outboard?
A. That is outboard, sir. The plate goes this way [indicating]. The
lower part of the plate is bent in, and the upper part is thrown out.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. The middle of the plate is bent in, and the upper part, where it is
fastened to another plate, is thrown outboard?
A. Yes, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. Let him tell where that is. Is that near the keel?
A. I can't tell how far it is from the keel, sir, because I can't see
nothing. I can only feel, and put my face close up and see these plates.
I don't know what part of the ship it is. I can't even see the paint, if
it is green paint, or red paint, or white paint. As I walk along forward from aft bn the port side, there is nothing left. When I get
about 20 feet from that break, there is nothing left of the ship whatever, out for 30 feet I should think. Everything is gone underneath
there. You can walk from the bottom right into the ship, only you
go down in mud about 2 feet. There are lots of shells. Then when I
get past them shells, I come to the armor plate. It is thrown into the
ship. The armor lies about like that [indicating].
Q. Describe it. When you say " like that" we can not put it on paper.
A. It lies at an angle.
Q. At an angle with the keel?
A. Yes, sir; I should think at that place a-bout midship; right inside,
you know, there is nothing the matter with the plate whatever. I could
find only two of them armor bolts or screws on the plate below. That
is the only bolt you can find. The rest of them is so far down in the
mud you can't find them. I should think that plate is about 7 or 8
inches thick. I didn't measure them, sir. Then forward of that
plate I find nothing else but iron heaped up all over. I can't make
nothing out of it, sir. They are bursted in and bursted out in all kinds
of directions. There was lots of rope here [indicating], and one thing
and another. I believe that came out of the holds way down below.
There is no deck in there, and nothing whatever, only plates all torn up.
Q. In what part of the ship should you say that bent plate was?
A. I should think that plate is about 10 feet from the break of the
superstructure.
Q. Forward or aft?
A. Forward.
Q. Then it was about abreast of the forward turret?
A. Somewhere around the forward turret; yes, sir.
Q. Only on the port side?
A. Only on the port side; yes, sir.
Q. This armor plate, you say, was thrown in at an angle to the keel.
Is the edge sticking up?
A. The edge is sticking up.
Q. Is the thick edge or the thin edge sticking up 




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.       85
A. The thick edge.
Q. How do you know?
A. If there is a top place, it must be smaller on top and thicker
underneath, about as broad as that [indicating]. I could feel right
down.
Q. How many inches should you say it was on top-the top edge?
A. Seven or eight.
Q. You do not know whether it was thicker at the bottom part or not?
A. No, sir.
Q. You only felt the top part?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. If it was at an angle to the keel, one side must have been facing
one of the quarters of the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. One was facing forward and the other was facing aft?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Which was facing aft, the original outboard portion or the original inboard portion?
A. The inboard portion is facing out, sir.
Q. The inboard portion which has the nuts on it is facing forwards
A. Facing out and forward; yes, sir.
Q. And the smooth side, which used to be against the water, is
facing how?
A. Inside, aft and starboard.
Q. Did you bring anything up this time when you went down diving?
A. Only about three tanks of powder-powder tanks.
Q. Describe what they were, and what condition they were in.
A. They was all torn up. mashed together in that way [indicating].
Another one was burst right out, torn right in pieces.
Q. Were they 10 or 6 inch tanks?
A. Ten-inch.
Q. You used to work at the 10-inch guns, I believe?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Your second descent-describe that, where you went down and
what you did.
A. I mixed it about all up, the second descent and the first one.
Q. You have described both descents, have you?
A. Yes, sir; both of them.
Q. Did you approach the starboard side of the ship-the forward
r       turret?
A. No, sir.
Q. How far toward the starboard side of the ship did you go when
you were down? 
A. I must have been, I should judge, away over-right where the
turret ought to be.
Q. You do not think there was any ship's side left there?
A. No, sir.
Q. But you are not certain you went beyond?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you find anything of the turret at all?
A. Nothing at all-nothing whatever.
Q. Your explorations were more on the port side than on the starboard side, though?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you go into what you thought to be the 10-inch magazine I
A. I felt holes there. I couldn't say whether it was the magazine
or not.




86     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. It was full of holes there?
A. Yes, sir; I don't know what it was. I found a heap of shells there,
and I found them all over there-them shells.
Q. You found more shells than powder?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You probably got as far as the 10-inch shell room, but not to
starboard of it. The forward 10-inch magazine is to starboard of the
shell room?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you went in from the port side?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. So, probably, you did not go farther than the shell room. Do you
think that is so?
A. No; I walked farther than that. I passed them shell.
Q. Did you strike the tanks?
A. No, sir.
Q. Where did you find the tanks you brought up?
A. I found them tanks not very far from them 10.inch shells.
Q. On top of them.?
A. No, sir; on one side.
Q. Which side?
A. On the starboard side of them.
Q. That must have been the magazine?
A. You can't tell nothing. Everything is only a piece of iron. There
is nothing left at all.
Q. Do you think there is anything of the forward part of the ship
left, forward of this 10-inch shell room?
A. There is some plates left there, all bent out. You can't make
out what it is. I was away up amongst those.
Q. How far forward do you think you got in you travels?
A. I went as far as I could. I couldn't say exactly.
Q. Did you reach this fixed ammunition room?
A. No, sir.
Q. You did not strike any 6-pounders or 1-pounders?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you find any paymasters' stores of any kind?
A. Yes, sir; I found them all over the ship-canned stuff.
Q. What condition were the cans in?
A. I picked up a few cans that were all right. Some was busted.
Q. What was the character of the break of the vegetable cans?
A. They were torn up. Some of them was crushed together and
some of them torn out-all kinds of shapes.
Q. Split open along the seams?
A. Some was split and some was crushed together.
By Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. Was the metal of the ship, in a general way, bent from port to
starboard or from starboard to port, below the water?
A. The plates of the ship, you mean?
Q. Yes.
A. The plates was bent in from port to starboard.
Q. Inboard, you mean?
A. Inboard; yes, sir.,
Q. From port to starboard?
A. Ye s, sir.
Q. Was there anything in the condition of the metal below to indicate that the 10-inch magazine had exploded?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.      87
A. Why, no.
Q. That is, did you see any tendency of the metal from starboard to
port to indicate that the 10-inch magazine had exploded?
A. I don't understand you.
Q. Was the bending of the metal below-the direction in which the
metal was bent-such as to indicate that the starboard magazine had
exploded? That is to say, did you seethe metal bent from starboard
to port?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Let me ask that question over again. I assume that if the star- 
board magazine had exploded, it would have shown a certain amount
of the metal bent from starboard over to port. Did you see metal bent
that way in general-anything to indicate it?
A. There was metal all around there. I couldn't say, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. Then you did not notice any general tendency of the metal. For
instance, we will assume that it is fastened at the bottom of the ship,
unless you go into the space where the bottom is entirely gone; but
outside of that, where the ship is less completely destroyed, there must
be bulkheads that stand up around there?
A. There are some.
Q. Suppose it is fore and aft. Is it bent that way, or is it bent that
way [indicating]?
A. They are bent in all directions. Them pieces that are left inside
the ship are bent in all shapes, sir.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion of the Maine 
A. In the after turret, sir.
Q. Were you asleep?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was the first thing you knew?
A. The first thing I knew, I didn't see nothing else but flames, and
everything come in the turret, and the roar of the water.
Q.. You got out?
A. Yes, sir; I got out.
Q. How?
A. I am not certain whether I come through the hatch or the ventilator; I don't know.
By Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. Were you well acquainted with the compartments of the Mlaine
forward?
A. Yes, sir.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Did you say you are well acquainted with them?
A. Yes; I know the compartments.
Q. When you went down did you recognize anything that you can
describe?
A. I couldn't recognize nothing, sir. I know the compartments well,
and if I had seen anything I could have recognized them; but there
was nothing left to recognize, sir.
The testimony of the witness was then read over to him by the
stenographer and by him pronounced correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.




88    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Gunner's Mate W. H. F. SCHLUTER, U. S. Navy, appeared as a
witness before the court and was sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rate, and the ship to which you are
attached.
A. W. H. F. Schluter, gunner's mate, second class, serving aboard
the U. S. S. Nezw York, lying olf Key West, Fla.
Q. Have you been engaged in diving in Havana Harbor since the
explosion of the Maine?
A. Yes, sir; I was down once for one hour.
Q. What part of the ship did you go down in?
A. I was lowered down from the side a little forward of the turret,
which was broke off. I was let down about 6 feet or 8 feet, I can't
exactly say which. I landed on some ragged edges, bent inboard from
the port side over to the starboard side. I crawled then a little ways,
and I dropped down about 3 or 4 feet farther, and I landed on something solid. It was something like little lumps laying along. Then I
crawled along and landed on some coal. The coal was in good condition, for I picked it up and looked at it. Then I crawled along over 
Q. Which way were you going?
A. Forward, on the port side. Then I ran against something that
was going up. It looked like a partition. I crawled up on the top of
that, and it was one of them beams going down that was broke off. I
crawled around that, and it was kind of bulged under like, inboard.
Then I stood there a little while, and I come back again and went on
the inside of this plate. I went down a little ways, and I couldn't
touch no bottom, so I crawled back again. That is as far as I went.
Q. You really recognized nothing?
A. No, sir.
Q. You brought up nothing?
A. I went after one of them haversacks. I found that right near the
coal.
Q. Were you feeling well when you went down under the water?
A. Yes, sir; I felt'well. I am sure it was coal, because I picked it
up and looked at it.
Q. Were you yourself feeling well?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you all right?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Why did you not go down again?
A. It was dinner time, and after that we were told to come over to
the court.
Q. You had just commenced?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On what day did you go down-yesterday?
A. It was yesterday morning; yes, sir. Most of the diving I have
done in Havana has been aft except this one time I have just described.
The testimony of the witness was then read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


89


Gunner's Mate CARL RUNDQUIST, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court and was sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name, rate, and to what ship you are
attached.
A. My name is Carl Kuldquist; gunner's mate, first class; on board
U. S. S. NVew York.
Q. Have you been diving in the harbor of Havana since the Maine
exploded 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you been down forward?
A. I have been down forward.
Q. How often?
A. I have been down once, sir.
Q. How long did you remain down?
A. I should judge a little over two hours.
Q. Have you been down aft?
A. No, sir.
Q. Are you a good diver?
A. I have been down before, sir.
Q. Can you see well under water?
A. I could see not very well, but when I put my face close to an
object I had a pretty good view of it.
Q. Did you feel well whilst you were under water?
A. Yes, sir; I never felt bad.
Q. Please describe to the court just what you saw as to what was left
of the Maine, and any objects that you recognized; their condition, or
anything you may have brought up. Give us the whole history of your
descent.
A. When I left the lighter I got, as far as I could judge, down in the
after part of the 10-inch magazine, because when I came down I came
down among plates, etc. 1 walked 2 or 3 feet more, and I came across
a lot of empty 10-inch powder tanks. Some of the seams were open,
and others looked like they had been in a pressure from both ends. I
sent one of them up, and there was lots of them down there.
Q. Just tell us how many.
A. I couldn't say how many, because I had to feel for it, but there
were dozens of them-pieces of them blown in all directions. I left
then, and went aft from where I was standing. I should judge that
would be a-ft. I camne across lots of cans that looked like it was preserved stuff. It looked to be the paymaster's stores or something, and
close to there I found a piece of armor plate. On one side of it was
the backing, and that plate looked to be turned over, because the end
I got hold of was between 6 and 7 inches in thickness. I measured
with my fingers. I put the end of my thumb on one edge and my middle finger on the other. It looked to be thicker downward. I went
down as far as I could, down in the mud, and the edge of it was down
in the mud. I couldn't find out the exact thickness there. From there I
went outside. I went to the left. That would be to the port side of
the ship, and I followed the bottom there for about 8 or 10 feet. I
know I was on the bottom of the ship, because I could see the green
paint on it, and as far as I could judgeQ. Was this green paint inside the ship or outside the ship?
A. This was on the outside of the ship, because I put my face close
to it, and it looked to be the bottom of the ship, because that must




90     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


have been below the armor plates, where the armor belts go, because
it was only the exact thickness of the skin of the ship-the thickness
of a plate. One side was pretty rough. It must have been inside the
double bottom or something. It was a rough paint, and the outside
was slippery and green. In some places it was all ragged. The pieces
were all torn ragged and it looked to be inward. That is about all I
saw down there, sir.
Q. Where were you lowered down: on the starboard side of the
ship?
A. No, sir; I was lowered down about midships, a little to the port
side. We had a lighter lying right across the ship.
Q. You think you landed in the 10-inch magazine?
A. I landed close to it, because there was lots of empty powder
tanks.
Q. Of all those tanks that were there, were any of them in good
condition?
A. None that I came across. They were all bent over. I came
across two or three of them that the seams were opened.
Q. Were any of them full?
A. No, sir; none of them I came across.
Q. Do you think they had been exploded by a charge inside?
A. It didn't look that way, sir, from where I was. It looked like
there had been a pressure from the outside that opened them up.
Q. What was the condition of the cans of provisions you found?
A. They were in good condition.
Q. Describe a little more plainly this hole that you found. You say
the ragged edges were pointing inboard. How large were these ragged
edges; how long?
A. Of the plates?
Q. Yes.
A. This plate I found. It looked to be the whole plate or the biggest
part of a plate, and it looked like it had been torn off from another
plate, because there was only one side of it I found was raggy, and I
found a plate standing in that direction [indicating].
Q. Describe it.
A. It was pointing to port, aft, and the raggy end, I found, was the
upper end. I landed on it, and I slipped down from it once and
crawled up on it again.
Q. Was that a plate still made fast to the ship's bottom?
A. No, sir; that was a plate that was loose. It looked to be turned
completely over.
Q. That is the armor plate?
A. The armor plate.
Q. I am not speaking of the armor plate. You said when you went
further along you found a place where the ship's side had a hole in it
you saw the green paint; and you said the edges were ragged and
bent in. I want you to describe the edges a little better.
A. That looked to be the bottom of the ship, or a piece solid, fastened
to the plate.
Q. Was it a round hole, or was it completely turned up to the water's
edge?
A. Completely turned up to the water's edge.
Q. There was nothing above this place?
A. Nothing above it whatever. It looked to be no plates there, or
anything there.
Q. The ragged edges were directly bent inboard?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


91 ~


A. Bent inboard.
Q. You are sure they were not bent out?
A. Yes, sir; I am sure.
Q. And the green paint you saw was on the part bent inboard?
A. The green paint was on the part bent inboard, that was coming
on top like.
Q. About this piece of armor plate you speak of, the part that bad
the bolts on it. Which way was that facing in regard to the ship?
A. That was facing outboard.
Q. Which way-forward or aft?
A. Facing aft.
Q. Explain fully how this piece of armor plate was lying, and the
direction of the keel, and how the original outboard side was facing,
and also how the side with nuts was facing?
A. That plate was fast in the mud so I couldn't get hold of the lower
edge of it. The top edge, I should say, was about 7 inches in thickness,
and that side of the plate where the bolts and backing was on, was
facing to port.
By the COURT:
Q. Did it stand that way, or did it stand that way [indicating]?
A. It stood the way it is on that drawing, sir, so far as I could make
it out down there.
Q. How does that plate face now?
A. The part of the plate that is supposed to be inboard is facing outboard.
Q. That is, it was turned clean over?
A. Turned clean over, sir.
Q. I would like to ask, for my own information, whether this armor
plate was inside of the ship?
A. It was on the inside of the ship; yes, sir. It was about half way
from the midship, and out to the portside of the ship, half way inboard.
Q. Yet you say that it was not resting on anything but the mud?
A. It was resting on the mud. There was a big piece of the ship
there that was entirely gone. The bottom of the ship was all blown
up. - There was nothing there.
Q. You speak of starting from some point near these copper tanks
or powder tanks and walking toward the port side, and you say you
were walking on the bottom; that you knew it to be the bottom because
it was painted green?
A. I didn't mean to say that I walked on the ship's bottom. I was
walking in the mud, or rather crawling in the mud, because in some
places I had to haul myself along. I was going alongside the ship's
bottom, on the piece that was left of the ship's bottom. I know it was
the ship's bottom because I could see the paint was green and slippery.
Q. Was this piece detached from the ship?
A. That looked to be just on the edges of the ship.
Q. You said you walked some distance, you thought about 10 feet?
A. About 10 feet.
Q. You could not have been walking on the bottom of the ship?
A. No, sir; not on the bottom of tie ship. On the bottom of the
harbor, in the mud.
Q. You said you were walking on the bottom of the ship, and you
knew it to be so because it was painted green?
A. I mean to say that I was walking on the outside of the ship, close
to the ship's bottom.




92


DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. You were walking in the hole where the ship's bottom ought to
have been?
A. No, sir; on the outside of the ship, sir.
Q. How did you come to go outside of the ship?
A. There was lots of wreckage out there. I slipped on from one piece
to another, and I happened to get on it more by accident than anything
else, because I slipped on, and I landed on the mud.
Q. How do you know you were outside the ship when you landed in
the mud?c
A. I couldn't see anything around me. I was crawling around for a
couple of feet on each side, and couldn't see anything. It must have
been on the outside, or else it was an empty space, where there was
nothing, or else the ship must be completely blown away.
Q. That is the ship'ssection there [indicating]. You understand that?
A. Yes, sir; I understand that.
Q. Were you out here, or were you here [pointing to outboard and
then inboard], or where were you?
A. I judge I was somewhere around here [pointing to the longitudinal
shown on the midship section], by the curve of the ship.
Q. I thought you said that was all blown away there?
A. This was on the forward part of it; but I took a walk aft 8 or 10
feet, somewhere around there-I couldn't say exactly how far-after I
left this hole, and found this plate; and going from one piece of the
wreckage to another I came down in the mud, and I was rolling along
in the mud when I happened to strike my hand up against something.
I felt, and I felt this green slippery piece of steel or something. I put
my face close to the plate and 1 could see it was this green paint. It
must have been the outside of the ship. I followed that along, I could
not say how fhar-some 8 or 10 feet-and I come to this raggy edge
of it, and there at the edge it was standing in this direction, like
[indicating].
Q. Describe the direction. "This direction " does not describe it on
paper.
A. It looked to be inboard, bent over-more rolled up than anything
else, on the edge of it.
Q. Was that all around the edge?
A. It was all around the edge. It was all torn.
Q. I understand it was torn if there was a hole there, but you must
be very careful when you say that that edge of it was turned inboard.
A. It looked to me it was laying inboard.
Q. How much of it did you examine?
A. I examined parts of the edges of it. This piece I followed along
in the bottom, that looked to be a good solid piece of the ship. That
must have been close to the hole where the explosion took place, because
that seemed to be a good solid piece.
Q. How did you think this hole was made in the bottom of the ship?
A. My opinion is, I believe that she was blown up from the outside
and in, because there was no explosion from the inside could make a
hole like that, from the way them plates stood around in different
directions.
Q. Do you think there was no explosion from the inside that could
-ake that hole?
A. There may have been an explosion from the inside afterwards, but
i the first place there was an explosion from the outside.
Q. Why do you think so?
A. Because I would never have found them plates in the way I did.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


93


This piece of armor plate and the edges of that hole, I would never
have found it that way.
Q. What strikes me is this-that you did not examine enough of that
edge to form an opinion.
A. I didn't examine all of it, no; but I examined some parts of it,
and that part that I examined looked like it had been bent inboard.
The testimony of the witness was then read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I notify the court that Ensign Powelson has
a little additional testimony to give this afternoon, and that besides
him Gunner Morgan and Gunner's Mate Olsen have to read over and
correct their testimony. I have no other evidence to offer at present.
The court then (at 12.50 o'clock p. m.) took a recess until 2 o'clock.
The court assembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, the stenographer, and Captain Sigsbee.
Gunner MORGAN here appeared before the court and was handed so
much of the record as contained his testimony. He was directed to
withdraw, read it over, return to the court and state whether it is correct as recorded.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. If the court please, I ask permission to introduce Mr. Henry Drain, clerk at the United States consulate in Havana,
and have him sworn, to act as interpreter.
Mr. HENRY DRAIN, by permission of the court, was duly sworn by the
judge-advocate, in accordance with the United States Navy regulations,
and took his seat as interpreter of the court.
A witness then appeared before the court, whose name and address
are suppressed by agreement with the witness that his identity should
not be revealed, and was sworn by the president, through the interpreter.
Examined by JUDGE-ADVOCATE (through the interpreter):
Q. I have heard that on Tuesday morning you overheard a certain
conversation in a ferryboat which referred to the possible sinking of
the Maine. Will you please state to the court all you can in regard to
that matter 
The INTERPRETER. At about half-past 7 on the morning of the 15th,
he was crossing from Havana to Reglas. He was sitting on a front
seat in the bow of the vessel-the ferryboat. There were, about 4 feet
distant, three officers, two of the army and one of the navy, of Spain,l
and besides a citizen, a stout man, about fifty years of age. They were
conversing about the Maine. He says one of the army officers said that
in the circulio militario, the military club here on the Prado, "That is
nearly arranged." The citizen inquired: "Will not making explosions
in the bay run great risk to the city of Havana 7? The citizen inquired
that from the Spanish officer who had made the first remark. He says
that the officer replied "no;" that it was arranged so that it would simply explode, open the vessel, and she would sink immediately. Then the
other man, with an exclamation apparently of joy, said: "I will take
plenty of beer on that occasion." At that moment a cartman came




94    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


forward and one of the men touched the other and stopped the conversation, and then he could not hear any more. He said they kept on
speaking, but he did not hear any more.
Q. What was the first remark made by the army officer?
The IN I ERPRETER. That he had heard in the circulio militario that
the plans were all arranged, and they were going to blow her up anyhow; that it was a shame to Spain that she should be here in the bay.
The lieutenant said: " Then if you blow her up, there would be another
one come," and the superior officer said: "They would take care not to
send another."
Q. Did the second army officer make any other remark?
The INTERPRETER. He says yes; they were all speaking, but they
were speaking in a low voice; he could not catch all they said. He
was standing up, close to the wall, so that they would not notice he
was listening to them.
Q. Could you distinguish what the navy officer said?
The INTERPRETER. No; he could not.
Q. Are you personally acquainted with any one of these four persons?
The INTERPRETER. He says that he does not know any of them.
He could not recognize any of the three officers, but that very probably he could recognize the citizen.
Q. How often do you cross in the ferry from Havana to Reglas?
The INTERPRETER. He says in those days he crossed twice, in the
morning and in the afternoon, but now he only crosses in the afternoon, there and back again; that he went at half past 7 in the morning, and would return at 10 to breakfast; that he would go at 4 or 5
o'clock in the afternoon back to Reglas again; and that about 9 or
half past 9 or 10 o'clock in the evening he would return to Havana.
Q. Did you ever meet any of these four men before on the ferryboat?
The INTERPRETER. He can not say, because he had never noticed
them. He went every day, and he did not notice them.
Q. What was the character of the uniform of the army officers?
The INTERPRETER. One was a lieutenant, and the other one had
stars down below the stripes. He had two stripes, which would indicate that he was from a major upward. He also had a belt-that
would indicate that he is of the general's staff
Q. What was the color of the uniform?
The INTERPRETER. All of that little stripe that they wear here.
Q. Blue linen?
The INTERPRETER. Yes; blue linen. The marine officer was dressed
in dark blue, but lie did not notice the insignias that he had on at all.
Q. Which one of the army officers made the remark you spoke
about-the staff officer or the lieutenant?
The INTERPRETER. The staff officer. He spoke with the citizen.
Q. What was that you said about a diamond?
The INTERPRETER. The citizen had on a big diamond ring.
Q. Please describe the citizen.
The INTERPRETER. He was a large, stout man, about 50 years of
age. He had a mustache only, somewhat gray. He used one of these
black derby hats, and dark clothes.
Q.- Can you describe the staff officer a little more fully, his age and
appearance?
The INTERPRETER. Somewhere around about the same age, about
50 years of age. He did not notice very well, but he thinks he used
chin whiskers.
Q. And the lieutenant?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


95


The INTERPRETER. He says he must be about 40 or 42 years of age,
and used a mustache.
Q. And the naval officer?
The INTERPRETER. He was over 40.
Q. Did they wear swords?
The INTERPRETER. None of them used swords.
Q. Would you be able to recognize these persons again?
The INTERPRETER. He sticks to the same thing, that the officers he
could not recognize, because he did not pay much attention, that the
thing went out of his head afterwards; but he thinks he would recognize the citizen. He says there are a great many officers crossing continually.
Q. Are you quite positive of the conversation you have repeated?
The IN'ERPRETER. Yes, sir.
Q. What object did you have in informing the consul-general of this
conversation?
The INTERPRETER. The substance of what he says is that he was
talking with a friend of his in the Cafe San Nicholas after this occurrence, and he told him all the conversation he had heard. The fiiend
told him: "Why don't you go and say something about this to the consulate?" He says he was afraid to say anything about it, that he would
get himself into trouble. The friend said: "I will go and inquire from
some of these newspapers-the Journal or the World-and see if there
is any danger in it." The friend went and inquired, and said there
would be no danger whatever, and he then determined to tell the consul.
Q. Did you go to the consul at all?
The INTERPRETER. No, sir.
Q. What was the name of the friend you spoke to?
The INTERPRETER. He says he will find out the name; that he is one
of these friends whom you know without knowing who they are. He
will find out the name. He sees him every day.
Q. Is lie a Spaniard?
The INTERPRETER. He is a Cuban.
Q. Are you a married man?
The INTERPRETER. No, sir; single.
Q. Have you any family here?
The INTERPRETER. He says he and his father are here, and he has
been living eighteen years with a woman, but he is not married to her.
Q. How many people were on board the ferryboat at the time of this
conversation? State about how many; whether it was crowded or not
crowded is the main issue.
The INTERPRETER. Very few, and nearly all were in the after part
It was somewhat cool, and there were very few people.
There being no further questions to ask this witness. his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer through the interpreter, and
by him pronounced correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president,
through the interpreter, not to converse about matters pertaining to
the inquiry, and after saying that it was not to his interest to converse
with anybody about it.
Gunner's Mate OLSEN here appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Olsen, I now hand you so much of the
record of the court as contains the testimony given by you. Please
withdraw, read it over, and then return to the court and state whether
it is correct as recorded, or whether you desire to make any corrections.
The witness then withdrew.




96     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Gunner MORGAN here appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Gunner Morgan, have you read over the
testimony given by you before this court on yesterday? 
Gunner MORGAN. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded in the smooth
record?
Gunner 1MORGAN. It is.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Ensign POWLESON, U. S. Navy, a witness heretofore examined, was
recalled to the witness stand, and, after being cautioned by the president that the oath previously taken by him was still binding, testified
as follows:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you any further information to give to the court in regard
to the wreck of the Maine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Please state what you have.
A. May I refer to some drawings that I have brought with me?
Q. Certainly.
A. These are the blue prints of the drainage system of the Maine,
taken from the wreck. I have succeeded in identifying the part of
the protective deck of which I submitted a sketch yesterday or the
day before. This is a plan of the protective deck of the Mlaine. The
frame spaces aft of frame 18 are 4 feet; forward of frame 18 they are
3 feet 6 inches; forward of frame 12 they are 3 feet. This is drawn
to the scale of 1 inch equals 1 foot. These frame spaces in between
frames 18 and 12 are 34 feet; those aft of frame 18, as I said, are 4 feet.
In the sketch which I have submitted the distance between beams I
have made 3 feet 7 inches, which was the measurement that I took
from the wreck. That was probably an error of an inch. That, then,
places this part of the protective deck somewhere between frame 18
and frame 12. At frame 16 is a water-tight bulkhead and at frame 18
is a water-tight bulkhead. The surface of this plate submitted shows
no evidence of bulkhead angle iron on the upper surface. This, then,
eliminates the space between frames 18 and 16. Therefore the plate is
somewhere between 16 and 13.
As you will see, the outward plate of the protective deck is cut off
a little on one point. The width of the plates of the protective deck
is 4 feet. The width of the ship at frame 13 is 12 feet 9 nine inches.
Then, if the edge of the protective-deck plating at the midship line
were exactly at the midship line, this would take three full plates with
9 inches left over. Between the upper plating of the two plates of
the protective deck and the side is an angle iron, running along tle
side with 4-inch flange. That would leave, then, a space of about 5
inches to be filled in by a wedge-shaped piece. It is not probable that
the edge of the upper plating of the protective deck is exactly at the
midship line. It is probable that it is to one side or the other, to allow
for the lapping of the upper plating on the lower plating. This frame
13 corresponds more closely with the drawing measurements taken
from the wreck than would frame 14. Since these two frames are confined to frames 15, 14, and 13, that narrows the deck down to the parts
between 15 and 12 along the port side compartment A36. This plate,
which I have shown in the sketch I submitted yesterday, shows the




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


97


rivets efor the cofferdam bulkhead. My conclusion is that the sketch
which I have shown comes from compartment A36, between frames 15
and 12.
Q. What is there in the ship above compartment A36 between frames
12 and 15?
A. A:36 is the cellulose compartment, and just inside of that is A34.
This is part of A34. This plate is taken from both A36 and A34.
Q. Then that would be forward of the forward 6-inch magazine?
A. Yes, sir. I have also succeeded in identifying a part of the bottom plating, which is now about 4 feet above water, 12 feet abaft the
piece of protective deck which I have just referred to.
Q. That is over the magazine, is it?
A. No, sir; I will explain where that plate comes from and my reasons
for believing so. This plate shows the split in the reverse, and the
frame angle irons, where the floor plating first begins at the ship's side.
It also shows a water-tight longitudinal with the cement along the
bottom and a part of the inner bottom plating. The distance between
the frame that is highest out of water and the frame next below it is
3 feet 6 inches. The distance between this frame and the one next
below that is 4 feet. There is only one place in the ship at which such
frame spacing occurs. That is at bulkhead 18, the space between 18
and 19 being 4 feet and between 18 and 17 being 3 feet 6 inches. Be.
tween frames 18 and 17 I found a sluice valve about 3 inches square.
This sluice valve is on the under side of the water-tight longitudinal.
The longitudinal at this point was about 174 inches in depth. From
the drawings of the inner bottom of the Maine, 1 locate this sluice valve
at the second longitudinal, near the water-tight bulkhead at frame 18.
This drawing which I have does not show a sluice valve at that point,
nor does it show that the second longitudinal is water-tight.
There has evidently been some change since these plans, and the
second longitudinal has been made water-tight, and a sluice valve has
been put in the after part of it next to the bulkhead at frame 18, to
drain from compartment A41. Frame 17 shows about 5 feet above
the water-tight longitudinal to which I have referred at the point where
the frame and reverse angle irons divide and the floor plates are first
inserted. That can be seen better on the sectional plan at frame 18.
This is the sectional plan at frame 18. Here is the second longitudinal
at which I fixed the sluice valve to which I have referred. The height
of the second longitudinal at this point is 18 inches, which corresponds
very closely with the measurement taken from the wreck. In this piece
of bottom plating, to which the longitudinal was attached, I found an
opening in the ship's side, being the Kingston valve or a similar valve.
The inner bottom drawings show such a valve to exist in that compartment for the purpose of flushing the main drains and secondary drains
at this point. The plates of the inner bottom are plainly visible for a
distance of 8 feet from the longitudinal to which I have referred and
about two or three feet under water. Forward of frame 17 the outside
plating has been again split, forming a V, with the outboard wing of
higher plating than the starboard or inboard wing.
The angle of the V is about horizontal, and the ridge stands nearly
fore and aft. The plating just abaft this V seems to have been broken
across and pushed up to form a V, of which frame 17 is the apex. This
shows that the bottom plating, about 11 feet from the keel, has been
raised to a point about 4 feet out of water now. This bottom to which
I referred is almost directly under the forward port edge of the forward 6-inch magazine.
S. Doc. 207 —7




98      DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
Q. The forward edge of it comes to frame 18?
A. The forward edge of it stops at frame 18.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Where is that sluice valve situated-also under the forward part
of the 6-inch magazine?
A. Yes, sir; at frame 18.
Q. That forward 6-inch magazine is between what frames?
A. Between frames 18 and 21. There are several other sluice valves
in the longitudinals of the double bottoms, but with the exception of
sluice valve No.4, are in frame spaces of 4 feet. All other sluice valves
in the longitudinals, according to the drawings, are in frame spaces of
4 feet, showing that this sluice valve is forward of frame 18. The only
other water-tight bulkhead forward of frame 18 is at frame 12, and in
the space forward of frame 12 there are no water-tight longitudinals.
Q. Then the appearance of that V-shape that you saw, and the
appearance of the plate, now makes you feel convinced that the bottom
of the ship was thrown up?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And not out?
A. Not out.
Q. This is under the forward part of the forward 6-inch magazine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you have seen no other bottom plating as yet to confirm this?
A. This bottom plating is very large in extent. It extends down
under the water on both sides from the angle of the V as far as I could
touch with au oar or boat hook. I took one of the divers over this
afternoon and explained to him what I wanted him to do. I wanted
him to go down and follow the frames along as far as possible, and
follow the longitudinals and keep track of them, so that he could tell
me at what point the bottom plate ended, and the condition of the
break at that point.
Q. Who was the diver?
A. The diver's name is Olsen.
Q. Can you state the amount of ship's bottom that is now visible
and between what frames?
A. I can see now frames 16, 17, 18, 19. I can see water-tight longitudinal No. 2, port. I can feel with the boat hook longitudinal No. 1.
I can see plating running down under the water for about 15 feet aft
of frame 17 and 20 feet forward of frame 17.
By the COURT: 
Q. All on the port side?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How far from the center line of the ship do you place the upper
plate of the bottom plates now showing above the water, which is bent
into this V form?
A. The upper plate is between 11 and 15 feet from the center line of
the ship.
Q. You mean that is the highest point?
A. The highest point; the upper plate.
Q. Taking the section, at what depth would that be?
A. Six and a quarter feet, sir, above the plane of the keel.
Q. How much has that been raised; that is, according to the draft of
the ship before the explosion?
A. The forecastle superstructure would be about at the water now



DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


99


about where the water line is now-so that it would have been lifted
about 38 or 39 feet from its original position when the ship was floating.
Q. Was there any paint on the outside of that bottom plating?
A. The outside of the bottom plating is covered with greenish paint.
Inside, between frames 17 and 18, it is cemented for a distance of 18
inches above the longitudinal. It is calk paint beyond that. Abaft
frame 18 it is cemented as far as the plate extends to the points broken
off, about 4 feet from the longitudinal. I also found between frames 18
and 19 a piece of piping, with two right-angle turns, such as is represented on the drawing of the inner bottom at compartment A10.
Compartment A4 contained piping of this description. This piping
showed the caps at right angles, the same as shown here, and I found
this piece of piping lying in an angle of one of the frames and the
longitudinal.
Q. Mr. Powelson, you have not come across any portion except that
protective deck of either of the decks above that point, have you?
A. Yes, sir; there is a part of the berth deck which was thrown some
20 feet forward of the part of the protective deck of which I have made
a sketch; but as to just where that was on the. berth deck I am unable
to determine. It has the planking and red shellac of the main deck.
Q. Is there any of the main deck visible?
A. No, sir; none of the main deck is visible forward.
Q. None of the main deck is visible forward of the end of the midship
superstructure?
A. No, sir.
Q. Forward of frame 30?
A. No, sir. 
Q. Starting from the point at which this bottom has been lifted, frame
11, and running aft to the points where the divers have testified that
the bottom plating is cut through to the after side of that opening, how
many frames are there?. What is the distance?
A. The frame which I said formed the apex of this V?
Q. Yes.
A. I do not know, of course, what they testified to. I only know
what they tell me. The diver to-day told me that he had found a hole
just starboard of that plate I was speaking of, down below-a hole
through the ship's side; and that is What I sent him down to investigate still further. He bent a line on some plating around this hole. I
think myself this plating on the port side was torn from that on the
starboard. The diver told me this morning that he had found the
ammunition from the 6-pounder magazine pushed over to the starboard
side.
Q. Was that Olsen?
A. Yes, sir.
The judge-advocate requested that thetestimonybe not read over to
the witness by the stenographer, but that he be directed to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with so much of
the record as contains his testimony, and asked to withdraw for the
consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will be
again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend his
testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the trial.: "., '. 




100    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Gunner s Mate OLSEN appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Olsen, do you wish to make any corrections
in your testimony?
Gunner's Mate OLSEN. I wish to make the following corrections:
On page 140, line 14, after the word ", right" strike out " over in that
direction [indicating]" and insert " over to starboard."
On page 141, line 5, after the words, "paper inboard," strike out
"from stem to stern." In line 7, after "one plate complete," strike out
" the top of the plate standing up." In line 17, after "hexagonal," strike
out "ends" and insert "nuts." In line 27, after the words "10-inch,"
strike out "leaves" and insert 'covers," so as to read "10-inch covers."
In line 28, after the word "in," at the beginning of the line, strike out
"by" and insert "over," so as to read "in over the 10-inch shell room."
On page 148, line 19, after the words "the way I found the," strike
out "deck" and insert "wreck."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is your testimony, as now amended, correct?
Gunner's Mate OLSEN. Yes, sir.
The court then (at 4.40 o'clock p. m.) adjourned until to-morrow, the
26th instant, at 10 o'clock a. m.
SIXTH DAY.
U. S. L. H. TENDER M~ANGROVE,
Harbor of Havana, 10 a.. Saturday, February 26, 1898.
The court met pursuant to the adjournment of yesterday, the 25th
instant.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and the
stenographer..
Captain Sigsbee had not yet appeared.
The record of the proceedings of yesterday, the fifth day of the
inquiry, was read and approved.
The court then took a recess, ready to assemble at any moment when
any additional evidence might be ready to be presented to the court.
The court (at 12 o'clock noon) took a recess until 1.30 o'clock p. m.
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, the stenographer, and Captain Sigsbee.
Mr. HENRY DRAIN, who acted as interpreter before the court yesterday, appeared as a witness before the court, and was duly sworn by
the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please give your name, residence, and profession.
A. Henry Drain, 91 San Lazero street, Havana; clerk in the United
States consulate at Havana.
Q. Do you know of an anonymus letter received by the consul-general in regard to the explosion of the Maine?
A. I do.
Q. Can you produce it?
A. I can. [Witness produces letter.]
Q. What is the date?
A. February 18,1898.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


101


Q. Is there any signature to it?
A. No signature. It is signed "An admirer."
Q. Have you read the letter?
A. I have.
Q. Is it the document of an educated man?
A. I would say a man of common education, as far as I can judge.
Q. In what language is it written?
A. In Spanish.
(The letter was shown to the court.)
Q. Have you made a correct translation of this letter?
A. To the best of my ability, I have.
Q. Please produce the translation.
(The translation of the letter referred to was handed to the judgeadvocate, and by him read aloud.)
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. If the court please, I ask permission to
append this letter to the record.
(The request was granted, and said letter is appended hereto,
marked F.)
Q. Has anything been done to ascertain the truth of the statements
contained in this letter?
A. I myself tried to discover the whereabouts of this Pepe Taco,
and the one to whom I spoke said that the name was a mistake; that
the Pepe Taco mentioned had died a few days before the explosion of
the Maine, and that the letter referred to a Pepe Barquin; that he also
had died suddenly about two or three days after the explosion of the
Maine.
Q. Who was your informant?
A. Mr. Charles Carbonell.
Q. How do you suppose he knows so much about this?
A. In the first place, he is an American citizen, and interested in
anything that pertains to the matter. I think he brought to General
Lee's attention the clipping from La Lucha, and this letter. He told
me that his boatman gave him the information of the death of this
man. Hlis boatman lives in Reglas.
Q. Did you ask General Lee to look into this matter?
A. I did, and he did not know just what to do, saying he has no secretservice money; but he told me to consult with Mr. Carbonell, who
would probably know more about it than anybody else.
Q. Do you consider Mr. Carbonell a perfectly reliable man?
A. I do, from having known him several years.
Q. Could it not be ascertained whether this dead man's family have
really moved from a poorhouse into a good one?
A. I think it could.
Q. Will you kindly have it tried?
A. I will try. I was consulting with him yesterday afternoon. He
said he would send his boatman to see about it. I think it would be
better to send some reliable person.
Q. I suppose you informed Consul-General Lee that the court would
be glad to have the matter of the letter investigated?
A. I did.
The witness here stated that in the evidence given by witness of
previous day the latter spoke of a man whom he had consulted in
regard to giving the evidence which he gave before the court. The
witness now states that man's name to be Aurelio Pla.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Do you know anything of this Aurelio Pla?




102


DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. I never heard of him, sir.
Q. Who told you it was Aurelio Pla?
A. The witness himself came up to the consulate this morning.
The testimony of the witness was then read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced correct. The witness then withdrew,
after,eing cautioned by the president not to converse about matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I ask that Captain Sigsbee take the.stand.
Capt. CHARLES D. SIGSBEE, U. S. Navy, heretofore examined as a
witness, resumed the stand, and was cautioned by the president that
the oath previously taken by him was still binding.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. I have a letter here, Captain Sigsbee, which was sent to me by
the chief constructor of the Navy, which purports to be a copy of a
letter sent by you, dated June 30,1897, at Hampton Roads, to the commandant of the navy-yard and station at Norfolk. I will read this
letter to you.
(The judge advocate then read aloud the letter above referred to.)
Q. As far as you can remember, you think this is a correct copy of
your letter?
A. I think so.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I ask permission of the court to append this
letter to the record.
Permission was granted, and the letter above referred to is hereto
appended, marked "G."
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What changes do you know of having been been made in the
storage rooms of the Mlaine and the shell rooms of the Maine, as stated
in this letter, from June 30, 1897, up to the time of her explosion?
A. I could not give it in figures. I think there has been considerable change in the 6-inch reserve magazine forward, because we
have done a good deal of saluting. I had so many figures to remember
that I could not tell exactly. I want to see first how many shell there
were. (After examination.) I think there were several more shell
stowed in the forward 10-inch loading room and forward 10-inch passing room. A great deal of the small-arm ammunition shown in the
forward fixed-ammunition room had been discharged, sent on shore, on
the acquisition of the new navy rifle. We had just gotten in, before leaving Key West, a new supply of the new ammunition. I have forgotten
whether it was our complete supply. It came at a time when I was
exceedingly busy, looking forward to coming to Havana.
(Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright here entered the court.)
The WITNESS. I know we had 6,000 rounds before we got the last
supply. Mr. Holman could state the exact amount of that. Although
we had had target firing after this letter was written, we had practically
filled up again on going to Norfolk the last time; so that I take it,
except perhaps in regard to stuff stowed in the 6-inch reserve magazine
forward and in the fixed ammunition room forward, at the time of the
explosion the state of things was practically as shown in that letter.
Q. Do you know where the additional charges for the new rifle
were stowed when they were received on board; in the forward or in
the after fixed ammunition room?
A. My impression is that they were stowed forward.
Q. You spoke of the changes in the 6-inch reserve magazine, and




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


103


then you spoke of saluting. The changes you refer to apply to saluting
powder?
A. Chiefly; but I have also understood that there was very little left
in that magazine. It was probably put in other places-in the regular
6-inch.
Q. Do you remember when the last changes were made in your magazines, taking powder out of the reserve and stowing them in the regular magazines?
A. No; I do not remember. It was probably referred to me at the
time. It undoubtedtly was, but I can not now recall. I suppose three
months ago I visited all the magazines and shell rooms, personally, and
inspected them, going over every one and examining them in detail,
but I have not the happy faculty of remembering details and figures.
Q. In a part of your letter here, you speak of the after torpedo head
and fixed-ammunition room. Are those one compartment?
A. No.
Q. The torpedo heads are stowed in a different compartment from
the fixed ammunition?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Forward of it?
A. Yes; it is forward of it.
Q. When you wrote this letter you gave a statement of all the
ammunition that was in the different compartments, and there is no
statement of high explosives or gun cotton, or detonators, or any other
material which the regulations prohibit from being in magazines and
shell rooms. None of that material is mentioned in this letter. In
that respect the letter is correct?
A. The letter is correct.
Q. Was that also the state of affairs in regard to such material on
the day of the explosion?
A. It was.
Q. You are quite certain that no torpedo warhead was fitted to a
torpedo on board the Maine the day of the explosion?
A. I am certain I gave no order to fit them, and it was well known
to the executive officer that I did not intend to fit them.
Q. Did you enter the harbor of Havana with a torpedo warhead
fixed?
A. No.
*            By the COURT:
Q. Did you, at any time subsequent to your entry of the harbor, have
the warheads on any of the torpedoes?
A. The warheads have not been disturbed in any respect since I have
had command of the ship.
^        The testimony of the witness was then read over to him by the
stenographer, and by him pronounced correct.
The witness then left the witness stand and resumed his seat in the
court room.
Lieut. Commander RICHARD WAINWRIGHT, U. S. Navy, a witness
heretofore examined, resumed the witness stand, and was cautioned by
the president that the oath previously taken by him was still binding.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. I believe, Mr. Wainwright, that you were on board the Maine all
the time during her last stay in Havana?
A. Yes, sir.




104   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Were you on board the whole day on the evening of which the
explosion occurred?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Are you certain that no warheads were fitted to the torpedoes of
the Maine on that day?
A. I am positive of it. It could not have been done without my seeing it. I knew what work was going on on the torpedoes, always. I
took a special interest in them and consulted frequently with the officer
in charge of the division. The Captain has ordered us not to put the
warheads on. I mentioned the subject of the warheads to the commanding officer at least twice, and both times he told me not to do so.
Q. Had the warheads ever been fitted to the torpedoes at any time
while you were executive officer of the Maine?
A. They had not.
Q. Do you remember when there was any large transfer of ammunition from one magazine into another on board the Maine?
A. None during my stay on board, to my knowledge.
Q. Then you do not believe that any large amount of 6-inch charges
had been taken out of the reserve 6-inch magazine and sent to the
others?
A. I should say not, during the two months and over I was on
board.
Q. As you were on board the Maine during her last stay in Havana,
and were frequently on deck, did it ever occur to you that the ship was
Imost always swnging in any certain direction?
A. A large portion of the time the wind was to the eastward, and we
always swung to the wind, generally a little to the southward of east,
as I remember now, though I am not positive about the points of the
compass. We generally pointed to the eastern shore.
Q. Do you consider that the way she swung at the time she blew
up was an unusual way for her to swing?
A. I never remember her swinging in that direction-remaining
in that direction-for any length of time. She probably swung past
that direction several times, but not to remain in that direction for any
length of time.
Q. Are you able to testify whether she was heading in that direction
for any length of time previous to the explosion?
A. Not in the absolute direction she is now; but after the usual
morning drill, I directed the officer of the deck to get up the gallery
target and rifle. They placed that always on the starboard turret,
forward. Therefore we would have to fire in the direction of the keel.
The officer of the deck, after some little time had elapsed, said that we
were swinging in the general direction of the Alfonso and the other
Spanish vessel. He asked me if it was safe to fire, and I told him not
to fire. I thought it was safe, but I considered it better not to fire in 
the direction of those ships. We held that general direction, which
was quite as much toward the shore as we were afterwards, but more
to the westward than usual, but not as much as she was when she
went down. As far as I can remember, she was heading in the general
direction in which she went down when the City of Washington came
in, and remained about in that direction up to the time of the explosion.
Q. Could you tell us how the City of Washington was lying at the
time of the explosion, in regard to the Maine?
A. She was on the port quarter of the Maine, at a distance of about
400 feet, I should say. I thought she was too close to swing properly,
only I knew that almost every vessel followed the direction of the
wind, and there was very little danger of fouling.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


105


Q. Was she heading in the same direction as the Maine?
A. The same general direction-yes, sir.
There being no further question to ask, the testimony of the witness
was read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced
correct.
The witness then left the witness stand and resumed his seat in the
court room.
Ensign POWELSON here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mr. Powelson, is the testimony given by
you yesterday, as recorded, correct?
Ensign POWELSON. It is, with the exception of the corrections which
I have made.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Please give them to the stenographer.
Ensign POWELSON. On page 201, in the ninth line from the bottom,
"one inch" should read " a quarter inch."
On page 203, in the thirteenth line from the bottom, insert "plating"
after "bottom."
On page 204, in line 10, scratch out the word "at." In the fourth
line from the bottom insert "are" between "and" and "about." The
last line should read " wing of after plating and the starboard wing of
forward plating. The V occurs at about frame 15."
On page 205, in the eleventh line from the bottom, after "but" omit
everything down to the sentence commencing in the next line with "All
other sluice valves."
On page 207, in the ninth line from the bottom, change "calk" to
" cork.""
On page 208, in the ninth line, change "main" to "berth." In the
twelfth line from the bottom "eleven" should read "seventeen."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is your testimony as now amended correct?
Ensign POWELSON. Yes, sir.
Ensign POWELSON, U. S. Navy, resumed the witness stand, and was
cautioned by the president that the oath previously taken by him was
still binding.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Since you gave your testimony yesterday, have you received a
book of specifications of the Maine?
A. I have; yes, sir.
Q. Have you done anything toward verifying your testimony by
that book in regard to the thickness of the plates that you referred to
in your testimony?
A       A. I do not think I mentioned the thickness of any plates in my testimony.
Q. But by reading the book and seeing the thickness of the plates
you can tell whether you are sure in your surmises.
A. I have looked over the drawings again with reference to what I
said in my last testimony. The only plates to which I could refer for
thickness would be those of the protective deck. Those that I measured were 1 inch in thickness.
By the COURT:
Q. Double plating?
A. Double plating, each 1 inch in thickness. (After examination of
book.) Forty pounds per square foot. That is, 1-inch plating.




106    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. You spoke of a plate which had green paint on it. Did you verify
the thickness of that with what you testified to by the specifications?
A. No, sir; I did not.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I wo1ld like to say to the court that Mr.
Powelson has some additional testimony to give. All this forenoon
he has worked in unison with the diver, and the diver has made explanations to him which it would be impossible, so it is thought by Mr.
Wainwright, who is in charge of that work, to give to the court intelligibly by the diver. I would request that the diver, Olsen, be admitted
to the court room while Mr. Powelson gives his testimony, in order to
correct him in anything he might not state correctly, and in that way
we will get the testimony of the two men who worked together at the
same time.
Permission was granted, and Gunner's Mate Olsen entered the court
and was warned by the president that the oath previously taken by
hint was still binding.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Olsen, Mlr. Powelson is going to give testimony in regard to your
work and his work this morning. You reported to him, and he has put
the work together, and is going to testify. If he says anything at all
which is not exactly according to your recollection, you must at once
state it and correct him.
A. All right, sir.
The examination of Ensign POWELSON was then resumed.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Mr. Powelson, we are now ready for your additional testimony.
A. On February 26, to-day, at 10 a. m., Diver Olsen reported to me
on coming up from below that he had followed the forward and after
wings of the V-shape made by the bottom plating at frame 17. He
said on the forward wing of the V the plates ran down on a very steep
slant, and then turned under and out under the starboard side. That
just above where the plates turned to go under the starboard side he
found two dents, as if the plating had been bulged in between the
frames from outside in.
By the COURT:
Q. How big were those?
A. He reported to me in this way: He held up his hands at a distance which I measured with a ruler. He said they were about 2~
feet long and bulged in about 6 inches, if I remember correctly. He
then went down again, and came to the surface at 11 o'clock. I asked
him what he saw, and he said: "I think I have found the flat keel."
I asked him what reasons he had for thinking this. Then he made me 
a sketch in the notebook which I have in my hand. This sketch is
approximately the shape of the section at about frame 10 or 11.
(The sketch referred to by the witness was shown to the court.)
On this sketch he has correctly arranged the garboard strake, showing that his idea of the construction was correct. He reported that the
keel.was sloping downward about 45 degrees and to port, with the
after part of the keep uppermost. I then asked him to describe to me
the method in which he managed to reach the keel, as the V formed by
the bottom plating at frame 17 spread out at the water line. He told
me that after going down some distance under the water, these two
wings of the bottom plating again converged, so that he was able to put




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


107


his feet against one wing and his back against the other and support
himself. There was nothing to stand on below. He said he put his
back against the after wing and his feet against the forward wing and
worked himself from port to starboard. He drew a sketch to illustrate
to me the manner in which he did it.
(The sketch referred to by the witness was shown to the court.)
The WITNESS. He felt along the forward wing with his right hand,
wedging himself between the forward and after wings. With his right '
hand he felt an angle in the plate. He ran his hand along it, and
found on the other side of the angle a flat piece of plate. He ran his
hand along a little farther, and found another angle. He ran his arm
around the angle, and up, until he found the edge of the plate, which
he described by a measurement I took between his hands as he held
them up, as being about 10 inches. He said the flat plate was about
16 inches in width between the two angles to which I have referred. I
took this measurement with a ruler, Olsen holding up his hands. Then
he told me that he reached around to feel still farther, and in doing so
lost his balance and fell down. I asked him if he struck bottom. He
said that he did not; that he brought up on the life line. He then
signaled to the attendant on the scow to pull him up. He told me
that the plate next to the point which he had just felt when he fell overas I took it, the starboard edge of the outer flat keel plate-was lapped
under the keel plate, which is the construction with the garboard
strake. I then asked him if he had explored any of the after wing of
the V. He told me that he had. He told me that he had found a semicircular hole about two feet in diameter, with rivet holes all around it.
I asked him about how far on this plating that semicircular hole was.
from the top of the V made by the bottom plating. He told me it was
about 20 feet. I asked him whether the edge of the plate at which he
found this semicircular hole was the natural edge, with rivet holes, or
whether it presented a jagged appearance. He told me that the plate
at this point presented a jagged appearance, as if it had been torn.
He also told me that a crack had extended from the bottom edge of the
semicircular hole to a distance of about 8 inches, and that the plates
about this hole were bent away from the green side of the plating. He
told me that he followed the after wing still farther, and at a point
about 25 feet from the angle of the V he found a plate about 2 feet 6
inches in width, from a measurement I took from his hands as he indicated the width, and that this plate was at right angles to the inside
plating and at right angles to the edge of the plating. He told me
that this plate had a round hole cut in it. I then asked him to be particular about the direction in which he found the keel. I drew a sketch,
indicating a direction upward and a direction to port and a direction
to starboard, and I asked him to draw upon this sketch a direction of
the keel looking from aft forward. He did so, and this is the sketch.
(The sketch above referred to by the witness was shown to the court.)
The WITNESS. The line sloped about 65 degrees below the horizontal
down and to port. I then made another sketch indicating forward, aft,
starboard, and port, and I asked him to draw the position of the keel
upon this sketch, looking down upon it. This is the sketch that he
drew me.
(The sketch above referred to by the witness was shown to the court.)
The WITNESS: That shows a line from port to. starboard, the port
end about 80 degrees in azimuth from a head. He told me that the
highest point of this keel. was the starboard part. The point where he
found the keel, he told me, was about 20 feet under water. I asked




108   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


him why he did not follow the keel up farther, and he told me that the
platings between which he was wedged opened out so that he had
nothing to support him. I asked him if he could see any more of the
keel above, and he said he could see the keel for 5 feet. I asked him
if the keel ended there, and he said no, it continued still farther. He
then told me that the general direction of the keel was parallel to the
upper edge of the forward wing of the V-shaped plating at frame 17.
* This is what it should be, by a deduction from the appearance of the
plating above. When I got on board the Fern I showed Olsen a plan
of the ship, having sections at frame 6 and at frame 16. I pointed to
the frame at 16, and I asked him if the angle he felt was as great as that
at frame 16 on the plan. He told me that the angle was not. I am
now referring to the angle made by the flat plate of the keel and the
plating on the port side.
I then pointed to frame 6, and I asked him if the angle he saw was
as sharp as that at frame 6. He told me that it was not. This, then,
would make the point at which it found the keel, according to his statement, somewhere between frame 16 and frame 6. Now, frame 17 is at
the water's edge, and as he went down on the forward wing of the
V-plating, lie went forward, as the ship was in its original position. He
says lie went down 20 feet. This would put himl, as the frame spacing
here is 3 teet 6 inches, about six frame spaces, or he was at that time
at about frame 10, which checks up very well with his statement as to
the angles at frame 16 and frame 6. On the plan of the inner-bottom
drainage system, I find there is an opening in the ship's side for sea
suction along the edge of the plating where Olsen said he found it, and
at a distance of 21 feet from the angle of the V. Olsen told me that he
found it at 20 feet, which agrees very closely.
By the COURT:
Q. That is, in which direction?
A. Along the edge of the plating.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Are you now through with what Olsen told you?
A. Yes, sir; I am through with what Olsen told me.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I ask that Olsen be directed to withdraw,
and to stand by for recall.
Gunner's Mate Olsen then withdrew, after being directed to stand by
for recall, and cautioned not to converse about matters pertaining to
the inquiry.
The witness Powelson then produced the drainage plans, and testified
as follows:
At frame 18, the second longitudinal, is where I found the sluice
valve. Olsen testified that at about 20 feet from the sluice valve
he found an opening in the ship's side. The sea suction in compartment
A-10 follows the direction taken by Olsen, and is situated about 21
feet from the sluice valve, which checks up very well. 1 found some
boarding forward of frame 17. This boarding was originally horizontal,
and next the ship's side, under the pieces of the protective deck to
which I have already referred, and of which I have made a sketch.
These boards are now in an almost vertical position, and the plating is
now away from the after end of these boards in a plane almost at right
angles to them. If you consider the section of the ship between frames
18 and 13, and consider that the part of the bottom plating between
frame 18 and frame 15 is bent out at a right angle, and then that the
whole section is turned forward through 90~, you will picture the




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


'109


position in which the plates are now found. This plating could either
have been shoved out from the after side or it could have been pushed
in from the forward side. The only indication as to how this was done
is the wooden boarding. If the after part of the plating had been
pushed out from the inside, the boarding would have broken at the
V which the plates make. If the forward part of the plating had
been pushed in, the boards would have been pulled away from the after
plating, as is the case with the plates now. In other words, the side of
the ship between frames 13 and 18 has two  Is. Frame 17 has been
pushed in, forming a v from a point 4 feet above the second longitudinal downward. The plating has been pushed in at about frame 15,
from a point 4 feet above the second longitudinal forward.
By the COURT:
Q. All you have told us relates to the part of the ship between
frames 18 and 24?
A. Yes, sir; and from frames 13 to 24. I sent the diver down, and
he found where that piece of protective deck is fast to the outside plating. He found that, and when it got down there by the protective
deck a lot of cellulose came up, showing he was walking in the cellulose compartment.
Q. That piece of plating is fastened to the starboard side of the
ship, is it?
A. The port side. You can see it, sir.
Q. There is no hole in the outside plating at that point?
A. It is torn. I do not know where the rest of it is.
Q. Was he able to follow the after side of the V until he came to the
end of that?
A. The forward side of the V took him right up toward the waterways of the spar deck, where that V is turned. It starts down and is
broken off. All that you can see going along horizontally is fastened
to the deck. Be followed the forward wing, and went around down in
under the ship, and the keel is fast to the forward wing.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. From your knowledge of the Maine and the drawings of the Maine,
how do you look upon the information that diver Olsen gave you?
A. I think it is extremely accurate.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Shall I ask thejwitness what deduction he
derives from all this?
The COURT. Yes; you can.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What do you deduce from this information received from the diver
this forenoon, together with such information as you had before?
A. I think that an explosion occurred on the port side somewhere
about frame 18, center of impact.
Q. Would you put 18 as the center of impact? Because it seems to
me that has to be taken in connection with other injuries.
A. Frame 18 was the water-tight bulkhead, and consequently was
stronger than frame 16. The ship yielded at 17, and also yielded at
15. It is pretty hard to say where it came. Frame 15 was blown in.
Q. You see everything at frame 26 is gone?
A. Yes, sir; there is nothing there. I should say, then, between
frames 16 and 18 was the center of impact, and that this was under the
ship, a little on the port side.
Q. How far from the keel?




110   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. Frame 17 is broken off at the third longitudinal, approximately,
so that I should say the distance from the keel would be 15 feet in a
horizontal line.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. How high up would that be, up the ship's side from the keel?
A. That point of the ship's side is about 10 feet above the plane of
the keel.
Q. Ten vertical feet?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How do you account for the immense damage done abreast of the
reserve m agazine, where there is nothing left, whereas between frames
16 and 18 you have found damaged plates?
A. My idea is that after the ship was raised up at frame 18, the
magazines, one or all of them, after that were exploded, for some powder tanks that I have seen I think were exploded, while others I have
seen were not exploded. I saw a coffee can that was brought up this
morning which was about as badly battered as most of the powder
cases that cane up. It looked in very much the same condition.
Q. When you say some of the powder tanks had, in your opinion,
exploded, and some had not, do you refer to 6-inch tanks only or to 10 -inch tanks also?
A. I refer to both, as I have seen a 6-inch tank that was very little
ripped open, and I saw one this morning that had been first opened
and flattened out, with evidences of burnt powder upon it. I saw one
10-inch tank that was scarcely battered at all, and only the head of it
gone. I also saw 10-inch tanks with the packing, which looked like
excelsior, unburnt; so that, in my opinion, some but not all of the 10 -inch and 6-inch charges were exploded.
Q. Do you know how many tanks were brought up this morningS
A. The divers started getting tanks so late in the forenoon that they
did not get many. I think probably four or five.
Q. And of these how many were exploded and how many were not?
A. I did not see all of them. The only one I remember distinctly
was the one to which I have referred, which was exploded and burst
out, so that the case formed almost a plane surface.
Q. You say one had the head gone. Did you see that one?
A. I saw the 10-inch tank with the head gone. That was not brought
up this morning. It had preserved its proximate shape, and did not
look much more damaged than if it had been dropped or rolled down
the staircase.
Q. Had the head of the cylinder been torn off?
A. The head of the cylinder was a removable head. The fastenings
were still there.
Q. Who could give testimony about the tanks brought up to-day?
A. Ensign Brumby or Gunner Morgan. 
By the COURT:
Q. I suppose you saw the 10 inch full tank thatmwas recovered some
days ago, did you?
A. No, sir; I did not see that tank, but I was told by the officer of
the deck of the Fern that such tank had been recovered, and was now
in the magazine of the Fern.
Q. Do you suppose you could make a perspective sketch of the diferent parts of the ship as you understand them to exist at present?
A. No, sir; I tried, but I have no talent at all for perspective drawing. I tried to do it.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE. 


111


Q. We would not expect a finished drawing, but I think you understand it better than anybody else.
A. I could try to do it, sir.
Q. I do not mean immediately, but putting together the sketches
which you have obtained from time to time, so that if the board should
return at some future day you might be able to give us a drawing
which would show the present condition of the bottom of the ship?
A. I think I can get someone who does perspective drawing, tell him
just what I want, and have him make it. I could tell whether it is
correct or not when I see it, although I can not make it myself.
Q.. I would like to ask whether you do not think that this same means
carried away the body of the ship just forward of frame 26, that is, the
forward part of the reserve 6-inch magazine, and produced the distortion that we have been discussing?.
A. That question, sir, is rather a difficult one, because it brings in so
much conjecture. If anything definite were known about the amount
of powder that was under the shipQ. Or what shape it was in?
A. Or what shape it was in, you might draw some conclusion.
Q. Is it not likely that if there is a large hole in the ship abaft the
point we have been discussing, say frame 18, and also if there were a
large hole driven up through the ship at frame 26, is it not likely that
that same force would be the force that lifted and distorted the ship at
frame 18, 25 or 30 feet away?
A. I think a very heavy explosion farther aft than frame 18-as the
ship was much weaker forward of frame 24 than aft-such an explosion of the forward body could have been produced by a force farther
aft.
Q. It is only a question of the area of the effect of the explosion. It
is not likely there were two outside forces.
The PRESIDENT. No; but suppose it were a mine, and if it were circular or spherical and placed in a certain position, say 10 or 15 feet
from the keel, then the center of effort and the destruction produced
would be around the center, and it would be circular; but if it were
a cylinder and, instead of being parallel to the keel, it inclined from,
say, frame 26, where it approached the keel, outward-not parallel to the
keel, but crosswise across the bottom of the ship-then the destruction
would be greatest at the after end.
A. That is such a difficult question that 1 think I would rather not
answer.
By the COURT:
Q. Then I think I would not say definitely that it was at that particular place.
The PRESIDENT. Yes; he is basing his opinion now on what he has
seen. When you come to take in the big hole, as we imagine it to be,
that may have been produced by still another mine.
Q. It was only with reference to the question of fixing it definitely
that I asked the question.
A. On the bottom forward, where that frame was thrown up, it would
seem to me the force was communicated some distance through the
water, because this thing was lifted up instead of being battered in.
It was a force that was cushioned in some way, because the diver tells
me there was a bulge in plates between the two frames, and such a
force as that would be a cushion pressure. So. the plates not having
been broken in, or anything of that kind, this explosion may have
occurred aft, and the frames forward of the transverse armor being




112   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


weaker than they are aft,.the ship might have been lifted up there by
this cushion pressure from farther aft.
Q. You have never been down in a diving suit, have you?
A. No, sir; I never have. It struck me, as I was looking at it, that
the mine there could not have been very close to those plates that were
lifted up, because, as I say, the plates are not so much damaged as
bent in the form of a V and raised up a vertical distance. It seemed
to me that mine was somewhat removed, and the pressure came through
the water, which produced that cushioned sort of pressure.
The testimony of the witness was then read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced correct.
The witness then desired to add the following testimony:
I desire to amend my answer as to the center of impact of the explosion. Not being in possession of information as to the condition of the
bottom plating aft of frame 18, I based my answer entirely upon what
I had seen above water. If the bottom plating aft of frame 18 is in a
broken condition from outside in, I should say that an explosion at this
point could very easily have produced, by lifting that part of the ship,
the corrugated appearance which the forward body at frames 18 and 15
now presents.
The additional testimony was then read over by the stenographer to
the witness, and by him pronounced correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters relating to the inquiry.
Gunner's Mate OLSEN was then called before the court and warned
by the president that the oath previously taken by him was still binding.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. You have heard the statements.made by Mr. Powelson before this
court in your presence. Are they correct in every way?
A. Yes; they are correct.
Q. All the statements that he told the court you had made to himare they quoted correctly?
A. Yes, sir.
The testimony of the witness was then read over to him by the
stenographer, and by him pronounced correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters relating to the inquiry.
The court then (at 5.15 o'clock p. m.) adjourned to meet at Key West,
Fla., Monday, February 28, at 10 o'clock a. m.
SEVENTH DAY.
U. S. COURT-HOUSE, KEY WEST, FLA.,
Monday, February 28, 1898-10 a. m.
The court met pursuant to adjournment of Saturday, which adjournment took place on board the Mangrove, in the harbor of Havana. The
court reconvened in the United States court-house at Key West, Fla.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and the
stenographer.
Captain Sigsbee, who remained in Havana, informed the judgeadvocate that he would waive the right to be present during the sessions of the court, provided the judge-advocate 'would inform him in
case he considered Captain Sigsbee's presence necessary for his interests.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


113


No other officer desired to be present at the meeting except Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright, who is also in Havana, and who desired
to be present only when the testimony of the divers is being taken.
The record of the proceedings of Saturday, the sixth day of the
inquiry, was read and approved.
Lieut. JOHN J. BLANDIN, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before
the court, and was sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your name, rank, and to what ship you are attached
at present.
A. Lieut. John J. Blandin, U. S. Navy, attached to the U. S. S. Maine.
Q. How long were you attached to the Mlaine before her destruction?
A. Since the 20th of June, 1897.
Q. What duty did you perform during that time?
A. Watch and division officer.
Q. What division did you have?
A. The fourth division.
Q. Is that the after division of the ship?
A. That was the after division of the ship.
Q. While in the harbor of Havana were you doing the duty of an
officer of the deck?
A. I was.
Q. Do you know of any special orders that were issued by the commanding officer while in Havana in order to guard the ship more
securely than at any other place?
A. The quarter watch was on watch all night. Small-arm ammunition was placed in the belts of the marines and of the quarter watch in
the gun divisions, one hundred rounds. The boxes of 1-pounder and
6-pounder ammunition were stored in the cabin pantry (which is not
used for anything else), the armory, and the pilot house. Sentries were
posted on the forecastle and on the poop, with cartridges in their belts,
but with orders not to load their pieces unless ordered by an officer.
Orders were given to see that strict watch was kept, which was done.
I think those were the principal precautions taken.
Q. During the time you stood watch in the harbor of Havana, did
you ever know of any hostile demonstration afloat, in the way of boats
approaching the ship that had to be warned off?
A. None whatever.
0        Q. On the night of the explosion were all the orders that you have
just named faithfully carried out?
A. They were, sir.
Q. What was your duty on that night?
A. I had the watch from 8 until 12.
*      Q. P.m.?
A. P.m.
Q. What time did you relieve the deck?
A. At 8 o'clock. I relieved Lieutenant Blow.
Q. Had the 8 p. m. reports been made when you took the deck?
A. They were being made when I was relieving.
Q. Did you hear them made?
A. I did not.
Q. Mr. Blow received those reports?
A. The first lieutenant received them, sir.
Q. The reports of lights and fires. Who received those?
S. Doc. 207  8




114


DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. Those reports were received by Naval Cadet Cluverius, as I
remember, just as I was relieving.
Q. What was Naval Cadet Cluverius doing there?
A. He was the midshipman who had two deck watches under Mr.
Blow.
Q. Mr. Blow was there?
A. Mr. Blow was there, sir.
Q. When you took the deck, was everything reported perfectly secure
to you, and the ordinary state of affairs?
A. Everything was perfectly normal. The usual reports were made.
Q. After 8 p. m. did you attend to your duties faithfully as an officer
of the deck?
A. I did.
Q. Please state to the court fully your experience of the explosion,
giving all the noises you heard, all the shocks you felt, and everything
you can tell the court in regard to the matter.
A. After the third quarter watch at 9 o'clock was piped down, I was
on the starboard side of the deck walking up and down. I looked over
the side and then went over to the port side and took a look. I don't
remember seeing any boats at all in sight. I thought at the time the
harbor was very free from boats. I thought it was about 3 bells,
and I walked over to the port side of the deck just abaft the after turret.
Mr. Hood came up shortly afterwards and was talking to me when the
explosion occurred. I am under the impression that there were two
explosions, though I could not be sure of it. Mir. Hood started aft to
get on the poop to lower the boats, I suppose, and I followed him.
Something struck me on the head. My cap was in my hand. My head
was slightly cut and I was partially knocked over, but not stunned. I
climbed on the poop and went on the starboard side and found Captain
Sigsbee there. I reported to him. He ordered the boats lowered at
once to pick up any of the wounded. The officers very rapidly got on
the poop, and there were one or two men there, but very few.
The barge and gig were lowered, and just then I heard a man crying
out down on the quarter deck. I went to the ladder, and I saw Mr.
Hood trying to pull a ventilator off the man's legs. He was lying in
the wreckage; jammed there. The water then was not deep. I went
down and helped Mr. Hood pull this ventilator off and carried the man
on the poop, with the help of Private Loftus, I think it was. It was a
private man. Then the captain told Mr. Wainwright to see if anything
could be done to put out the fire. Mr. Wainwright went forward to
the middle superstructure, and shortly afterwards came back and 
reported to the captain that it was hopeless to try to do anything.
Then in a very few moments the captain decided that it was hopeless,
and gave the order to abandon ship. Boats came from the Alfonso
Doce, and two boats from the City of Washington, and those, with our
boats, picked up the wounded and sent most of them, by the captain's
order, to the Alfonso. There were thirty-four sent there. We abandoned ship, the captain getting in his gig after everybody had left, and
went to the City of Washington.
Q. When you first felt the explosion did you notice any list of the
ship?
A. None whatever.
Q. Was there a very severe shock where you were standing?
A. No; it was a shock, but I should not call it a very severe shock?
Q. I suppose you at once looked forward?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


115


A. I at once looked over the port side, as I thought the explosion
occurred on the port side, forward. That was my impression.
Q. Did you see any water thrown up?
A. Not a particle.
Q. Tell us what you did see go up in the air?
A. I didn't see anything go up in the air, but I saw all kinds of
stuff falling down-wreckage.
Q. You saw no upshoot of flame?
A. Mr. Hood saw the flame. It was on the starboard side, and he
looked to starboard.
Q. You saw none?
A. I saw a flare. I didn't see the actual flame.
Q. You spoke of ammunition being stowed forward for ready use.
Will you please state where that was stowed?
A. In the pilot house.
(      Q. How high up is the pilot house? It is some distance above the
superstructure deck, is it not?
A. It is about 10 feet, I should say, above the superstructure deck.
Q. There was no ammunition forward below that?
A. None below that; no, sir. This was only secondary battery
ammunition that was in the pilot house.
Q. How was the ship swinging at the time of that explosion?
A. She was riding to the ebb current.
Q. The ship is now lying pointing almost toward the admiralty
\  house or Machina. I suppose that is the way she was when she exploded 
A. I don't remember her heading, but the Alfonso was on our starboard quarter, the little gunboat was almost astern, and the City of
Washington was on our port quarter.
Q. Would you be able to tell the court whether she was riding in an
unusual direction for that harbor?     -..
A. It didn't strike me so from the general appearance. I took no
notice of her heading. She swung around the buoy for three weeks,
about. She had probably been on every heading.
Q. Did she seem to be pretty steady on that heading that night?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. She was heading steadily in that direction?
A. She seemed to be. I had no cause to suspect any change.
Q. You know that ships swing a great deal in the harbor of Havana.
Could you not tell us whether, from the time you took the deck until
the time of the explosion, the Maine seemed to be heading almost
steadily in one direction?
A. So fiar as I know, she was, from the bearings of other ships.
By the COURT:
Q. Were you so situated that you could see the point at which the
explosion took place?
A. No, sir; I was abaft the after turret and could see on the port
side well aft, but the turret bulges a little and would cut off the sight
of the side of the ship forward of the gangway. I do not know where
the explosion took place, but my impression is it was on the port side
forward.
Q. You were not so situated that you could have seen the burst of
flame or the effect of the first explosion-whether it was thrown up?
A. I could have seen the burst of flame where I was if I had looked
in that direction. I looked over the port side. I saw the glare as it




116   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


went up, but 1 didn't see this burst of flame that others have described.
That was more amidships.
Q. You did not notice any ascent of a column of water as the result
of the explosion?
A. None at all, and none fell, to my knowledge. None fell on me, and
I saw none fall around me.
Q. How soon after the explosion do you think the forward part of the
ship was under water?
A. The forward part, almost within a minute. 1 should estimate
that, at the most, two minutes after the explosion the quarter deck was
knee deep in water. She was on bottom in, I think, less than three
minutes, all over.
Q. You say you heard two explosions?
A. That is my impression, sir; though I could not be positive. I
think there were two.
Q. Similar explosions?
A. So far as I can judge, sir. When the first explosion took place
the ship quivered. The shock, as I said, was not so great where I was,
and my impression is there was a second one, but the difference in
similarity I could not describe.
Q. As I understand, Mr. Blandit, you only saw the fragments
coming down?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You did not see anything go up?
A. No, sir.
Q. So that whatever was thrown upward was not under your
observation?
A. No, sir; I really saw very little coming down, but I heard them
and felt them.
Q. Was there any perceptible upheaval of the ship that you noticed?
A. Not that I noticed; no, sir.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Were you riding head to the wind?
A. There was practically no wind. It was, if anything, a very light
air.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony, and asked to withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which
he will be again called before the court, and be given an opportunity
to amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The
request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned' by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Lieut. JOHN HOOD, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before the
court, and was sworn by the president:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name, rank, and to what ship you are
attached.
A. John Hood, lieutenant, U. S. Navy, attached to the late U.. S..
Maine.
Q. Since when have you been attached to the Maine?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


117


A. Since November 5, 1897.
Q. What was your duty during that time?
A. My duty was as watch officer.
Q. Senior watch officer?
A. Senior watch officer.
Q. In charge of the powder division 
A. Yes, sir; in charge of the powder division and the torpedo
division.
Q. Since you have been senior watch officer in charge of the powder
division have you been down in the magazines and shell rooms?
i   ~A. I have been through all of them.
Q. Do you know of any matter being stowed in the shell rooms or
magazines which was prohibited by ordnance instructions and regula.
tions from being stowed there?
A. I do not. I inspected all the magazines after I joined the ship,
and saw them all properly stowed. I saw nothing there except the
proper and authorized articles.
/g     Q. You consider that on the night of the explosion there was existing the same state of affairs-no violation of the ordnance regulations
in regard to the stowage of explosives?
A. I do. I did not inspect it then, but I am absolutely sure that
there was nothing done beyond the ordinary work down there.
Q. Who was acting in the gunner's place at the time of the explosion, and who had been for some time previously?
A. Chief Gunner's Mate Brofelt.
Q. What is the record and character of that man?
A. His recordEand character are both excellent. He is a very excellent man, a thoroughly reliable man, and a very intelligent man.
Q. Whenever the magazines or shell rooms are open for drill or otherwise are the keys always returned to the captain and the magazines
and shell rooms reported locked?
A. The keys are always returned. The magazine is reported closed.
The report is made to the officer of the deck, andy by him to the captain. The keys are never gotten out except by a report, first, to the
officer of the deck, as to what they are wanted for. That report has to
be turned in to the captain, and the captain sends them out.
Q. Do you remember whether on the day of the explosion, February
15, the magazines or shell rooms had been opened for any purpose?
A. They were not opened that day for drill; but it is the routine of
the ship to open them to take the temperature. That I had nothing to
do with personally. I know that is the routine of the ship.
Q. The temperature can be taken from the small plate holes, can
it not 
A. Yes.
Q. And it is done that way?
A. It can be taken through the small holes. I never examined that
personally at all. All the magazines were opened the day before at
drill, and I passed up and down through all the magazines of the ship.
Q. That was Monday gunnery drill there?
A. Gunnery drill day.
Q. Did you ever pay any attention to the temperature of magazines
and shell rooms?
A. No; that was not my special business. I noticed the temperature
of the magazines myself when I was in them, but that was all.
Q. Which were the hottest magazines?




118    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. The hottest magazines were what we called amidship magazines;
the midship 10-inch and 6-inch.
Q. Which is the midship, the forward or the after 10-inch?
A. The after 10-inch, down between the engine room and fire room,
and they were much warmer than any of the forward magazines. The
forward magazines were comparatively cool.
Q. During drill, were all regulations properly carried out in regard
to men going down to magazines and shell rooms?
A. I think I am sure they were. They were, so far as I know.
Q. You had no drills since Monday forenoon, the day before?
A. I had no drill after Monday forenoon, the day before.
Q. Do you know where the rockets were stowed?
A. They were stowed on deck, aft somewhere. I never paid any
attention to that, because I had nothing to do with that.
Q. I suppose a few were in the pilot house?
A. A few were always up in the pilot house for use. That is all I
ever looked at.
Q. While you were officer of the deck, in the harbor of Havana, were
there any special regulations made by your commanding officer, and
any special orders given in regard to keeping an extra lookout; and, if
so, were they faithfully carried out?
A. They were, while I was on watch. Of course, I did not see it all
the time.
Q. That is what I mean. Did you ever notice any hostile demonstration afloat in the way of boats approaching the ship that had to be
warned off?
A. No; I never saw any demonstration of any kind afloat. The
only passing crafts were ordinary passing boats, and they were all
hailed as they went along.
Q. Where were the torpedo war heads stowed?
A. They were stowed in the storeroom for them, down underneath
the forward end of the wardroom.
Q. When had they been handled last before the explosion?
A. About the 26th or 27th of December, if I recollect right. They
were taken up just at the end of December and weighed, and restowed
again, and they had not been touched since.
Q. No torpedo war heads were fitted at the time of the explosion?
A. No, sir; no torpedo war heads were out of the torpedo storeroom.
Q. Do you remember the kind of ammunition and, as near as you can
tell us, the amount that was stowed in the reserve 6-inch magazine?
A. The reserve 6-inch magazine struck me as being practically
empty when I went through it. I didn't take any account of the stock,
but there was very little ammunition of any kind in it, and the gunner
who went through the magazine with me told me that he had the saluting charges and a few extra shell stowed in there, I think. I am not
sure about that, but it was a very small quantity of ammunition of any
kind that was stowed in that reserve magazine.
Q. On June 30, 1897, it was reported that there was quite an amount
of 6-inch charges there. Do you know whether there were any there
at the time of the explosion?
A. I do not know. I did not take any account of the stock there.
Q. Are there any wooden linings to the magazines of the Maine?
A. There were gratings on the floors, but I don't recollect how the
sides of the magazines were fitted.
Q. During your inspections, did you notice whether there were any
electric wires which might endanger the magazines?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


'119


A. I never saw any wires there except the light wires which were in
the light box. They were not in the magazines.
Q. Did you notice any steam pipes which might endanger the magazines?
A. No, sir; I don't think there were any steam pipes in the magazines at all.
Q. I believe, in answer to a previous question, you stated that while
you were officer of the deck all ordnance regulations were faithfully
carried out. I believe you were on deck at the time of the explosion.
For how long previous to that moment were you on deck?
A. I came on deck about half past 9. It may have been a little
before that; and the explosion occurred about 9.40. It might have
been a little longer.. I was on deck probably about fifteen minutes.
Q. Could you state whether proper vigilance was exercised or not in
respect to these orders?
A. The men were on watch on deck and all the sentries were posted.
Q. The officers were at their stations?
A. No other officer was on deck except the officer of the deck and
myself. The. officer of the deck was on deck at his station, but there
was no other officer on deck that I saw.
Q. Did you notice which way the ship was riding?
A. Idid.
Q. From your experience while at Havana, did you think she was
riding in an unusual way or in a way in which she had frequently been
riding?
A. She was riding in a direction that I never remember having seen
her ride in before.
Q. Was she heading steadily in that direction, so far as you could
judge? 
A. Just at that time she was pretty still.
Q. Will you please state to the court your experience of the explosion in full-what you felt, what you heard, and what you saw.
A. I was sitting on the port side of the deck with my feet on the rail,
and I both heard and felt-felt more than I heard-a big explosion, that
sounded and felt like an under-water explosion. I was under the
impression that it came from forward, starboard, at the time. I
instantly turned my head, and the instant I turned my head there
was a second explosion. I saw the whole starboard side of the deck
and everything above it as far aft as the after end of the superstructure
spring up in the air with all kinds of objects in it-a regular crater-like
performance, with flames and everything else coming up. I immediately sprang myself behind the edge of the superstructure, as there
were a number of objects flying in my direction, for shelter. I ran
very quickly aft, as fast as I could, along the after end of the superstructure, and climbed up on a kind of step. I went under the barge, and
by the time I went up on the superstructure this explosion had passed.
The objects had stopped flying around. Then I saw on the starboard
side there was an immense mass of foaming water and wreckage and
groaning men out there. It was scattered around in a circle, I should
say about a hundred yards in diameter, off on the starboard side. Iimmediately proceeded to lower the gig, with the help of another man.
After I got that in the water several officers jumped in it and one or
two men. In the meantime somebody else was lowering the other boat
on the port side. I heard some groans forward, and ran forward on
the quarter deck down the poop ladder, and I immediately brought up
on an immense pile of wreckage. I saw one man there, who had been
thrown from somewhere, pinned down by a ventilator.




120    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
The COURT. May I interrupt Mr. Hood a moment. He said several
officers jumped into the gig. He does not say for what purpose or
what they did. That might leave a bad impression unless he states
what the object was.
A. They jumped into the gig, commanded to pick up these wounded
men whom we heard out in the water. The orders had been given by
the captain and the executive officer to lower the boats as soon as they
came on deck. I spoke of lowering the gig, because I was on the deck
before they got up there, and began to lower it anyway, to pick up
these men. As I was saying a minute ago, I found this one man lying
there on the quarter deck in this wreckage, pinned down by a ventilator. With Mr. Blandin's help, we got him up just in time before the
water rose over him. The captain and the executive officer ordered
the magazines to be closed. We all saw at once that it would be no
use flooding the magazines. We saw that the magazines were flooding
themselves. Then the captain said he wanted the fire put out that was
starting up in the wreckage. I made my way forward through the
wreck and debris, up to the middle superstructure, to see if anything
could be done toward putting out this fire. When I got there I found
nothing could be done because the whole thing was gone.
When I climbed up on this wreck on the superstructure I saw similar piles of wreckage on the port side which I had not seen before, and
I saw some men struggling in that, in the water; but there were half
a dozen boats there, I suppose, picking them up and hauling them out;
and after pulling down some burning swings and things that were
starting to burn aft, to stop any fire from catching aft, I came aft
again out of the wreckage. There was no living thing up there at that
time. Shortly after that we all left the ship. There were two distinct
explosions-big ones-and they were followed by a number of smaller
explosions, which I took at once to be what they were, I supposeexplosions of separate charges of the blown-up magazine. The instant
this first explosion occurred, I knew the ship was gone completely, and
the second explosion only assisted her to go a little quicker. She
began to go down instantly. The interval between the two was so
short that I only had time to turn my head and see the second. She
sank on the forward end-went down like a shot. In the short time
that I took to run the length of that short superstructure aft the deck
canted down, showing that her bow had gone at once.
At the same time the shipl heeled over considerably to port, I should
say about 10 degrees, the highest amount, and then the stern began to
sink very rapidly, too; so rapidly that by the time I got that gig lowered, with the assistance of another man or two, the upper quarter deck
was under water, and the stern was sinking so quickly that when I
began to pick this man up, whom I spoke of on the quarter deck, the
deck was still out of water. Before 1 got this ventilator off him-it
didn't take very long, as Mr. Blandin assisted to move that to get him
up-the water was up over my knees, and just catching this fellow's
head. The stern was sinking that quickly. The bow had gone down,
as I say, instantly. I do not suppose you want my impressions.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. No; I will ask you some questions.  Which was the larger
explosion; which gave you the greater shock, the first or the second?
A. The first was more of a feel. I mean, you felt the first explosion
rather more than you saw it. I felt the whole ship just go up and
tremble and vibrate all over. The first explosion was a duller sound,
to me. The second was a kind of an open explosion, you might say,




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


121


which was the one that I saw, which came right up at once. The other
one had come up, too, but I had not been able to see it.
Q. Was there any lifting of the ship at the time of the first explosion?
A. The ship began to list immediately. The explosions followed each
other very quickly. I just had time to turn my head, and the ship
began to list to port immediately. There was no appreciable interval
of time between these two explosions.
Q. WVhat 1 mean is, Did the ship give a sudden list to either starboard or port at the first explosion, as if something had struck her on
either side? I don't mean a gradual sinking, as she did afterwards.
A. I didn't notice any special list at the first shot, but she began to
list immediately.
Q. As I understand from your description, the first explosion was
more as if something had run into her, and trembled the whole ship?
A. No; not as if something had run into her at all; as though something had exploded under her.
t      Q. It affected the whole ship more than the second explosion, which
has a bursting of the forward part?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On which side did you think the explosion was, at the moment?
A. My instantaneous impression was that it was on the starboard
side; but that was an impression. It was the starboard side that I
saw blow up myself. I couldn't see the port side. I was sitting behind
the after turret, and the awning was spread, coming down, and I
couldn't see that at all. I felt the explosion was forward, and rather
to starboard. I naturally supposed it must have been to starboard,
because it was to starboard that I looked.
Q. And could see?
A. And could see.
Q. The turret obstructed the view of the port gangway, did it not?
A. It entirely obstructed the view of the port gangway. I could not
see anything at all to port. The turret was there, and the awning was
spread, coming down through the top of the turret, so that I could see
neither above nor ahead.
Q. The quarterdeck awning was spread, was it?
A. Yes; and my only line of sight forward was in a diagonal starboard line, between the after superstructure and the turret gun, looking out toward the starboard gangway.
Q. Was any water thrown up at the time of either explosion?
A. I didn't see any water thrown up.
Q. Did you feel any?
A. I didn't feel any.
Q. Were there any upshoots of flame in either explosion?
A. The first explosion, I do not know what there was, because I did
not see it; but in the second explosion, there was an upshoot of flame,
and deck and~everything else in sight, along the starboard side. I saw
the whole starboard side of the deck, as far as I could see it, nearly as
far aft as the after end of the middle superstructure-I saw the whole
thing go up in the air, and the part of the superstructure there along
with it.
Q. Did you notice any explosions in the air?
A. No.
By the COURT:
Q. You connect that movement of the lifting of the deck of the middle
superstructure distinctly with the second explosion, do you?
A. The deck, not the superstructure at all. During this first explo



122    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


sion there was nothing in the way of the starboard gangway of that
vast mass of wreckage that is lying there now. My first sight through
the starboard side was a perfectly clear sight, and there was nothing
lying there, or there was no wreckage there, of that immense pile of
wreckage that is piled on the starboard and after side of the ship after
the whole thing was over. There was nothing there at that time.
There was a clear view through, right past that superstructure, and I
just happened to get a look in time to see all that go up itself. When
I climbed up after the thing was over, and we got the boats out, and I
climbed up in this mass of wreckage at night, I found an immense mass
of wreckage piled up where I had seen this thing go up. In the darkness of the night I took that mass of wreckage to be the starboard side
of the ship, that had just blown up and tilted up. That was my
impression during that night, that this big mass of wreckage was the
end of those beams that I discovered the next morning. That night I
thought they might be the end of the beams themselves thrown up in
the air. When that second explosion took place there was nothing in
the line of my sight forward. It was perfectly clear.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Where were you at the time of the first explosionS What was
exactly your position?
A. I was sitting, I should say, just between-I can point it out
exactly on the plan.
Q. We would rather have you tell where you were, because your
pointing can not go in the record.
A. I was sitting almost opposite the door, I should say, almost under
the forward davit of the whaleboat.
Q. On the port side?
A. On the port side.
By the COURT:
Q. Fix it exactly by the number of the frame?
A. I don't know what the number of the frame is. I was sitting
right there, almost opposite this door [indicating].
Q. The door that leads into the admiral's cabin?
A. The door that leads into the admiral's cabin, yes, sir.
Q. The frames are numbered here.
A. (After examination of the plan.) I was sitting about on frame
66, close to the port rail.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. I understand you to say you jumped right up and ran over to
starboard 
A. First, before I jumped out of my chair, I turned. I was sitting
in the chair with my feet on the rail. Before I jumped, I turned to the
right to look forward, and I had a view just between the turret and the
aftersuperstructure, across the deck, over to the starboard gangway.
I did not start to run until after the second explosion, when I saw the
whole deck and everything above there, and below, too, I suppose, rise
up in the air. I saw various missiles of all kinds flying around loose,
and some of them were flying toward me. One of them whisked off
my cap as it came by. It didn't touch my head, but I felt the wind of
it as it went by, and I quickly jumped against the port side of the aftersuperstructure, to be under shelter from these flying missiles.
Q. Your position did not give you a full view of the starboard gangway?
A. No.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


123


Q. The wreck shows now that the forward part of the superstructure
was thrown forward of the afterpart?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you think it might have been possible that it was thrown up
at the first explosion but not landed in time for you to see the wreckage?
A. That is exactly what I think. It was not there when I saw this
second explosion. Just immediately after I got up on the superstructure, the thing was there. My belief is that the whole forward part of
the superstructure that is lying there on the starboard gangway now
was in the air at the time I saw the second explosion.
Q. You think the first explosion threw up the middle superstructure?
A. I do. The explosion that I saw myself was on the starboard
side, and that would have raised and thrown anything in the other
direction-thrown it off.
Q. You saw the second explosion on the starboard side?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. But could it not have been on both sides and you not able to
see it?
A. It could have been, except that when I examined the wreck the
next morning the afterpart of the port side of the middle superstructure was apparently intact. It is intact there yet, almost, and the starboard side aft is all gone. As I say, I saw this deck go up almost as
far aft as the after end of the superstructure.
Q. Then it is your belief that the deck was raised at the first
explosion 
A. It is my belief that the forward deck-that main deck forwardwas raised at the first explosion.
Q. And the second explosion might have been on the port side as
well as the starboard, but you would only see the starboard? Is that
correct?
A. No; I think the second explosion was more to starboard. The
flames and the crater that I saw were to starboard.
Q. None on the port side?
A. I could not see the port side. I do not know what was on the
port.
Q. That is what I am trying to say. You could not testify as to the
port side?
A. I could not see the port side at all. Of course, I only have my
impressions of it after I climbed up on the wreckage and saw what was
*       left-saw what the thing was; but I could not see anything to port. I
did see the starboard side go up, and when I saw that starboard side
go up my first sight of it was clear. There was nothing piled up there,
and it was perfectly clear. Shortly after the explosion, the next time
I saw it, there was a great mass of wreckage piled up there, which I
saw afterwards was the forward end of the main deck and the middle
superstructure. That was not there when this second explosion that I
saw took place.
Q. You could not be positive, then, which explosion threw up the
forward part of the superstructure, but you are positive that it was
not there when you got a view?
A. I am positive it was not there when I saw it, and that the explosion that I saw on the starboard side would have thrown things away
from there.
By the COURT:
Q. How do you account, Mr. Hood, for the fact that the missiles




124    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


which you saw, some of which were coming your way, followed the
second explosion-?
A. They were things that had blown up from below in this explosion-parts of the deck and parts of the superstructure, the starboard
side of the superstructure, and whatever was in the way there. The
thing opened out just like a big crater. It is only a matter of judgment, of course, as to just how far aft that came; but my line of sight
did not take so very far forward of the line of the after end of the
superstructure from where I was sitting.
Q. It is only a question of separating the impression, or estimating
the interval between the first and the second explosion, and whether
the first one could have produced a result which you did not see at the
time of the second explosion. That is, the wreckage which had been
produced by the first explosion only landed in its place after the second
explosion 
A. After the second explosion.
Q. Or whether the result of the second explosion was what you subsequently saw and recognized as being the result of either the first
explosion or of both explosions, or of only the second explosion. That
is, you can not separate the result of the two explosions?
A. No; I could not separate them fully, of course, but I know that
my line of sight was perfectly clear when I saw this thing open up.
Q. Until the second explosion occurred?
A. Yes; they followed so closely on each other that of course it is a
mere matter of impression as to how close they were together.
Q. Yes; I am aware of that.
A. I turned my head, and before I got my head around I heard the
second one, and I just got around in time to see.
Q. You saw that your view at that time was unobstructed.
A. Was unobstructed. Of course it was an instantaneous action on
my part-as near as a human action can be to look-around.
Q. Why do you think the second explosion occurred on the starboard
side?
A. Because I saw the starboard side of the deck go up in the air,
and everything about there going up. As soon as I got on top of the
after superstructure, I saw this mass of wreckage, and foam, and
things skimming in a semicircle around on the starboard side.
Q. Could you see the port side from the superstructure after you got
up there?
A. No; the wreckage and other things were in the way from where
I was. I did not see that until a minute or two after that, when I
climbed forward on the wreck of the middle superstructure. Then I
saw the port side, too. That was the first I had seen of the port side.
Q. Will you tell us what your impression was the following day, or
when you had a distinct impression of the wreck, as to the point at
which the explosion had taken place.
A. In the morning I went around the wreck when it was not absolutely full daylight. Mr. Wainwright and myself got in a boat and
pulled around it, and my impression that morning in this darkness was
thatQ. But you were there how long afterwards 
A. I was not near the wreck at all after that. I watched it through
glasses as I was coming out on the steamer, but the steamer did not
pass very near the wreck. I was in doubt as to just what that mass of
wreckage that is turned up there was at that time. I knew those were
beams, and that was a part of the superstructure, but whether that was




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


125


the main deck in the after end of the superstructure, turned up in the
air, or whether it was the port end of the forward part of the superstructure that was turned up in the air I could not exactly make out.
I could not place exactly what that protuberance was that stuck out
there on the starboard side.
Q. You know now, do you?
A. I know what it is; yes. I have studied the thing out since, and
I know it is the base of the conning tower. I thought that is what it,       looked like, but I could not see that morning how it could get there.
I could not place it. I thought it might have been the starboard side
of the deck, aft, blown up in the air, with the starboard ends of the
beam sticking up. At the distance I saw it from the steamer I took it
that it might have been one of the drying rooms-I think they call
^       them-around the smokestack, or something of that kind; but I saw
that the whole ship was gone from the cranes forward.
Q. Bearing in mind the second impression, or the impressions you
got the following day of the condition of the wreck, does that accord
with the impression made upon you at the time the explosion occurred?
A. Yes, sir; my impression has never changed at all, except in that
1 was not sure at the first instant just where the explosion took place,
whether it was more to starboard or more to port.
Q. Your impression was at first —
A. My impression at first was that it was a little starboard.
Q. That it was on the starboard side, and now, after knowing the
position of the wreck, you are still of the same impression, are you?
A. No; I am of the impression that the explosion was on the port
side.
Q. Yes; but the second one?
A. The second explosion, I am under the impression, was on the
starboard side. It may have been, of course, that the main explosion
at first threw a lot of these things out to starboard, but I could not see
that.
Q. I would like to ask a question about the agitation of the water.
What did you notice about the agitation of the water?
A. I just noticed a semicircular space of water opposite the starboard side. It was just a mass of foam and wreckage. There were
quite a lot of groaning men in it. It extended out, I thought at the
time, about 75 yards.
Q. Was there any wave?
A. There was no big wave; no. There would not be any wave.
Q. How close to the port side of the magazine was any of the powder
stowed-I mean the 6-inch reserve magazine?
A. The 6-inch reserve magazine was well in. Just the exact distance I do not know; but it was well in from the side of the ship. It
was on the port side of amidships.
Q. I mean from the coal-bunker bulkhead, which is the outboard
bulkhead of the magazine?
A. I do not remember.
Q. You did not notice any smoke or flame rising above the deck
until the second explosion occurred?
A. I did not; but I could not see anything on the port side at all.
Q. You did not notice 
A. I did not notice, because I could not see anything, except on the
starboard side.
Q. I mean above the deck. I do not refer to either side. You did
not notice any smoke or flame rising above the decks until the second
explosion occurred?




126    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. No; I could not see.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. When did you see the steam launch last, or did you see her at
all?
A. I didn't notice her that night at all.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to with-draw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which
he will be again called before the court and be given au oportunity to
amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request
was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon
he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss
matters pertaining to the trial.
Lieut. GEOBRGE P. BLOW, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before the
court and was sworn by the president:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your name, rank, and to what ship you are attached.
A. George P. Blow, lieutenant, United States Navy, attached to the
U. S. battle ship Matne.
Q. How long have you been in the Maine?
A. I have been in the Maine since September, 1895, I think it was.
Q. As what?
A. As lieutenant and watch officer.
Q. What division have you?
A. I had the fourth division first, and later the third division, in
charge of the after turret.
Q. When did you last have gunnery drill in the Maine?
A. Onu Monday.
Q. The day previous to the explosion?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was all powder that was sent up sent below and properly stowed
away?
A. No powder was sent up, sir.
Q. While you were watch officer of the Maine did you ever notice
any hostile demonstrations afloat, in the way of boats attempting to
approach the vessel at night that had to be warned off?
A. No, sir; nothing hostile. I have noticed a number of shore
boats which were warned off by the sentries; but nothing of a hostile
nature.
Q. Do you know the direction in which the Maine was heading at
the time of the explosion?
A. I know the direction, approximately.
Q. Was that an unusual heading, from your experience during your
stay in that harbor, for that ship?
A. Rather unusual; yes, sir. As a rule, we swung so that the
Alfonso, which was lying at the buoy inside of us, was either on our
port quarter or starboard quarter. That was the customary heading.
Q. Were you officer of the deck 'from 4 to 8 p. m. the night of this
explosion?
A. I was the officer of the day-officer on day's duty.
Q. Were you on duty when the reports at 8 p. m. were made?
A. Yes, sir.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


127


Q. Who made them?
A. Do you mean the regular reports to the executive officer?
Q. Yes.
A. The usual reports were made at the mast by the warrant officers,
and by petty officers in charge of their departments.
Q. What reports were made to the officer of the deck in your presence or hearing?
A. The reports were made that the captain, the executive officer, and
other officers were on board.
Q. I refer to the master at arms' reports about lights and fires.
A. The usual report was made and repeated by Mr. Cluverius, before
the deck was delivered over to the orderly, that the lights and fires
were secure and everything was secure.
Q. You were officer of the day of the Maine on February 15 up to 8
p. m., and you consider that everything was secure below on the ship
at 8 p. m.?
A. to the best of my knowledge, everything was secure as usual.
Q. Did you, as an officer who had been on the ship for a long while,
have perfect confidence in the reports of these men that everything
below was secure?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?
A. I was in my room, writing.
Q. Where is your room situated?
A. My room is the after room on the starboard side, in the wardroom
proper, just forward of the bulkhead separating it from the after compartment.
Q. Do you remember the number of that bulkhead?
A. No, sir. (After looking at the plan.) It was just abaft of frame
No. 76 on the starboard side.
Q. Will you state to the court what you experienced during that
explosion? We wish to know what you felt, what you heard, or what
you saw.
A. I was writing at the time, and heard forward, and apparently at
some distance-that is to say, well up in the bow, as far as I could judge
from the sound-an explosion.
Instantly the lights went out. I rushed out of my room to see the
cause of it, and before I could get more than probably 6 feet from my
room a second and much more violent explosion followed. This explosion
I would describe as being a continuous explosion, lasting for some seconds, and accompanied by the falling of lights, electric fittings, furniture, and by a crashing and rending of metal, and immediately by a
sharp heel of the ship to port; the sound of rushing water from forward, and the cries and screams of men from about amidships. My
first impression was that we had been fired on, and I remember feeling
surprised that it should have been by such a heavy gun. When the
second explosion occurred, followed by the listing of the ship, I recognizet the fact that the ship was sinking, and had been blown up.
My impulse had been at first to go to my quarters, but at the second
explosion I abandoned all thought of this, and realized that it was a
question of whether I could reach the deck or not before the ship sank.
A sharp heel of the ship, as I rushed forward feeling my way along
the starboard bulkhead, caused me to lose my way amidst the wreckage, and for probably a moment I was confused as to my position. I
soon found the bulkhead again, and, feeling my way along, reached a
small china jar on top of the starboard steam heater, and recognizing




128    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


this by feeling, found the starboard door leading forward. This door
was closed and jammed. It could not be opened. I then felt my way
across the deck to the port door. The list of the ship, which had probably closed the starboard door, had kept the port door open, and I had
no difficulty in finding it. Stepping through the door, I reached the
ladder, and ran into someone in the dark.
By the COURT:
Q. What ladder was that? The one just outside the bulkhead?
A. Yes, sir; just outside the bulkhead, leading up to the wardroom
proper.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. It leads into the cabin passageS
A. Yes, sir. We both fell, owing to the inclination of the deck, but,
helping each other up again, we immediately crawled up the ladder,
which was then nearly vertical. I am under the impression that this
ladder fell immediately afterwards, as I heard a crash behind us. The
water was then rushing in on the berth deck, though it was not quite
up to the ladder, as she was heeled to port. Reaching the main deck,
I felt my way through the starboard door in the after superstructure
out on deck, and was surprised to find that everything was pitch dark.
as dark as it had been below.
By the COURT:
Q. That starboard door opens right out on the starboard deck?
A. It opens right out on the starboard deck; yes, sir.
Q. After passing through that you found it dark?
A. I found it perfectly dark there. I was surprised at the time to
find it so dark. This was probably due to the fact that the quarterdeck awning had been dragged down by the fall of the third cutter. As
I passed through the door I ran against someone hanging from the
poop-deck rail, who asked me to give him a push up on deck. This I
did, and believing that there must be some good cause for his having
taken that way of reaching safety, I quickly followed. At this time
the main deck was still above water. On reaching the poop deck I
glanced forward and found the whole forward part of the ship a mass
of confused wreckage, and apparently submerged up to and above the
main deck. There were about a dozen men only to be seen on the
poop deck. Among these I recognized the captain and the executive
officer, Lieutenant-Commander Wainright, who were giving orders to
get out the boats for the purpose of saving the lives of the men in the
water.
On the starboard side the beam and forward there were cries for
help. Realizing at a glance that my boat, the third cutter, and that
all the boats, in fact, forward, were gone, I turned aft to help to get
out the only boats remaining. I found the gig manned and about to
be lowered. I lowered the forward fall, and was surprised to find that
the boat only went down about 6 or 8 feet. Thinking the stopper
might have passed, or the blocks jammed, I asked the man in the bow
if everything was all right. He replied yes. I asked him why the
boat would not go down. He informed me that the boat was afloat.
By that time the water had nearly reached the top of the superstructure deck. I then went forward again, and noticed that the wreckage
had broken into flames, and I heard someone, I think the executive
officer, say to the captain: "There is the wreck of the fire ship which




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


129


they have sent down on us," pointing to the wreckage forward, which
was now illuminated from the burning cellulose.
I then went t the port side to assist in lowering the barge. I found
that she had already been lowered and was afloat. Before that, however, I would like to insert something. I am a little too fast. Before'
going forward again one of the midshipmen-I think it was Mr. Cluverius-came and asked me if he could be of any service. I told him
to jump in the gig and take charge and save what life he could on the
starboard side, which I believe he did. After this I went to the port
side to assist in lowering the barge and I found that she was already
in the water and afloat. There were already, I think, four men in her,
-  however, to man her. So I went back again and called several who
were standing on the poop and put them in the boat, and afterwards
'!:  got in myself. I took charge of the boat, ordering the man at the helm
to steer around on the starboard side, where most of the cries for help
had been heard. After shoving off I found Lieutenant Jungen was in
the boat, and he being my senior I turned the boat over to him and
requested that he put me back. He said it was impossible, which was
perfectly right. He pulled completely around the ship, and only succeeded in picking up one man on the starboard side, as we became
involved in the wreckage and debris which was floating from a beam;,   around the bow. The barge being very long, and only half manned,
-    was very difficult to maneuver. We were continually backing and:  pulling out.
In that way we did not get around as quickly as we might have done.
By this time the wreckage was all in flames, and I called Mr. Jungen's
attention to the fact that I thought I saw men on the forecastle, as I
supposed it to be, and asked him to pull in there and see if he could
not get them off. We headed in for the wreckage, but ran into other
wreckage, which we found out there to be the submerged portion of the:.   forecastle and forward superstructure. We backed out and again
pulled in toward the flames. We then found that it was the after part. of the middle superstructure, abreast of the port crane. There were.~   several boats there, which had already taken off all the men, so we
pulled around on the port quarter, and again reported to the captain
that the boat was there ready to take off anybody else. In the meanwhile, the captain had ordered the ship to be abandoned. Mr. Wainwright asked us if we were all right. We told him yes, and asked the
captain if he would not get in the barge. He replied, " No; I want my
own boat," and then ordered all of our boats to go on board of the Ward
Line steamer the City of Washington. He then put his orderly and
everyone else into the gig and got into the gig himself. We obeyed
orders and went aboard the City of Washington. Do you wish me to
-C   go any further?
*:        By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. No. Will you please describe your sensation of the frst shock a
little more fully?
A. The first shock was not a very severe one, although it was sufficient to put all of the lights out. It impressed me as sounding, as
nearly as I can recollect, like a 10-inch gun fired close aboard. My
recollection is that I was surprised that they should fire on us with such
large guns so close aboard.:-     Q. I suppose you had heard no report in connection with this-what
~i   would you have supposed? What was the shock like?
A. It was a dull concussion; not like the shock of a rapid-firing gun
S. Doc. 207-9




130   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


or a 6 inch gun. It was longer and deeper in tone, and also with more
of a shake.
Q. Did this first explosion, or whatever it was, list the ship any 
A. I think not.
Q. By the time you had reached the deck in the method you have
described, had the second explosion finished completely?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then by the time you reached the deck there was no more upshoot
of flame or debris or anything?
A. Only a few cinders and sparks.
By the COURT:
Q. When you got up on the poop deck, did you notice whether the
men who had been thrown into the water were all on one side of the
ship or not?
A. My impression was that those in the water were all on the starboard side; but I was on the starboard side myself, and it is possible
that there may have been men on the port side whom I did not hear.
That was my impression, and I ordered the boat to pull to the starboard side to pick up the men rather than the port side.
Q. How did you reach the starboard side?
A. We pulled around the stern, sir. The stern was cleared of wreckage and debris. We had no difficulty around the stern.
Q. Yet the ship, you say, was listed sharply to port at this time?
A. To port at this time. She had straightened up more, which led'
me to believe that she was on bottom.
Q. But she was listed?
A. Yes, sir; she was still listed; not so much, I think, as when she
was sinking.
Q. From where you were could you tell from the shock, etc., about
where the explosion occurred?
A. Only that the explosion seemed to me to come from well forward.
Q. Could you tell from which side it came from?
A. No, sir. I had an impression, but I do not think it is strong
enough. My impression was at the time-that is to say, my impression
now is-that it came from port, if there is any distinction; but I do,
not think it was strong enough at the time to notice-simply that itwas an explosion from forward.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters.
pertaining to the inquiry.
Lieut. CARL W. JUNGEN, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before
the court, and was duly sworn by the president:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your name, rank, and to what ship you are attached.
A. Carl W. Jungen, lieutenant, United States Navy, attached to the
U. S. S. Maine.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.      131
Q. How long have you been aboard the Maine?
A. Nearly two years and a half, sir.
Q. Ever since her commission?
A. Ever since her commissiou. I went into commission with her.
Q. What have been your duties since that time?
A. Watch and division officer, sir.
Q. What division did you have at the time of her destruction?
A. I had command of the second division, the forward turret.
Q. How long had you had that division?
A. About a year and a half, sir.
Q. When did you last have gunnery drill on board the Maine?
A. On the Thursday previous to the accident. I don't remember the
date-general quarters.
Q. Did you not have gunnery drill the day before, on Monday?
A. Yes, sir; we did.
Q. After that drill, was all powder that was gotten up properly sent
below and stowed away?
A. We didn't get up any powder at all at that drill.
Q. Then there was no powder outside the magazines, as far as you
know, subsequent to the last time it was gotten up?
A. No, sir.
Q. It was all properly stowed in the magazine?
A. All properly stowed away. That is, I have not charge of the
stowing away, but there was none gotten up.
Q. Was there anything kept in the loading or passing rooms which
should not be there?
A. No, sir; nothing that should not be there, although there was an
extra supply of 10-inch shell ready for immediate use, which had been
gotten up on the night that we started over for Havana from Tortugas.
Q. Who was the gunner's mate of your division?
A. Rieger. I don't remember his first name.
Q. He was a reliable man?
A. Yes, sir; he was.
Q. Do you know a seaman by the name of Neilson, who used to be on
the steam launch of the Maine 
A. I do, sir.
Q. What duties was he performing just lately before the explosion?
A. I don't know, sir, that he was performing any special duties other
than those of seaman in the forecastle, where he belonged.
Q. What was the man's record and character?
A. Excellent, sir.
Q. Was he a very reliable man?
A. I should say he was.
Q. At the time of the explosion he was in Lieutenant Jenkins's division, was he not?
A. Yes, in the first division.
Q. And the regular captain of the hold, was he in the ship?
A. No, sir; the regular captain of the hold was sent to the marine
hospital some days before we left Key West, on or about the 20th of
January.
Q. I have reason to believe, and I shall prove before the court that
this seaman, Neilson, was acting captain of the hold at the time of the
explosion. I therefore ask you his character. It was thoroughly
reliable?
A. I consider him so, sir.
Q. While officer of the deck of the Maine, in the harbor of Havana,




132    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
did you ever notice any hostile demonstration afloat, in the way of boats
attempting to approach the ship, that had to be warned of f
A. 1No, sir; I never did.
Q. From your knowledge of the swinging of the ship, do you think
that at the time of her explosion she was swinging in an unusual
direction?
A. I could not tell that positively without referring to the log book,
but I think not.
Q. Were you below at the time of the explosion?
A. I was, sir.
Q. Where?
A. 1 was sitting in the mess room, the after part, at the small table.
Assuming that the ship was heading north, I was sitting at the southwest corner of that table, talking to Mr. Jenkins and Alr. Holman. Mr.
Holman was sitting at nearly the opposite corner, and Mr. Jenkins, I
think, was standing at the time.
Q. Will you please describe to the court your experiences of this
explosion, all you saw, heard, and fel up to the time that the whole
thing was over?
A. I had just arisen from my seat. I had finished smoking a cigar
which I had in a cigar holder. I had flicked the cigar out of it, and a
piece of the wrapper was adhering to the inside, which I pulled out.
As I pulled that out the explosion occurred. I remember that distinctly, It was not an explosion. It was a dull, deafening roar, followed immediately by a tremendous crash, and it seemed as though
the whole ship was falling to pieces. Mr. Holman jumped up and
remarked, " VWe have been torpedoed," which was the general impression we all had. He added: " Follow me."
There was a sufficient interval between the time it took me to get
from that end of the table to the door opposite in the mess room before
the lights were extinguished, so that I saw what appeared to me a thick
dust or ashes or brown smoke. It may have been the dust that was
shaken up from the ship. I detected no odor, nor did I experience any
discomfort from it in passing through it. This lasted long enoughthat is, the interval of time was sufficiently long-for me to reach the
door and see that. I believed at the time that Mr. Jenkins and Mr.
Holman were-I know Mr. Holman was and I believe Mr. Jenkins wasright ahead of me. Total darkness followed, and I saw no one then.
I stretched out my hands. I knew where I was, but I was afraid of
missing my way. So I stretched out my hands to catch hold of the
engine-room hatch, which was right there. I followed along that with
my other hand and reached the ladder. I got up the ladder and into
the passageway of the after superstructure. I thought I saw the captain's orderly there, though I am not sure it was he. I ran out through
that passageway and turned to the left, with the intention of going
forward. As I was coming up the ladder I heard three-I think it was
three-distinct explosions. One of them was more powerful than the
other two. The other two were of a character that at the moment
impressed me as being the fire of a 6 or 8 inch gun, and the thought
flashed through my mind that we were being fired on, after being torpedoed, by the Spanish cruiser that was lying within 200 yards of us
at her usual buoy, where she had been ever since we had been in there.
Q. The Alfonso Doce 
A. Yes, sir. As I turned to the left, I encountered a mass of wreckage
and debris which had fallen on top of the awning. The awnings had
been spread, so that I could not get forward. I intended at the time




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAAINFE


133


to go to my station at general quarters. Then I made an effort to get to
the ladder, and I could not-the ladder that leads up the poop. Finding that I could not get on the poop that way, I turned around and
caught hold of the iron water-tight door on that superstructure-the
door that I had passed through-and tried to raise myself on it. I
failed the first time, and then, by a superhuman effort, I swung myself
up. I got my foot up on the waterway, and then I let go one hand and
grabbed where I knew there ought to be a rail. It was a chain that
had been replaced by a rail. I caught hold of that and swung myself
up. The captain and the executive officer were on deck at the time.
They had gotten there in the meLanwhile, and 1 heard the captain give
some order about flooding the magazines.
Mir. Wainwriglt made the remlark, "There is no use flooding the magazines; the ship is sinking." I, mysellf then realized that the ship was
settling. Then the captain gave the order to lower the boats. There
were very few people on the poop that I could see. I groped my way aft,
over the skylights and tle wreckage that was there, to the barge. I
found Mr. Morris at the forward boat. I recognized him and Mr. Catlin
at the after boat. I directed Mr. Catlin to get into the boat and see
that the plug was in it. I could not see then. There was a dark shadow,
I suppose, which was cast on tlhe water by the liglht forward, and I
could not see how high the water was up on the ship's side. He said
at first he could not find the plug. I told him to throw the grating overboard and see if he could not get at it. Finally he got it, and I reported
that the boat was ready for lowering. Without waiting for further
orders I lowered the boat. I lowered it about 8 feet, I suppose, when I
sung out to Mr. Catlin to let me know when the boat was in the water.
He said she was in the water then. Then the sentry on the poop, who
had loaded his rifle when tlhe explosion took place-he had orders in a
sudden emergency to load his rifle, which he did-got in the boat.
There were two men-1 don't remember who they were; I think one
of them was a mess attendant and a man by the name of Rush-who I
directed to get in the boat. Then I got in the boat myself to go around
and help pick up the men who were in the water. There was a great
deal ot hallooing and screaming for hell. As I was about to shove
off, only having tour people in the boat, Mr. Morris got iii. The paymaster and the chaplain, and Mr. Blow, and another man appeared at
the rail, and I told them to get in. It was the barge-a large boat.
They got in and they all took oars, and I took the boat and pulled
around. I had to pull around clear oC all the wreckage that had
fallen in thle water, which was very thick, like the driftwood you see
sometimes in the Mississippi River. You could not pull through it.
You had to pull around it. We pulled around on the starboard side. I
saw no one aft, but 1 picked up a man opposite the forward turret.
Then I went around the bows of the ship, or what has since transpired
were the bows, but which we took at the time to be the wreck of a fireship, because I heard someone remark while I was on the poop that
there was a fire ship down on us. I worked my way aft on the starboard side again to the quarter, and the ship by that time was, as near
as I could make out, sunk until the upper superstructure was flush
with tlhe water.
There were several boats standing by to take the captain and executive officer, who were the last people to leave, as I remember. I offered
the captain my boat and lie said he wanted to go in his own..Other
officers offered their boats. When I got around on the starboad side,
I foulnd several boats there, two Spanish boats, and two boats which I




134   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


took to be merchant boats, and some smaller boats from shore. Besides
our two boats, I believe, and the second whaleboat, which had been
lowered, they all had survivors, people they had picked up. When I
got around to the quarter again, the captain gave the order, before he
got in bis boat, for all the boats to go alongside the Ward Line steamer.
I shoved off then with the people I had in the boat and went alongside.
I put this man on board, and just then it began to rain quite hard. It
rained harder a little later, for about ten or fifteen minutes, I should
say. Then I got all the officers and the wounded man out. I directed
them to go ahead, as the other boats were coming alongside. Then I
went down into the cabin, and my first thought was to see if Doctor
Henneberger was there. I found him attending the wounded. Mr.
Blow went down to assist him. That is all that I can think of.
Q. In the first part of your evidence you spoke of an interval several
times. What interval do you refer to?
A. It seemed to me an appreciable interval between the roar and the
crash and the extinguishment of the lights, which was, as I say, sufficiently long to enable me to travel from that end of the table to the
door, which was probably 8 feet, but the way I went around the table
it was probably a longer distance.
Q. Did you not testify to two shocks, two explosions?
A. I testified to the original roar and crash, and tlen, as I remember,
three distinct explosions, one of them being more violent than the rest
of them. The other two that I speak of reminded me of the firing of
a 6 or 8 inch gun.
Q. Will you describe a little more distinctly the three different explosions; how they took place and the interval between them?
A. I can not give you a proper conception of the time.
Q. You have not stated yet whether the big explosion was the first
or the second or the third, and you have not stated definitely at which
time the lights went out. Which explosion came first; the small one?
A. The first explosion, as I said, was a dull, deafening roar, followed
immediately by a crash. By the time I got to the door, I should say,
the lights all went out. Then there was another explosion, which was
more violent than any explosion I had heard, that I could not liken to
anything except possibly the explosion of a magazine.
Q. When did the lights go out in reference to this second explosion?
A. About simultaneously.
Q. Then you think the dynamo may have been destroyed at the second
explosion.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And not by the first?
A. Not by the first.
Q. Was there any perceptible list or lifting of the ship at the first
explosion 
A. I did not notice that.
Q. Did you locate in your own mind this first explosion?
A. Yes, sir; I located it on the starboard side, as I supposed.
Q. Forward or aftt?
A. Starboard forward, and as I supposed about under the forward
turret.
Q. That was your impression?
A. That was nmy impression.
Q. And the second one; where did you locate that?
A. Forward; but I could not tell whether it was a magazine or
whether it was a second explosion similar to the first.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


135


Q. By the time you reached the deck the explosions had finished?
A. The explosion had finished; yes, sir.
Q. As to the boats in the water; were there more on one side than
on the other, and which side?
A. I couldn't tell you that, sir; because when I went around to the
stern of the ship I only saw one man in the water on the starboard
side.
Q. You went around on the port side from starboard?
A. I went around; yes, sir.
Q. Why did you not go right out to port?
A. Because I thought the explosion was on the starboard side.
Q. You heard the hallooing more on the starboard side?
A. I didn't hear any hiallooing at first. My attention was called to
it. The men were yelling, and it appeared to me to come from the
other side of the ship.
By the COURT:
Q. When did you first notice the list of the ship?
A. I didn't notice that until I caught hold of the door to go up on
the superstructure. Then I noticed that the ship listed.
Q. After you had been up through -
A. Up over the ladder and through this passageway to turn to go
forward.
Q. Which ladder did you go up from the berth deck to the main deck t
A. The ladder that is usually designated as the wardroom ladder.
Q. Which one is that?
A. That goes up from forward of the water-tight bulkhead separating the wardroom proper front the after torpedo room.
Q. That is not quite the answer I want. Was it the starboard ladder? Did it laud you on the starboard side or the main deck or the
port side?
A. It landed me on the starboard side of the main deck.
Q. So you did not notice that that ladder was unusually steep?
A. No, sir; I did not.
Q. You did not notice whether it was or not?
A. No, sir.
Q. Are there two ladders tlere?
A. There are two ladders there, alongside of each other. It is really
all one ladder. There is a crossbar from the hatch to the grating.
Q. The ladders lead the same way?
A. Yes, sir; the ladders lead from port to starboard.
Q. To make it perfectly clear, between these two heavy explosions
you had time after the first explosion to turin around and go about
10 feet?
A. Yes, sir; so it appeared to me.
Q. The other explosions to which you refer were smaller ones?
A. Smaller; yes, sir.
Q. And occurred some time after?
A. They occurred while I was going up the ladder and before I got
to the superstructure door.
Q. But the tact that there were at first two explosions made a distinct impression upon your mind?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Which would you designate as the more severe explosion, the first
one or the second one?
A. The first one: because the crash and everything came with that,




136   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


and the second one sounded as though it were an explosion without
being attended with the same effects. Where I was at the time, as I
found out afterwards, toward that part of the ship the smokestacks had
fallen-and I suppose they made as much crash as anything-one on
one side and one on the othe
By the JUDGE-ADVOCAf.
Q. I want to ask you about two more men ill the ship, as you have
been in her since her commission. Sailmaker's Mate Roos-is he on
board ship a reliable man?
A. In his duties he is a very relialtle man. He was sometimes given
to insobriety when he went on liberty, but I never noticed anything on
board ship.
Q. I believe he was one of the two men who made the S p. m. reports
to the executive officer!
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How do you consider Master-at-Arms WThite as to reliability?
A. He seenled to be a very reliable man-very attentive to his duties.
The judge advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that lie be directed to
report to-morrow mornling at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon tile completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimonmy as recorded or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Naval Cadet AMON BRONSON, Jr., U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court, and was sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your name, ralk, and to what ship you are attached?
A. Amon Bronson, jr., naval cadet, attached to the U. S. S. Maine.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine?
A. &ince May 17, 1897.
Q. What duties have you performed during that tinie?
A. I have performd boat duty, deck duty-that is, supervision as the
commissioned officer of the deck-and mate of the deck.
Q. Mate of the upper deck?
A. Mate of the upper deck and mate of the main deck.
Q. What division were you iu last?
A. The second division, all the time I was on the ship.
Q. That is the forward turret divisioln?
A. The forward turret division.
Q. At all times wllen gunnery occurred in that division, has powder
always been sent below properly after the exercise?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion of the Maine?
A. I was lying in my bunk in my room.
Q. Which room is that?
A. The forward room of the steerage.
Q. Please describe what you heard and felt and saw.
A. My first impression was that a salute was being fired. That was
before the crash came. That is the impression which 1 have now. That




~DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


137


was the first thought that entered my mind. Then my bunk was lifted
beneath me, and the ship listed over to port. The lights were out, and
I heard the water rushing outside in the passageway. I could hear the
cries of the men in the marines' compartment. For a very small amount
of time I listened to these cries.
Q. Whenl you thought there was a salute being fired, did you feel a
shock of the ship'?
A. Yes, sir; that was just merely the first idea that flashed through
my mind. I felt a tremendous shock.
Q. How long after that shock did you feel the explosion?
A. I can not state, sir.
Q. Was there a distinct interval?
A. I am not prepared to state, sir.
Q. Was there a list of the ship at the first explosion.?
A. Almost simultaneously with the explosion.
Q. There was a list?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Which way?
A. To port.
Q. The ship settled to port?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. But she never was lifted up?
A. I was lying in my bunk, and I felt the bunk lifted beneathme.
Q. That was at the first shock?
A. The first shock; yes, sir.
Q. Everything was over by the time you reached the deck in the way
of explosions and small shots 
A. I heard no small shots until about half an hour afterwards, when
I heard the small-arm ammunition going off. I heard no small shot.
The explosion did not sound loud in the steerage at all.
By the COURT:
Q. You are only conscious of one shock?
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. He says he is not prepared to say. He says
there was a shock and an explosion, but he is not prepared to state
there was a distinct interval.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Were you asleep at the time?
A. No, sir; I was reading.
Q. In your bunk?
A. In my bunk.
Q. Upper bunk?
A. Lower bunk.
By the COURT:
Q. You say you do not remember; you did not say that either, but
you say you did not separate the explosion into two parts?.
A. No, sir; I simply know that the first idea that flashed across my
mind was
Q. We do not care about that. You are convinced yourself that
that was not correct; that there was no salute being fired?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You are convinced that that is not so?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you were convinced immediately of that, were you not?
A. Yes, sir.




138     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
Q. When you felt the bunk being lifted 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And from what followed, you knew that it was not a salute?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you or do you not remember that there were two parts to that?
A. I do not remember.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
FNaval Cadet D. F. BOYD, Jr., U. S. Navy, appearedJas' a witness
before the court, and was sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your name, rank, and to what ship you are attached.
A. David F. Boyd, jr.; naval cadet, U. S. Navy; attached to and
serving otn board the U. S. S. Maine.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Mcaie?
A. Since the 19th of June, 1897.
Q. What duties have you performed in that time?
A. The duties of junior officer of division, junior watch officer, and
mate of the deck.
Q. What deck have you been mate of?
A. Mate of the berth deck and mate of the superstructure deck.
Q. How long were you mate of the berth deck?
A. From the latter part of August until the 1st of January.
Q. Who relieved you then?
A. Naval Cadet W. T. Cluverius.
Q. What are your duties as mate of the berth deck?
A. To see that all compartments are not open, except those authorized to be open, and to see that those compartmeuts are water-tight.
Q. Which compartments are authorized to be kept open by the rules
of the ship?
A. The clothing issuing room, the dynamo room, the forward and
after 10-inch handling room, and the passage between the steerage and
wardroom.
Q. What do you mean by keeping the forward 10-inch handling room
open?
A. It necessarily must be kept open, because there is a track running in to the base of the turret. The compartment can not be watertight.
Q. That compartment is open below deck?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. It does not open on the berth deck at all?
A. No, sir.
Q. But the after 10-inch handling room does open on the berth deck?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On account of there being more heat there?
A. Yes, sir; it is over the evaporating room.




148    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. Since the 17th of September, 1895.
Q. That is, since her commission?
A. I was ordered to her two weeks before then.
Q. And you became acquainted with the Maine, then, some time before
she went into commission?
A. About two weeks.
Q. Since you have been attached to the Maine you have done a great
deal of work below the berth deck in regard to keeping the compartments clean and in proper order, and all that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You are well acquainted with the Maine 
A. Yes, sir; thoroughly.
Q. Do you know anything about the construction of the magazines
of the Maine F
A. I have an idea.
Q. Could you tell how the powder is stored in the reserve 6-inch
magazines?
A. No, sir.
Q. You do not know how the racks are constructed?.
A. No, sir.
Q. What is the thickness of the bulkhead between the reserve magazine and the 10-inch shell room?
A. A quarter of an inch, 10 pounds plating.
Q. And the same between the 10-inch shell room and the 10-inch
magazine?
A. The same.
Q. Where is the water-tight bulkhead abaft the reserve magazine;
immediately next to it?
A. I don't quite understand that.
Q. What water-tight bulkhead is there abaft the reserve magazine?
Does it abut against it or not?
A. That is a continuous bulkhead.
Q. There is a water-tight bulkhead immediately abaft it?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What is the thickness of that bulkhead?
A. Quarter inch 10-pound plating.
Q. Is there one immediately forward of the reserve magazine?
A. Yes; that is a water-tight bulkhead.
Q. Is there one between the forward 6-inch magazine and the fixed
ammunition room?
A. Yes; that is water-tight.
Q. Is there one immediately forward of the forward 6-inch magazine 
A. That is water-tight.
Q. Were all bulkheads and everything in good condition on board
the Maine just previous to her explosion?
A. First-class condition.
Q. What water-tight doors were in good condition?
A. They were all in good condition.
Q. Had the regular inspections been made all the time the ship was
in commission?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you make the 8 p. m. reports on the night of her explosion to
the executive officer?
A. I did, sir.
Q. Was everything secure, as you reported it?
A. Everything was secure.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


147


attempted to rise and fell again. Then I remember crawling over the
wing awning on the port side of the cabin up on the poop deck.
Q. How did you get there?
A. I climbed over a small wing awning on the poop deck. I helped to
lower the gig, letting down a 6-inch gun port in the rear, and breasting
the gig off as she lowered. I then jumped in and took an oar.
Q. You do not remember distinctly the explosions, then?
A. No, sir.
Q. You do not know whether there was one or whether there was
two, three, or four explosions?
A. No, sir.
Q. You do not remember any movement of the ship when the explosion first occurred?
A. Just a rendering and swaying all around me. It may have been
from my dazed condition, or it may have been from the ship.
By the COURT:
Q. You went out in the boat to pick up the people in the water?
A. Yes, sir; we were pretty close to the wreck all the time. We
picked up two or three men and handed them in other boats alongside.
Q. Where were these men 
A. There was one man picked out of a mass of wreckage there. I
don't know what it was. I think Thompson was the man's name. I
remember him being landed in the gig and given to another boat.
Q. On which side of the ship did you pick the man up?
A. On the starboard side.
Q. Were you at any time on the port side?
A. No, sir.
Q. Were there any men in the water on that side?
A. I didn't see any.
Q. You did not see any men on the port side?
A. On the starboard side. I didn't see anything at all on the port
side.
Q. I asked you if you saw any men on the port side, and you said
you did not.
A. No, sir.
Q. The gig lowered on the starboard side?
A. Yes, sir.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Carpenter GEORGE HELM, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before
the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your name, rank, and to what ship you are attached.
A. George Helm; carpenter, U. S. Navy; attached to U. S. S. Maine.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine?




146    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Were these battens on which the tanks rested straight?
A. Yes, sir; they were horizontal.,Q. They were not cut out to receive the tank?
A. No, sir.
Q. Were these upright supports between the horizontal battens placed
on both sides, at the ends of these horizonal battens?
A. Yes, sir; as near as I can remember.
Q. Then one was against the bulkhead and the other was inside the
magazine 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Please explain how the powder tanks could have rested against
'the bulkheads.
A. The racks were secured with crosspieces, horizontal and athwartships. When the tank was shoved in place, it was shoved right aft,
directly against the metal bulkheads.
Q. Where were these upright strips?
A. The upright strips were fore and aft in the magazine, making two
bends like that [indicating].
Q. Fore and aft?
A. Two compartments, like.
(The witness here drew a sketch and explained what he meant by
reference to the sketch.)
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony, and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Boatswain FRANCIS E. LARKIN, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court and was duly sworn by the president:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your name, rank, and to what ship you are attached.
A. Francis E. Larkin, boatswain, U. S. Navy, attached to the U. S.
S. rMaine.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine?
A. From September, at the time of going in commission, until the
present time.
Q. Were you on board the Maine the night of her explosion?
A. I was.
Q. Did you make the usual 8 p. m. reports to the executive officer?
A. Yes, sir; I did.
Q. Was everything secure in your department when you so reported?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?
A. Sitting abaft the after turret.
Q. On the main deck?
A. On the main deck.
Q. Please describe what you saw, felt, and heard.
A. I remember hearing an explosion. I do not remember the violence
of it. I was struck on the head about the same time and dazed. I




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.     145
the way of high explosives or anything of that kind which should not
have been stowed there according to ordnance instructions?
A. No, sir; I don't know of anything, to the date of my suspension.
Q. Were magazines and shell rooms always carefully locked after
they had been opened?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the keys turned in?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. There was always a regular care taken in the delivery of the keys
and the locking of the shell room and magazines?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Are the magazines lined with wood?
A. No, sir; not as I remember. The plates are bare, of course, and
the only woodwork I remember there is the stowage racks, holding
powder, tanks, and shells. They are made fast to the metal bulkhead.
Q. Is there any electric wiring that leads into the magazine that
would be dangerous?
A. No, sir; the wires seemed to be well insulated. Of course they
led into the light box, but, as I remember, they came down through
the deck, and then went at an angle into the light box itself. As I
remember it, the wires went through a metal casing.
Q. You considered the wiring perfectly secure?
A. Yes, sir; of course it may have been woodwork painted over
white, but I never examined it very closely. It looked very much to me
as if it was metal.
Q. You never had any trouble with the light boxes in the way of
grounding-with the lights in the light boxes?
A. Yes, sir; the dynamo tenders find considerable trouble in keeping the magazine lights in order. They always gave as an excuse that
the system was grounded down around the boxes.
Q. But the wiring laid directly from the upper deck into the boxes,
in two metal cases?
A. Yes, sir; but as I remember it, I think it went down through the
deck in some places, and then went at an angle into the light box itself,
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosionS
A. I was in Havana.
Q. On shore?
A. Yes, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. How were the 6-inch powder tanks stowed with reference to the
keel of the ship in the reserve magazines?
A. They are stowed in line with the keel, I should judge about 8 or
10 feet away from the keel, to port.
Q. How were they stowed? What kept them in place?
A. Some wooden racks which secured the metal bulkheads in the
magazine, and the powder was stowed right on the racks.
Q. Tell us how these racks were made.
A. The magazine itself seemed to be divided. The after half of it
was divided into two compartments, fore and aft like, and there were
strong wooden uprights, secured in place to the deck above and to the
inner bottom of the ship, and from this ran athwartships some other
battens, a sufficient distance apart so as to have the bottom tank rest
on one and the lid or upper part of the tank on the other.
Q. They were stowed on the side, were they not?
A. Yes, sir; the tanks were stowed on the side.
S. Doc. 207- 10




144    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


room and some in the after fixed-ammunition room, and perhaps some
was stowed in the armory. I am not sure about it.
Q. Where was the armory situated?
A. It was a little abaft of the midship line.
Q. On the main deck?
A. On the upper deck; yes, sir.
Q. Will you look specially at the amount of ammunition in the 6-inch
reserve magazine, and tell us whether that was practically the amount
there at the time of the explosion?
A. I see there is a lot of saluting powder here. Of course at the time 
I was put under suspension I believe it was somewhere about that, but
since that I could not state what changes have been made there.
Q. Do you think the 6inch charges were put there at that time?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How were those 6-inch charges stowed? Were they stowed
against the bulkheads or clear of the bulkheads, or how?
'A. They were stowed on wooden racks that were made fast to the
metal bulkheads.
Q. Did the powder tanks abut against the bulkheads?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did they abut against the bulkhead which divided the coal bunker
from the 6-inch reserve magazine?
A. Yes, sir; the after tier did. The forward tier did not, because
they were still forward.
Q. They were against the bulkhead?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. They abutted against the outboard bulkhead, I understand you
to say?
A. In the reserve magazine?
Q. Yes.
A. No, sir; in the after one.
Q. You do not know which bunker that was against?
A. No, sir.
Q. But they did not abut against the fore and aft bulkhead on the
outboard of the magazine?
A. The side of the tank was laying up there, I understand, but the
end of the tank was aft. The tanks were stored fore and aft.
Q. You think they touched that outboard bulkhead which divides
the magazine from the coal bunker?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. I will show you the plan. This bulkhead [pointing to a foreand-aft bulkhead] divides the magazine from coal bunker A16. Did
powder touch that bulkhead in its stowage?
A. Yes, sir; it did aft here.
Q. It did in the after part of the magazine.
A. Yes, sir; and it did in the forward part, too, because there was
a lot of spare saluting powder stowed there.
Q. And that was close against the bulkhead?
A. Yes, sir; as near as I can remember the date of my suspension.
Q. Did you take the temperature of the magazines and shell rooms,
as prescribed by regulations, regularly?
A. Yes, sir; I always made a practice of seeing the gunners take it.
Q. It was regularly taken, was it?
A. Once a day.
Q. Was there anything stowed in the magazines and shell rooms in




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE..  143


was no flame then, only sparks up above. Lieut. Commander Wainwright had just called away the boats. I went to where the barge was
hanging. Do you wish me to go on from there 
Q. No; I only want the actual explosion.
A. That is all I know, sir.
Q. How many shocks did you feel?
A. I only felt one, sir.
Q. The lights went out at that shock?
A. Yes, sir; immediately.
Q. And it was all over by the time you reached the deck?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was there any listing of the ship?
A. The ship listed to port.
Q. Immediately?
A. I don't know, sir. She was listed by the time I got on deck.
Q. Did she seem to be lifted at the time of the shock?
A. I didn't notice it, sir.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Gunner JOSEPH HILL, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before the
court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your name, rank, and to what ship you are attached.
A. Joseph Hill, gunner, United States Navy, attached to the U. S. S.
Maine.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine?
A. About twenty-nine months.
Q. Ever since her commission?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When were you relieved from duty as gunner last?
A. It was on or about the 18th of January, 1898.
Q. Will you look at this report of Captain Sigsbee, this being a copy
of it, and state whether that seems to be practically correct in regard
to the stowage of ammunition on board the Maine [Exhibit G shown to
the witness].
A. This is about it. Do you mean at the time of the accident?
Q. I mean whether that is a correct report on June 30?
'A. Yes, sir; that is about right.
Q. State to the court what material changes have been made since
June 30, 1897, of any kind, in the stowage of ammunition.
A. I believe we have had small-arm target practice once. I think
most of the small-arm ammunition was used up on board, but, as I
understand, some time after I was put under suspension, they received
about 70,000 rounds of 6-minimeter ball cartridges; also about 7,000
rounds of blank cartridges, 6-minimeter, and as near as I can understand there was some of that stored in the forward fixed-ammunition




142    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


* Lieut. A. W. CATLIN, U. S. Marine Corps, appeared as a witness
before the court and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your name, rank, and to what ship you are attached.
A. A. W. Catlin, first lieutenant U. S. Marine Corps, attached to the
U.S. S. Maine.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine?
A. Since the 1st of August.
Q. In charge of the marine guard of that ship?
A. In charge of the marine guard; yes, sir.
Q. August of last year?
A. August of last year, 1897; yes, sir.
Q. What special orders were given the marine guard of your ship
during her last stay in Havana Harbor in the way of special precautions 
A. When we first went into the harbor, there were two extra sentinels put on, one on the forecastle and one on the poop, armed with
rifles. They had special orders to challenge all boats which approached
the ship near enough for a challenge, and in case any boat came
toward the ship, evidently coming to the ship, to report immediately
to the corporal of the guard, by the sentinel, and to the officer of the
deck. These sentinels were on from 7 o'clock at night until daylight.
Q. Where was the corporal of the guard stationed?
A. The corporal of the guard was stationed in the starboard gangway.
Q. Was there an extra man in the port gangway?
A. There was a patrol in the port gangway.
Q. What do you mean by a patrol?
A. He went by the name of patrol, because his beat went up in the
forward superstructure, as well as in the port gangway.
Q. He was a picked man?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Acting as corporal?
A. He was an acting corporal; yes, sir.
Q. Doing a corporal's duties?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What duties did the corporal of the guard and the patrol have, in
the way of inspecting the ship at night?
A. The corporal's guard went below every half hour to inspect the
ship lights, etc., and the patrol took his place in the starboard gangway while he was gone.
Q. All this was faithfully carried out to the best of your knowledge?
A. It was. I visited the sentries every night, once before and once
after midnight, while we were in Havana Harbor, and always found
them vigilant and attending to their duties properly.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?
A. On the port side, in the wardroom. I was in room No. 8, which.
is the fourth room from forward.
Q. Just state to the court what you felt, heard, and saw of the actual
explosion or explosions that may have occurred.
A. I was sitting in my room reading, when I heard-I do not know
how to explain it-a dull sound, a loud concussion, and the shaking of'
the ship. What impressed me most was the falling of things around
the deck-I suppose electric-light fixtures, etc. I immediately rushed
up on deck. The lights went out immediately. I rushed up on deck,
and as I came on deck I saw the whole heavens full of sparks. There




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


141


report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he
will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to
amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request
was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly. Whereupon
he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss
matters pertaining to the inquiry.
The court then (at 1 o'clock p. m.) took a recess until 2 o'clock p. m.
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and the
stenographer.
Lient. GEORGE F. W. HOLMAN, U. S. Navy, a witness heretofore
examined, was recalled as a witness before the court, and after being
cautioned by the president of the court that the oath previously taken
by him was still binding, testified as follows:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Mr. Holman, on June 30, 1897, the commanding officer of the
Maine, Captain Sigsbee, made out a report, giving the amount of ammunition in each magazine and shell room. I hold a copy of that report
in my hand. -Will you, look at it and tell us whether it is a report made
out from data furnished by you? (Exhibit G shown to the witness.)
A. I have no doubt it is. I can not recognize it from anything except
the official letter transmitting it.
Q. You did assist your commanding officer in making up such a
report?
A. I did; yes.
Q. Can you state what material changes have been made in the stowage since that report was made?
A. No material changes.
Q. Then you think it is a practically correct report at the time of the
explosion?
A. I do.
Q. Will you please state where rockets and blue lights and such
things were stowed on board the Mlaine?
A. In the chart house or the pilot house, upon the bridge.
Q. All of them?
A. All of them, I think. I do not know of any having been moved
from there. They were stowed there originally, and I know of no move
having been made.
By the COURT:
Q. Were you asked in your testimony before how many explosions
you heard?
A. I heard and felt two, one a small one, a grumble I may call it, and
then, after a very short interval, probably a fraction of a second,
came the heavy, loud, booming explosion.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer and by him pronounced
correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
0




140    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


was almost over my head; almost up to the deck. Some burning
cellulose flared up on deck, and I saw the hatch and made for it. I
escaped through a mass of d6bris, on the hatch part of which was the
second cutter.
Q. Again referring to the shocks, what kind of a shock did you first
feel?
A. As well as I can describe, the shock was more that of a large
freight train being coupled up together.
Q. That was the first shock?
A. That was the first shock.
Q. The other was continuous, so far as you can remember, you say?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. A continual roar?
A. Yes, sir; and splinters and glass falling in the steerage. 
Q. Was there any list to the ship?
A. Not until we got in the passage.
Q. Then she listed which way?
A. She listed to port.
Q. Was there any lifting of the ship?
A. She sank amidships.
Q. Was there any lifting of the ship?
A. No, sir; none that I remember.
By the COURT:
Q. You speak of being knocked senseless by a splinter. What kind
of a splinter?
A. I think it must have been wooden.
Q. Where did the wood come from? The thing in my mind is, if you
were knocked senseless with a splinter, how could you state that it
was by a splinter?
A. I was struck on the back of the head. That is all I know.
Q. By something?
A. By something. There was a wooden bulkhead at the forward
bulkhead of the steerage. I suppose it was wood from that.
Q. Did you, as mate of the deck, have anything to do with the care
of the decks below the berth deck 
A. I did.
Q. How far down did your duties extend?
A. My duties extended to every compartment below the berth deck
except the engine room and fire room and the engineer's storeroom.
Q. How dill you get from the platform deck down to the hold or level
of the magazines?
A. How could you get from the berth deck down to the hold?
Q. Yes; from the platform deck?
A. The fore hold?
Q. Yes; the lore hold.
A. There is a hatch in forward compartment A101. You go down
two flights of ladders. The first is in the passage between the rooms.
The second goes down to the fore hold itself. A101 is a berth-deck
compartment.
Q. Hlow did you get down to the magazines?
A. From the 10-inch magazine hatch in the loading room for the
10-inch turret.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to


4




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


139


Q. Everything else is locked up at night, and reported so at 8 o'clock?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Who are the men who make these reports?
A. The captain of the hold, the equipment yeoman, and the sailmaker's mate.
Q. Are they reliable men on board ship?
A. So far as I know; yes, sir.
Q. Did you yourself see these compartments closed at night, as a
rule 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you always find the duty properly executed by the men doing
it?
A. I did.
Q. The regular captain of the hold, I believe, was sick at the time
of the explosion. Do you know anything about the acting captain
of the hold?
A. I do not.
Q. What division were you in last?
A. The third division.
Q. That is the after-turret division?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosions
A. I was in the steerage messroom-the junior officers' messroom.
Q. Please state what you saw, heard, and felt.
A. I was sitting in the steerage reading at the time. The lights
went out. A crashing booming was heard. 1 was struck in the back
of the head with a splinter, andt remember no more of the explosion.
Q. Were you made senseless?
A. Yes, sir; so far as 1 know. I have an indistinct memory at the
time.
Q. You rushed up on deck, you say, and were struck in the head
there?
A. No, sir; I was in the steerage.
Q. Do you remember how many shocks you felt?
A. It was one continuous shock.
Q. One continuous shock was all you felt?
A. All I felt.
Q. You do not know how you got on deck?
A. Yes, sir; i remember perfectly.
Q. Did you feel any list of the ship or any lift of the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Describe it a little more fully, please.
A. When I collected my wits I grasped Assistant Engineer Merritt
bythe hand and told him to go up on deck. I pulled him out in the
passage in the after torpedo room. We groped along the bulkhead
until we caime to the turn going over to the port side. At this moment
the ship sank down amidships and heeled over on the port side. The
rush,'f water swept us apart. I grasped the steam pipe overheadthe small steam-heater pipe-and worked my way down toward the
steerage ladder, but it was gone. I worked my way over to the port
side-on this steam heater pipe-hoping to escape through some hole
on the port side. The water was rushing through tile air ports, so that
I was not able to hang onto this small pipe. I grasped the torpedoes
that were triced up under the deck beani, and, twining both arms and
legs around it, I worked mny way inboard toward tile hatch, feeling
the deck most of the time to find the hatch. The water at this time




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.      149
A. I was in my bunk.      I
Q. Where is your bunk located?
A. Compartment C100.
Q. The forward end of that compartment?
A. The forward end, right alongside of the armor of the barbette or
turret.
Q. It is on the berth deck?
A. On the port side.
Q. Well outboard?
A. Well outboard, near the skin of the ship.
Q. Just forward of the torpedoes?
A. Just forward of the torpedoes.
Q. Please state what you felt, heard, and saw during the time of the
explosions.
A. I only heard one report.
Q. What did it feel like?
A. It just felt about like a 6-inch or a 10-inch gun going off, as near
as I can remember.
Q. That is all you heard?
A. That is all I heard.
Q. Were you injured in any way~
A. None that I know of; no, sir.
Q. You got on deck without any trouble?
A. I got on deck with considerable trouble; that is, onto the main
deck.
Q. Did the ship seem to shake or shiver any during this report?
A. None that I can remember.
Q. Did she list any?
A. She listed to starboard. That is about all I can say.
Q. Were you wide awake when the thing first happened?
A. No, sir.
Q. Were you asleep?
A. Yes, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. Are you so intimately acquainted with the construction of the
Maine that you could recognize portions of the wreck-that is, I mean
of the hull-take a part of the hull detached from where it belongs
entirely 
A. I don't know about that.
Q. Longitudinals and so on?
A. I guess they would be pretty hard to recognize, unless there is
something there to go by, such as main drains or sluice valves, or something like that, that you could locate.
Q. Could you tell anything of the longitudinals? Are they not different in width or in depth?
A. Very little. I don't suppose there is more than 3 or 4 inches difference.
Q. How many longitudinals were there?
A. There were three, first, second, and third, and the bottom of the
lower wing passage formed the fourth, and the upper wing passage
formed the fifth.
Q. How high did the highest longitudinal come?
A. The third longitudinal is water-tight. The fifth is formed by the
upper wing passage.
Q. Are not these longitudinals sufficient in depth to be able to recognize them from their depth?




150   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. Forward you could; yes. I guess you could recognize them forward as they taper so low there.
Q. What was the thickness of the protective deck of that ship?
A. Two inches. That is, two 1-inch plates riveted together.
Q. What was the thickness of her side armor?
A. Her side armor was 11 inch.
Q. All over?
A. No; it tapered down to 7 inches.
Q. Did it taper fore and aft?
A. It tapered aft.
Q. What was the thickness of the wood backing?
A. That I don't know.
Q. What were the sizes of the armor bolts?
A. The wooden backing was 8 inches.
Q. As far as you remember, how big were the bolts?
A. The bolts for screwing the armor were between 3a and 4 inches in
diameter.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. You said the armor belt was 11 inches. Are you certain of that?
Was it not 12?
A. All I have to go by is the plan. [After examination of the plan.]
They are 12 inches on top; yes, sir.
Q. What do you mean by saying the armor belt tapered aft?
A. She tapered aft abaft the engine room.
Q. You mean it sloped down aft?
A. It sloped; yes, sir.
Q. It did not taper and get thinner as it went aft, did it?
A. Oh, no.
By the COURT:
Q. That is what I understood you to mean.
A. That they get thinner?
Q. Yes.
A. No; it slopes.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. How far down did the double bottoms extend?
A. The double bottoms extended from frame 12 forward to frame 73
forward.
Q. How far did the bilge keel extend forward?
A. The bilge keel started in, I think, at frame 28.
Q. Do you know how far they were from the keel?
A. No, I do not.
The judge advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness
be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to report
to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with so
much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
The court then, at 3.10 o'clock p. m., adjourned until 10 o'clock
to-morrow morning, Tuesday, March 1, 1898.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.     151
EIGHTH DAY.
U. S. COURT-HOUSE, KEY WEST, FLA.,
Tuesday, March 1, 1898-10 a. nm.
The court met pursuant to adjournment of yesterday.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and the
stenographer.
The record of the proceedings of yesterday, the seventh day of the
trial, was read and approved.
Lieutenant BLANDIN, U. S. Navy, was called before the court and
handed so much of the record of yesterday as contained his testimony,
whereupon he withdrew.
Lieutenant HooD was called before the court and handed so much
of the record of yesterday as contained his testimony, whereupon he
withdrew.
Lieutenant BLOW was called before the court and handed so much
of the record of yesterday as contained his testimony, whereupon he
withdrew.
Lieutenant JUNGEN was called before the court and handed so much
of the record of yesterday as contained his testimony, whereupon he
withdrew.
Naval Cadet BRONSON was called before the court and handed so
much of the record of yesterday as contained his testimony, whereupon
he withdrew.
Lieutenant CATLIN was called before the court and handed so much
of the record of yesterday as contained his testimony, whereupon he
withdrew.
Gunner HILL was called before the court and handed so much of the
record of yesterday as contained his testimony, whereupon he withdrew.
Boatswain LARKIN was called before the court and handed so much
of the record of yesterday as contained his testimony, whereupon he
withdrew.
Carpenter HELM was called before the court and handed so much of
the record of yesterday as contained his testimony, whereupon he
withdrew.
P. A. Eng. FREDERICK C. BOWERS, U. S. Navy, appeared as a
witness before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name, rank, and to what ship you are
attached.
A. Frederick C. Bowers; passed assistant engineer, U. S. Navy;
attached to the U. S. S. Maine.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine; since her
commission?
A. Since her commission.
Q. Are you the senior assistant engineer to the chief?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you have been all the time since the ship has been in commission?
A. I have.
Q. Please state to the court what precautions have been taken on
board the Maine during her commission against spontaneous combustion of coal?




152   DESTRUCTION OF THE "~. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. The order has been to inspect the bunkers every day, and log it.
In the case of every bunker that had an escape door, we have always
opened those doors to examine the bunkers; and generally the coal
that has been in the ship the longest has been used the first, as near
as possible.
Q. As far as you know, these orders have been carried out, have
they?
A. Whenever I was on duty they were.
Q. When were you on duty last on board the Maine?
A. The 14th day of February.
Q. The day before the explosion?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You came off that morning at what time?
A. At 8 o'clock.
Q. Can you give the history of bunker A16, which is the port bunker
forward abreast of the 6-inch reserve magazine? Give the history of
the coal inside.
A. That bunker was stored in either Newport News, Va., or at Norfolk. It contained soft coal; Pocahontas, I think. If it came from
Norfolk, I inspected it. It was full of soft coal, about 40 tons.
Q. Were not the bunkers immediately abaft of it, B4 and B6,
empty?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The after bulkhead of A16 was easily accessible?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What other sides were accessible to ascertain the temperature in
case it should have been over hot?
A. You could feel it from the wing passage, and there was an escape
door on platform deck A. There was a sign there, "Keep that door
closed." That was on account of the opening into the passing room,
the loading room.
Q. The 10-inch loading room?
A. Yes, sir; I have a sketch here that I made of the bunker showing
the capacity.
Q. We only care for A16.
By the COURT:
Q. Just show me on the plan here where that bunker was accessible.
Was it on that deck [indicating] 
A. No, sir; it was the deck above that-on the dynamo deck. That
escape door came out here to go into the wing passage. There was an
escape door in this corner, away forward-the inboard forward corner.
Q. That was not on the same deck as the magazines?
A. No, sir.
Q. The magazine was below that?
A. Below that; yes, sir. It was just the reverse of the other side.
The other tank had an escape door below on the hydraulic room, platform B deck, at the after end. I mean the bunker on the other side,
No. A15. That escape door was aft, and was on the platform deck
below.
Q. There were two platform decks?
A. Yes; one for the dynamos, and the other for the hydraulic plant.
Q. On this deck [indicating] there was no way of reaching that
bunker on the inside, was there?
A. On the outside.
Q. On the outside, but next to the 6-inch magazine?
A. No, sir.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


153


Q. There was no way of reaching that?
A. We generally stored that bunker full, and did not use that escape
door for the man to come out. We let him come out of the chute. We
always wanted to keep that bunker full.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. You say you inspected that coal when it was put into bunker
A16 
A. If the coal came from Norfolk, I did. I was sent over there to
inspect it.
Q. Did you consider it safe and reliable coal, from your inspection?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What is your opinion as to the heat generated in a bunker which
has become lighted by spontaneous combustion in the bottom? Would
it affect the upper part of the bottom  materially and heat the bulkheads?
A. We could notice it very materially, I should think.
Q. In the upper part of the bunker?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was bunker A15 being used at the time?
A. When I went off watch we were using what we used from No. 4
bunker. We numbered them all.
Q. It is the forward starboard bunker, is it not?
A. Yes; when I went off watch we were using the after bunker in the
forward fire room-the wing bunker-at 8 o'clock.
Q. Please point it out on the plan.
A. We were using coal out of this bunker, B10.
Q. Had you not been using coal out of A15?
A. Previously; yes, sir. When we were using coal out of B10, we
had possibly about fifteen tons in this bunker.
Q. That is all?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How much would it hold?
A. Twenty-five tons, when full.
Q. Do you know of any steam pipes in the Maine that were in dangerous proximity to the magazines and shell rooms?
A. No, sir.
Q. What was the condition of the after boilers-the two that were
used for auxiliary purposes?
A. The fires were practically banked on the six furnaces of the two
boilers. In what respect do you mean?
Q. The condition of the boilers.
A. The boilers were in good condition-in very good condition.
Q. You do not consider there was any danger of their having too
much pressure on for safety when you were working them for auxiliary
purposes on the evening of the explosion?
A. No, sir; the safety valves blow at about 130 pounds, and we usually
carried 80 to 100 for auxiliary purposes.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?
A. I was ashore.
By the COURT:
Q. In reference to taking the temperature of the bunkers, you say
there was an order to examine them daily where they were accessible?
-A. Yes, sir.
Q. In what did the examination consist?
A. Opening the escape doors where they had them, and feeling
around the sides of the bunkers.




154    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Did you have the usual thermostats in the bunkers?
A. Yes, sir; but they didn't work very well. Sometimes they rang
when there was no coal in the bunker.
Q. I believe you never had a fire from spontaneous combustion in
that ship, did you?
A. No, sir. We thought we did once, but it was a leaky steampipea leaky exhaust pipe from the ice machine.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. It gave the alarm?
A. It gave the alarm, and they moved the coal.
The Judge-Advocate requested that the testimony given by the
witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The
request was granted, and the witnesswas instructed accordingly; whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss
matters pertaining to the trial.
Lieutenant JUNGEN was called before the court and handed so much
of the record of yesterday as contained his testimony, whereupon he
withdrew.
Asst. Eng. JOHN l; MORRIS, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rank, and to what ship you are at present
attached.
A. John I. Morris, assistant engineer, U. S. Navy; attached to the
U. S. S. Maine.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine?
A. Fourteen months and fifteen days.
Q. What has been your duty?
A. Serving as assistant engineer.
Q. Do you know of the orders of the ship in regard to taking temperatures of coal bunkers when you were on duty?
A. The bunkers were to be inspected every day, to see how theywere heated. They were taken every day.
Q. Have you always carried out that order when on duty?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When were you on duty last in the Maine?
A. February 15.
Q. You were on duty the day of the explosion?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When did you inspect the bunkers on that day?
A. It was some time during the forenoon; I think between 10 and 11
o'clock.
Q. Can you remember distinctly making a careful inspection of
bunker A16, the port forward bunker?
A. I remember of opening the escape doors, and there was no heat
perceptible, more than just the temperature of the hydraulic room,
which is next to the bunker.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


155


Q. You made a careful inspection of that bunker on that day 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In the forenoon?
A. In the forenoon; yes, sir.
Q. About what time?
A. About 10.30.
Q. Had you any occasion to go in coal bunkers B4 and B6, which
were being painted? They are just abaft A16.
A. Yes, sir; I had had those bunker doors closed that night-the
bunkers we had been painting.
Q. Which night?
A. The night of the explosion. The inspection was at 7.45.
Q. P. m.?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you go into B4 and B6 at 7.45 p. m..
A. Yes, sir; I went into B6.
Q. If there had been any combustion going on in A16 would you
have noticed it when you went in B6?
A. Yes, sir; I looked into A15.
Q. I am speaking of A16, the port bunker. Which bunker did you
go into at 7.45?
A. It was A15 that closed the door to B4.
Q. You did not go into B4?
A. I looked inside; yes, sir. There was nothifig unusual there. I
simply had the door closed down, as it was night inspection. I did
not enter B6.
Q. What work had been going on in B4 and B6 that day?
A. None at all, sir. We had completed painting in those bunkers.
Q. Before you came on duty?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where were you at the time of the explosion?
A. I was sitting on the quarter deck-on the port side of the quarter
deck, just abaft the after turret.
Q. Will you please state to the court what you felt, heard, and saw
of the explosion?
A. I was thrown from a chair, and what I remember of the explosion
seemed to me continuous for an appreciable length of time. I was then
partially overcome by escaping gases from the smokestack from live
boilers, and I was not conscious of anything further so that I could
A:      recall anything until I had gained the poop deck.
Q. What was the first sensation you had —the first shock you felt?
A. I saw fire and felt the ship going from under me. I can hardly
describe my sensation.
Q. Were you asleep at the time in your chair?
A. No, sir; I was talking.
Q. Your view forward was obstructed by the turret, was it not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You could not describe any sensation you had or what you really
heard or felt?
A. No, sir, I can not. I don't even remember the noise.
By the COURT:
Q. How were you thrown from your chair?
A. I was thrown aft, sir. At least I thought I was. I think I
remember falling over that way. I was sitting talking to one of the
other officers.




156   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Were you sitting abaft Mr. Hood?
A. Mr. Hood was on the other side of the deck. I was sitting abaft
Mr. Larkin.
Q. On which side?
A. On the port side.
Q. You were on the port side?
A. I was on the port side, yes, sir; right out to the rail.
Q. That was Mr. Hood's side.
A. I don't remember where he was.
Q. You were thrown from your chair by the motion of the deck of
the ship on which you sat?
A. Yes, sir; that is my recollection.
Q. You can not say what that motion was?
A. No, sir; I can not.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the
witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to'report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Naval Cadet POPE WASHINGTON, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before the court and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your name, rank, and to what ship you are attached.
A. Pope Washington; naval cadet; U. S. Navy.
Q. You are in the engineer department?
A. I am an engineer cadet; yes, sir.
Q. Attached to the U. S. S. Maine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long have you been attached to the Maine?
A. Since the 17th of May, 1897.
Q. Where were you on the night of the destruction of the Maine 
A. I was in Havana.
Q. You were not on board?
A. No, sir.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer and by him pronounced correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Naval Cadet ARTHUR CRENSHAW, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your name, rank, and to what ship you are attached.
A. Arthur Crenshaw; naval cadet, engineer division; attached to the
U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Where were you on the night of the destruction of the Maine?
A. I was in my room, sir.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


157


Q. Which was your room?
A. The forward room of the junior officers' quarters..
Q. Was there anyone else in you room?
A. Mr. Bronson.
Q. Please state to the court what you felt, heard, and saw of the
destruction of the Maine?
A. I don't remember of hearing anything. The lights went out, and
I felt a shock, but I don't remember of hearing any noise of any kind.
Q. Were you asleep at the time?
A. No, sir.
Q. How many shocks did you feel?
A. I can't say that I felt but one, sir.
Q. Was it a lurch of the ship or a shaking of the ship, or what?
A. It seemed to be a lurch of the ship.
Q. You are quite sure you were not asleep and that this woke you up?
A. I am quite sure I was not asleep sir.
Q. That is all you know about it?
A. Yes, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. You say you were in your room?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Your room was which one?
A. The forward room of the junior officers' quarters.
Q. Was there anybody else in that room with you?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Who was it?
A. Mr. Bronson.
Q. Were you in your berth?
A. No, sir; I was sitting down a my desk.
Q. You heard no noise?
A. No, sir; not that I can remember. It was simply a shock and
the lights were extinguished.
Q. When the lights went out what did you do?
A. I rushed out of my room, sir, into the junior officers' mess room
and then out of the forward door of the junior officers' mess room, and,
it seemed to me, through the door that leads into the compartment
just forward of that. There was a rushing noise of some kind. I
couldn't tell just exactly what it was, so I made my way aft.
Q. You went aft through the passage?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then what did you do?
A. I ran for the steerage ladder.
Q. Just abaft the turret?
A. Yes, sir; it leads up just abaft the turret. There was no ladder
there, though.
Q. There was no ladder there?
A. No, sir; not that I could feel. I couldn't see anything. I could
feel no ladder there.
Q. Then what did you do?
A. Then I felt for the engine-hatch bulkhead, that leads up in that
compartment and felt my way along that to the wardroom ladder.
Q. You went up the wardroom ladder?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know what the other officer, your roommate, did?
A. No, sir; I do not. I supposed he was right behind me, though,
sir. I couldn't say.




158   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Was he in the room at the time you were?
A. Yes, sir. e
Q. Did the water reach the compartment where you were before you
left itf
A. No, sir.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct. The
request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Lieutenant BLANDIN here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Do you wish to make some corrections in
your testimony 
Lieutenant BLANDIN. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Please state them to the stenographer.
Lieutenant BLANDIN. On page 242, in next to the last line, it should
read "dog watches" instead of "deck watches."
On page 243, the last paragraph should read: "After the third
quarter watch was set at 9 o'clock at pipe down."
On page 24 1, in the eighth line, it should be "knee deep" instead of
"not deep."
In the tenth line, on the same page, it should read, after the word
"poop,"7 "it was Private Loftus, I think."
On page 246, in the tenth line, insert " had"7 before "swung."
On page 247, in the seventh paragraph, it should read "almost
immediate" instead of "almost within a minute."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is your testimony as amended correct?
Lieutenant BLANDIN. Yes, sir.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned byb the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Naval Cadet BRONSON entered.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. You have read over your testimony?
Naval Cadet BRONSON. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct?
Naval Cadet BRONSON. With the exception of two small mistakes.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Please state what the mistakes are that you
wish to correct.
Naval Cadet BRONSON; In the third answer, on page 294, it should
read: "'I have performed boat duty, deck duty under the supervision of
the commissioned officer of the deck."
On page 295, the third answer-the third sentence of that answershould be removed-" That is the impression which I have now." I
have not any such impression as that now.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. What is the third sentence which you wish
removed?
Naval Cadet BRONSON. "That is the impression which I have now."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. You want that stricken out?
Naval Cadet BRONSON. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is your testimony as amended correct?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


159


Naval-Cadet BRONSON. Yes, sir.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse on matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Lieutenant CATLIN entered.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. You have read over your testimony?
Lieutenant CATLIN. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct?
Lieutenant CATLIN. Except in one instance.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Please read to the stenographer the corrections you wish to make.                           c
Lieutenant CATLIN. In answer to question 5, on page 306 I wish to
change the language as follows:
When we first went into the harbor, there were two extra sentinels put on-one on
the forecastle and one on the poop-armed with rifles. They had special orders to
challenge all boats which approached the ship near enough for a challenge, and in
case any boat came toward the ship-evidently coming to the ship-to report immediately to the corporal of the guard, who would report to the officer of the deck.
On page 307, line 12, it should read, " The corporal ot the guard,"
instead of " The corporal's guard."
At the bottom of the page it should be " a heavy concussion," instead
of " a loud concussion."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is your testimony as amended now correct?
Lieutenant CATLIN. Yes, sir.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse on matters pertaining~to the inquiry.
Boatswain LARKIN entered.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. You have read over your testimony?j
Boatswain LARKIN. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct, as recorded?
Boatswain LARKIN. With two changes.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. State what corrections you wish to make.
Boatswain LARKIN. I wish the answer to the question "How did you
get there?" meaning the poop deck, on page 318, to appear as follows:
"I climbed over a small wing awning on the main deck leading to the
poop deck, on the port side of the cabin."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. You wish to change the first sentence in
that answer, do you, to what you have just said?
Boatswain LARKIN. T I climbed over a small wing awning on the
poop deck" should be "I climbed over a small wing awning on the
main deck leading to the poop deck, on the port side of the cabin."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. That is the way you want it to read-that
first sentence?
Boatswain LARKIN. Yes, sir.
On page 319, in answer to the question " You did not see any men on
the port side?" I wish to say, I didn't see anything at all on the port
side."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. That is the way you wish your answer to
read?
Boatswain LARKIN. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is your testimony, as amended, correct?
Boatswain LARKIN. Yes, sir.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse on matters pertaining to the inquiry.




160    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Private EDWARD MiKAY, U. S. Marine Corps, appeared as a witness before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rank, and to what ship you are attached?
A. Edward McKay, private, U. S. Marine Corps, attached to U. S.
battle ship Maine.
Q. Were you on board the Maine at the time of her destruction?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. State exactly where you were at the first intimation there was of
any trouble.
A. I was right on the poop.
Q. On which side?
A. I was on the starboard side.
Q. Aft or forward?
A. Aft.
Q. What were you doing there?
A. I was on watch, sir.
Q. Tell the court what you felt, heard, and saw, in regard to the
destruction of the Maine.
A. I walked over to the starboard side and was looking over the side to
see if there was any boats around the ship, and there didn't seem to be
a ripple on the water at all. There wasn't a boat in sight; I didn't
have to challenge a boat that night above all nights. I was looking
over the starboard side, and all at once there was a flash of fire hit me
right in the face and knocked me about half way across the deck, and
during the flash the explosion came-just immediately afterwards. After
the flash hit me in the face, then the explosion was, and the wood and
iron commenced to fall around and lit on the awning all around me;
and shortly after the officers came up. I thought I was the only one
left on the ship when the explosion came, and the officers came up and
we lowered the two boats and jumped into the boats to pick up the
men floating around.
Q. Were the poop awnings spread?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was the first thing you felt?
A. The first thing I felt was a shock.
Q. Of the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How did it feel?
A. It felt as if it was rising up.
Q. Did you feel more than one of these shocks?
A. Only one, sir.
Q. Did you hear any noise?
A. I didn't hear a bit of noise, only the explosion.
Q. One explosion?
A. One explosion.
Q. Did the explosion come before this first shock or afterwards?
A. It came after the shock.
Q. Did you feel any water thrown up into the air?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you see any shoot of flame up into the air?
A. No, sir; I did not.
Q. The awning obstructed your view, did it?
A. Yes; the forward part of the ship. All I saw was the flash hit
me in the face; the flash of fire, and then the explosion.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


161


By the COURT:
Q. What do you mean by a flash in your face?
A. The same as if anything would strike you in the face. It seemed
like a flash of fire,
Q. You do not mean that it was right in your face?
A. No, sir; but it seemed as if it was striking you in the face-the
flash was, and then the explosion followed afterwards.
Q. Where was the fire?
A. It seemed to be coming from about the middle part of the ship.
Q. It was a long way from where you were?
A. Yes, sir; it was.
Q. How far forward could you see?
A. I could see to the superstructure, about amidships, sir.
Q. Why could you not see farther than that?
A. The awnings stopped my view, sir.
Q. You were sensitive of a vivid flash of flame or light, as I understand it?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you have the sensation of the-shock to the ship before that,
or at the same instant?
A. They came both very near the same instant, but there was a small
shock before the flame came up.
Q. The ship seemed to rise, did it?
A. Yes, sir; it seemed as if something lifted her up and tipped her
right over on the port side.
Q. Then was there an explosion besides that?
A. The explosion was just after the light was, when the fire seemed
to strike me in the face. The fire came right instantly afterwards. Then
the ship blew up and keeled over onto the port side.
Q. But the first shock, the lifting of the deck under your feet, was
the first thing you felt?
A. Yes, sir; there was only one shock that I felt.
Q. Do you mean to say you did not feel the explosion?
A. Oh, yes, sir.
Q. Was that the shock?
A. The shock and the explosion was at the same time.
Q. Where did the flash come in with reference to the lifting of the
deck and the explosion?
A. It seemed to come from aboutQ. I did not ask where it came from. You were standing on your
feet when the shock came?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When you heard the explosion?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were they together, instantly?
A. They were instantly together. You could not notice the difference between. It was just like that [indicating].
Q. Was the flash between them?
A. Yes, sir.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and be given an opporS. Doc. 207 —11




162


DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


tunity to amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Apprentice AMBROSE HAM, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before
the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Give your full name, rate, and to what ship you are attached.
A. Ambrose Ham, apprentice, first class, U.. Navy.
Q. What ship?
A. U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Were you on board the Maine at the time of her destruction 1
A. Yes, sir.
Q. At the first intimation of any trouble, tell us exactly where you
were.
A. I was on the starboard side of the poop, near the forward
6 pounder.
Q. Near the forward break of the poop?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What were you doing there?
A. I was standing there. I had just been talking to Waters. I
don't know his first name. He was a lamplighter.
Q. What were yoi doing there; were you on duty?
A. Yes, sir; I was on duty.
Q. What duty?
A. Signal duty.
Q. Tell the court exactly what you felt, heard, and saw of the
destruction of the Maine.
A. I was standing facing forward, and I was about to turn around
when I saw a flash of light-a flame,T which seemed to envelop the
whole ship-followed by a report. I was struck in the face by a flying
piece of iron. Then there was a perfect hail of flying iron fell all about
me. Then the second report. I saw the things flying from forward. I
didn't know exactly where the explosion was. After that the officers
came up on the poop, and I assisted in lowering the gig.
Q. You speak of two explosions?
A. Yes, sir; it sounded like a roar, the second one.
Q. What did the first one sound like?
A. It was a sharp report.
Q. How far were they apart?
A. There was only an interval of a couple of seconds.
Q. Did you feel the ship shake at either explosion?
A. The ship seemed to lift right out of the water.
Q. At which explosionS
A. At the second explosion.
Q. Did you feel any trembling or shaking or lifting of the ship at the
first explosion?
A. No, sir.
Q. When did you see the flame you speak of 
A. The first thing.
Q. Before you heard either explosion?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You say there was a decided, distinct interval between the two
explosions?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


163


A. Yes, sir.
Q. One was like a shot and the other like a roar?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The second one being the roar?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Could you see any large upshoot of flame forward?
A. Yes, sir; there is where I saw it first.
Q. Before either one?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. But at the second explosion did you see any large upshoot of
flame?
A. No, sir. At the second explosion I was hit in the face, and I had
to cover my face like that [indicating] to avoid some flying pieces of
iron. So I couldn't see no more after that.
Q. Was there any trembling of the ship at the first shot?
A. No, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. Were you looking forward at the time?
A. I was about to turn around when I saw the flash.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw for
the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will be
again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Lieutenant HOOD here appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Lieutenant Hood, have you read over your
testimony?
Lieutenant HooD. I have.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Do you find it correct?
Lieutenant HooD. I find it correct with the exception of a few slight
changes.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Will you please read them to the stenographer?
Lieutenant HooD. On page 249, in the first answer, leave out " late.'7
On page 251, in the second answer, leave out "I" and substitute
" ammunition was."
On page 256, in the first line, leave out "went up on" and substitute
"reached." On the same page, in the ninth line, insert 'had" at the
beginning of the line.
On page 260, in the third line, substitute "to" for "through." In the
second answer on the same page, leave out the word "gun.2' In the
third line from the bottom on page 261, put a period after "air" and
leave out the word " but."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is your testimony as amended correct?
Lieutenant HooD. It is correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Lieutenant BLOW here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Lieutenant Blow, have you read over your
testimony 




164   DESTRUCTION OF THE U S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Lieutenant BLOW. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Lieutenant BLOW. It is practically correct, with one exception. On
page 272, I wish to say: "I can recall two occasions when the ship was
heading in the same direction, approximately."
Lieutenant BLOW, U. S. Navy, a witness heretofore examined,
resumed the witness stand, and, after being cautioned by the president
that the oath previously taken by him was still binding, testified as
follows:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. I wish to ask you, Mr. Blow, the comparative amount of wreckage
on the port and starboard sides, as you pulled around the ship.
A. The wreckage on the starboard side was much greater. It began,
I should say, about on the starboard beam, and extended completely
around what was the bow of the ship. There was wreckage on the
port bow, but a small amount, as I remember it. I should think the
wreckage on the starboard side extended as much as half a ship's
length from the side.
The testimony of the witness was then read over to him by the
stenographer, and by him pronounced correct. The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned not to converse about matters pertaining
to the inquiry.
Naval Cadet BOYD here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mr.Boyd, have you read overyour testimony?
Naval Cadet BOYD. I have.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Naval Cadet BOYD. It is not.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Do you wish to make some corrections?
Naval Cadet BOYD. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Please state them to the stenographer.
Naval Cadet BoYD. On page 298 the question is understood to
mean "What are your duties as mate of the berth deck after sunset?"
My answer should read: "To see that all compartments are water-tight
except those authorized to be open." One unnecessary sentence should
be struck out.
On page 302, "Was there any listing of the ship?" should be: "Was
there any lifting of the ship," the word "lifting" being emphatic.
On page 303, in the answer reading "There is a hatch in the forward compartment," strike out the word "forward." On the same
page, in the sentence reading "There is a passage between the rooms,"
the word "sail" should be inserted before the word "room." On the
same page the question "How did you get down to the magazines ' is
understood as " How did you get down to the 10-inch magazine?"
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. As amended, your testimony is correct?
Naval Cadet BOYD. It is correct.
The witness then withdrew after being cautioned by the president
not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Apprentice C. J. DRESSLER, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rate, and to what ship you are attached.
A. G. J. Dressler; apprentice, first-class, U. S. Navy; attached to the
U. S. S. Maine.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


165


Q. Were you on board the Maine at the time of her destruction?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. State to the court exactly where you were at the first intimation
there was of any trouble.
A. I was up in the midship superstructure, on the port side, right
abreast the crane locker.
Q. What were you doing there?
A. I had been writing a letter at the time.
Q. You were writing at the time it started?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Tell the court exactly what you heard, felt, and saw.
A. I didn't feel anything, nor I didn't see anything; but I must have
lost my senses at the time, because when I came to again I had been
sitting on the hammock netting on the same side. I didn't feel no
shock, nor I didn't see anything at all. I guess something must have
struck me and knocked me senseless; but as soon as I came to, two or
three minutes afterwards, I had been sitting on a hammock netting.
Q. I understood you to tell me yesterday that you felt the shocks.
Did I misunderstand you?
A. I believe youmisunderstood me.
Q. The first thing you knew was when you recovered from being
knocked senseless?
A. Yes, sir.
By the CO.URT:
Q. What did you see?
A. While I was sitting on the hammock netting I saw the boats.
Mr. Bronson was in the whaleboat. He pulled around the ship and
tried to save those that he could. There was two or three Spanish
boats came alongside, and all those that they could rescue they took
off, I suppose. I didn't see anything further, because I went in one of
the Spanish boats and went aboard of the Spanish man-of-war myself.
Q. You were sitting on the hammock rail of the superstructure deck,
were you?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Whereabouts? Which side?
A. On the port side,
Q. On the port side of the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was just in front of you that was not there usually?
A. The boats were there-the two Spanish boats-right there on the
port side.
Q. I am not speaking about that. I am speaking about the wreck
now.
A. The smokestacks. They went right over the superstructure. They
laid right slantingly across the after part of the superstructure, and the
crane was doubled right up. It hadn't been knocked down though.
Q. That was on which side 
A. On the port side. The water was just even with the awning on
that side. The awning was flapping up and down in the water.
Q. What awning was that 
A. That was the main-deck awning.
Q. You were sitting above that?
A. Yes, sir; I was over on top of the hammock netting.
Q. How far was this from the place you were sitting before the explo.
sion?




166    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. I don't suppose more than two or three steps. I was sitting right
down on deck, under a light.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Carpenter HELM here appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mr. Helm, is your testimony, as recorded,
correct?
Carpenter HELM. It is except for the following corrections:
On page 322 my answer should read, "One water-tight door frame
of paymaster's issuing room was not in good condition, and was recommened to be repaired at the navy-yard, as it could not be repaired
by the ship's force."
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. You wish to add that to the answer you have giyen 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where was this issuing room?
A. It was forward, over the 6-inch magazine, two decks above.
On page 323 I would like to change "she listed to starboard" to "she
listed to port." I would like to have the word "none" changed, on that
same page, to "not" in answer to the question "Were you injured in
any way?"
On page 324, in the fourth answer, I wish to strike out " as they taper
so low there," and in the same answer strike out the word "guess" and
insert "think."
On page 325, in the third answer, change "three and three-quarters"
to "four and three-quarters."
Q. As amended, is your testimony correct?
A. It is.
The witness then withdrew after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Sergeant MICHAEL MEHAN, U. S. Marine Corps, appeared as a witness before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rank, and to what ship you are attached.
A. Michael Mehan; sergeant U. S. Marine Corps; serving on board
the U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Were you on board the Maine at the time of her destruction?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What were you doing? Were you on duty?
A. On duty, sir.
Q. As what?
A. As sergeant of the guard, sir.
Q. Where were you at the first sign of any trouble?
A. On the starboard gangway.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


167


Q. On what part of the gangway?
A. It was about midways in the gangway, between the forward turret
and the after part of the gangway.
Q. About abreast of the crane?
A. About abreast of the crane; yes, sir.
Q. On the main deck?
A. On the main deck.
Q. You were standing up?
A. Standing up.
Q. Looking which way?
A. I was looking outboard, sir.
Q. State exactly what you felt, heard, and saw.
A. I was in the gangway when I first heard this explosion. The
next thing I knew about it I was fired overboard in the water-lifted
clean off the gangway and fired in the water. The next thing I was
picked up by a boat.
Q. You heard only one explosion?
A. Only one explosion.
Q. Did you feel any shock before that explosion?
A. The explosion and the shock, I thought, was both together.
Q. How far from the ship were you thrown?
A. When I came up from the surface of the water I was about 15 or
20 feet out from the gangway on the starboard side of the ship.
Q. Were you knocked senseless?
A. No.
Q. Simply lifted up and out?
A. Lifted up and thrown out in the water.
Q. How high did you go?
A. I don't think I went very high in the air. I was simply thrown
out in the water. When I left the ship I must have swam out, because
when I came up I was about 15 or 20 feet from the side of the ship.
That is about all I know about it. Afterwards I was picked up by a
boat.
By the COURT:
Q. You were thrown off where?
A. I was thrown off the starboard gangway out in the water.
Q. Could you describe the kind of motion of the deck?
A. I could not, sir; I thought the deck came right up and fired
me out.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony, and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Corporal FRANK G. THOMPSON, U. S. Marine Corps, appeared as a
witness before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:.
Q. State your full name, rate, and to what ship you are attached.
A. Frank G. Thompson; corporal, U. S. Marine Corps; attached
and serving on board of the U. S. S. Maine.




168    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Were you on board the Maine at the time of her destruction?
A. I was, sir.
Q. Where were you at the first intimation of any trouble?
A. Lying in my hammock.
Q. Where was your hammock?
A. On the port gangway.
Q. Describe where on the port gangway and how it was slung.
A. It was slung from the first stanchion forward of the gangwayfrom the stanchion to the port.
Q. Right across the main deck, then?
A. Right across the main deck.
Q. In the afterpart of the gangway?
A. In the afterpart of the gangway.
Q. About how far forward of the turret?
*A. About 25 feet-20 feet.
Q. Which way was your head?
A. Inboard, sir.
Q. Were you wide awake?
A. I was wide awake. I was looking aft, with the blanket just over
my head. I was lying there just making myself comfortable. It seems
as though I had made myself comfortable to have a night's rest. It
was my night off, and I had just turned in. I hadn't turned in more
than fifteen minutes-ten minutes, I don't believe, at the latest.
Q. Tell the court exactly what you felt, heard, and saw of the destruc -
tion of the Maine.
A. The first 1 realized, lying in my hammock, I was deliberately
thrown in the air through the port awning on the port side. I went as
high as the superstructure, because I could see the superstructure. I
landed on my side, here where I have the scar. I laid on the deck
stunned for about two or three seconds, it would seem. Just then the
ship seemed to give a lurch, and she gradually commenced to sink.
As she commenced to sink I realized where my position was and I
regained my feet. I grasped the ridgerope, and hung onto the ridgerope until the water had come up almost to my neck. Just then naval
cadet Mr. Bronson came along in the boat and threw me a line. He
told me I would either have to sink or swim for my life. I let go, and
I went down once and came up. I grasped the rope and they pulled
me to the boat.
Q. That was the ridgerope that was going along the port gangway?
A. The port gangway, where the awning was made fast.
Q. The awning was in the port gangway?
A. In the port gangway.
Q. You think you were thrown through that awning?
A. I was thrown deliberately through it, because I remember coming
down through it to where I was lying there.
Q. I suppose the awning itself was thrown up?
A. It must have been, because I remember there was a rent in the
awning where I came through.
Q. Did you go up in the air at the very first shock you felt?
A. That was the first thing I realized.
Q. What did you hear at that time?
A. I didn't hear anything.
Q. Did you see anything?
A. I couldn't see anything on account of the darkness and smoke,
and I smelt steam.
Q. Were you stunned?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


169


A. I was stunned; yes, sir. I was stunned for two or three seconds
before I realized where I was. I thought at first that war had taken
place and the Spaniards had opened on us. I heard groaning and men
crying for help.
By the COURT:
Q. This was outside the superstructure? You were on the main
deck?
A. On the main deck; yes, sir; port side.
Q. That, of course, was not your billet?
A. No, sir; my billet was below in the marine quarters, but being so
close down below, there was two or three of the boys slept on the port
gangway.
Q. Were you forward or abaft of the crane?
A. I was abaft the crane. I had been reading up to 9 o'clock that
night. Sergeant Brown, the mail orderly, wanted me to give him the
book 1 had after I was through with it. I read until very nearly 10
minutes past 9. Then I took the book down below to the master-atarms compartment. Sergeant Brown was lying down there, where he
always slept, and I gave him the book and went up to the head. From
the head I came down to the port gangway, and had just turned in in
my hammock.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony, and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Lieutenant JUNGEN here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mr. Jungen, you have read over your testimony?
A. I have, sir.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. I desire to make some corrections, as follows:
Page 283, line 14, for the word "watch " substitute the word "hold."
Page 284, line 16 for the word "an" substitute the word "a, " and
between "a" and the word "explosion" insert the words "well
defined," so that the whole sentence will read "It was not a welldefined explosion."
Same page, line 25, erase the word "or" after the word "ashes," and
in place thereof insert "mingled with," so as to read "ashes mingled
with brown smoke."
Same page, last line, for the word "try" insert "see."
Page 285, line 4, for the word "then" substitute the words " after
that."
Same page, line 21, erase the word " there" and substitute the word.s
" the harbor."
Page 286, line 19, after the first word "boat" insert the word " fall."
Same page, same line, after the second word "boat" insert the word
fall.7
Page 287, line 2, for the word " got" substitute the word "' was."




170    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Same page, line 12, put the following word "Chaving" before the word
"only."
Same page, line 13, erase the last two words "and myself."
Same page, line 17, between the words "took" and "the" insert the
words "charge of," and in the same line, after the word "around," add
the words "the stern of the ship."
Same page, line 23, after the word "turret" insert the words "On the
starboard side."
Same page, line 28, for the word "starboard" substitute the word
"port" and erase the word " again."
Same page, line 29, erase the word "then" after the word "ship."
Page 290, line 20, for the word "boat" substitute the word "men."
Same page, line 26, after the word "around" add the words "that
way."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is your testimony as amended correct?
A. It is.
Lieut. C. W. JUNGEN, recalled to the witness stand and warned by
the president that the oath previously taken by him was still binding.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state the comparative amount of wreckage on the port and
starboard sides when you were pulling around the ship in the barge.
A. It appeared to me most of it was on the starboard side.
Q. Was not nearly all of it on the starboard side?
A. The only noticeable wreckage on the port side that I could see at
all was the smoke pipe. I would like to add that my impression at
first was, when I saw the wreckage, that the explosion was on the
starboard side, because I saw something that looked to me like the
starboard forward turret having been thrown up to port. That turned
out afterwards to be the superstructure, as I learned; also that what I
took to be the port crane was standing.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer and by him pronounced
correct.
'The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Master at Arms JOHN B. LOAD, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rate, and to what ship you are attached.
A. John B. Load, master at arms, third class, U. S. Navy, attached
to the U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Were you on duty as master at arms the night of the destruction
of the Mlaine?
A. No, sir; I was not. The second-class master at arms was on
duty.
Q. Where were you at the first intimation of any trouble.
A. I had just left the second-class master at arms, and he was telling
me if I wanted the keys during the night, or in case they should be
wanted, where to get them. I left him to go to my hammock, which
was slung underneath the middle superstructure, right outside the
armory door.
Q. Where were you at the moment you felt the first trouble?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


171


A. I was just taking off my shirt, and was going to turn in. From
where I was standing I could look out the after door.
Q. That is right by the armory?
A. Right by the armory, sir; on the starboard side.
Q. On the after part of the superstructure?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Your hammock was inside the superstructure, forward of the
armory 
A. Forward of the armory.
Q. And nearly abreast of the door 
A. Nearly abreast of the door.
Q. You were about abreast of the refrigerator?
A. I was close to where that steerage ice box stood; yes, sir.
Q. You were standing up at the time?
A. I was standing up at the time. I had just put my shirt on the
hammock.
Q. Please state to the court exactly what you felt, heard, and saw.
A. You could see a red flame outside the ship. It seemed as if it
was a small boat had struck the ship at first. She seemed to tremble,
and then the whole deck where I was standing seemed to open, and there
was a flash of flame came up, and whether I went up in the air, or
whether I went down, I couldn't say at first. Then I found myself down
below, and the water rushing in on me. I could hear a second explosion, and it seemed to lift the weight off of what was on me where I
was lying down, and I managed to crawl out of there. I found myself
on the port side of the upper superstructure. That place all seemed to
be cleared. At that time the port awning was burning, and people
was lying on it. Schwartz was one. He called me by name and asked
me to give him some help to get off of there. The only thing I could
find was a piece of wire rope. I helped him and two or three others,
but I don't know their names. Privates Lutz, Marine, and Galpin
were up there. 'Then I called out for assistance, for a boat, the Ward
Line boat. At that time Mr. Bronson was coming along in the whaleboat, and he called out "Courage." He says: "Help is coming."
I Then I asked him for his painter, and I made it fast to one of the
cradles that was remaining there, and I helped these others to get into
the boat. I: was going to get in myself, but Lutz called out "Give me
some help here; there is two men dying." We managed to get them
and throw them over. We had no way of putting them down. One
was Erricson and the other was Smith. Smith fell in the water too far
from the boat to receive assistance, and Mr. Bronson jumped out of the
boat and swam to him. It was only a short distance, but the water
appeared to be boiling up around there at the time. Then I got up
from there and was intending to make the boat myself. I walked
around the hammock netting a little, and I slipped and fell overboard.
I got onto a chest, and I was picked up by a Spanish shore boat. We
went all around the ship in the boat and picked up Ran, seaman, and
Mike Malone, fireman, but Mike fell out of the boat afterwards; he was so
badly hurt we couldn't hold him in. Then I was transferred to another
Spanish boat, and we were taken ashore.
Q. You say at the first shock you were knocked down somewhere?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Below?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where did you find yourself?
A. I thought I was on the berth deck.




172    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. But you were not on the berth deck, were you?
A. I think not, sir.
Q. The next thing you found yourself on top of the middle superstructure?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How did you get up there?
A. 1 can remember coming out of the after hatch, sir.
Q. You got on top?
A. On top, sir. I can remember all that was with me at the time
down there. There was Williams, the armorer; he was sleeping on
deck close to me; and Kane was standing with his arms on the ice
chest. McGinnis, the marine, was sleeping on the port side.
Q. They were all saved?
A. They were all saved, sir, but the man that was sleeping in his
hammock above, next to me, was lost.
Q. Who was that?
A. That was Calfield.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. These men, I want to say to the court, were
mostly asleep. I have questioned most of the men he has mentioned,
and they were asleep at the time.
By the COURT:
Q. You mentioned two explosions?
A. Two explosions, sir.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. How far apart were the two explosions?
A. About a minute, as near as I can judge; that is, from the time the
deck opened up until I heard the second explosion.
Q. By a minute you mean a very small period of time?
A. Very small.
Q. Very quick?
A. Very quick.
By the COURT:
Q. You do not mean a minute, then?
A. No, sir; it would hardly be a minute; but it happened a little
after three bells, as near as I can judge, and I was ashore before four
bells struck.
Q. Describe the two explosions.
A. One seemed to be a deafening report.
Q. Which one?
A. The one when the deck opened. Then, when I was down below,
I imagined it was a boiler went up, on account of the water down there.
It was hot, but the flame that I saw-the deck seemed to open. It was
the same as if some one had taken a revolver and fired it close to your
face, and you almost suffocated. It felt as if cotton was in our mouths
when we were down below. We were choking down there, and we were
drinking water as it was coming up on us, to try to get a little relief.
Q. Do you mean to say that you tried to get a drink of water during
this time?
A. I was drinking the water as it was coming up on me, sir. As we
were sinking, we were drinking water to get relief. This man Kane
and myself were together nearly the whole time.
Q. Did you speak with each other?
A. Oh, yes, sir; we were speaking. I told him I had given up all
hope once, and he told me he had given up all hope.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


173'


Q. Were the lights out at this time?
A. The lights were out as soon as the first flash. Everything was in
darkness.
Q. Then you recognized these people how?
A. By their voices, sir.
Q. How did the second explosion differ from the first one?
A. It didn't seem to be as loud a report, to me, as the first one was.
Q. It did not seem to be as loud?
A. Not as loud, sir.
Q. The first thing you knew following the first report was that you
were thrown down through the deck?
A. It seemed to me as if I fell through the deck instead of going up.
The whole deck seemed to open. It sounded then as if a wagon with a
lot of old iron had been dumped into a hole. That was the noise it was
making, cracking up all the time.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he
will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to
amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request
was granted and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Seaman PETER LARSEN, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before
the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rate, and to what ship you are attached.
A. My name is Peter Larsen; I was born in Norway; seaman;
attached to the U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Were you on board the Maine on the night of her destruction?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You were standing on the quarter-deck of the Maine at that time?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Doing extra duty?
A. Extra duty; yes, sir.
Q. What part of the quarter-deck were you on?
A. Close to the after turret, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. It was not on the superstructure deck?
A. No, sir; just that little passage going between the after turret
and the bulkhead.
Q. On the port side?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Right near the gangway between the turret and the middle
superstructure?
A. The galley door that leads out on the superstructure.
Q. Which way were you facing?
A. Port side, sir.
Q. What were you facing?
A. I just came walking up, like this, and I stopped there.
Q. Tell the court exactly what you felt, heard, and saw.
A. The first thing, when I came off to that side and was walking up




174    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


and down, I heard some explosion in the port gangway; something
like an explosion. I just turned around, and then the big explosion
came, and I got thrown aft on the poop.
Q. What do you mean by the first explosion? What did it sound
like?
A. Something like a shot, sir.
Q. What did it feel like?
A. It jarred the ship.
Q. Did you see any flame or anything?
A. Yes, sir; just around the corner came the flame.
Q. Show us on the plan where you were.
A. Right here [pointing between the turret and the galley]. The
first noise I heard was around the port gangway, where the ice
machine is.
Q. The first what?
A. The first explosion, and the next thing I got thrown up here on
the poop deck.
Q. You got thrown up there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On top of the deck?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You did not walk up there at all?
A. No, sir.
Q. You were thrown up there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You saw the light around this corner?
A. Just coming around this corner; and the next thing I found
myself up there.
Q. Were you hurt?
A. No, sir; just across the back a little, and my arm.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What kind of a sensation did the second explosion make in
regard to the ship 
A. At the second explosion I got thrown away, and everything
around me was flying.
Q. Was there a distinct interval between the two, do you think?
A. There was a very little between each other, because I didn't have
time to turn around, because I got thrown out.
Q. They were distinct, in your opinion?
A. Yes, sir; they were distinct.
Q. When did you see the flames-after the first and before the second?
A. No, sir; just with the second.
Q. It was the second shot, then, that threw you up on the poop deck 
A. Yes, sir; the second shot, because at the first I had just turned
around. The second took me away from the quarter-deck altogether.
Q. Can you describe any more carefully the first shock?
A. No, sir; it was just a jar, shaking all over.
Q. It did not throw you off your feet?
A. No, sir; it didn't throw me off my feet. It was something like
the ship had gone aground. She was shaking.
Q. How long do you think it was after the first shock before the
second one?
A. I don't think there was more than about two seconds, or something like that.
Q. A very short time?
A. Yes, sir.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


175


Q. The two were perfectly separate?
A. Yes, sir.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Seaman Louis MORINIERE, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before
the court, and was duly sworn by the president:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Give your full name.
A. Louis Moriniere.
Q. What rate?
A. Seaman.
Q. Attached to the Maine 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you on board the Maine at the time of her destruction?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You were on the quarter-deck, I believe?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On the main deck?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Whereabouts 
A. Between the after superstructure and the main superstructure;
abreast the after turret, sir.
Q. About halfway between the two superstructures?
A. Yes, sir; closer to the after superstructure.
Q. Near the barbette?
A. No, sir; near that reel there that the fire hose is on, under the
ladder; close to the ladder.. ^A
Q. That is not the after superstructure. That is the middle superstructure. You were close to the ladder leading up the middle superstructure. I will show it to you on the plan. Which way were you
facing at the time the trouble commenced?
A. Aft, sir.
Q. Tell the court exactly what you felt, what you heard, and what
you saw; not what you have been told since-what you remember yourself feeling.
A. I heard a jar, and after this jar the explosion went up through
the middle superstructure. I heard a jar first, and almost at the same
time of this jar the whole middle superstructure went up in fire, sir.
I was thrown up off my feet and sent aft against my will, and I fell on
all fours.
Q. You were thrown down?
A. Yes, sir; I looked forward and saw no more smokestacks. The
smokestacks were done.
Q. They had gone?
A. Yes, sir; the two smokestacks were gone.
Q. That was after you picked yourself up?




176     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
A. Yes, sir; I got hold of an awning stanchion and crawled up over
something around there; I don't know what it was. I looked around,
and I couldn't see no smokestacks.
Q. What did the first explosion feel like to you?
A. Just ajar, sir.
Q. How long was it between that and the second explosion?
A. It was hardly two seconds.
Q. When did you see flame?
A. The flame was in the port gangway.
Q. When did that first come?
A. Just soon after this second explosion started.
Q. Which knocked you down?
A. It was the second explosion.
Q. How far aft were you thrown?
A. Just about fifteen feet, in my judgment. 
Q. You lauded on your hands and knees?
A. Yes, sir; I couldn't get on my feet again.
Q, You could not get your feet again?
A. No, sir; I couldn't get on my feet. There was so much vibration
in the deck that I couldn't stand up. When I got up in the boat alongside the ship, after the captain left the ship, we saw the berth deck on
fire through the ports.
Q. That was after you had left the ship?
A. Yes, sir. She was very deep down in the water then. She was
almost level with the ports.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the wit.
ness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Boatswain's Mate CHARLES BERGMAN, U. S. N1avy, appeared as a
witness before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Give your full name, rate, and to what ship you are attached.
A. Charles Bergman; boatswain's mate; first-class; U. S. S. Main
Q. Were you on board the Maine on the night of her destruction? 
A. Yes, sir. 
Q. Were you asleep when it happened? 
A. I was just between waking and sleeping.
Q. Just going to sleep?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you in your hammock? 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where was your hammock swung? 
A. Forward on the berth deck, in the forward compartment. 
Q. Which side 
A. The starboard side.
Q. Near the brig?
A. On the afterpart of the starboard brig.




DESTRUCTION'OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.     177
Q. The hammock swung fore and aft?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Well outboard?
A. Yes, sir; the first hammock outboard, alongside the mess locker.
I swung on top from the hooks, and two others were swinging underneath.
Q. What were the other men's names?
A. Atkin and Fountain.
Q. They were both killed?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Tell us what you felt and what you experienced. Which way was
your head?
A. Aft, sir.
Q. Tell us what you felt-what you experienced.
A. I heard a terrible crash, an explosion I suppose that was. Something fell, and then after that I got thrown somewhere in a hot place.
Wherever that was I don't know. I got burned on my legs and arms,
and I got my mouth full of ashes and one thing and another. Then the
next thing I was in the water-away under the water somewhere, with
a lot of wreckage on top of me that was sinking me down. After I got
clear of that I started to come up to the surface of the water again, and
I got afoul of some other wreckage. I got my head jammed in, and I
couldn't get loose, so I let myself go down. Then it carried me down
farther. I suppose when it touched the bottom somewhere it sort of
opened out a bit, and I got my head out and started for the surface of
the water again. I hit a lot of other stuff with my head, and then I got
my head above the water. I got picked up by a Spanish boat, one of
these shore boats, I think.
Q. When you found yourself in the water first, how far were you
from this ship 
A. I must have been underneath the ship, as far as I can make out,
At least, I come up on the side.
Q. Near the ship?
A. Yes, sir. I got out through the bottom or the side, as near as I
can make out.
Q. You were the only man in that compartment that was saved?
A. Yes, sir; the only man from the whole berth deck except Jerry
Shea, I believe.
Q. Where was he?
A. He was in the fireman's compartment, I believe, forward of the
marines' compartment.
Q. Where is Shea now?
A. He is in the hospital at Havana, I think. I don't know of no
other one. When I come up, she was all settled down in the water.
She was all torn to pieces then, and settled down.
Q. Had you swallowed much water?
A. I was full of it. I was pretty near drowned when I came up.
When I got in the boat the water was running out of me. I must
have been under there for a couple of minutes, as far as I can make out.
By the COURT:
Q. Do you remember more than one shock?
A. That is all, sir; one terrible crash. That is all I know about.
Q. You say you went which way; what became of you 
A. That I couldn't say. I must have got out from the bottom or the
side. That is what I think. I don't-know which way I got thrown
S. Doc. 207 —12




178    DESTRUCTION OF THE U S. BATTLE SHIP MAINEF


or fired. It was something fearful. There is nothing to compare with
it at all.
Q. You were not conscious of having your head above water from
the start until you were picked up? You did not know during that
time that your head had been above water at all?
A. No, sir; I was under all the time. After I once got my head
above water I had it there all the time.
Q. You say your legs and arms were burned?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Those are the burns on your hands now, are they?
A. Yes, sir; and that leg and arm [indicating his left leg and
left arm].
Q. How large spaces were burned?
A. It is burned across this leg here [indicating]. My arm is pretty
well healed up now. There was a big, raw burn on my left elbow.
Q. You say at one time you felt you were in a very hot place?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you mean that it was hot air, hot gases?
A. It must have been hot iron or something, I guess, that I fell
against. I got a lot of ashes in my mouth and face. I know that. I
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Gunner HILL here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mr. Hill, have you read over your testimony
of yesterday 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. I wish to make a few changes. On page 315, in the fourth answer,
strike out the word '" yes 7 and insert " no."
In the fifth answer, add to the answer " I can remember no upright
in the after end of the magazine except those in the center forming the
two fore and aft bins."
Q. Is your testimony as amended correct?
A. Yes, sir.
The Witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
noi to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
The court then (at 12.40 p. m.) took a recess until 2 p. m.
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and the
stenographer.
Landsman GEORGE Fox, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before
the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your fall name, rate, and to what ship you are attached?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


179


A. George Fox, landsman, U. S. Navy, attached to the U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Were you on board the Maine at the time of her destruction?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. I believe you were a lamplighter?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where were you at the time it happened?
A. In the lamp room, sir.
Q. Where is that lamp room situated?
A. On the port side of the superstructure forward.
Q. The middle superstructure?
A. The middle superstructure.
Q. Is it inside the 6-inch gun rest?
A. Yes, sir; right under the port 6-inch gun.
Q. Were you in there in your hammock?
A. No, sir; I had a bunk rigged up in there.
Q. Was the door locked?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In what way was the door locked?
A. I had a catch and a hook, just a kind of a hook. I don't know
how to explain it. It was caught over a port.
Q. Were you asleep when this commenced?
A. I was just dozing off.
Q. Tell us what happened to you.
A. As well as I can remember I was thrown up in the air and I came
down feet first. I heard the rattling and the roar around me, but it
was pitch dark and I couldn't see nothing. I had to feel around. I
heard the men groaning around me. I felt a hole and I crawled through
that. Then I seen the wreck burning on top, and that gave me light to
see to climb up. I found myself in the middle of the wreck, pretty high
up, because I could look down and see the boats all around there. Then
I went down to the water's edge and swam out to a boat.
Q. Did the lamp room seem to be upside down?
A. Yes, sir; it seemed to be pretty well demolished, as well as I could
make out.
Q. Was it perfectly open on the outside for you to crawl out?
A. No, sir; I had to crawl through a pretty small hole. It scratched
me all here [indicating].
Q. Did you feel any particular shock except this upheaving?
A. No, sir; I was dazed for a minute. I was stunned.
Q. You were dazed at the very first shock?
A. Yes, sir; but I realized that we had been blown up some way.
There was a strong smell of powder there somewhere that nearly gagged
me. It was some kind of explosive that smelled like powder, and also
the burning of cotton. I don't know what it was or what made it. ^
By the COURT:
Q. Of cotton?
A. Yes, sir; it smelled like burning cloth of some kind.
Q. Were your own clothes burned? 
A. No, sir; not as I know of. I was stripped, myself. Of course my
bedding might have taken fire; I don't know. Anyway, that smoke
seemed to come from below somewhere.
Q. Do you mean that you were stripped?
A. Yes, sir; I was naked, myself. I didn't have a stitch on me, it
being very warm there.
Q. Did you go to bed that way?




180    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. Yes, sir; I went to bed that way.
Q. You heard but one explosion?
A. Yes, sir; but one explosion.
Q. When you came down to the water's edge to swim out into the
water, which side of the ship were you on?
A. I was on the port side, sir. I am sure of that, sir, because I seen
Mr. Boyd on top of the wreck. He called out to all hands to turn to
and fight the fire. He said we had settled down. That is the first
thing I heard when I came on top of the wreck, and I went down to
the water's edge and swam out to one of these boats.
Q. You are sure that was on the port side?
A. Yes, sir; I am certain of that.
The judge:advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness
be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony, and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Landsman MICHAEL LANAHAN, U. S. Navy, appeared1 as a witness
before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, your rate, and the ship to'which you are
attached.
A. My name is Michael Lanahan; landsman; U.. S..Maine.
Q. Were you on board the Maine at the time of her destruction?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where were you?
A. I was in my hammock, over the starboard 6-inch gun, in the forecastle.
Q. Over the starboard 6-inch forecastle gun?
A. Yes, sir; my foot was over the starboard 6-inch gun, and my head
was aft.
Q. Inside the forward superstructure?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What happened to you? Were you asleep when it started?
A. No, sir; I wasn't asleep. I was just turning into my hammocks
I was about to lie down in my hammock when I felt a jar, and that is
all I remember.
Q. Where did you find yourself?
A. I found myself about 50 feet from the ship, out in the water.
Q. On which side?
A. On the starboard side.  C
Q. Were you injured?
A. No, sir; I had a slight cut in my head.
Q. Was anyone else in that superstructure saved?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Who?
A. Michael Flynn, Durkin, Bloomer, and a young fellow-I forget his
name. He is out in the hospital. He was a new fellow that had just
come. There was four or five of them came out of that first part.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


181


Q. You do not remember anything at all until you landed in the
water?
A. No, sir; I didn't know anything at all about it until I came up in
the water.
Q. Some distance from the ship?
A. Yes, sir; about 50 feet out in the water.
Q. To starboard 
A. To starboard; yes, sir.
Q. What did you feel in the way of shocks or explosions?
A. I just felt a jar, and that was all-just a trembling, and that is
the last I remember of it.
By the COURT:
Q. You did not hear any noise?
A. No, sir; I did not hear any noise; just a trembling, and everything
seemed dumb then. When I came up out of the water, I realized what
had happened, and I swam for a buoy.
Q. Swam for what?
A. One of those small buoys that are anchored there.
Q. The door into that superstructure was abaft your head, was
it not?
A. Yes, sir; just abaft of the gun.
Q. You do not know whether you went through the deck or through
the side?
A. No, sir; I went right straight up and went out. The deck must
have been blown up. If it hadn't, I would have been hurt worse than
I was. I couldn't make any statement about that. I know I went up
through it.
Q. Were you burned at all?
A. No, sir; I wasn't burned.4I was just cut in the head; that
was all.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which
he will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to
amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request
was granted and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon
he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Coal Passer THOMAS MELVILLE, U1. S. Navy; appeared as a witness before the court, and was duly sworn by the president:
Examined by the JUDGE ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rank, and to what ship you are attached.
A. Thomas Melville, coal passer, T1. S. Maine.
Q. I believe you were on the quarter-deck of the Maine at the time
of her destruction?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What part of the deck were you on?
A. Just right between the after turret and the bulkhead of the
galley.
Q. In that passageway?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Which way were you facing?




182     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
A. With my back turned to it, sir, and my face toward aft.
Q. Were you standing near Larsen?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Tell the court exactly what you felt, heard, and saw.
A. I felt something like electrician right under my feet.
Q. You felt what?
A. Something that appeared to me like electrician-a loud reportjust about amidships.
Q. An electric shock, I suppose you mean 
A. Yes, sir; and she listed over on the port side. The port was under
water. Her starboard side was up. I made my way to the starboard
gangway, and then I heard the second report. I had an idea that was
the boilers, from the ashes and soot and stuff. I tried to make my way
amidships on the starboard gangway, and I got hit with ashes. I had
an idea it was the boilers had exploded. That opened up the superstructure and carried everything forward. By that time I made my way
aft for the second whaleboat. Before me and a man by the name of
McCann could reach her she was under water. I came back again to
the starboard gangway, when the captain's gig came along aft with the
boatswain in her. He hollered for me and McCann to come to him.
We dove overboard and swam for the cutter and manned her to save
lives, which we couldn't. Then the captain's writer-I don't know
what you call him; I guess it was the writer-hollered for us to come
back. We came back and stood there, and the first lieutenant and the
captain got in the gig. The captain gave orders to shove off and for
all boats to leave her, to look out for the magazines. That was the
captain's orders. We went around her a couple of times and looked
for lives, but couldn't find any. Then we rowed to the City of Washington, at the captain's order, with all the men we had in the boat.
Q. When you felt the first shock, were you knocked off your feet?' 
A. No, sir.                ]/j,,lf
Q. How long was it before the explosion, which you call a boiler explosion, occurred after the first shock?
A. It appeared to me about a half a minute between the two explosions.
Q. Almost immediately, do you think?. Half a minute, you know, is
quite a little space.
A. The first explosion raised up part of the superstructure, etc., and
twisted it right over my head, and the awning came down over my head.
I made under it for the starboard gangway. When I got to the starboard gangway the second explosion occurred.
Q. Did the ship shake as much after the second explosion as after the
first?
A. No, sir; I think it shook more at the first.
Q. How was the sound?
A. It appeared to me, when she was hit starboard, it came about
amidships, and then turned and everything went forward.
Q. Did you see any flame?
A. Not before the second explosion. The first explosion appeared to
be right under the berth deck.
Q. Did the ship seem to lift any at the first explosion?
A. No. sir.
Q. She just trembled?
A. She trembled, and the port side went down just as she was struck.
By the COURT:
Q. You say that this second explosion threw everything forward?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.      183
J- A. It threw everything forward, sir. That is what it appeared to
me —that it opened up the superstructure, and the second explosion
carried the ironwork out and struck the steam launch, made fast to
the guess warp of the starboard side. I seen that myself.
Q. You saw what?
A. I saw when the steam launch went lown, from the ironwork of
the superstructure, at the second explosion.
Q. What seemed to be the cause of the steam launch going down?
A. The ironwork tipped her over like, and everything went right on
to her-smothered her right up. It appeared to me that way. There
was a good deal of iron blown out from her. Our two boilers was
going forward down below. That is what made me think it was so
long, half a minute or.so, between the two explosions. There was no
boilers going aft. We had two going forward.
*      Q. You had two boilers going forward?
A. Yes, sir; I knew that myself, and we had four primed ready to
steam at the time.
Q. You are wrong. The after boilers were in user
A. Yes, sir; the two after boilers. I know the steam launch was
lying there at the second explosion. I am sure of that.
Q. What was the name of the man who was standing in that passage;
way between the turret and the galley with you?
A. Pete Larsen.
Q. Where did he go; what did he do?
A. I couldn't tell you, sir. I didn't see him at ail.
Q. You did not see him afterwards?
A. No, sir.
Q. Larsen simply went overboard?
A. He disappeared from me, sir. I couldn't say how he disappeared.
Of course the shock took all the life out of me for a second-for half a
second. When I came to myself, I knew where the starboard gangway
was, and I made for it. When I got there I found a fellow by the name
of Gartrell praying, and one fellow by the name of Lancaster, he was
dead, and another fellow was holding on the gangway. I pulled him
out of the water, and saw that he was dead, and I left him there.
Q. You are sure that the ship listed after the first explosion?
4      AA. Oh, yes, sir; the port gangway went under water in two seconds,
right after she was hit. She went down so quick that when I got to
the starboard gangway it was away up. The gangway was clean out
of water.
Q. The second explosion had not occurred at that time?
A. No, sir; not before I reached the starboard side.
Q. Were you standing up at the time of the first shock?
A. Yes, sir; me and this man by the name of McCann and Wilber,
coxswain of the steam launch, we tried to make for the second whaleboat. We did make it, and we seen it was under water, and couldn't
do anything with it. So we came back to the gangway again, and by
that time Wilber fell overboard. He disappeared, and he told us afterwards in the hospital that he fell overboard. The boatswain holloed
for me and McCann, and we dove overboard and swam to the captain's
gig.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that le be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony, and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of




184    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
which he will be again called before the court and be given an oppor
tunity to amend his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct'
The request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Coxswain BENJAMIN R. WILBER, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, your rate, and the ship to which you are
attached.
A. Benjamin R. Wilber; coxswain; U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Were you on board the Maine at the time of her destruction?
A. Yes, sir; not on the Maine. I was in the steam launch alongside
the ship.
Q. Where was the steam launch?
A. On the starboard boom, sir.
Q. Did you have steam up?
A. Steam up; yes, sir.
Q. Hanging to what; a guess warp?
A. No, sir; made fast to the Jacob's ladder, and the stern hauled aft
to the grab rope, so that she couldn't swing and catch the smokestack.
Q. Who were in the boat with you?
A. There was five of us-Pank, Lowman, Nicholson, and Rau-five
men with myself.
Q. Are any of those men alive now?
A. All of them are alive: yes, sir.
Q. Were you awake when it happened?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What part of the boat were you in?
A. In the stern sheets, sir.
Q. Tell the court what happened.
A. What I know of it; it seemed to me as if something hit me in
the face, and I didn't know any more until I came up under the water,
some distance from the ship, when I came up close to one of our coaling booms or strong back. I don't know what it was. Pank, one of
the men in the boat, was on it. I don't know how long I stayed there,
but then I happened to think of the sharks that was in the water
around there, and I swam to the ship, to the starboard gangway. I
took off my clothes and shoes and jumped overboard again, and swam
to the Spanish cutter that was pretty close to the ship then, and they
took me on board the Spanish man-of-war that was lying there.
Q. You do not know how you got out of the launch?
A. No, sir; I don't remember one single thing. I don't know what
became of the boat either.
Q. Did you see any flame?
A. Just like a flash it hit me in the face. I didn't see any flame.
Q. You were immediately knocked senseless?
A. Yes, sir; I think I was knocked senseless.
Q. How far were you from the ship when you found yourself in the
water?
A. I can't exactly say. I should say about 20 yards, or something
like that.
Q. Which way from the ship?
A. Right directly out-right broadside off from the ship.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


185


Q. You were some distance from where the launch had been?
A. Yes, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. You heard no explosion; you heard nothing?
A. No, sir; I didn't hear nothing.
By the JUDGE-ADVOOATE:
Q. How were you injured?                   o
A. I was struck on the side of the head here by something.
Q. The right side of your face?
A. Yes, right here.
Q. Around the temple?
A. Yes, sir; and I think it has injured the jawbone. I don't know.
I can't open my mouth. I can't hear in the left ear, and I am cut on
the right arm below the elbow
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony, and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters Pertaining to the inquiry.
Fireman JOHN H. PANK, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before
the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rate, and the ship to which you are attached.
A. John Henry Pank; fireman, first-class; U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Were you the fireman that ran the first steam launch?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you in that launch at the time of her destruction?
A: Yes,'sir.
Q. What part of that boat were you in 
A. I was amidships, near the engine room.
Q. Between the boiler and the stern sheets?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On which side of the boat?
A. On the port side.
Q. Which way were you looking when this thing happened?
A. I was looking out to starboard.
Q. Away from the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Tell the court what happened to you?
A. All I can say, sir, is that I heard a big explosion, and I was just
about to look around to see where it came from, when something must
have struck the steam launch on the port side. It just capsized her
right over. It taken us about 25 or 30 feet under the water before we
could get out. By the time we got up it was all over. We landed
about 30 yards from the ship. That is about all I can say, sir.
Q. You heard an explosion on board the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. One or two?




186    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. I only heard one, sir.
Q. You felt the boat going over?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You were not blown out of the boat?
A. No, sir.
Q. You scrambled out as the boat turned over?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What is the matter with your arm?
A. I lost two of the fingers.
Q. How do you suppose that happened?
A. I don't know, sir; unless it was because we had a pretty good fire
in the boilers at the time-we had about 160 pounds of steam-and I
can't account for it no other way except that when the boiler struck
the water, the boiler was so hot at the time it must have exploded.
Q. You were knocked senseless?
A. No, sir; I wasn't knocked senseless at all. The only place I was
hurt was on the hand, and I felt that just as I started to come up.
Q. Did you turn toward the ship when you heard the explosion?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you see any flame shoot up?
A. No, sir; I didn't see anything at all.
Q. I suppose the boat was between you and the ship when she was
turning over?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You are sure the boat keeled over and went down that way?
A. Yes, sir; I am certain of that.
By the COURT:
Q. Were you carried down in the boat?
A. Yes, sir; in the boat.
Q. Did the boat turn over toward the ship or from the ship 
A. From the ship, sir.
Q. You say you think the boat must have been struck by something
which keeled her over?
A. Yes, sir; something struck her on the starboard side and just
keeled her right over.
Q. Was that any of the flying d6bris? Was it a piece of metal, or
was there anything about it that would enable you to form a conclusion as to what it was struck her?
A. No, sir; I couldn't tell what it was struck her.
Q. You do not know whether it was a wave or the water disturbed
by the explosion, or whether it was a piece of the d6bris?
A. No, sir.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, on account of
his crippled condition his testimony was read over to him by the
stenographer, and by him pronounced correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Seaman OTTO RAU, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness uerore the
court and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your name, rate, and the ship to which you are attached.
A. Otto Rau, seaman, U. S. S. Maine.
Q. You were in the steam launch at the time of her destruction?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


187


A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you awake?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What part of the boat were you in?
A. I was standing right in front of the boilers.
Q. Forward of the boilers?
A. In front of the boilers; yes, sir. I had scrubbed the tape with my
shirt and put it on top of the boiler, and at that minute I felt the pressure. I don't know which way I went out of the launch. I only know
that I next felt myself coming up from the water. Three times I struck
myself against things, and could not come right on top of the water.
After I did come on top of the water, I was a good distance from the
ship, close up to Nicholson. He cried for help, and so did I, and we
got picked up by a boat.
Q. How far do you suppose you came up from where the wreckage
originally was?
A. I don't know exactly how far. It was a good distance.
Q. How many explosions did you hear?
A. I can't remember. I didn't hear none at all.
Q. You do not know anything about it?
A. No, sir. I thought at first it was a boiler from the steam launch
that had exploded, and after I came on top of the water I took a look
around and seen the ship burning.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before, the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Fireman WILLIAM GARTRELL, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
A*     Q. State your full name, rate, and to what ship you are attached.
A. William Gartrell. born in Washington. I am a first-class fireman
by rate; attached to the U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Were you on board the Mlaine at the time of her destruction 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where were you?
A. I were right down at the magazine, on top of the magazine, when
it happened; at the tiller room, right by the storeroom. I was lying
down at the time.
Q. You were lying down in the tiller room?
A. Yes, sir; I had just laid down. It wasn't a second. 1 had no
sooner laid down, than it happened.
Q. You were right in front of the storeroom door?
A. No, sir; that is a torpedo on the edge of the storeroom. It was
back of that, where the gunners keep their storeroom.
Q. About abreast of the three wheels 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On which side?




188   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. On the port side.
Q. You were on the port side, abreast of the three wheels?
A. On the port side; yes, sir.
Q. You were in the steering room, then?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In the steam steering engine room 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Not in the tiller room.
A. You know, there are two magazines.
Q. You were right by the three wheels?
A. Yes, sir; I were lying right in here, sir [indicating]. There is a
hatch there.
Q. On the starboard side or the port side?
A. On the port side the hatches are. I was lying right on that
hatch. I had a mattress there.
Q. You were in the steam steering room?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The tiller room is abaft that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Tell the court exactly what you felt, and heard, and saw.
A. Just a second before that Rushford, chief machinist, came to me
and asked me for the loan of the keys to go in the storeroom. He said
he was restless and couldn't sleep. I gave him the keys and told him to
put the keys near my shoes, that I was going to sleep there that night.
I laid there. I had a book in my hand and was going to read. Just
then Charley Quinn, an oiler, that was on watch, came up and said:
"We want some oil." I said:   It is funny there is no oil out," and
everything like that; but I gave him the key and he got the oil and
throwed the key back. Then I walked back and laid down and went
to sleep. Frank Gardiner, coal passer, was lying down beside of me.
Just as soon as I laid down, I was talking to him and I hadn't spoke
three words. He was telling me his time was out in May, and I said
mine was out in June, and he made the remark that he was going to
wait for me-all like that, just fooling, and just then a flash came. It
was a blue flash. It seemed to me like it was right by the lamp in the
engine room. I could see as plain as day.
Q. How could you see into the engine room?
A. I could see through the door, sir. It was a kind of a blue flame,
and it came all at once. The two of us jumped up, and I went on the
port side up the engine-room ladder, and Frank Gardiner, he went up
the starboard side-at least he didn't go up, because he hollered to me.
He struck the door right there where the partition separates the two
doors, and he must have struck his head. He hollered to me; he says:
" 0 Jesus, Billy, I am gone." I didn't stop then, because the water
was then up to my knees. 1 made a break as quick as I could up the
ladder, and when I got up the ladder into the steerage room the ladder
was gone. Everything was dark. I couldn't see nothing; everything
was pitch dark, and I gave up, or I started to give up. There was a
colored fellow with me; I didn't know his name until afterwards. His
name was Harris. We got hold of each other. I says: "Let's give
up; there is no hope." I started in to say a prayer the best I knew
how, and I heard a voice. It must have been an officer; it couldn't
have been a man's voice, because he says: " There is hope, men." I
knew from that that he was an officer. After that I seen a little light.
It looked like an awful distance from me, but I made for that light, and
when I got there it seemed like I could see the heavens. I got jammed
in the ladder. My head was right up against the deck. I seen the




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
o~~~~~~~1         


189


ladder, and I caught hold of Harris, and the two of us hugged each
other.
Q. You got hold of who?
A. The ladder was hung crossways on top. There wasn't no ladder
that we could walk up. The ladder was up above us, and we got
jammed in the ladder, the two of us. I don't know whether I got out
first or this colored fellow, but when I did get out I tried to say a
prayer. I looked where I was and I saw the heavens and everything,
and I tried to say a prayer or something, and I fainted away. I felt
someone picking me up and they throwed me overboard.
Q. When you saw this blue flame in the engine room, did you feel
any shock to the ship?
A. Yes, sir; she was going like this all the time [indicating].
Q. The ship was?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long did that last?
A. It-lasted until I got up to the top of the ladder. Then I was in
the water.
Q. You only felt one continuous shaking?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you hear any noise, any report?
A. Yes, sir; I heard a terrible report.
Q. How did it sound; like a gunl
A. No, sir; it wasn't a gun. T couldn't hardly tell you how it
sounded-like the whole earth had opened up.
By the COURT:
Q. There was but one shock-one continuous shock 
A. I don't know. It seemed like it was just the roaring of the ship,
and then the shock came.
Q. You felt the ship tremble before this explosion?
A. Before this explosion; yes, sir.
Q. You were right in the bottom of the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you say you were lying on your hammock?
A. On the mattress, on the after magazine on the port side, right in
the engineers' storeroom. As you come out of the door and right down
about 8 or 9 feet, I think, there are these magazine hatches. I had
my mattress there. Frank Gardiner, coal passer, he was lying this
way, justkbetween the wheels, with his mattress.:
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he.withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Seaman EDWARD MATTSON, U. S. Navy, appearedras a witness before
the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rate, and to what ship you are attached.
A. My name is Edward Mattson; ordinary seaman; attached to the
U. S. S. Maine.




.190


DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. You were on anchor watch at the time the Maine was destroyed?
A. We were standing quarter watches, and I had the messenger
watch.
Q. You were wide awake at the time it happened, were you?
A. Yes, sir; I and another fellow was walking up in the starboard
gangway.
Q. Will you tell the court exactly where you were when you felt the
first shock?
A. I was right abreast of the starboard crane.
Q. In the starboard gangway?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Facing which way?
A. Facing forward.
Q. Then state exactly what you felt, and heard, and saw.
A. It was just the same as if I seen lots of smoke, and I went right
up in the air. I don't know where I went to. After that I didn't
remember until I was lying aft on the quarter-deck.
Q. What part of the quarter-deck?
A. I was lying right by the smokestack, and when I come to my
senses I slid down on the quarter-deck.
Q. When the ship shook were you knocked off your feet immediately?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. At the very first shock?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you see any fire flying up in the air?
A. No, sir; I didn't see anything else but smoke.
Q. You only felt one shock?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And that landed you aft on the quarter-deck?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Are you sure you went up in the air?
A. Yes, sir; I didn't strike the water. I must have gone in the air.
By the COURT:
Q. You say you felt but one shock?
A. One shock; that is all, sir.
Q. You were walking up and down the gangway?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You were facing-downward?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then you were thrown backward, were yoa?
A. Backward on the quarter deck.
Q. How did you fall?
A. I suppose I fell on my shoulder, for I felt kind of sore there [indicating left shoulder].
Q. Did you say you were alongside of the smokestack?
A. Yes, sir; by the smokestack, just where the third cutter 'was
standing.
Q. You said you were by the crane, did you not?
A. Yes; abreast of the starboard crane.
Thejudge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded, or pronounce it correct. The request was




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


191


granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Mess Attendant JOHN H. TUBPIN, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, your rate, and the ship to which you are
attached.
A. John Henry Turpin, mess attendant, attached to the U. S. S.
Maine.
Q. Where were you when the first indication of any trouble occurred
on the night the Maine was destroyed?
A. Down below in the wardroom pantry.
Q. In the wardroom pantry?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Sitting down or standing up?
A. Sitting down.
Q. Facing which way?
A. Facing the door as you come out of the pantry.
Q. Facing the inboard door?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The pantry is on the starboard side, is it?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You were facing inboard?
A. The pantry is situated like:this [indicating]. As you come in
from the wardroom, you come in so [indicating]. I was facing the door
>as you come out.
Q. Facing the inboard door?
A. The inboard door.
Q. Not the door leading into the wardroom?
A. No, sir; not the door leading into the wardroom.
Q. The door leading into the passage amidships?
A. The door leading into the passage.
Q, How far were you out into the pantry; how far away from the
door?
A. Right by the ice box.
Q. Tell us how far that is-about halfway?
A. About halfway.
Q. Tell the court exactly what you felt and heard and saw.
A. I just felt the ship heave, and it seemed to lift, like that [indicating]. I just feltthe ship heave and lift.
Q. Lift which way?
A. She lifted up and kind of listed to port.
Q. What made her do that?
A. It was a jarring explosion-just one solid explosion, and the ship
heaved and lifted like that, and then all was dark. I met Mr. Jenkins
in the mess room, and by that time the water was up to my waist,,and
the water was running aft. It was all dark in there, and he hollered to
me, and he says, "Which way?" I don't know what he meant by
that. I says, " I don't know which way." He hollered again, "Which
way?" I says, I don't know, sir, which way." And he hollered the
last time; he says, " Which way?" I says, "1 I don't know, sir." Then
I was groping my way, and the water was up to my breast. Mr. Jenkins started forward, and then the whole compartment lit right up.
That whole compartment where the torpedoes were lit right up, and




192    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MA1NE.
I seen Mr. Jenkins then throw up both hands and fall, right by the
steerage pantry. Then I groped my way aft, and got to the captain's
ladder-the ladder coming out of the wardroom-just as you come out
of the wardroom to go up in the cabin. When I got there the ladder
was carried away, and somehow or other the manrope kept fast upon
deck, but the ladder got adrift from it down below in the water.
By that time the water was right up even with my chin. Then I
commenced to get scared, and in fooling around it happened that a rope
touched my arm, and I commenced to climb overhand and got on deck.
When I got outside the passageway in the cabin on the starboard side,
I climbed up on some-I don't know what it was I climbed up on.
Anyhow, I got up on the poop, and as soon as I got up on the poop Mr.
Holman gave the order to me. He says, "Go down below and get
some cutlasses." I says, "Aye, aye, sir." I went down in the after
gunroom, and the water was coming in at such a rush I had to come
up again. So I came up again and got on the after search-light rail,
and I dove overboard. When I dove overboard I swam a little ways,
and John Herbert, an ordinary seaman, was right up behind me. He
grabbed hold of my ankle. I says, "Let go, please; you will drown
the two of us." He wouldn't let go. He kept climbing on me; so I
hit him. By that time he relinquished his hold, and he was picked up
afterwards. So I swam out, and the Spanish boat passed me, and I
went under the water again. I was afraid there was some danger, so
I went under water again, and when I rose again the barge passed, and
I got inside.
By the COURT:
Q. Where were you at the time; right astern of the ship?
A. Right astern of the ship; yes, sir. That is my experience about it,
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. You felt only one shock?
A. I felt only one shock.
Q. Only one lift of the ship?
A. Only one lift of the ship.
Q. She lifted first and then went down to port?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What kind of noises did you hear?
A. It sounded like distant thunder-just a rumbling.
By.the COURT:
Q. Were you asleep?
A. No, sir; I was not asleep. I had just as good sense about me
and was as wide awake as I am now.
Q. How do you know you were not asleep?
A. I know I was not asleep because I was standing there talking.
Q. I thought you said you were sitting down?
A. I was sitting down. I was talking to a couple of the boys in
there-Harris and Robert White.
Q. What became of them?
A. Harris-how he got on deck, I don't remember.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the
witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked
to withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and be given an oppor



DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


193


tnnity to amend his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he vithdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to
discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Seaman MARTIN LARSEN, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before
the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. State your full name, rate, and to what ship you are attached.
A. Martinl Larsen, captain of the hold, seaman; attached to the
U. S. S. Maine.
Q. When did you leave the Maine?
A. The 21st of January.
Q. How long had you been captain of the hold!
A. Fifteen months, sir.
Q. What were your duties at night in securing the hold?
A. Closing all the hatches, and seeing that everything was secure
and all lights out.
Q. You always saw that securely done before reporting at 8 o'clock?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Who relieved you when you left the ship?
A. Neilson.
Q. What kind of a man is Neilson 
A. He is a very good man.
Q. A reliable man?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you explain all of your duties to him?
A. Yes, sir; I didn't have time to. I was sick at the time, and they
seemed to be in a hurry to get me off the ship.
Q. He is a very good man?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Looking after everything is always done before reporting?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Neilson was killed?
A. Yes. sir.
Q. You were not on board at the time of the explosion?
A. No, sir.
Q. Tell the court what places you closed at night before making your
8 p. m. report.
A. In port we closed the hatches leading down from the berth deckleadin g down through A33.
Q. And at sea?
A. At sea every hatch was closed.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness
be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will-be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to amend
his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
The court then (at 3.35 p. m.) adjourned until to-morrow morning,
March 2, 1898, at 11 o'clock.
S. Doc. 207 —13




194    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


NINTH DAY.
UNITED STATES (OUBT-HOUSE,
Key West, Fla., 10 a. m., Wednesday, March 2, 1898.
The court met pursuant to adjournment of yesterday, the first instant.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and the
stenographers.
The record of the proceedings of yesterday, the eighth day of the
inquiry, was read and approved.
Passed Assistant Engineer BowERs here appeared before the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. iMr. Bowers, have you read over the record
of your testimony given yesterday?
Mr. BOWERS. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Mr. BOWERS. I should like to make some few corrections.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Please name them.
Mr. BOWERS. On page 330, in the second line from the bottom, I
should like to leave out the words "the other tank," and say "the starboard bunker."
On page 332, the fourth line from the top, "When I went off watch
we were using what we used, No. 4 bunker," should be, "When I went
off watch we were using No. 4 bunker."
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. You wish to leave out, "what we used"?
Mr. BOWERS. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. IS your testimony as amended correct?
Mr. BowPES. Yes, sir.
Assistant Engineer MORRIS appeared before the court:
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Have you read over the testimony given by
you yesterday as recorded?
Mr. MORRIS. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE ADVOCATE. IS it correct as recorded?
Mr. MORRIS. No, sir; I have one change to make.
The JUDGE ADVOCATE. State what it is.
Mr. MORRIS. On page 336, in the twelfth line, the answer should be:
"I looked into B4." The record from there down to the tenth line
from the bottom of the page should be struck out.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I can not strike out the record. I will have
to repeat the questions to you as I put them, and you can answer them
any way you like. I will repeat them:
"By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
"Q. If there had been any combustion going on in A 6, would you
have noticed it when you went into B6"?
"A. I did not go into B6."
Q. You want to strike out " I did not go into B6 ""
A. Yes, sir.
"Q. 1 am speaking of A16, not A15, the port bunker. Which
bunker did you go into at 7.45?"
A. There is a misunderstanding there. I was in B3, B5, and A15.
Q. Which port bunker did you go into at 7T45?
A. I looked into B4.
Q. Your previous answer read: " I looked inside; yes, sir, into B4.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


195


There was nothing unusual there. I simply had the door closed down,
as it was night inspection. I did not enter B6." Is that correct?
A. That is correct.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Then your testimony as amended is correct!
Mr. MORRIS. Yes, sir.
The judge-advocate asked and received permission to ask some additional questions of Lieutenant Bowers.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. You were on watch during the day of February 15?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What boilers were in use?
A. Boilers G and H.
Q. Those were the two after boilers?
A. The two after boilers.
Q. What was the condition of these boilers?
A. I looked at the fires and noted the water in the glass. There was
three-quarters of a column of water. The boilers were in every way in
a normal condition.
Q. At what time did you make this inspection last?
A. 7.45.
Q. Was there a careful watch on over these boilers?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Good men?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. They were all at their stations?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. They all went to their stations at 8 o'clock, the relief watch?
A. Half the relief was down there at the time. The water tender was
down there and one of the firemen..
Q. At what time?
A. At 7.45, or when I came out. At about five minutes to 8 I left
the compartment.
Q. I am speaking of the first watch that night. You have every
reason to believe the watch was carefully set at 8 o'clock, and that they
did their duty?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. They were good men in that watch?
A. Yes, sir; the water tender was the most reliable water tender in
the ship.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced
correct.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Naval Cadet CRENSHAW here eutered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. You have read over your testimony of yesterday as recorded?
Mr. CRENSHAW. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct?
Mr. CRENSHAW. NO, sir; there is one mistake.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Please state what correction you wish to
make.




196   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Mr. CRENSHAW. At the end of line 23, page 341, strike out the period,
so that it will read: " It seemed to me that through the door that leads
into the compartment just forward of that there was a rushing noise
of some kind."7
The JUDGE-ADVOCiTE. IS your testimony as amended correct?
Mr. CRENSHAW. It is.
The witness then retired after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about nmtters pertaining to the inquiry.
Private MCKAY, U. S. Marine Corps, here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Private McKay, you have had read to you
the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Private MciKAY. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?.
Private McKAY. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Apprentice HAM here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Apprentice Ham, you have had read to you
the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Apprentice HAM. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. IS it correct as recorded?
Apprentice HAM. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Apprentice DRESSLER here entered the court..
'The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Apprentice Dressier, you have had read to
you the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Apprentice DRESSLER. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. IS it correct as recorded?
Apprentice DRESSLER. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Sergeant MEHAN here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Sergeant Mehan, you have had read to you
the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Sergeant MEHAN. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. IS it correct as recorded?
Sergeant MEiHAN. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Corporal THOMPSON here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Corporal Thompson, you have had read to
you the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Corporal THOMPSON. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. IS it correct as recorded?
Corporal THOMPSON. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


197


Master-at-Arms LOAD here entered the court.
The JUDGEI-ADVOCATE. Master-at-Arms Load, you have had read to
you the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Master-at-Arms LOAD. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Master-at-Arms LOAD. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Seaman PETER LARSEN hereoentered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Seaman Peter Larsen, you have had read to
you the testimony which you gave yesterday.
Seaman PETER LARSEN. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. IS it correct as recorded?
Seaman PETER LARSEN. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Seaman MOLINIERE here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Seaman Moliniere, you have had read to
you the testimony which you gave yesterday.
Seaman MOLINIERE. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Seaman MOLINIERE. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Boatswain's Mate BERGMAN heie entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Boatswain's- Mate Bergman, you have had
read to you the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Boatswain's Mate BERGMAN. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Boatswain's Mate BERGMAN. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Landsman Fox here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Landsman Fox, you have had read to you
the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Landsman Fox. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Landsman Fox. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Landsman LANAHAN here entered the court.
The JUDGE ADVOCATE. Landsman Lanahan, you have had read to
you the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Landsman LANAHAN. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Landsman LANAHAN. Yes. sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.




198   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. 8. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Coal Passer MELVILLE here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Coal Passer Melville, you have had read to
you the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Coal Passer MELVILLE. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Coal Passer MELVILLE. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Coxswain WILBER here entered the jourt.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Coxswain Wilber, you have had read to you
the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Coxswain WILBER. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded 
Coxswain WILBER. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Seaman RAU here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Seaman lau, you have had read to you the
testimony which you gave yesterday?
Seaman RAU. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Seaman RAU. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Fireman GARTRELL here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Fireman Gartrell, you have had read to you
the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Fireman GATRELL. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Fireman GARTRELL. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Seaman MATTSON here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Seaman Mattson, you have had read to you
the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Seaman MATTSON. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Seaman MATTSON. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Mess Attendant TURPIN here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mess Attendant Turpin, you have had read
to you the testimony which you gave yesterday?
Mess Attendant TURPIN. Yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is it correct as recorded?
Mess Attendant TuRPIN. Yes, sir.
The witness then retired, after being cautioned by the president not
to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


199


Seaman HABRY S. MCCANN, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness
before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name, your rate, and to what ship you are
attached.
A. Harry S. McCann; seaman; serving on board the U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Were you on board the Maine at the time of her destruction in
Havana?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What part of the ship were you in at the moment it commenced?
A. I was in the after part of the ship, on the quarter deck, right
abaft the middle superstructure.
Q. What part of the superstructure were you nearest to?
A. I was nearest to the ladder leading up to the superstructure.
Q. The one that has the rail underneath?
A. Yes, sir; I was within 5 feet of the ladder.
Q. Which way were you facing?
A. Outboard. My head was facing the superstructure. My feet
was aft-lying down.
Q. You were lying down?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you asleep?
A. I was neither awake nor asleep. I was in a sort of doze.
Q. Tell the court exactly what you felt, saw, and heard.
A. I felt a jar and I saw a flash of light-a red fire and an explosion.
That is all, sir.
Q. What kind of ajar was it you felt?
A. I don't know-like a lifting.
Q. Did the ship tremble?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How soon did the explosion come in regard to the jar?
A. I should say about an interval of a second or so.
Q. Did that jar the ship-did the explosion jar the ship much?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What became of you?
A. I remained where I was. I wasn't thrown. I just stayed right
there.
Q. Were you knocked senseless?
A. No, sir.
Q. What made you stay there?
A. I waited there until the debris and stuff stopped dropping, and:I
came from underneath the awning and went to the starboard rail, right
there at the starboard gangway; then I jumped overboard and got
under the gig.
By the COURT:
Q. Was the first shock that you felt accompanied by any sound; was
there any report?
A. No; not the jar. There was no report to the jar, sir. I got in a
sitting position; then came the flash and the report.
Q. Then there was but one report, was there?
A. That is all I remember hearing; there might have been more.
Q. That is what we want to know.
A. I couldn't swear there was any more, sir.
Q. That is what we want. You heard only one report, but you felt
the jar before the report came?
A. Yes, sir.




200


DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer and by him pronounced
correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Landsman KANE, U. S. Navy, appeared as a witness before the court,
and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name, rate, and to what ship you are
attached.
A. Joseph H. Kane; landsman; U. S. S. Maine.
Q. Were you on board the Maine at the time of her destruction in
Havana?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Tell the court exactly where you were at the beginning of the
trouble.
A. I was in the after part of the superstructure, on the starboard
side.
Q. Which superstructure; the middle superstructure?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You were right over the armory?
A. Right forward of the armory; as far aft as I could be on that side.
Q. Inside?
A. Yes, sir; on the starboard side.
Q. You were inside the superstructure?
A. Yes, sir; looking out to port, where the ice chest is, I was looking out to port on the starboard side, and I seen a flash, followed by an
explosion. I didn't see the fire itself but I seen the reflection, as from
a fire, a light. I was thrown below decks somewhere; I don't know
where. I guess it must have been below decks. When I emerged I
was on the port side, under the port crane. I came out on the main
deck. It must have been below decks, and I came through a manhole.
By the COURT:
Q. You stood looking out of this air port [indicating]?
A. I was standing abaft the 6-inch gun support, and I saw a flash of
light in the starboard gangway.
Q. Were you under water during that time?
A. When I first went down I was pinned down. It must have been
wood, and the water came and lifted the weight off my body, and I was
able to get up. By that time the water was up to my waist.
Q. It is impossible to explain how you got there?
A. Yes, sir; I didn't walk a step. Load was with me all the time.
Q. Did you crawl up?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You crawled up through this manhole?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Or bunker plate, whatever it was?
A. It was a natural hole. There was nothing broken in there, because
the iron rim on there was perfectly smooth. I think it was a coal chute,
or something of that sort.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What was the first thing you felt; the very first thing?
A. The first thing I felt was the shock, and I was thrown very quick.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


201


Q. Did you hear a noise with it?
A. Yes; I heard a noise.
Q. What kind of a noise?
A. Like the report of a gun, very close.
Q. What did you hear next? 
A. Nothing but a roar right along until I got out.
Q. You mean, when you first heard the noise begin, the roar came
immediately; or was there an interval?
A. It sounded like the gun was fired, and you heard the roar for a
good while afterwards; for two or three seconds.
Q. Interval?
A. No; following.
Q. The roar lasted two or three seconds?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then you found yourself below decks?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you crawled out on the port side of the main deck? 
A. Yes, sir.
By the COURT.
Q. What is the height between the main and berth decks; could you
reach up?
A. It is about 10 feet.
Q. How do you suppose you got hold of that opening to get up?
A. As I say, there was water there, and debris, ditty-boxes, and all
such stuff, piled up. Then there was some kind of a tank there-some
kind of an iron or copper, or some kind of a metal tank there-that
broke. I could see that. That helped me up. I got up on it, and I
had a long stick, probably three or four feet long. I stood it upright,
and put it straignt on the plate, and I hauled myself up. I got my
elbows on it, and crawled up through it. The water raised a good deal.
It was up to my waist. There was debris of every kind and wreckage
lying around there.
Q. What happened to you after that?
A. After that I crawled from the main deck up on to the hammock
nettings and into the whaleboat. The painter of the boat was thrown
up and made fast. All the men that was there with me got in the boat.
Q. When were you hurt?
A. Where was I hurt?
Q. When or where?
A. The wreckage was falling on me, and I hurt myself trying to lift
the wreckage off  Wihatever was on me, it must have been wood,
because when the water came it lifted off itself.
Q. You broke your arm then, did you?
A. My shoulder. I dislocated it. My breast is hurt, too.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced
correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Commander JAMES M. FORSYTH, U. S. Navy, appeared before the
court as a witness, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name, rank, and to what ship duty you are
at present assigned.




202   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. James Ai. Forsyth; commander, U. S. Navy; commandant of the
Key West Naval Station.
Q. Did you receive any orders recently in regard to examining the
coal pile at Key West, which is the property of the Government?
A. I did.
Q. Please state what orders you received.
A. On the 17th of February I received a telegram from the Chief of
the Bureau of Equipment to "examine anthracite coal pile thoroughly
for infernals. ' Signed, Bradford."
Q. What steps did you take to carry out this order?
A. I appointed three of the employees as inspectors, and hired a
gang of shovelers to turn the coal over with shovels-to shift it with
shovels.
Q. Whom did you put in charge of the whole work?
A. Charles Goodwin, machinist.
Q. A reliable man?
A. I consider him a very reliable man.
Q. Has the work been completed?
A. The work was completed in about three days.
Q. How much coal was in the pile, about?
A. About one thousand tons.
Q. When did the Maine coal here recently-since her coming down
from the north?
A. Twice.
Q. What coal did she receive, and how much each time; the kind ot
coal, I mean?
A. She received anthracite coal, 280 tons at the first coaling, and I
think 270 tons at the second. I have a memorandum of that.
Q. Refer to that paper.
A. This is taken from the log of the station; 280 tons at the first,
and 271 tons at the last coaling.
Q. Can you give the dates of the coalings?
A. Yes, sir; the first was December 20 to 22, 1897, and the second
January 18 and 19, 1898.
Q. Did she receive the coal from the pile which you have examined?
A. No, sir.
Q. What became of the coal that was in that pile at that time?
A. The coal that she received was mostly Morea coal from the Morea
coal mine; anthracite Morea coal.
Q. That has all been given to ships?
A. It has all been given to ships. There may be a few tons of it left
outside, on the eastern end, but I am not sure, because the two coals
were mixed; but her main body of coal that she received was Morea
coal. I would further say that she may have received some red-ash coal
that was sent down later from the Natalie. There may have been some
carloads of the Natalie coal; but the main body of her coal was Morea.
Q. How did the coal arrive here that she received 1
A. In schooners.
Q. Alongside the wharf?
A. Alongside the wharf.
Q. It was taken up in the regular method to the storehouse?
A. Taken up in the regular method to the storehouse, and handled in
the regular way.
Q. How long had that coal been here which the Maine received?
A. It was received in January, 1897.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


203


Q. What report did Mr. Goodwin make to you after his inspection?
A. He reported that there had been nothing unusual discovered.
I can also say that I visited the work at intervals myself, and also had
Paymaster Jewett visit the work at intervals while it was going on, to
see that it was carried on so that the inspector could see every shovelful of coal that was moved; and they said that all of it was examined 
lump by lump.
Q. The coal was taken to the Maine in the usual method pursued in
the coaling of ships?
A. No sir; rather unusual. It was coaled by lighter. Ships generally come alongside the wharf and coal, but the Maine's draft was
excessive. The draft was too great. The captain did not wish to
bring her alongside the wharf; so it was put on lighters. So the coal
was really handled twice more than it would have been if it had been
coaled in the usual way.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer and by him pronounced
correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Machinist CHARLES GOODWIN appeared as a witness before the
court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name, your business, at present, and your
residence.
A. Charles Goodwin; foreman of the Government machine shop in
Key West.
Q. You reside in Key West?
A. I reside in Key West. [ reside in the shop.
Q. Did you, about the middle of February, receive an order from the
commandant of this station to make an inspection of the coal pile for
infernals?
A. I did, sir.
Q. Do you remember when you received the order?
A. I received it on last Saturday, a week ago.
Q. Did you carry out the order?
A. I did.
Q. In what way?
A. I had all the pile of coal turned directly over, so that I could see
through every particle. I had two assistants with me, but I was there
all the time myself. Not a particle of coal was left unturned over-of the
anthracite coal, not the bituminous coal. There was bituminous coal
there, too. Of the anthracite coal there was not a particle that was
not turned thoroughly over, so that I could see through the whole
of it.
Q. Was anything found wrong by anybody during this work?
-A. Nothing at all.
By the COURT:
Q. What did you expect to find?
A. I thought I might find some unforeseen bombs or something like
that. That is what I expected. I found one piece of coal with a hole
drilled through it, but that was nothing more than where they drilled
to blast it. I was careful, of course, to see. I could tell pretty near




204    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


the difference between the coal and any substance of iron or anything
that way.
Q. You could have seen a bomb or a piece of pipe or anything of
that sort?
A. Anything that way. I found one old tin can with some white
lead in it. That might have dropped from the ship.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer and by him pronounced
correct.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to converse about matters pertaining to the inquiry.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I would like to inform the court that I have
no more testimony to offer from any of the survivors of the Maine at 
Key West. All who can give any testimony in the matter, as far as I
can learn, have been before the court. There is only left the testimony
of the survivors in a body, which the court desires to take.
At the request of the judge-advocate, the court was then cleared for
deliberation. The stenographer withdrew.
The doors were then opened and the stenographer entered.
The court then (at 1.15 p. m.) took a recess until 2 p. m., at which
time it was decided that the court would proceed to the military station, Key Vest, at which place the wounded were being cared for and
the other men were quartered.
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, and the stenographer.
The court then proceeded in a body to the army barracks at Key
West. On reaching there, all the survivors of the Maine, officers and
men, who were able to attend, were assembled in the presence of the
whole court. The president of the court administered the oath to them
which is usually administered to witnesses, whereupon the juti ge-advocate asked the following questions:
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Is there present any officer or man who has
any complaint to make or any fault to find with any officer or man
belonging to the Maine on the night of the destruction of that ship, at
Havana, February 15, of this year. If so, let such officer or such man
step to the front.
No one stepping to the front, each one of you declares under oath
that you have no fault to find and no complaint to make of any officer
or man belonging to the Maine on that night.
Is there any officer or man here present who has any complaint to
make against or fault to find with any officer or man belonging to the
Maine as to the care and guarding of that ship in the harbor of Havana
previous to her destruction on February 15, 1898? It any such officer
or man has any such complaint to make or fault to find, let him step to
the front.
No one stepping to the front, each one of you declares under oath
that you have no complaint to make against or fault to find with any
officer or man as to the care and guarding of the ship previous to her
destruction.
The court then (at 2.35 p. m.) adjourned to meet to-morrow, ato'clock - m., at its usual place of meeting, the United States court-house,
Key West.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


205


TENTH DAY.
U. S. L. H. TENDER MANGROVE,.
Harbor of Havana, 10 a. m., Saturday, March 6, 1898.
The court met pursuant to the last adjournment on Wednesday, the
2d instant, at Key West, Fla.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and the
stenographer. Captain Sigsbee and Lieut. Commander Waiuwright
were also present, at their own request.
The record of the proceedings of the last meeting were read and
approved.
Ensign POWELSON here appeared before the court and was warned
by the president of the court that he was still under the oath he had
previously taken.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Ensign Powelson, have you any further evidence to offer to this
court-evidence that you may have discovered since the court left
Havana?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is the nature of the evidence such as is derived from your own
observation or from the reports made to you from time to time by the
divers?
A. It is from reports made to me by the divers.
Q. Did you take notes at the time such reports were made to you by
the divers?
A. I did.
Q. You will please give your evidence as far as possible, giving each
diver separately; also, in giving your evidence give it in such a manner
that the convening authority and the authorities in Washington will
be able to understand it without having before them the sketches upon
which you may point out different objects in the course of your testimony. Please proceed.
A. I will first take up the reports of Chief Gunner's Mate Olsen, one
of the divers. I will first submit to the court a rough sketch showing
the forward body of the ship, forward of about frame 28.
The JTUDGE-ADVOCATE. I request that this sketch be appended to
the record as one of the exhibits.
The request was granted, and the sketch was appended to the rec.
ord, marked L' H."
The WITNESS. This is the report Diver Olsen made to me at 11.40
a. m. March 1, 1898:
He went down the after wing of the after V, marked "A" in sketch
submitted, and he counted 9 frames, counting the highest frame No. 1.
This highest frame is frame 17. Frames 21 and 22 had floor plates
still attached. The other frames had only the angle irons next the
skin left. The floor plates on 21 and 22 were bent forward from their
original position. He found the firstlongitudinal at about fiame 24. He
saw it for about two frame spaces. This first longitudinal was not
shown in the sketch, because it is under the inside plating.
By the CouRT:
Q. Will you please put in explanations?
A. He saw it for about two frame spaces. The outer skin was broken
with the rivet holes at the edge between the first and second longitudinals, at frame 24. This break was at the butt of the plate. Following




206   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


the second longitudinal down, he came to the end where it is broken off
and very ragged. He followed the plate A in the sketch until it turns
underneath the keel about 10 inches. There it ends with ragged edges
touching the flat part of the keel. He then came up and went forward
of this plate A of which I have spoken, and went on to the plate marked
B in the sketch. He went down the plate B and found it extended 10
frame spaces. There, at the end of 10 frame spaces, he found the plating ended with ragged edges about 2 feet from the green outside bottom plating. Plate B is forward in the sketch, and plate A aft. He
followed the longitudinal down. The green plating is underneath the
plate B. He went down, and it slopes in the same general direction,
inclined about 45 degrees.
He could step at the bottom of plating B down onto the green outside
plating. He followed the green plating down about 10 feet and got
into the mud. The green plating is attached to the fiat keel. The keel
seems to go forward under the mud. He could feel the keel sloping
upward aft and to starboard where he was standing in the mud. On
the flat part of the keel he felt for the outside keel plating, but he could
not find where it lapped, although he felt in from the keel about 10
feet. He found a plate with rivets along the edge about 10 inches
from the angle of the fiat part of the keel. He found no raised and
sunken plating. It was-smooth for about 12 feet up at right angles to
the fiat part of the keel. He then found something which he sketched
for me, and by the way he described it it Was like a small bilge keel.
This projection that he found was about 12 feet from the mud. He
then went out clear of the ship into the mud and found some boxes of
canned goods and some loose cans seemingly unhurt. Some of the
cans were square, like beef cans; others were cylindrical. He took a
2-foot rule with him and measured the dimensions of the outside keel
plate, and he found that the fiat part of the outside keel plate was
between 14 and 15 inches wide, and also found it extended up the sides
from the fiat part on each side a distance of 18 inches.
I would like to say that from the studying of the drawings, after
Olsen's report, and his distances, I find that he found the keel go into
the mud at about frame 7, and above that he found the ram plate
which stick out from the side of the ship on each side at the bows.
Olsen went down the next time' in the forenoon of March 3. This
time I gave him orders to see if he could find the top part of the
keel-that is, the highest point of the keel-as he had reported to me it
had extended upward and starboard quite a steep slope. He went
down on the top part of the plate marked "A"' in the sketch, and followed frame 17 until he found the break in the keel. I had ordered
him to take a 2-foot rule with him in order to get the exact dimensions
of the plates at the point where he might find a break in the keel. He
took the following measurements at the break: First he measured the
inner keel plate, and found that the total width of the plate was 35
inches. He then measured the outer keel plate and found the total
width to be about 45 inches. It is so dark where the divers work that
they can not see the numbers on the 2-foot rule, and they have to guess
at the distance of anything under a foot by the proportion, so that
these measurements may be in error an inch or two.
He found at the first frame forward of the break in the keel a lightening hole in the floor plate. He took the measurement of this hole,
and found that the major axis was 20 inches and the minor axis 12
inches. He then found a manhole in the inner skin just forward of the
break in the vertical keel on the port side. He took measurements of




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


207


this manhole, and found the major axis 22 inches and the minor axis 15
inches. He then measured the spacings of the rivets on the angle
irons of the vertical keel, and found them to be 3 inches. He found
between the outer and inner skins at the point where the break occurs
in the vertical keel a four-way pipe. This was on the port side of the
vertical keel. One branch was horizontal, and extended starboard to
the vertical keel and ended there with a blank flange. Another branch
of the pipe extended athwartships to port. Another extended vertically up through the inner bottom, and the fourth extended vertically
downward.
The horizontal branches were found to measure 4 inches in diameter. The lower vertical branch measured 3 inches in diameter. The
vertical keel was broken at about the point where the pipe' with
the blank flange pierced it. He measured the height of the vertical keel and found it to be 36 inches. In this compartment he
found a water alarm and sent it up on a line. This was just forward
of the break in the vertical keel on the port side, about 9 inches at its
lowest point from the outer skin. The angle irons along the vertical
keel he measured and found to be 3-inch flange, and the angle between
the broken parts of the vertical keel he found to be considerably more
than a right angle. He found a manhole 14 or 15 inches below the break
in the vertical keel on the port side, in the inner skin. He also found
one in a similar place on the starboard side of the vertical keel. About
8 or 10 feet farther down the keel, which at this point runs down in a
vertical line, he found on the starboard side a manhole. Near this
manhole he found a blank flange and three pipe holes in the inner
skin. About 10 or 12 feet farther down than this last manhole he
found two more manholes, symmetrically placed on0 each side of the
vertical keel, in the inner skin.
These two manholes were in the part of the keel which in the sketch
is represented as turning and going nearly horizontal at the point
marked C. He found that abaft this point C the inner bottom was of
a corrugated form, having large corrugations bent in it. The bottom
plating on each side of the keel along in the vicinity of the point (
slopes downward from the keel. Near the starboard manhole of the
last pair of manholes he described there was a pipe running down
through the inner bottom just to port of it. He could not see whether
this pipe belonged there or was driven there. The edges of the plate,
I would say, were all ragged. He felt down through the starboard
manhole and found a piece of pipe with an elbow in it. This elbow and
the piece of pipe he referred to as coming down through the double
bottom, looked as if they had originally been the same piece. On top
of the inner skin, a little abaft these last two manholes to which he
referred, he found two 3-inch pipes running across the ship. He could
not say whether they were originally there or not. Between these two
manholes and the keel and forward of them was a blank flange. These
two manholes were in the level part of the keel about 10 feet abaft
where the vertical part comes down to the horizontal part. These two
manholes in the inner skin were 6 or 7 feet apart. Abaft these manholes there is a great deal of wreckage, and he could not tell anything
about what it was.
The COURT. This is Olsen's report all the time, is it?
A. Olsen; yes, sir.
At about frame 22, on the starboard side, he found, 8 or 10 feet from
the keel, 30 or 40 6-pounder shells detached from the cases, a lot of
brass cases, 6-pounder, seemingly exploded. He found many more




208     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
projectiles than cases. He found at the same place one 6-inch shell,
which he sent up. I examined this shell and found that it was still
in its slings, with its wooden nose cap still attached, the wood of which
was uninjured and unburned. The slings were unburned and uninjured,
except one part which had been cut. Just forward of that place he
found a lot of knapsacks, rubber blankets, haversacks, and canteens,
some of which he sent up. They were unburned and uninjured. He
also found a lot of blacksmith's tools where he found the 6-inch shell.
The place for the 10 inch magazine be found covered with wreckage,
which seemed to have been from port to starboard.
On the forenoon of March 4 Olsen went down again. He went down
until he found the break in the vertical keel; then he slid down the
vertical part of the keel until he came to about frame 24, as I determined fiomn all the measurements and data that he and Smith had in
the meantime taken in reference to the keel. Then he walked out to
starboard. He found a good many 6-inch shell, and some powder tanks,
one of which he sent up.
By the CouRT:
Q. What size?
A. Six-inch powder tank. I examined this tank, and found it was
battered up and opened up along the seam for only about a foot. It
had evidently not exploded. Excelsior in good condition was found
in it. The bag was also sent up with it. Olsen then found the outboard
bulkhead of the 10-inch magazine bent outward and about horizontal.
In this bulkhead was a square box, with one hole in it for a deadlight.
The box was built in the bulkhead from the coal bunker side. This box
was apparently uninjured, except the glass light in it was gone. The rim
holding the circular glass disk was not injured. He took the cover off
the box and sent up the frail, light box, which holds the incandescent
magazine light. When this box reached the top of the water I examined
it and found that it was in very good shape. The joinings at the corner
of the box had been shaken loose, but the box itself was very slightly
bent, and still had two wires about three feet in length attached to it.
The small water-tight cover to the light box was also sent up. It was
very slightly bent, and its rubber gasket was not burnt and was intact.
On this starboard 10-inch magazine bulkhead, to which the light box
was attached and which is now bent down to starboard and nearly horizontal, he found a manhole plate near the light box. This plate he sent
up. I examined it and found that it was bent up a little on one end.
The rim which holds the hinges, and which is riveted to the inner skin,
was broken in two. Half of it was still attached to the manhole plate
by one hinge. This rim was bent up on one side and the rubber gasket
in the manhole plate was entirely gone. I found the paint burned on
the under side.
Olsen felt under the light box on the bulkhead, to which he referred,
the rungs of an iron ladder, riveted to the bulkhead. He followed
these rungs down until he reached the floor of the magazine. There
he found a crack in the inner bottom about 3 feet wide. I questioned him particularly about the edges, and he told me they were
ragged and bent neither in nor out. He crawled into this doublebottom compartment and found a 10-inch gas check and two 10-inch
gas-check pads, one in perfect condition, the other jammed. Neither
of them was burned. He also found a cutlass scabbard in this doublebottom compartment. While in the compartment he saw the floor
plates of a frame, and said the floor plates had lightening holes in
them. The plate was buckled a little. He then went farther aft to




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


209


examine the condition of the aft part of the magazine. He found that
that was covered with wreckage, going high up into the air, so that he
could not climb over it. He found 6-inch shells on top of the 10-inch
tanks; also paymaster's stores on top of the tanks. He broke off a
piece of magazine grating and tongued-and-grooved woodwork of the
10-inch magazine, which I secured as it came to the surface. This
wood was unburned.
This finishes Olsen's testimony up to this morning. He is now
diving.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Does any other diver testify by the sketch you have submitted?
A. Yes; Smith's work and Olsen's work are corroborative.
The following is the evidence as derived from information given to
me by Diver Smith:
On the morning of February 28 I sent Smith down on plate marked
A in the sketch.
By the COURT:
Q. On top or inside?
A. On top the plate marked A in the sketch. He followed the
second longitudinal down until he got to frame 19. Then he worked
himself down toward the direction of the keel, and there he found
the first longitudinal which is not shown on the sketch, because
it is covered by inside plating. He found the top part of this first
longitudinal at frame 19. He found the bottom plating broken, and
edges pushed in from the green paint. This was on the outside of the
ship. These edges were pushed in about 18 inches from the original
surface of the bottom plate. He then felt along the edge of the break
about 2 feet, but could not find the plating lower down, which had
originally been attached to this edge. On account of the inner and
outer plating being jammed together he could not reach further up than
frame 18, nor could he reach lower down than frame 20 for the same
reason. He then went down inside of the V formed by the bottom
plating at frame 17 at a point marked D in the sketch.
The bottom plating at frame 17 diverges for about 15 feet; lower
down it converges and comes nearly together about 20 feet down, at
that point being only a few inches apart. The after wing of the V
marked "A," ends at the point nearest the bottom plating, near the keel.
In the afternoon of February 28, I sent Smith down to look for a circular hole which Olsen had said he found in the upper edge of the plate
marked "A" on the sketch. I wished to locate this hole exactly in
order to determine exactly whether the highest frame in the sketch
was frame 17 or not. He counted the frame spaces alqng the upper
edge of the plate marked "A," and found that the semicircular hole with
the rivet holes around it to which sea valve had evidently been
attached, was between the sixth and seventh frames, counting frame
18 as No. 1. I referred to the drawing afterwards and found that this
checked up exactly, calling the highest frame in the sketch No. 17, as
has been done. He found between frames 19 and 20, and near the second longitudinal, a dozen 6-pounder shells with the cartridge gone.
He was unable to get any more data connected with the break in the
outside plating between the first and second longitudinals at frame 19,
to which he referred in his morning report. The testimony in regard
to the situations of various holes, and details of construction have
checked up exactly on the supposition that the highest frame sketched
is frame 17, and with previous testimony given before this court.
S. Doc. 207  14




210   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


On the morning of March 2, I sent Smith down to corroborate the
evidence which Olsen had given in regard to the break in the vertical
keel at frame 18. Smith took with him a 2-foot ruler. He found the
thickness of the vertical keel not quite an inch. He found the four- way
pipe which Olsen testified as having found, and he found that the smallest inside diameter of the horizontal branch of the pipe was 3 inches.
He found that 5 inches was the largest inside diameter of the vertical
branch of the pipe-Olsen testified to having found it 4 inches. He
measured the distance from the vertical keel to a flange to which the
port horizontal branch of the pipe is riveted. This he found to be 21
inches. He found that the diameter of the blank flange at the end of
the pipe which pierced the vertical keel from port to starboard was 5
inches. He found the distance from the break in the vertical keel to
the next frame forward to be 36 inches. He found the distance between
the outer edges of the horizontal flanges of the two angle irons on each
side at the bottom of the vertical keel plating to be 7 inches.  OUsa
He measured the width of the inner keel plate and found it to be 37
inches. He found the outer keel plate lapped 4 inches beyond the
inner keel plate. He found the large pipe in the double bottoms alongside the vertical keel at the point where the break occurs and measured it, and found it to be 12 inches in diameter. This pipe had a
flange on the end. He measured the length of the pipe, and found it
was 5 feet between this flange and where it went through the next
plate. At this point he found two manholes in the inner bottom, on
opposite sides of the keel, just forward of the piece of pipe to which he
referred.
Smith went down again the afternoon of March 2, and went down to
the break in the vertical keel, and followed the vertical point down to
the point where it bends up again to the horizontal. He found the
after part of the keel almost horizontal-part marked "C." When he
was at this point the diving machine registered a depth of 35 feet.
Q. That is the horizontal part of the keel?
A. Yes, sir. The machine is not accurate within 5 feet, I find. At
this place, near the point C in the sketch, he found a 10-inch shell, a
bunch of knapsacks, and a magazine swab. He reported that the swab
was not burned and was uninjured.
Smith took certain measurements of the keel at the point where it
bends to go horizontally. He finds that there is a bend in the keel, extending forward for about 3 feet from the lowest part of the keel, which
is now vertical; it then turns down and around through about 360
degrees and runs aft. He got in the double bottoms at a point a little
way abaft where the vertical keel comes down vertically, and he Iound
that the vertical keel itself was buckled out to starboard. He drew
me a sketch of it, showing it was buckled to starboard at about the
point marked C.
On February 28, in the afternoon, Smith went down to examine the
forward part of the keel as far forward to the bow as he could get. He
went down at the point D and walked down on the green plating until
he got near the keel. He then put his back against the green side of
the plate marked A on the sketch and his feet against the green side of
the bottom plating under the point marked D. He worked himself
along aft. He worked along about 8 feet and found the bottom to take
a form of which he made me a sketch. This sketch is a cross section of
the keel of the ship at about frame 12, from the measurements he took.
He found the flat part of the. keel to be 14 inches wide, and found that
the outer keel plate lapped up along the bottom plating on each side a




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.  211


distance of 1 foot 8 inches. He took these measurements with a 2-foot
rule. He then worked himself forward until he came to the edge of
plate A and then went down to the keel on the bottom plating until
he got into the mud. At the point where the flat keel goes into the
mud he found a hole in the mud. He made out that the bottom of this
hole was about 6 inches deep. He then made me a sketch indicating
the form of the hole.
By Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. Six inches, you say?
A. No, sir; he found the hole to be about 6 feet deep and about 15
feet in diameter. In the bottom of the hole he found sticking in the
mud a sort of metal tank, which was hauled up by a line bent onto it.
This tank was a very thin metal, and riveted together by spacing of
rivets, which was not water-tight, and evidently came from part of the
ventilating system of the ship. This finishes my evidence from information derived from Smith, the diver.
The court then (at 12.15 p. m.) took a recess until 1.30.
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members of the court, thejudge-advocate, the stenographer, Captain Sigsbee, and Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright.
Ensign POWELSON, who was on the stand before the recess, resumed
the stand and proceeded with his testimony as follows:
On the forenoon of March 1 Rundquist, gunner's mate, went down
on the port side of the ship abaft the port crane, and he made a report
to me as follows: He said he went down a ladder placed about 5 feet
abaft the port crane against the port superstructure and leading down
to the main deck. Then he went over the side at a point about 12 feet
abaft the break in the main deck. He found still attached to the side,
underneath the waterways of the main deck, a strip of plating 3 or 4
feet wide. This plating he said was bent inboard. He lowered himself over the side until his feet struck something about the position of
the berth deck. He did not notice any armor at that point. He said
the deck sloped down to starboard and aft in such a manner that a ball
would roll toward the starboard quarter or a little more aft. He found
a hole in this deck, which he supposed to be the berth deck.
The hole was about 6 or 7 feet from where his feet first touched on
the berth deck. The wood was all broken at the edge of the hole. He
just lowered himself down over the edge. He reached out with his arm,
w     but didn't find the other edge of the deck opposite the break. He went
down 10 or 12 feet, perhaps a little more, and then his feet struck in
the coal. He reported that there were tons of coal down there. He
then moved to port and found a fore-and-aft bulkhead. This bulkhead
had rivet holes in it from which the rivets had been pulled. He put
his fingers in the rivet holes, and hauled himself up about 6 or 7 feet
until he reached the top of the bulkhead. I asked him how he judged
his distance, and he said he put his hands up three times, and the fourth
time he gothold of the upper edge of the bulkhead. The upper edge was
ragged, and the break was clean, meaning that the edge was approximately horizontal.
He climbed over this bulkhead, and went outboard. Across the top
of this bulkhead he found a plank. This plank was about a foot wide
and the end edge was beveled off about 45 degrees. He went down on
the other side of the bulkhead-outboard side-and found lots of small
compartments about 3 or 4 feet apart. The upper part of the compartment he was in was large and the bottom of it was divided into small




212    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


compartments.  The outboard side of these compartments looked
curved like the ship's side in the sketch, which he drew for me. This
sketch showed the portion of the ship's side and fore and aft vertical
bulkhead. There was a floor plate with lightening hole in it which
went up the lower angle between the ship's side and the bulkhead.
The plates with the round lightening holes in them were loose, some
of them, from the curved side of the compartment, and were bent in
toward the vertical bulkhead. He then walked with the vertical bulkhead on his right side, and walked forward over four or five of these
small compartments. He then struck his helmet against something
and climbed back over the vertical bulkhead to which he had referred,
and got into some 10-inch powder tanks, one of which he sent up on a
line. I examined this tank and found that one end of it was still circular in form. This was the end to which the cover was attached.
The other end looked as if it had been struck on the side and flattened
together at right angles to its length. It was very much battered. I
found in a tear in this tank a piece of the tape sewed on the powder
bags to support them. Rundquist told me that when he bent a line on
the tank, it had a bag in it. This bag probably fell out on the way up.
He then went farther forward and got tangled up among a lot of electric wires. This was 5 or 6 feet forward of where he found the 10-inch
powder tank. I asked him what the water looked like at this place,
for I thought he had walked outside the ship forward into the gap,
which is apparently all blown away. He told me that where he was
the water looked pretty clear, meaning there was more light there than
there had been inside the ship. He then came up, back through the
hole in the berth deck.
Rundquist went down again on the afternoon of March 1. I gave
him orders to examine the side plating under the waterways on the
port side, abaft the port crane, and also to examine the armor belt,
and any details of interest he might find at the point where the ship
appears to be broken about frame 41. He went down as before on the
port side and examined the strip of side plating attached to the waterways, and found that the break in the side plating extended as far aft
as the after boat cradle, abaft the port crane. He then lowered himself
down over the side until he felt the armor. He had his body outside of
the ship, and his arms over the armor plate. He said the plate looked
normal. He followed the armor plate along until he came to the end
of it. I asked him about how far, and he said it was the length of a
plate and a half. I asked him how he could distinguish the ends of the
plates, and he said that at the place where the plates abutted together,
the outer surfaces were not flush, that the outer aft corner of the forward plate was about 4 inches farther outboard than the upper forward
edge of the after plate. He then followed this seam down to the bottom of the armor plate and found the plates were flush at the bottom.
He then went up the seam to the upper edge of the armor and worked
his way forward until he came to the end of the armor plating.
This armor ended a little fobrward of the port crane. He then went
down to the lower edge of the armor plate and found the edge about a
foot in the mud. He said the forward plate looked to be about in its
original position. He went out about 12 feet from the ship's side, trying to find any of the plates. He found some old pieces of tin that
appeared to belong to air conductors, and a piece of wire which he sent
up. This wire was lead covered and had a junction box attached. He
found some small pieces of coal and some small pieces of plating about
the size of his hand. He found no large plates. He then went back




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


213


to the ship's side and examined the backing of the armor. That looked
to be pushed from out in, because at the place where the plate was
gone the wood backing, about 6 or 7 inches thick, was splintered, and
all the splinters pointed inboard. He examined the top of the wood
backing level with the armor plate.  He drew mle a sketch of its
condition.
The backing was split in a fore and aft vertical plane, and the inboard
part of the backing was torn off  The outboard part of the backing
was still attached to the plate. The splinters were on the forward edge
of the backing and pointed inboard, as he indicated in a sketch. These
splinters were about 6 or 7 inches long, and pointed inboard, as he
drew them, at an angle of about 45 degrees. He went over all the work
two or three times to make sure, and is positive there is no plating
attached to the main deck forward of the break in the ship's side, to
which lie referred, at a point aft of the crane equal to the length of a
plate and a half of armor, with the exception of the strip from 3 to 4
feet wide, runnin  long allunder and parallel to the waterways.
He sent up a splinter from the backing, on which he had measured
the thickness of the armor plate, by cutting nicks in it with a diver's
knife. I measured these distances with a ruler, and found them to be
12 and 8 inches.
By the COURT:
Q. Twelve at the top and eight at the bottom, I suppose?
A. Yes, sir. He then came up, and to make perfectly sure of what
he had reported, I sent him down again to examine the strip of plating
under the waterways more closely. He said he found that way aft, a
short distance forward of the turret, side plating was bent out. At
this point he slipped from the ship's side and fell out into the mud. He
worked himself back to the ship, feeling around in tile mud, but did
not find any plates. The strip of plating at the waterway he found
ragged on the edge. He then came up.
Rundquist went down again the forenoon of March 2. This time
he went down on the port side, forward of the port crane, where the
break in the ship occurs. He reported that he got in among a lot of
wreckage which he could not distinguish. He found some empty powder tanks, 6-inch and 10-inch. Some of them were in pretty good condition. He found rags in three; the others he reported were opened
up at the seams. He found one 10-inch tank with only the cover gone.
He said there were lots more rags lying about, but it was so dark he
could not be positive whether they were powder bags. He walked
around and got into a place where there was lots of canvas rolled up.
He found a plate standing in the mud on a slant, the upper edge pointing inboard. One side of it was white cork paint, the other was slippery and looked green. The cork side was to port.
On the afternoon of March 3 I sent Rundquist down on the starboard
side to make an examination there, similar to the one he had made on
the port side. He went down first under the supports of the conning
tower as they now are. He went directly down into the mud, and then
walked in toward the ship's side. The mud was about 2 feet deep.
He found the ship's side at that point intact, and followed it forward
until he reached the end of his guide line. He made the guide line
fast to a piece of coal, put it in the mud, and followed the side along
about 10 feet more, until he came to the break in the ship. I was
unable to determine his exact position by the bubbles on account of the
wreckage of the superstructure and other plates, which deflected the
bubbles and made them come up at widely different places in a very




214   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


short space of time. The edges in the break were all ragged and looked
as if they had been broken between two frames.
The edges were bent neither in nor out, but presented a ragged
appearance. He then took hold of the break, which was vertical, and
pulled himself up 6 or 7 feet. There the break turned and went aft in
a horizontal line about 2 feet. The forward corner of the plate-upper
part-at the break was bent down and aft. This horizontal top edge
was not ragged, but had rivet holes in it. This was level with the
bottom of the armor. He then found the armor and crawled vertically
up along the forward edge. He found the wood backing projected farther forward than the armor plate, and in it he found two bolts. The
ends of the bolts were smooth and appeared not to have been broken
off, and had screw threads. There was a washer on the bolt that felt
like rubber. He felt forward of the armor for about a foot and a half,
and found the wood backing, but could not feel the end of it. He then
climbed up until he got to the top of the armor and worked himself
aft, hanging on it with his arms over it and his body outside the ship.
He went aft for about 12 feet. Then his hand slipped, and he fell
down in the mud. He worked himself forward again to the break in
the ship's side, and worked himself up and over the same corner as
before. He found that the bottom of the armor was about 12 feet above
the mud at the place where the break occurred. He worked himself
back along the top of the armor as before, and at about the same place
slipped again. He put his hands over the armor going back and found
a foot of armor and 6 or 7 inches of wood, if not more. He did not
have a measure with him. There was something beyond the wood, but
he did not have time to examine it. When he slipped from the side he
went out about 12 feet in the mud. He found pieces of plating, which
he took for side plating. One side was slippery and the other rough.
It was so dark he could not distinguish colors. The slippery side was
down and about horizontal. The plating was a little curved, and the
concave side was up. He then looked for the end of his guide line, and,
when he found it, went up. He found a great deal of coal in the mud.
I sent lundquist down again iii the afternoon of March 4 to go over
the same ground. He went down near the conning tower supports, as
before, and got into the mud and walked into the ship's side. He followed it forward until he came to the break. I was able to distinguish
the bubbles more clearly at this time, and concluded that the break in
the ship's side was at the same frame as the frame on the port sideabout frame 41. He climbed up the vertical break until he came to
the corner, which is bent over as he described before. He followed it
a couple of feet until he struck the forward edge of the armor plate.
He climbed up the forward edge of the armor plate and examined the
backing as he went up. The backing extended fully 5 feet farther
forward than the armor plate The splinters on the forward edge of
the backing pointed outboard. Then he went up on top of the armor
and crawled along about 4 or 5 feet until his helmet struck up
against something which looked like athwartship bulkhead, painted
white. It extended above the armor, and the upper part was bent
forward. It had an angle iron on the outboard edge, after side.
There was a fore and aft vertical plate riveted to this angle iron at right
angles to the bulkhead he had just mentioned. He said he was sure
this did not belong to the outside plating. He went farther aft for fully
two lengths of an armor plate. I asked him how he could tell the ends of
the plate, and he told me that the ends of the plate were not flush at the
top; the lorward plate was about 4 or 5 inches farther out from the ship




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


215


than the-after one, but they were flush at the bottom. He could not
go farther aft than two plates' length, because there was a lot of wreckage from above hanging over him, which seemed to be a part of the forward wreckage of the superstructure. He said as he worked aft the
armor projected about 6 inches farther out than the side plating above
it. He was not able to determine exactly the distance to which the side
plating above the armor was blown out, on account of all the wreckage
over the main deck on the starboard side.
The armor stuck out this way about 6 inches all the way aft to where
he found the wreckage which he has just spoken of. He then went
forward again until he got nearly to the break in the ship's side at the
armor belt, and then he went over inside the armor and found what he
took to be a deck with two plates riveted together. He is sure the
total thickness of both plates together was not more than an inch.
These plates were painted reddish brown. The plate was a little curved
and extended inboard horizontally about 2 feet, and was then broken
off, with ragged edges bent down. This plate was flush with the top
of the backing. He then went forward to the end of the armor plating,
where the break occurs, and made his guide line fast to one of the bolts
going through the wood backing. Then he lowered himself down inside
the wood backing. He found a number of pieces of board, planking,
and coal, and plates. The boards were about 24 inches in thickness.
He could not distinguish the color.
Inside he found a vertical fore and aft bulkhead, about 4 feet
from the wood backing. He found athwartship bulkheads about 4
feet apart and states that he could find no holes in them, and thinks he
was in a pocket of some kind. He found some pieces of inch piping in
this compartment. lie hauled himself up again on the line, and then
went over the side at the break of the armor belt, and went dotn in
the mud and found the side plating underneath where the armor plates
that are missing hiad been, and found where it had been torn down in
a vertical line and bent out nearly horizontally, and the extreme outboard end bent vertically down in the mud. He scraped away the
mud as far as he could, but could not find the end of the plating. He
found a small pipe attached to these plates, made of composition, threefourths of an inch in diameter. He sent this pipe up. He felt in the
mud and found a great many pieces of broken crockery, and found six
mess plates all together. These were about 15 feet from the ship's
side; he also found a 10-inch powder tank with rags of powder bag
inside. He sent the tank up. I examined the tank and found that it
still preserved its cylindrical shape, but the head and bottom were
missing. Otherwise the tank was practically uninjured. He sent up
the bag. He found this tank about 15 feet from the ship's side. This
bag was ragged in appearance, but on being opened up presented a
square foot or more of intact surface.
Q. Were there any signs of fire?
A. I could not tell whether it had been burned or not. The supporting tapes were ragged and were blackened. Everything down on
the bottom looked as if the insides of the ship had been blown right
out to starboard. He found coal wherever he went. He went out
about 20 feet, but believes the coal goes out much farther. I then
asked him how this condition compared with what he found on the port
side opposite the break, and he told me at that point there was no coalnothing but mud. That concludes my testimony with reference to the
diving of ]Rundquist.
In the afternoon of March 2 I sent Schluter down on the port side




216   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTI.E SHIP MAINE.


forward of the break. I told him to see if he could find any of the armor
of the ship. He went down about 30 feet forward of the port crane
and lauded on what he thought was a deck light. He said there were
planks about it running in athwartship direction. This was about 15
feet from where the ship's side would have been. He felt all around
among the wreckage, but did not recognize anything until he found the
armor plate, to which he attached a line. He measured the plate with
a ruler. This plate stood on an angle with the thick armored side for-ward. He measured this plate and found that the part which he called
the thick armored side was 6 inches in width. Behind that he found
9 inches of wood backing, and behind the wood backing he found 34-inch
plate of armor. The bolt-head came out of this 34-incl armored side.
I plumbed this plate with a line which he attached to it, and found it
in line with the mainmast and port crane, about 40 feet forward of the
crane, inside the line of the ship.
I sent Schluter down on the morning of the 5th and told him to examine
the plating on the port side abaft the crane, just under the main deck.
He went over the side to fore and aft above the port crane and felt the
side plating. The main deck sloped down to starboard. The outside
plating was bent sharply from outside in, making an acute angel at
the waterway. Then he crawled away aft and felt over the edge, and
in places could not find any side plating attached to the end of the
waterways. He went as far aft as the turret. He said the plating
about 10 feet forward of the turret is broken right out. A little forward of that was another plate, blown up and out.
Q. On the starboard side?
A. On the port side, sir. This had beams fast to it and looked like
a deck. Forward of this plate.for about 7 or 8 leet is wreckage inside
the line of the ship. It looks as if it had been blown outboard to port.
He then crawled along the top of the armor, which was all clear as far
forward as the crane, and there it is broken clear off.
Q. What is?
A. The armor.
This is corroborative of the testimony of Rundquist. Just at the
break of the armor about 8 inches inboard from the armor the wood
backing is blown up and inboard.
Q. Which deck is that?
A. I take that to be the berth-deck, as that was the upper edge of
the armor. That covored the protective deck. He did not examine
the strip of plating under the waterway farther aft than 10 feet from the
crane, but all that he felt was blown inboard. That is as much of the
diver's statements as 1 have up to the present time.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Mr. Powelson, look at the sketch you have presented the court of
the frame plates and broken keel of the ship. When you look at A, is
that in the inboard side of the ship?
A. That is the inboard side of the ship, between frames 26 and 17,
and is broken off between the first and second logitudinals and between
the second and third longitudinals, embracing a space of about two
longitudinals between frames.
Q. Now, the right-hand edge of this plate, as you see it-where
would that be if the plate was bent back into its original position?
A. It would be the lower part of the plate-the garboard strake.
Q. And the left-hand edge-what would that be?
A. The upper part of the plating.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


217


Q. And the longitudinal which is marked on Plate A-which longitudinal is that?
A. The second longitudinal, from keel, on the port side.
By the COURT:
Q. That would be this one [indicating on sketch]?
A. Yes, sir; the second one.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:; Q. Looking at plate B, on the sketch, the face which you see there,
is that in the inboard side of the ship?
A. It is.
Q. What longitudinal is that marked on this plate?
A. This is a part of the third longitudinal.
^        Q. If this plate was put back into its original position, in which
direction would the right edge be?
A. The lower edge.
Q. And the left edge?
A. That would be the upper edge.
Q. And the dark part marked " D," between plates A and B, what
is that?
A. Outside of the outer skin of the ship.
Q. That is painted green?
A. It is.
Q. And above plate A there is a place torn in the keel of the ship,
where the keel goes downward. About what frame is that?
A. Between frame 17 and 18.
Q. And how far down does this keel go in the vertical position it now
has, between what frames?
A. Between frames 22 and 23.
By the COURT:
Q. Where is the 6-inch shell room, the forward 6-inch shell room, on
that keel?
A. The forward 6-inch shell room rested on the upper half of the
vertical part of the keel, as shown.
Q. And the fixed ammunition room, where was that?
A. Right over the angle of the keel, at frame 22 and 23.
Q. Where would the 10-inch shell room have been?
A. The 10-inch shell room and magazine are on the flat part of the
keel, marked "C.7"
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. How much plating is there attached to the keel, which is up and
down on the sketch, do you know?
A. I could not state that definitely. You might ask Smith or Olsen
*      about that.
Q. But the horizontal keel which is marked " C,7" has the ship's side
attached to it for some distance on the starboard side?
A. The inner skin is for some distance on the starboard side, but
through a crack in the inner skin, the diver found the outer skin, but
as to the full extent, it would be pretty difficult to find out, on account
of all the wreckage thrown down around it.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Did you locate that four-way pipe?
A. Yes, sir.




218     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
Q. Where was that originally, according to your deduction?
A. Between frame 17 and frame 18.
Smith says he measured 21 inches from the midship line to the
flange, and that agrees with the drawing.
There being no further questions to ask this witness to-day, he was
directed to come before the court at 10 a. m. on Monday next.
The court then (at 3.40 p. m.) adjourned to meet Monday, March 7,
1898, at 10 a. m., on board the U. S. L. H. tender Manlgrove, harbor of
Havana.
SPECIAL SESSION.
The court reassembled at 5 p. in. to take some additional testimony
of the captain and first officer of the City of Washington, which is to
sail to-night.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and the
stenographer.
First Officer GEORGE CORNELL, of the City of Washington, appeared
as a witness before the court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name and profession.
A. George Cornell, first officer of the steamer City of rWashington.
Q. To what line of steamers does she belong?
A. The Ward Line.
Q. Were you on board the City of Washington, in the harbor of
Havana, on the night of the 15th of February, when the Maine was
blown up.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What part of the City of Washington were you in?
A. I was standing amidships, on the starboard side,
Q. On the upper deek?
A. On the upper deck; yes, sir.
Q. Were you looking right at the Maine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Will you please state what you heard and what you saw?
A. Yes, sir; I was standing on the gangway, and giving the quartermaster orders to call the men at 5 o'clock in the morning. While I was
standing there I heard a rumbling sound, and we saw the Maine raise
up,forward. After that the explosion occurred, and the stuff was flying in the air in all directions. She sank immediately at the forward 
end, sir.
Q. At the first noise or rumbling did anything fly up, or did she only
lift V
A. The ship lifted.
Q. Forward?
A. Forward; yes, sir.
Q. What interval was there between the rumbling noise and the explosion?
A. I think there must have been about sixteen or eighteen secondsnot a full minute.
Q. That is, a long time?
A. Almost immediately; there was not very much of an interval.
Q. What part of the ship did the explosion come out of when you
saw it?
A. Amidships.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


219


Q. Was there much flame coming up?
A. There was not much flame.
Q. Did a large piece of cement drop on your deck?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Can you identify it?
A. Yes, sir.
(A large piece of cement was brought into the court room and showed
to witness.)
Q. Is this the piece of cement?
A. Yes, sir; that is the piece of cement. A small piece has been
cut off at one end.
By the COURT:
Q. How were you anchored with reference to the Maine?
w  ~A. We were anchored fast to a buoy.
Q. But what direction was the Maine from you?
A. The Maine was lying on her starboard side, sir. We were off
the port quarter of the Maine.
Q. How much did she lift at the first sound you heard?
A. She lifted most nearly all out of water. She raised up considerably, but it was kind of dark, and how high she lifted up I couldn't
exactly say. We saw her raising by her lights.
Q. The next thing you saw was the d6bris?
A. The d6bris; yes, sir.
Q. Did you see any water thrown up?
A. No, sir; I don't think so. 1 only seen these large pieces flying in
the air close by where I stood looking over the rail. We couldn't get
out of the way of the d6bris, and it fell on the deck and all over us.
Q. You could not tell whether you saw her ram or not when she was
lifted up?
A. No, sir; it was too dark to see that.
Q. You say she raised almost out of the water forward?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You can not say how much she raised?
A. No, sir; I could not.
Q. There was a very decided interval between the first sound you
heard and the explosion, was there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. There was a very decided interval, was there?
A. There was not much. Between fifteen and eighteen seconds. It
a      might have seemed to me longer than it really was. It was immediately after the rumbling noise.
(The president of the court produced a watch and counted the seconds. The witness stopped him at the third second, saying the time
was less than that.)
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. The interval between the two was decided?
A. Yes, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. Did you feel anything?
A. Yes; the ship was kind of shaking.
Q. When did you feel that?
A. Right after the rumbling sound.
Q. Before the explosion?
A. At the same time the explosion happened.




220    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


There being no further questions to ask the witness his testimony
was read aloud to him by the stenograplfer and by him pronounced
correct. Whereupon he withdrew.
Capt. FRANK STEVENS, of the City of Washington, appeared as a
witness before the court, and was duly sworn by the president:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name and profession.
A. Frtank Stevens, master mariner.
Q. You are captain of the steamer City of allshington, Ward Line?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you in the harbor of Havana last month when the Maine
exploded 1
A. I was. 
Q. Were you at that time in command of the City of Washington?
A. I was.
Q. How far were you anchored from the Maine at the time?.
A. About 300 feet.
Q. In what direction was your ship from the Maine?
A. We were on the Maine's port quarter, nearly astern.
Q. Nearly astern?
A. Nearly astern; yes, sir.
Q. Where were you at the time this happened?
A. I was standing along amidships, abaft the smokestack on the
port side, where I could look through between the smokestack and forward end of the midship deck house, toward the Maine.
Q. Please tell the court what you heard and what you saw.
A. I heard a dull, muffled explosion, and commotion, like as though it
was under the water, followed instantly by a terrific explosion, lighting
up the air with a dull red glare, filling the air full of flying missles which
lit all around us. We were struck, I think, in four places.
By the COURT:
Q. By the fragments?
A. Yes, sir; and I could hear it dropping into the water the other
side of us. After getting out the starboard forward boat we found
there was a hole in it. and got the port one out. I noticed that the
water on the port side of us was full of floating wreckage from the
Maine. I got out three boats, two quarter boats and the port forward
boat, and sent them out in charge of officers to save lives. 
Q. Did you feel any trembling of your own ship at either of these
explosions?
A. The last one I did, but the first one I did not. Everything shook.
Q. Was there a very decided interval between the first noise and the
explosion?
A. There was.
Q. Were you looking at the M1laile at the time of the first noise?
A.. I was.
Q. What did the Maine appear to do?
A. My first impression was when I heard this noise that it was a gun
or a salute. but that changed instantly, and then it flashed across my
mind that there was dynamite under the bottom of that ship. That
was my impression.
Q. Did you see the Maine lift at all?
A. I did not, I being on the opposite side and looking through. I
seen the mainmast and part of her outline, but could not see her lift.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


221


There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read aloud to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced
correct.
The court then (at 5.20 p. m.) adjourned to meet Monday, March 7,
1898, at 10 a. m., on board the U. S. light-house tender Mangrove, harbor of Havana.
ELEVENTH DAY.
U. S. L. H. TENDER MANGROVE,
Harbor of favcana, March 7, 1898-11 a. mn.
The court met pursuant to the adjournment of Saturday, after having
proceeded in a body to the wreck to make a personal inspection.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, the
stenographer, and Captain Sigsbee.
The record of the proceedings of Saturday was read and approved.
Chief Engineer HOWELL, a former witness, was then recalled, and
cautioned by the president of the court that he was still under oath
taken.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
(The piece of cement here brought into the court on Saturday and
identified by the first officer, Cornell, was then shown to the witness).
Q. Will you examine this piece of cement and identify it if you can'?
A. I saw that piece of cement on the City of Washington, and now
identify it as the same piece. My opinion is that it was blown from the
Maine, and came from underneath the berth-deck blower on the port
side. 
Q. Upon what do you base your opinion?
A. That blower was not placed at right angles to the bulkhead on the
forward side, and this piece of cement shows marks of an angle similar
to the acute angle, which is the base of the blower.
Q. Is it not a very heavy piece of cement for the base of the blower?
A. I do not know exactly how this cement was, but I believe it was
2% inches thick, similar to this. I mean to say, I do not know how
thick that cement was, but this piece is about 2~ inches thick, and that
is a very reasonable thickness to put either. The cement has also indications of oil on both sides of it, and I also know that that cement had
oil on the under side. because I have seen oil drop through from that deck
down into the bunker underneath. This cement showed oil on both sides
while on the City of Washington. The marks of rivet heads on this
cement and.the imprint also of the angle iron and the running in line,
similar to the acute angle I have spoken of before, which is also
another indication that it came from the bottom of that blower. I
should say that the top and bottom sides are parallel.
Q. There is a set of photographs of 12 views on the table here. Can
you inform the court how they were obtained?
A. I received orders irom the commanding officer to instruct the
photographer of the 12 views that were desirable, and was with the
photographer when he took about S of these views. After that time there
were so many boats around the wreck that I could not get the views
that were wanted, and the whole set of 12 was then made up from plates
which the photographer had already taken.
Q. Would you be able to get photographs-starboard view and port




222    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


view-of the three projections above the water, of wreckage, which
are forward of the superstructure, the three together, and the three
separately?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Will you consult with Captain Sigsbee and receive orders to that
effect?
A. Yes, sir.
By Captain SIGSBEE:
Q. You are a photographer yourself, are you not?
A. I have done a good deal of work in photography; yes, sir.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. I request that the above photographs be
appended to the record and marked Exhibit I.
The request was granted, and the said photographs were appended
to the record marked Exhibit I.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer and by him pronounced correct; whereupon, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss
matters pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.
Ensign W. V. N. POWELSON, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was then
recalled, and cautioned by the president of the court that he was still
under oath taken.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE: 
Q. Have you read over the testimony which you gave before this
court on Saturday last?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. Yes, sir; with some exceptions which I have noted.
Q. Will you please give the corrections to the stenographer?
A. On page 453, fifth line from the bottom, insert " to" before " starboard" and "at" before "quite."
Page 456, fourth line, "I would say" should be "He said."
Page 460, twelfth line from the bottom, change "apart" to "from
the keel."
Page 463, last line, insert after "the" "mud at the."
Page 465, tenth line from the bottom, "far aft" should be "fore and
aft."
_ Page 469, eleventh line, insert "the" between "turret" and "side."
Page 476, tenth line, change "to fore and aft above" to "a little
b aft."
Page 477, third line, change "backing" to " planking of the deck."
Same page, thirteenth line, "between the first and second longitudinal" should be "between the keel and first longitudinal."
That is all.
Q. Is the testimony, as now amended, correct?
A. Yes, sir.
Lieut. Commander RICHARD WAINWRIGHT here entered the court.
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. Mr. Powelson, have you any further testimony to offer of the nature that you gave on Saturday last-that is,
testimony derived from what was reported to you by diverse
Mr. POWELSON. Yes, sir; I have the work of Olsen on Saturday
morning.




DESTRUCTION OF- THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


223


By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please give it.
A. On Saturday morning last, March 5, I sent Olsen down to the
piece of the keel-the vertical keel-which is now vertical, with instructions to make further explorations in the region of the 10-inch magazine.
He went down to where the keel becomes horizontal at frame 23. Then
he walked aft about 25 feet, clim'bed over a lot of wreckage consisting
of plates or bulkheads standing upright. The upper ends of these plates
*       were ragged, and he crawled over them and on the other side found
what he thought was part of a boiler.
I asked him how he could distinguish the boiler; whether there was
any of its original shape or not, and he could not give me any definite
details, but said from the general look of the piece of wreckage he
would take it for a boiler. 1He went a little farther aft from this, which
he considered a boiler, and walked out to port, clear of the ship, into
the mud. He was at this time forward of the break of the ship at
frame No. 41. He found nothing in the mud and came back, walking to
starboard. About 10 feet in he found some wreckage. He examined
this plate and found that it was curved as if it were a part of the side
plating. This, he said, was about 10 feet inboard of the side of the ship.
It did not lay exactly fore and aft; it pointed toward the starboard
bow. It was so dark he could not distinguish the color. He walked
up on top of the plating and found all the edges rough. From the top
of the plate he found a horizontal plate about 2 or 3 feet wide, and in
a corner some cellulose packed in tightly. He said the compartment
seemed to be about 2~ or 3 feet wide. Abaft that he found something
like a boiler. It was very black, all crushed up, and he could not
recognize any definite form. He was not absolutely sure that it was a
boiler.
He went forward from this point about 10 feet and found some loose
wreckage, and he lifted up a couple of plates and threw them aside.
He felt around and found a 6-inch tank. He found it intact. He lifted
it and found it was heavy, and sent it up. This afterwards proved to
be a full tank. He found a lot of broken tanks split up on the seams,
and in one tank, at the cover, which has holes in it, he found a lot of mud
which he brought up, and which he said looked like dissolved powder.
He said there was any quantity of similar mud in the same place. The
mud around the tanks was very dark in color, but the mud outside,
forming the bottom of the harbor, is of a gray color. He also found a
plate of angle iron and U-bar stiffeners riveted to it, about 1 foot apart.
Q. Is that all of this nature?
A. That is all up to this morning.
Q. What side did he go down when he found what he supposed to be
a broken boiler?
*^      A. He found the boiler first in the midship line, and then walked to
port.
Q. Where did you locate Olsen, when he found the full 6-inch tank?
A. I was at that time on board the Mangrove.
Q. Have you any further testimony to give?
A. No, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. Did Olsen mention the thickness of this wreckage which he supposed to be the boiler?
A. No, sir; he said it was without shape, and he could not distinguish anything about it.
c




224    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Do you know the thickness of the Maine's boilers?
A. I do not.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, he was directed
to hold himself in readiness for further evidence and to read over the
evidence just now given. Whereupon he withdrew.
Chief Engineer HOWELL, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was then
recalled and cautioned by the president of the court that he was under
the oath which he had previously taken.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. What was the thickness of the Maine's boilers-the shell.
A. About 1* inches.
Q. All over?
A. All the shell. 
Q. What is the thickness of the heads?
A. They were approximately the same. Some parts of the heads
were different.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced correct; whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Gunner's Mate RUNDQUIST, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was recalled
and cautioned by the president of the court that he was still under the
oath which he had taken.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Since you gave your last testimony, have you done any more diving at the wreck of the Maine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. To whom did you report the results of what you had found when
you came up out of the water?
A. Ensign Powelson.
Q. Referring to the reports that you made to him-were they strictly
correct as if you had been under oath?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You went down on the forenoon of March 1. Do you remember
going down the ladder on the port side?
A. I went down the ladder on the port side of the Maine.
Q. Did you find anything made fast to the waterways?
A. I found a piece of the side plating.
Q. You then went on to what you supposed to be the berth deck, did
you not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Which way did it slope?
A. It inclined aft and to the starboard side. 
Q. Did you find a hole in the berth deck?
A. I found a hole; that is, it looked to me to be a hole.
Q. How large?
A. I could not say how large it was.
Q. Was the wood broken at the edges?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You then went farther down?
A. I went farther down.
Q. What did you find-do you remember?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


225


A. There was a lot of coal, in the first place. I sent a big piece of
coal up.
Q. What part of the ship do you think you were in then?
A. I should judge I was in the port side of the ship, and in one of
the coal bunkers. There was lots of coal-two or three feet deep.
Q. How far forward or abaft the crane were you?
A. I must have been on the forward part of the crane.
Q. Was this coal outside of the ship or inside of the ship?
A. Inside of the ship.
Q. None of it had been blown out?
A. No, sir; at least, I could not say not.
Q. You found a vertical bulkhead about this time, did you not, on
your right side, walking forward?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you do?
A. I examined this bulkhead. I believe I went over it.
Q. Did you strike your helmet against something?
A. I struck my helmet against something, and it prevented my
going forward in that direction.
Q. What did you find about this time; do you remember?
A. I believe that is the time I found some powder inside a tank.
Q. What kind of a tank?
A. Ten-inch tank.
Q. Did you send the tank up 
A. Yes, sir; I sent up a tank with what looked to me to be powder
bags.
Q. Did the bags fall outside the tank when you sent it up?
A. The men that received it said that they fell out.
Q. You then got tangled up in what?
A. I then got tangled up in a line.
Q. What kind of a line?
A. A line that was leading down.
Q. Did you not find a lot of wires-a lot of electric wires?
A. Yes, sir; about fifty of them in a bunch. That was as much as
I could take in two hands.
Q. You went down again on the afternoon of the same day?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. As before?
A. In the same place, sir.
Q. How far aft did you find that the break in the side plate extended?
A. I could not say exactly how far aft from above it was, but I followed the armor plate, and it extended for fully two lengths of the
armor plate aft.
Q. What do you call the break in the ship-where?
A. Where the ship was blown apart.
Q. What part of the ship was that?
A. That was where the armor plate ended, on the forward part of the
ship.
Q. Can you describe about what part of the ship it was, what you
call a break?
A. I could not say exactly; but it was where the ship had been
blown up.
Q. Do you mean about opposite the forward part of the middle
superstructure, as it was?
A. I should say it was forward of that.
Q. Did you crawl with your arms over the armor?
S. Dec. 207  15
A




226    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. iNo, ir; I was outside the armor, and was walking with my
hands on top of the armor plate.
Q. You informed Mr. Powelson that you had gone a certain distance
and a certain number of plates. How could you tell that?
A. I could tell by that the two plates had been joined together. One
plate extended further out than the other.
Q. Which plate was the one that was farther out?
A. The forward one; the one that was closer to the break.
Q. About how much out were they?
A. About 5 or 6 inches.
Q. In your dive on this occasion you found some pieces of tin with
wire attached?
A. I found some wires; I sent some of them up. There was a long
string, about 15 feet, of heavy wire.
Q. After you sent that wire up, I understand, you examined the back
of the armor plate. What condition did you find this backing then?
A. The end was all twisted and torn and ragged edges; and then
they all looked and pointed inboard. I also examined the upper part
of the backing and found the inside corner of it was gone.
Q. Did you send a splinter of this backing up?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you measure the armor plate by this splinter?
A. I did, sir.
Q. Top and bottom?
A. Top and bottom.
Q. How could you measure the bottom?
A. The lower edge of the armor plate was a foot beneath the mud,
and I could stick my hand beneath it.
Q. Then there was no plate of the ship under the armor plate?
A. This was just at the first break of the armor belt, and there was
no plate left underneath of it. There was nothing of the ship's side
left. This was just at the end of it.
Q. How much of the armor plating had no ship's plate under it?
A. I could not say, because I did not measure.
Q. How much do you think? 
A. I felt a couple of feet and there was nothing there left of it. Fore
and aft there was side plating standing, but I do not know how far it
extended.
Q. You went down again the next forenoon?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you remember where?
A. I believe I went down on the same place on the port side.
Q. Are you sure you did not go down forward of the port crane?
A. I may have gone down forward of it, but it was on the port side.
Q. You found the powder tanks on this occasion?
A. Yes, sir. 
Q. Please describe them.
A. They were all pressed in, and I also found some powder bags. I
put this powder bag in a pocket of my overalls for fear of losing it.
I was trying to send this tank up, but it got afoul of something and
so I let it go. I left it down there.
Q. Do you remember in how many you found rags?
A. I found rags in three or four of them.
Q. Did you find any 10-inch tanks with the covers on?
A. Yes, sir.


&




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


227


Q. What were these tanks, what size, 6 or 10 inch? Can you state
about how many?
A. I could not say how many, because there were tanks and pieces
of tanks all around. I could not say how many there were.
Q. What do you mean by pieces of tanks?
A. Tanks pressed together. They feel very small down there.
Q. Then you mean tanks which do not have their shape as well as
others?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You then got among a lot of canvas?
A. I got among a lot of canvas all rolled up. It must have been a
sail locker.
Q. Did you find a plate standing in the mud at this time?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Please describe it.
A. I found a plate standing on the edge down in the mud. I believe
I went over this plate and I got down along the hole, which looked to
be an inner passage or double bottom. It may have been an inner passage, and a lot of compartments and sections, like. The compartment
had a big, round, circular hole in it.
Q. This one plate which I referred to, did it have cork paint on it,
on one side?
A. Cork paint on one side and on the outside it was slippery.
Q. Was the cork paint to the port or starboard?
A. It was to starboard.
Q. Think again.
A. The slippery side was to starboard and the cork paint to port.
Q. You went down again on the afternoon of the 3d of March, on
the same day?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On which side?
A. Starboard side.
Q. Abreast of what?
A. Abreast of the crane and wreckage, a little forward of the
wreckage.
Q. Abreast of the conning tower?
A. Abreast of the conning tower, sir.
Q. What did you drop into?
A. I dropped into a lot of wreckage, pieces of the ship.
Q. Did you not drop into the mud first?
A. Yes, I walked toward inboard of the ship, and got in amongst a lot
of wreckage.
Q. How did you find the ship's side at this place?
A. I did not find the ship's side at that time, because I got fouled
twice and got pulled up, and then I went forward and aft on the starboard side, from the whaleboat, and dropped down into the mud and
walked into the ship's side, and followed that until I came to the break.
Q. Which side were you on then?
A. On the starboard side of the ship.
Q. Where did you find the break on the starboard side?
A. A good way forward. I could not say how many feet. I came to
the end of the guide line, and made the line fast to the piece of the
keel and followed the ship's side until I came to the break.
Q. Will you please describe the break as you found it?
A. This break was vertical, and with ragged edges. I climbed up
the edge until I got to where it went off in the corner, where the lower




228    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


edge of the ram plate had been made fast to it. This extended 2 or
3 feet in that direction. The corner of this side plate was nearly
doubled over, and bent outboard. I got to the ram plate and found
lots of backing there, extending out 5 or 6 feet, and the bolts were
left in the backing. This backing was all pointed outboard. I went
up to the upper edge of the ram plate and followed it aft for some distance. I could not say how many feet. My hand slipped on account
of not having a guide line. I went back to the same break and came
to the same place, and slipped again. I did not make any more
attempts that day. because I had not enough guide line.
Q. Can you locate this break that you have just described on the
starboard side?
A. No, sir; I could not locate it here. When I found this break, I
gave a signal on the line. The man told Mr. Powelson about it. He
said, when I came up, that he could not tell where the break was, because
the bubbles came up from underneath the wreckage.
Q. When you slipped down the second time did you slip into the
mud?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How deep?
A. Above my waist.
Q. How far, about, did you go?
A. I fell down close to the ship's side when I struck the mud.
Q. Did you finll pieces of plate when you fell down into the mud?
A. Not where I fell; but I went outboard and forward toward the
break, and found pieces that did belong to the ship.
Q. Were they curved?
A. They were curved.
Q. Which way was the concave side?
A. I believe it was up.
Q. You then looked for your guide line?
A. I did; in the meantime I got a signal to get up.
Q. Did you get amongst a lot of coal before you came up?
A. Yes, sir; there was a lot outside of the ship-a good way out.
Q. What do you mean by a good way?
A. Ten or twelve feet from the ship's side.
Q. You went down again in the afternoon of that day, March the 4th? 
A. Yes.
Q. Near the conning tower, as in the morning?
A. As in the morning.
Q. You landed in the mud; and then what did you do?
A. I was walking in the mud until I struck the ship's side again. I
went over and examined the break in the backing better than I did the
day before. I went up the same way and followed up the part of the
ram plate aft. I first struck against something that pointed up and
forward. I was first trying to walk on top of the ram plate, but my
helmet struck against this, so I had to walk on the side of it with my
hands hanging over the ship's side. I went aft about the length of two
plates, I should say, and then I got stuck. I could not go any further
aft.
Q. Why?
A. Because there was lots of wreckage extending over the ship's side
which prevented me
Q. Wreckage under the water, or dropping from above?
A. From above, and extending over the ship's side.
Q. Did you find a plate about this time-two plates riveted together?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


229


A. Afterwards I found these two plates.
Q. How were they painted?
A. These two plates? They looked to be a red-colored br6wn.
Q. Was the plate curved?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How far in did it extend in the ship's side.
A. It extended a couple of feet.
Q. Was it ragged where it had broken off?
A. It looked as if it had beeln carried away; as if something heavy
had fallen on it.
Q. Was this plate flush with the top of the backing?
A. Yes, sir; I could barely lay the point of my fingers down there.
Q. You also found a number of pieces of board and planking at this
time, did you not?
A. Yes, sir; I did.
Q. You sent up a pipe for examination?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where did you find it?
A. I found it made fast to the ship's starboard side-to the bottom
plate. I broke it loose and sent it up.
Q. What else did you find about here?
A. I examined the ram plate and where the break was, and found
the bottom plate of the ship down in the mud standing outboard. I
was following up this plate, trying to find the armor plate, but could
not get to the end of it. It looked to be rolled over, and was too deep
or me to get hold of it.
Q. This was the plate underneath the armor plate?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was there any crockery about here?
A. Yes, sir; I found lots of crockery, pieces of' washstands, clothes,
and a 10-inch powder tank. I sent the tank up, and there were some
power bags inside.
Q. You sent the bag up also?
A. I put the bag in my pocket and brought it up when I came.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to hold himself in readiness to appear before the court, when he will
be furnished with so much of the record as contains his testimony and
asked to withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will be again called before the court and be given an
opportunity to amend his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct.
The request was granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly;
whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not
to discuss matters pertaining to the trial.
Gunner's Mate SCHLUTER, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was then
recalled and cautioned by the president of the court that he was still
under oath which he had taken.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Since you gave your last testimony before this court have you
been engaged in any diving at the wreck of the Maine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. To whom did you report the results of your diving?
A. To Mr. Powelson.
Q. Were your reports as true as if they had been given under oath?
A. Yes, sir.




230   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. I believe you were down on the forenoon of Tuesday, March 2.
A. Yes sir.
Q. Do kon remember where you went down?
'A. I believe that was the day I was down after some powder tanks.
Q. I refer to the time you went down on the port side forward of the
break. You went down on the port side forward of the break, do you
remember?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you told to look for any armor?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you find?
A. 1 was lowered over the side to the bottom of the ladder until I
struck the main deck. The main deck sloped over toward the starboard side. Then I crawled right out straight to the port side of the
ship and put my hand over the ship's side and felt the plates were
bent inboard up to about 5 or 6 feet along the ship's side and the waterways. Then I crept on over some stanchions going aft on the port
side and kept on going aft until I struck up against the after turret,
and was crawling along when I made out two distinct plates of the
ship's side. Both were bent from port side outboard. I was going to
crawl out over one when the signal was made for me to come up on
account of the wrecking tug which was going to move the smokestack.
Q. Did you not find the armor-plate, to which you attached a line?
A. That was the next time I went down, sir.
Q. Whenever you did find that armor-plate to which you attached a
line, what did you do? Did you measure this plate with a rule?
A. That was the one amidship, which stands in a vertical position;
vertical angle on its end. It was leaning a little over forward. The
lower end was pointed aft.
Q. The thick side was forward or aft?
A. The thick side was in the mud, sir; the heavy side. I believe I
found 6 inches on top.
Q. That is what you call the thick armor side?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you find behind this plate?  o
A. A wood backing, sir.
Q. How many inches was this wood backing?
A. About 9 inches, I think.
Q. Behind that what did you find?
A. Three and a half inch armor plating.
Q. Was there any bolt there?
A. Yes. sir; there was bolts sticking out 2 or 3 inches, and I felt a
soft washer, or something. That is all I could feel right up against the
armor plate; and going right through the wood and armor.
Q. Was this, apparently, athwartship armor or fore and aft armor?
A. Athwartship armor. I found the ship's side armor since.
Q. You are quite sure of the wood backing and plate backing?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You went down again on the morning of the 5th, and were told to
examine the port side abaft the crane. Do you remember?
A. Yes. sir.
Q. Yon found the main deck?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How did it slope?
A. It sloped to starboard, sir.
Q. Was the outside plate bent?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


231


A. Yes, sir; the outside plate was bent inboard, about the length of
5 feet, at a sharp angle with the waterways.
Q. You then crawled aft?
A. Yes, sir; I crawled up the aft turret and found two distinct
breaks-that is, the sheathing was bent over to port side, outboard-and
I was going to crawl over the first plate when I got the signal to
come up.
Q. You crawled aft and felt over the edge, did you not?
A. Yes, sir; I did.
Q. You could not find any side plating attached to the waterways in
places?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You went as far aft as the after turret?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How many feet forward of the turret is broken right out-the
plates 
A. Six or 7 feet forward of the turret.
Q. What side was this on?
A. Port side, sir. It looked as if it had been blown outboard.
Q. You then crawled along on the top of the armor forward?
A. Yes, sir; the last time I was down there.
Q. How far does that clear?
A. As far forward as the crane.
Q. What happened there?
A. The armor appeared to be broken off, and 2 feet abaft it was all
clear. The inside armor backing was hanging on at an angle from port
up, and over to starboard at the top of the armor belt. The backing
was broken off from the armor as far down as I could reach, and sloped
inboard.
Q. Explain what you mean by the armor being broken off.
A. By broken off I mean that it looked as if another piece had been
blown right away from it. It was gone.
By the COURT:
Q. In your answers you have spoken of plates attached to the waterways being blown in; also some being blown out. What do you mean?
A. I mean that aft it was blown out and forward it was blown in.
Q. How far apart were these places?
A. Ten or 12 feet, sir. It might have been a little less-8 or 9 feet.
It is hard to judge under water how far one goes.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed
to report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished
with so much of the record as contains his testimony and asked to
withdraw for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of
which he will be again called before the court and given an opportunity
to amend his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct. The
request was granted, and the witness instructed accordingly; whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss
matters pertaining to the inquiry.
The court then (at 12.45 p. m.) took a recess until 2 o'clock.
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, the
stenographer, Captain Sigsbee, and Mr. Wainwright.




232    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Chief Gunner's Mate OLSEN, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was recalled, and cautioned by the president of the court that he was still
under oath which he had taken.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you done any diving on the wreck of the Maine since your
last testimony before this court?
A. Yes, sir; I have.
Q. To whom did you report the results of your diving?
A. To Mr. Powelson, of the Fern.
Q. When you made these reports to him were they as true as if given
under oath?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You went down on the morning of March 1-Tuesday?
A. Yes, sir; I did.
Q. Do you remember where you went down? Was it not at the
after V-shaped plate?
A. Yes; I went down at the after V-shaped plate.
Q. Where did you find the first longitudinal?
A. The first longitudinal I found about 20 feet under water, and
about 4 feet abaft of the second longitudinal.
Q. Taking frame 17 as the highest frame on this, where do you
think you found the first longitudinal?
A. About frame 23.
Q. For how many frame spaces did you see?
A. About two frame spaces.
Q. What was the condition of the outer skin of the ship between the
first and second longitudinals?
A. Between the first and second longitudinal on the outer skin of the
ship?
Q. Yes; was it broken?
A. The skin of the ship was cracked off
Q. Did you follow the second longitudinal down?
A. Yes, sir; I did.
Q. What did you find at the end?
A. I followed it down to about nine frame spaces. I found a plate
on which this longitudinal was attached bent underneath the keel on
the afterpart of the V.
Q. What is the condition of the longitudinal at the end?
A. Broken off and ragged.
Q. When you went to plate B, what was the color of plate B; plate
plate B being the forward one inside the V?
A. Green inside the V-Mclnniss's paint.
Q. Did you follow the green plate along to the flat keel?
A. Yes, sir; I did.
Q. How does the keel go from there?
A. I followed the green paint along the ship's bottom until I found
the fiat part of the keel. It extended down and over to port, up and
over to starboard, at an angle, I should judge, of about 60 degrees
from the bottom of the mud itself.
Q. Which makes the angle of 60 degrees, the one going forward or
the one going aft?
A. The angle between the keel and the mud is about 60 degrees.
Q. Did you find the forward part of the ship and the keel sloping
downward?
A. Yes, sir.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


233


Q. About how many degrees?
A. It seemed to me that this part of the ship is lying on the starboard side-the starboard side on the mud, the port side up, and the
keel to port.
Q. Does not her ram seem lower than her after part?
A. Yes, sir; it does.
Q. What inclination does her keel seem to be to horizontal?
A. Sixty degrees from the bottom.
Q. Abaft both of these V-shaped plates, how does the keel lay?
A. A little farther to starboard and amidships I found the continuation of the keel and broken part. The inside angle irons standing up
and the inside and outside keel plates broken off for the space of about
3 feet from the bottom angle irons and vertical keel, and sloping down.
Q. What direction does the keel take then, aft?
A. Almost vertical, going down.
Q. About how long a space do you think it goes verticalS
A. About 20 feet, I should judge.
Q. Then what does it do?
A. It runs aft parallel to the bottom.
Q. What kind of a break is on the bottom; that is. that part that
stands vertical and the part that stands horizontal?
A. A regular bending. It bends forward and then it bends aft.
Q. About how far forward does it bend?
A. About 2 feet.
Q. Referring to this part of the keel which stands vertical, how much
plate is attached to that part of the keel which stands vertical?
A. The bottom plate of that part of the keel extends 4 or 5 feet on
each side of the keel. Some places along these I slipped.
Q. You went down again on the forenoon of March 3, which was
Thursday, did you not?
A. Yes, sir: I did.
Q. Did you have orders to find the top part of the keelV
A. Which top part of the keel do you mean?
Q. The inside of the keel.
A. I was told to locate the keel outside, if I possibly could.
Q. How far did you get down this time?
A. I went down over the break and followed the vertical part down
to where it bends aft again. Afterwards I located some manholes with
high combings around it. I located two right at the break where the
keel goes aft on the vertical part, and two farther aft.
Q. Did you find a lightening hole the first frame forward of the
break?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you measure this hole?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you remember the measure in both cases 
A. Twelve by 21 inches.
Q. Did you find a manhole in the inner skin just forward of the
break 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you measure that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you remember the measurements?
A. Fifteen by 22 inches.
Q. You found a four-way pipe?
A. Yes, sir.




234   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Where?
A. Alongside the vertical keel forward of the break. The smaller
part of the pipe going through the inner skin of the double bottom.
This pipe was 3 inches in diameter, inside diameter of the pipe, and
then there was a curved pipe going through the vertical keel. This
was a 4-inch pipe.
Q. Did you take measurements of the vertical keel at this time?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How large?
A. Thirty-six inches between the inner and outer skin of the double
bottom.
Q. You found several other manholes, did you not 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. They all had high combings?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How high would you say these combings were?
A. About 3 inches.
Q. Now, along the flat part of the keel, which is abaft the vertical
part, did you find the inner bottom corrugated?
A. Yes, sir; I did.
Q. In what ways Describe the appearance of the keel.
A. It was corrugated right over the keel. I am sure it was the
inntr bottom. The corrugations ran fore and aft. The inside skin of
these plates of the keel were bent downward. The vertical keel stands
up and the inside skin alongside of it slopes downward on both sides
of the keel.
Q. In accounting for the depression of the bottom on both sides of
the keel, did you think that the bottom had been knocked down or the
keel been shoved up 
A. It may have been from the keel being shoved up, or the inner
plate being shoved down; I could not tell which.
By the COURT:
Q. Was there any keel in the bottom at this placet
A. No, sir. That part of the bottom seemed all right. I could not
go further on account of the wreckage.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. At that place, how much bottom was there on each side of the
keel, as far as you could tell?
A. I could feel about 6 feet on each side. It might have gone
farther, but I could not tell.
Q. Do you know what frame you were at?
A. I must have gone abaft of frame 24.
Q. Did you find some 6-pounder ammunition?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On which side of the keel?
A. On the starboard side of the keel.
Q. Did you find any 6-inch shell there?
A. Yes. sir; I did.
Q. On which side of the keel?
A. On the starboard side of the keel?
Q. Did you send the shell up?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On the next forenoon you went down again. From the break in
the vertical keel, which way did you go?
A. I went down the vertical keel; followed the flat part of the keel
aft and worked my way over to starboard.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


235


Q. What did you find then?
A. I worked my way over to starboard, and continuing in that direction I found a light box.
Q. Before you found this light box did you not get among a lot of
6-inch shell?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How far were these shell from the keel?
A. It must have been about 10 or 12 feet on the starboard side.
Q. Are you sure they were 6-inch shell?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you find a powder tank the same place?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Describe the tank; 6-inch or 10-inch?
A. I can not recollect.
Q. Did you send it up?
A. I sent one 6-inch drill tank up.
Q. Did you then work your way over to starboard?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you find?
A. A light box.
Q. Where was that light box made fast?
A. It was made fast in the proper light box in which the lamps go.
I lifted up the cover of the light box proper.
Q. Was this light box in the bulkhead?
A. Yes, sir; between the coal bunker and what I think was formerly
the 10-inch magazine.
Q. How do you know?
A. The 10-inch magazine light only shows one light in the drawings,
which shows that this is the only place where there was only one light.
Q. What was the general direction of the bulkhead that you found
this light box in?
A. It was flat and lying down.
Q. Which way was it bent down?
A. It was lying fiat parallel with the bottom.
Q. Had it been bent to starboard or to port?
A. Over to starboard.
Q. Did you feel the end of this bulkhead?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you find?
A. I followed the continuation of this bulkhead down about 10 feet,
and underneath it I crawled into the double bottom.
Q. Did you find the rungs of an iron ladder there?
A. Yes, sir; underneath the deadlight in the bulkhead.
Q. You then went into the 10-inch magazine as you suppose?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you find 10-inch tanks there?
A. I found some 6-inch shells in the space; some of them had slings
on them and wooden nose pieces; they were in good condition. Digging underneath these shells I located some tanks.
Q. What kind of tanks?
A. I should judge them to be 10-inch tanks.
Q. Were they in good condition?
A. I could not tell. I could only feel them on account of the shell
being on top of them, but they showed that they were tanks by their
shape.
Q. Did you find in your dive any cutlass or scabbard?
A. Yes, sir; I found a scabbard.




236     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
Q. Where?
A. I found one on this plate, going from the light box down about 10
feet and in the double bottom, a scabbard and gas check disks in pads,
which I sent up.
Q. Did you find any paymaster's stores on top of the tanks you were
just speaking about?
A. Yes, sir; I found canned goods, some low-cut paymaster's shoes.
Q. Did you find a piece of wooden grating from the floor of the magazine?
A. Yes. sir; I did. I sent it up.
Q. Had it been burned?
A. I could not tell. Mr. Powelson looked at it after it came up.
Q. You went down again Saturday?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where did you go?
A. I went aft, trying to locate the armor plate.
Q. Did you find anything that looked to you like a boiler?
A. Yes, sir; it looked to me like a boiler, but I did not stay down
there long enough to get a good look at it. It was very dark.
Q. Was it very much out of shape?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You then walked over to starboard, I believe, after walking aft,
and found a plate.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Will you please describe this plate that you foulnd?
A. I found a plate with angle iron- V-iron. These irons were about
12 inches apart, forming a regular square in two rows.
Q. What direction was this plate standing in?
A. Up and over to starboard, standing at an angle up and leaning
to starboard.
Q. Did you find any cellulose?
A. Yes, sir; I found the cellulose compartment.
Q. Where were you then?    0
A. I must have been at the midship line of the ship on the port
side aft.
Q. What do you mean by midship line of the ship? About the place
of the crane?
A. Yes, sir; about somewhere in that line.
Q. Are you sure this was cellulose?
A. Yes, sir. I took it out in my hand and looked at it. It was
packed in the compartment. 
Q. What was the size of the compartment and the shape of the compartment that the cellulose was in?
A. I could feel the outside and inside skin of this compartment. It
must have been 3 or 4 feet wide from the inside to the outside.
It might have been larger or smaller-4 feet I judge it to be. 
It was standing up and pointed, one pointing aft about the port
quarter and the other pointing forward to the starboard bow. It was
way abaft. I know exactly where 24 frame is; it is 20 or 30 feet abaft
frame 24.
By the COURT:
Q. Do you know where the forward end of the belt is-the armor
belt?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What frame is that?
A. About frame 30.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


237


By the J UDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Did you after this lift up a couple of plates and throw them aside?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where were they?
A. They were below this portion described-below and forward of the
cellulose compartment. I picked up a 6-inch powder tank. This tank
was full of powder, the bottom and head of the tank being on the tank.
Q. Did you send this tank up?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you find a lot of other broken tanks about here?
A. Yes, sir; a lot of them split in the seam. On the head of this
tank I sent up there was a lot of black mud. We dried it and found it
was powder. Where all the broken tanks were I could pick up a lot of
this mud. I found that mud in several places around that place, and I
think it is all powder. I can tell the difference between these and the
mud which is outside the bottom of the ship. This is very black, and
the mud on the outside turns a greenish color when you stir it up.
Q. What made you think it was powder, only the color of it?
A. I tried to burn some, and it burned all right.
Q. Who made this experiment?
A. Chief gunner's mate of the New York, Fisher.
Q. You were there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you say there is plenty of this black mud around the ship?
A. Yes, sir; especially where the broken tanks are you will find
some of that mud all around. It seemed to me that the tanks in this
place had been spilled all around.
Q. What did you do this morning in the way of diving?
A. I went down, took a lead line down plumb in line with the ship.
I came up again; I made a line fast at the broken part of the keel, and
then I went down again, and was towed outside, clear of the ship, and
was told to go down and see if I could find any coal. I went aft until
I came to the break where the armor ends, and could not find any sign
of coal on the port side.
Q. How far away from the ship did you walk when you were looking
for coal?
A. I must have walked about 20 feet out-and I walked in a zigzag
out and in, 20 feet clear-and back again to where the armor ends.
Q. How far forward did you commence the search?
A. I started forward, about at the ram, a little further out, and as
far forward as the ram.
Q. When you put your lead down had you found the ram itself?
A. The end of the ram; that is, the bow of the ship itself, was down
in the mud. I should judge the place was about 6 feet from the bow,
that part of the keel and the ram being about 6 feet apart, and the
flat part of the keel sloping forward at this point. The ram itself I
should judge to be about 6 feet.
Q. Did you find the ram plates?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you were well forward of the afterend of the ram plates?
A. Yes, sir. I could not feel the afterpart of the ram plate. It
extends underneath the side.
Q. What is the condition of the ship's side under the after one of the
two V-shaped plates?
A. Going down about half-way down, on the after end of B, and then
getting onto the ship's bottom properly, I found two dents extending
between two frames and bulged into the ship's bottom itself.




238    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Are these two-dents in a horizontal line?
A. They are in a parallel line to the keel.
Q. How deep should you say they were?
A. About 3 or 4 inches deep.
Q. And about what is their diameter?
A. About 4 feet in diameter.
Q. Is there a frame between the two dents?
A. It looks so from the outside.
The judge-advocate requested that the testimony given by the witness be not read to him by the stenographer, but that he be directed to
report to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when he will be furnished with
so much of the record as contains his testimony, and asked to withdraw
for the consideration of the same, upon the completion of which he will
be again called before the court and be given an opportunity to ameud
his testimony as recorded or pronounce it correct. The request was
granted, and the witness was instructed accordingly; whereupon he
withdrew, after being cautioned by the president not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry.
Naval Cadet CLUVERIUS, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was recalled
and warned by the president that he was still under the oath that he
had taken.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Were you the mate of the berth deck of the Maine at the time of
her destruction?
A. Iwas.
Q. What were your duties as regards the securing of the ship for
the night 
A. The duties I had in securing the ship for the night were to instruct
the persons in charge of such departments as by the ship regulations
were to be closed at sunset that these departments were to be closed,
and that the tag keys placed upon the keyboard, which was at the forward part of the engine room hatch in compartment 0100, were placed
there.
Q. What part of this duty did you do that night?
A. I was on watch from 4 until 8, and did not personally instruct the
men in charge of these compartments, but had warned them the night
before, and I remember that they had all been turned in the night
before, and on the night of February 15 I am almost positive that
these men reported to me that their compartments were closed while I
was officer of the deck.
Q. Did you look at the keyboard that night?
A. Yes, sir; when I was relieved for my dinner, in passing the keyboard I glanced at it and remember seeing the numbers solid.
Q. Were the regular 8 p. m. reports made to you that night?
A. They were, sir.
Q. Did you consider Seaman Neilson, temporarily in charge of the
hold, a reliable man?
A. I did, sir.
Q. Had the magazines or shell rooms or any of them been open
during your tour of duty, the dog watches that day?
A. To my knowledge they had not, sir.
Q. Had any of them been reported to you as open when you took
the deck?
A. They had not.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


239


There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer, and by him pronounced correct; whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
The court then (at 3.30 p. m.) adjourned until to-morrow, Tuesday,
March 8, 1898, at 10 o'clock a. m.
TWELFTH DAY.
U. S. L. H. TENDER MANGROVE,
Harbor of Havana, 10 a. m., Tuesday, March 8, 1898.
The court met pursuant to the adjournment of yesterday.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and the
stenographer.
The proceedings of yesterday were then read over and approved.
Gunner's Mate T. SMITH, 'U. S. Navy, a former witness, was then
recalled, and cautioned by the president of the court that he was still
under the oath he had taken.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you done any diving at the wreck of the Maine since your
last testimony was given before this court?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. To whom did you report the results of your searches?
A. Ensign Powelson.
Q. When you made these reports were they as truthful as if you had
been under oath 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you remember going down on Monday morning, February 28?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where did you go down?
A. I went down along the after wing which forms the V.
Q. Did you find the first longitudinal?
A. The first longitudinal; yes, sir.
Q. Did you find the bottom plate?
A. Yes, sir; I did.
Q. What was its condition 
A. Condition, it was good.
Q. Did you find any bottom plate broken with the edges pushed in?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where?
A. The lower edges of the wing, and all around the edges of it wa,
broken and jagged.
Q. Was it pushed in from the green paint?
A. It comes closer to the forward part of where it forms the V as
you go down deep, and it has a sort of corrugated shape to it.
Q. You went down again on the afternoon of the same day, did you
not?
A. Yes, sil.
Q. You were sent down, I believe, to look for a circular hole. Do you
remember?
A. Yes, sir; that is what I was sent down for.




240   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Where did you locate it?
A. Between the sixth and seventh franle, and from the water's edge
down.
Q. What was the nature of the hole?
A. It was a circular hole, sir, like one that had been there. There
was just half of it there with the rivet holes.
By the COURT:
Q. The rivet holes were in a straight line?
A. No, sir; in a circular line.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Did you find a number of 6-pound shell there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were there cartridges on them?                                A
A. Just the shell, sir.
Q. On the morning of March 2, which is Wednesday morning, you
went down again, I believe?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was your purpose in going down that time; do you
remember?
A. I remember it was to find where the break of the vertical keel was.
Q. Did you take anything with you for measurements?
A. A Y-foot rule, sir.
Q. What was the thickness of the vertical keel as you found it?
A. About 5~ inches, sir, on the flange.
Q. You found a four-way pipe, did you not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you measure the distance from the vertical-keel break to the
next frame forward?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you remember what this measurement was?
A. Thirty-six inches, sir.
Q. What was the width of the inner keel plate?
A. The inner keel plate was 37 inches.
Q. You went down again in the afternoon of the same day, did you
not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You looked then for the keel and found the vertical part, did you
not?
A. Yes, sir. The horizontal part abaft the part which is now vertical.
Q. Abaft the vertical part 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you find?
A. I found the vertical keel lying in a horizontal position.
Q. Did you find a 10-inch shell there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What else?
A. A powder tank.
Q. What else?
A. A bunch of knapsacks. I sent them up from below.
Q. Did you find a swab 
A. Yes, sir; I found a big magazine swab.
Q. Was it burnt?
A. No, sir; it was not.
Q. What kind of a bend has the keel where it goes to the horizontal
again?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


241


A. It forms a sort of a V in there with the two angle irons that are
bolted to the vertical keel, and also bolted to the skin of the double
bottom, which is broken right in the corner where it forms the V.
Q. Do I understand that the keel first bends forward and then goes
aft?
A. It first goes forward and then goes aft.
Q. What is the distance, do you think, that it goes forward?
A. Thirty-six inches, sir.
Q. You then went down the keel into the mud?
A. Yes, sir; I went off to the bottom of the plate.
Q. What did you find there in the mud where the flat keel goes into
the mud?
A. I do not remember what I found there.
Q. Do you remember finding a hole in the mud?
A. Yes, but in a different place, sir. It is by the bow where I found
the hole.
Q. Now tell us exactly where you found that hole.
A. I followed the forward part of the wing that forms the v down
until I came to the mud. I took a couple of steps aft and felt the
vertical keel again, and followed it down until I came to the mud; then
I was standing up straight until I could take my two hands so [witness illustrated by extending his arms horizontally], out that way, and
feel the mud all around.
Q. How deep was this holq, do you think?
A. I should judge 7 feet.
Q. How wide was it-the diameter, I mean?
A. About the same, sir.
Q. Was the bottom of the hole hard at this place?
A. The mud was a little harder than the other mud. You would not
sink over 18 inches in that mud. 
Q. Can you locate this hole?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. By the frames, where was it? Locate it with the two V-shaped, plates. Was it forward of the after V- shaped plate?
A. The hole was about under the forward V-shaped plate. The
largest part of the hole is on the port side of the ship. The keel can
not be felt from the hole, and it seemed to be under the forward part of
the forward V-shaped plate.
Q. What did you find in this hole?
A. I found a tin I should judge to be about 20 inches long and 10
4      inches square. It looked like a can made up in a square, and 20 inches
long. There was a place where a big square hole had been with a
gasket. I sent it up to Mr. Powelson.
Q. Were you down yesterday afternoon?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Tell to the court what you found.
A. I was landed on top of the boiler-the forward boiler on the port
side. What I found of it seemed to be in good condition. Between
that boiler aind the forward athwartship bulkhead I found two 10-inch
shells and a 6-inch powder tank, and also a large copper pipe, about 4
inches in diameter. That is all I have to say about that for the present.
Q. Where was this bulkhead, in regard to the boiler?
A. It seemed to me to be between that boiler and some other boiler.
Q. Was it forward of the boiler or abaft the boiler?
A. It was abaft the boiler.
Q. Did you send the 10-inch tank up?
S. Doc. 207 —16




242    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. No, sir; I did not.
Q. What was its condition?
A. It was split in the seam, the same as the rest.
Q. Nothing in it?
A. Excelsior.
Q. You have no other report to make of yesterday's diving, have
you?
A. No, sir; I was hauled up at that time.
Q. What is fast to the keel which now stands up and down?
A. The vertical keel. On the starboard side there is the inner skin
of the double bottom made fast to it, and on the port side part of the
way it is torn off.
Q. Torn off altogether?
A. In some places on the port side it is torn off altogether.
Q. What appearance does it make next to the keel; which way does
it bulge?
A. From the present position of the keel it bulges aft.
Q. Were the keel horizontal would it bulge up?
A. Yes, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. All this is the inner bottom?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In that part of the keel in the inner bend where the inner bottom
is torn from the keel, can you tell us anything of the condition of the
outer bottom?
A. No, sir; I can not. I would have to walk around there and find
that out to see what condition it is in.
There being no further questions to ask this witness he was directed
to hold himself in readiness to appear before the court whenever he had
further testimony to give; whereupon, after being cautioned by the
president not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.
The court was then cleared (at 11.40 a. m.) for further discussion.
The doors being opened, the court at 12.30 took a recess until 2 p. m...
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and the
stenographer.
Naval Constructor J. B. HOOVER appeared as a witness before the
court and was duly sworn by the president. 
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your name, rank, and station.
A. John B. Hoover, naval constructor, United States Navy.
Q. Were you ordered by the Secretary of the Navy to assist this
court of inquiry in their work?.
A. I was.
Q. Have you visited the wreck of the MIaine, and examined such
portions as are above water?
A. I have.. Q. Do you recollect the three portions of wreck which are in a foreand-aft line some distance forward of the middle superstructure?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Can you identify the after one of these three of this wreckage?
A. I can. It is a portion of the ship from frame 17 showing a portion of the second longitudinal, and main frame 17, and the outside




DESTRUCTION OF THE U S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


243


platings doubled-thrown up and doubled to starboard. Bottom platilgs thrown up and doubled back.
Q. What is the direction of frame 17 with regard to the fore-and-aft
line of the ship at she now lies?
A. Frame 17? In relation to the fore-and-aft line of the ship? Well,
it is canted. The port frame is come up and gone over to starboard.
Q. How far from the center line of the ship does the doubling in the
plate occur?
A. I can not say.
Q. The frame 17 which appears above water, you say, how near was
that to the vertical keel when in its normal state?
A. About 5 feet from the middle line of the ship.
Q. Did you mleasure the distance of frame 17 from some part of the
ship which is in its normal position?
A. Yes. I measured the distance from the after funnel, which is at
frame 43, and which is about 93 feet 6 inches; that is, to the after object
seen.
Q. What would have been that distance had the ship been in its
original shape from frame 43 to frame 17?
A. It would be 103 feet and one-half.
Q. Did you examine the next object forward of this one? What is
that?
A. That is a portion of the protective deck abreast of the chain
locker.
Q. Which side of the protective deck?
A. The port side.
Q. Did you measure that from the same normal part of the ship?
A. I did.
Q. What was the distance?
A. 109 feet 6 inches.
Q. What would that distance have been with the ship in its normal
condition?
A. That was opposite the chain lockers. It ought to be just the
same, 103 feet 6 inches.
Q. Did you examine the the third piece of wreckage forward of the
second?
A. I did.
Q. What did you identify that to be?
A. As a portion of the berth deck, but broken off at frame 19 with
the part of the cellulose compartment bulkhead attached to it, and
showing one scupper hole, going up from frame 19 and taking in frames
18 and 17.
Q. Which side of the berth deck was this?
A. That was on the port side, and it was twisted right around to
starboard looking forward.
Q. What was the distance from the same normal point in the ship?
A. That would be 130 feet.
Q. Then, according to your statement, the lower portion of the ship
near the keel, at frame 17, was thrown up and abaft the same portion
of the ship at a higher deck.
A. Thrown up and abaft the same portion of the ship at the berth
deck and at the protective deck.
Q. The part of the protective deck was thrown up between the lower
portion and the berth deck portion, was it not?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you examine the line of keel which these three pieces of




244     DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
wreckage show you and compare it with the line of keel in the after
part of the ship 
A. I did in this way only-by sighting through as near as I could see.
Q. Did you find that this line of keel in the wreck is in line with the
after keel line of the ship?
A. They are on the port side of the original keel.
Q. How much?
A. In the neighborhood of 4 to 5 feet, but they are canted to starboard.
Q. Were you able to see anything below water at these three pieces
of wreckage?
A. Nothing that I could recognize.
By the COURT:
Q. According to your statement, these three pieces of wreckage-the
bottom of the ship, the protective deck, and the berth deck-all three
of which show above the water at present, and all coming from points
which were nearly in the same vertical plane: Now, then, the piece of
the berth deck, forward portion of the three, which is now forward of
the other two.
A. The protective deck comes next and the bottom comes last.
Then the bottom of the ship, as it now stands, has been turned nearly
90 degrees-revolved nearly 90 degrees.
Q. The protective deck has been revolved how much?
A. About the same.
Q. And the berth deck?
A. The berth deck, I think, a little more than the others. It seems
to be twisted more.
Q. With these three decks, one above the other, the upper one has
gone forward and been turned through an angle of 90 degrees?
A. Yes.
Q. Did all these pieces that show above water belong to the port
side on the port side of the keel?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Except the protective deck? Is that on the port side?
A. The protective deck is on the port side also, but not all of it.
Q. Yes, but what there is on it came from the port side?
A. I did not mean that, exactly.
Q. What position does the forward 6-inch magazine occupy with
reference to this portion of the bottom of the ship, the protective deck,
and the berth deck which have been displaced as described?
A. The forward part of the 6-inch magazine is just below the three
pieces of deck as they originally were. The forward 6-inch magazine
begins at frame 18. The wreckage goes from 17 to  19.  8is a water-tight
bulkhead. The magazine goes from 18 to 21. There are two magazines there. In 18 to 21 is the forward magazine.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, he was directed
to appear to-morrow, to read his testimony, at 10 a. m.; and after being
warned by the president of the court not to converse regarding the
inquiry he withdrew.
Carpenter HELM, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was recalled and
warned by the president of the court that he was still under oath which
he had taken.
Examined by the JUDGE- ADVOCATE:
Q. Since you have given your last testimony before this court have




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.      245
you made an examination of that portion of the wreck of the Maine
which is above the water?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you remember the three portions of wreckage which appeared
in a normal fore-and-aft line some distance forward of the middle superstructure?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Can you identify the after one of these three pieces of wreckage?
A. Yes, sir; that is a piece of outside plating with second longitudinal,
frame 17 and frame 18.
Q. How near the keel is that portion of frame 17 which you see above
the water?
A. About 10 feet.
Q. Can you identify the second piece of wreckage-the one forward
of this?
A. Yes, sir; that is the protective deck, in wake of the sheet-chain
locker, on the port side. The highest point is frame 18, being below
frame 17, and frame 16 just under the water.
Q. Are these three frames 18, 17, and 16 in a vertical line?
A. Well, they are at about an angle of nearly about 60 degrees.
Q. Is the upper frame forward or aft?
A. The upper frame is forward.
Q. What do you mean by the upper frame?
A. Eighteen is the highest one.
Q. What is the third and forward piece of wreckage?
A. That is part of the first deck bulkhead which helped to form the
cellulose compartment. The highest point is frame 19, 18 next, and 17
is under the water. The pipe hole through that deck belongs to one of
the forward scuppers.
Q. What is the general direction of these three frames 19, 18, and 17 
A. I guess they would be pretty near at an angle of 80 degrees from
the horizontal.
Q. The top one forward or aft?
A. No. 19 forward.
Q. Whicl side of the berth deck and what portion of it do you identify this as being?
A. Port side, frame 19.
Q. And the cellulose bulkhead is also from the port side?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do these three pieces of wreckage seem to you to be twisted
-'     around?
A. From aft to forward they are twisted about 90 degrees and turned
completely around.
By the COURT:
Q. What was originally the relative positions of these three pieces
of wreckage?
A. Well, they were all parts of decks running fore and aft. They
were practically in a vertical position over one another. 19, 18, and
17 are within the vicinity of 16, 17, 18, and 19 frames.
Q. How do you think they got into their present condition?
A. That is beyond me, Captain.
Q. Are they all in the same position with reference to the horizontal
that they were originally?
A. No, they are thrown forward of one another. They are right forward of one another. The inner bottom seems to come right up and
over. The berth deck extends nearly vertical now, with the upper side




246   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


of the deck to port. The protective deck stands about 60 degrees to
port and slants about 60 degrees to vertical. The upper side faces forward. The top of the protective deck faces also to port and slightly
forward.
Q. Taking the superstructure of the ship between frames 18 and 24,
which do you regard as affording the greater resistance, the pressure
from the interior or the exterior?
A. I think the double bottom.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Where were the knapsacks and infantry equipments stowed in the
Maine?
A. I think they were stowed in the compartment All.
There being no further questions to ask this witness he was directed
to appear to-morrow at 10 a. m. to read over his testimony; whereupon,
after being warned by the president of the court not to discuss matters
pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.
Consul-General FITZHUGH LEE appeared as a witness before the
court, and was duly sworn by the president.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state your full name and your official position.
A. Fitzhngh Lee, United States consul-general at Havana.
Q. When were you first notified of the intended arrival of the battle
ship Maine?
A. Twenty-fourth of January, 1898. I have the telegram here and
will read it:
It is the purpose of this Government to resume the friendly naval visits at Cuban
ports. In that view the Maine will call at the port of Havana in a day or two.
Please arrange for the friendly interchange of calls with the authorities.
DAY.
Q. How long after the receipt of this telegram did the Maine arrive?
A. She arrived the next morning, at about 11 o'clock, I think.
Q. Had you notified the authorities at Havana of her intended
arrival?
A. After receiving that telegram I went down to the palace and notified the authorities, and read the telegram to them. That was on the
afternoon of the 24th of January. Immediately after having received
the telegram above referred to I sent the following reply to the State 
Department:
HAVANA, January 24.
Advise visit be postponed six or seven days to give last excitement more time to
disappear. Will see authorities and let you know. Governor-General away for two
weeks. I should know day and hour visit.
LEE.
The following morning I sent the following telegram to the State
Department:
[Iu cipher.]
HAVANA, January 25.
At an interview authorities profess to think United States has ulterior purpose in sending ship. Say it will obstruct autonomy, produce excitement, and most
probably a demonstration. Ask that it is not done until they can get instructions
from Madrid, and say that if for friendly purposes, as claimed, delay unimportant.
LEE.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


247


And after arrival of the Maine I sent the following telegram to the
Department:
HAVANA, January 25.
Ship quietly arrived, 11 a. m. to-day; no demonstration so far.
LEE.
After sending the telegram of the 24th I received the following reply
on the 25th:
Maine has been ordered. Will probably arrive at Havana some time to-morrow,
Tuesday. Can not tell hour. Possibly early. Cooperate with the authorities for
her friendly visit. Keep us advised by frequent telegrams.
DAY.
There being no farther questions to ask the witness, his testimony
was read over to him by the stenographer and by him pronounced correct; whereupon he withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
The court then (at 5 p. m.) adjourned to meet to-morrow, Wednesday,
March 9, at 10 o'clock a. m.
THIRTEENTH DAY.
U. S. L. H. TENDER 1ANGROVE,
Harbor of Hctvana, Wednesday, March 9, 1898-10 a. m.
The court met, pursuant to adjournment of yesterday, the twelfth
(lay of the inquiry.
Present: All the members of the court, the judge-advocate, and the
stenographer.
The record of the proceedings of yesterday was read and approved.
Naval Constructor HOOVER appeared before the court.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you read over the testimony which you gave yesterday
before this court?
A. I have.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. It is.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
Carpenter HELM appeared before the court.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you read over the testimony which you gave before the
court yesterday?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. Yes, sir; it is.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.




248    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Ensign W. V. N. POWELSON, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was
recalled, and, having been warned by the president that he was still
under the oath he had previously taken, testified as follows:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you read over the testimony which you gave before this
court last Monday?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. With one exception. On page 492, third line from the bottom,
next to the last word, change "of" to "with."
Q. Is your testimony as amended now correct?
A. Yes, sir.o
Q. Since giving that testimony have you taken an angle which would
show the position of the ram with regard to the keel of the ship? 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Will you please state how you did it, and the result?
A. I sent a diver down to make a lead line fast as near to the point
on the ram as possible. He could not find the point of the ram, as it
was in the mud, and he made his lead line fast to some weights alongside a ram plate at a distance which he estimated from the curve of
the keel at that point and the stem of the ship to be about 5 feet
abaft the ram point. I sent a man out in a boat to plumb this point on
the ram plate. I also sent a diver down to make a line fast to the vertical keel where this broken place occurs at frame 18. I then got in a
boat and plumbed this latter point, and took an angle between the
plumb line of the armor plate and the center of the after funnel of the
Maine, which occupied probably its original position.
This angle I measured to be 104~. Standing in the same position I
measured an angle between the funnel to which I have referred and the
mainmast of the ship. The angle was 2~ 30'. I was at that time to
port of the line connecting the funnel and the mainmast. I took a
measurement with a tape line from the plumb of the ram and the
plumb of the break in the vertical keel, at frame 18. I found this to be
42 feet. I measured the distance from the funnel to the plumb of
the ram and found it to be 99 feet. I measured the distance from the
funnel to the plumb of the vertical keel at frame 18 and found it to be
86 feet.
Q. Did you yesterday afternoon send Diver Olsen down to examine
the break in the ship's side?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where did he descend?
A. He went down at about frame 41, that being the most forward
point of the armor plate which is now attached to the ship.
Q. On which side of the ship?
A. On the port side.
Q. How much water was there at the plumb line to the ram?
A. I think it was about 35 feet.
By the COURT:
Q. Now, did the measurements which you made with reference to the
position of the ram enable you to determine how the keel of the ship
attached to the ram laid?
A. I have not made any drawings from these measurements.
Q. That is one thing we would like to know-how the keel lies.
A. I will take measurements of everything and let you know.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


249


There being no further questions to ask this witness, he was directed
to hold himself in readiness to give further testimony, and after being
cautioned by the president not to converse about matters pertaining to
the inquiry he withdrew.
Chief Gunner's Mate A. OLSEN, U. S. Navy; a former witness, was
recalled, and, having been warned by the president that he was still
under the oath he had previously taken, testified as follows:
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you read over the testimony which you gave before this
court last Monday?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. It is correct except in two places.
()n page 523, eleventh line, after the words " with the," insert " ram
plate on bow of ship."
On page 521, fifth line, it should be "  iron" instead of "V iron."
Q. Is your testimony, as amended, now correct?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Olsen, will you state to the court what you mean by the ram plate
which you can feel?
A. The ram plate-it is fastened on the bow of the ship. It extends
out from the ship about 10 or 12 inches-a heavy plate.
Q. Is it convex on the outside?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Does this plate you speak of extend fore and aft on the whole of
the ship?
A. Fore and aft; yes, sir.
Q. Have you been down diving since you gave your last testimony?
A. Yes, sir; I was down yesterday, Monday evenidg, and yesterday
all day.
Q. Please state what you found.
A. I went down Monday night, after I left the court here, to look for
a piece of wire, of which I spoke, but I could not find it. Then I went
down again yesterday morning, following the outside of the ship fore
and aft, looking for this wire, which I could not find. I gave that up
entirely and started to overhaul the bottom of the ship at that point.
I found where I went down, at frame 31, at the armor plate, that I could
feel the bottom of the ship forward for ten frame spaces. At the end of
ten frame spaces and at frame 31, I found her to be cut off entirely. That.
is as far as I could walk in the mud. Then I went back again, and I
counted six frame spaces from the armor plate forward. That is about
frame 35, and from there forward I found to be blown up and over to
starboard, this point of the bottom being much higher than at any other
place along the edge of the bottom abaft this point. Then I tried to
locate this point, where she was broken up, and I found a manhole, to
which I attached a line, which is fast over there now on the scow. You
can plumb that point at any time by the line.
At frame 31 I found the bilge keel, and followed the break in amidships as far as I could. I followed it in to about 4 or 5 feet inside of
the bilge keel,'and could not go farther on account of wreckage. Then
I came up and went down in the afternoon forward to locate the bow.
I went down the bow of the ship at the ram plate, and I could not walk
any farther forward on account of the wreckage, but I walked out clear
of the ship to port and forward about 10 feet. Then I walked in again




250   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


over to starboard, and I got right down to the bow of the ship and followed the flat surface of the bow right forward until I came to a hawse
pipe. I felt all around this to see if I could feel the chain, but I could
not; but I dug the mud out underneath and found another hawse pipe
with chain.
Q. Which bow was that?
A. The port bow. Then I went farther forward, about 5 or 6 feet,
and I could feel the top keel of the ship. I found the shape of the keel
bent, the iron keel, around the forecastle. Underleath the keel I found
scroll work on the bow of the ship and over this hawse pipe, but I
found no chain.' I found a cover that covers the hawse pipe, with two
hinges and a guy made fast on this plate, down in the mud-I think
originally made fast on the bow of the ship-and tried to haul it in,
but could not get in the slack, so I cut the mousing that hooks where it
was hooked into the plate. Then I followed the chain out from the
hawse pipe, out to port from the ship, and found the port anchor in the
mud. Then I found another chain leading out, 1 think, from the starboard bow underneath and out. I think that chain runs to a bow, but
I did not locate that spot.
Q. When you first descended where the armor is broken off, what
frame is that?
A. Frame 41, sir.
Q. What is the appearance of the edge of the ship's bottom, fron
frame 41 to frame 35"?
A. The edge is ragged, going forward between frames 35 and 41, sir.
Q. Are there any ragged points tending in or out?
A. No, sir.
Q. From frame 35 to frame 31, you say, the ragged edge slopes in
toward the k eel?
A. Yes, sir; in and up.
Q. Then the appearance of things there at frame 35 would indicate
that the ship's keel commences to be lifted?
A. Yes, sir; seemingly on account of the plates here being so much
higher, and further aft the rest of the ship being in the mud so far.
Q. Then you are able to get underneath the bottom of the ship forward of frame 35?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How much plating should you say is left on the keel at frame 35?
A. The bottom of the ship is attached to about the fourth longitudinal.
Q. At frame 31 how much plating is attached to the bottom of the
ship from the keel out~?
A. To about the fourth longitudinal at this point also.
Q. At frame 31 you say the bottom of the ship seems to have disappeared forward of 31?
A. Forward of 31, yes, sir.
Q. Have you endeavored to find the keel itself forward of 31 t
A. Yes, sir; but could not get in amidships as far as the keel ought
to be, on account of the wreckage.
Q. Where did you again find the keel forward of 31?
A. The only place forward of 31 where I found the bottom of the
keel is at frame 18.
Q. What is the condition of the keel between IS and 22?
A. From 18 aft the keel goes down vertically-that is, the inner skin
of the double bottom, not the keel-goes down vertically for a space of
about 20 feet, and then goes aft, sloping lower and lower as far aft as
you go.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


251


Q. At what frame did you find the bilge keel?
A. At frame 31.
Q. What was the appearance of this bilge keel?
A. It was the wood part of that keel that was ragged and torn.
Q. Could you feel the after break of the keel-the bilge keel?
A. I could feel the break of the bilge keel where she was broken at
frame 31; forward of that it was gone.
Q. What was the condition of the bilge keel and the wood on it, as
you say; where you did find it?
A. The steel part of the bilge keel was broken off, showing rough
edges, and the wooden part, extending forward of it, was ragged and
torn'in splinters.
Q. At what frame did you find the fourth longitudinal, clear of the
bottom plating of the ship?
A. At frame 31.
Q. How far did the longitudinal extend forward clear of the plating?
A. About 2 or 3 feet. 1 didn't lieasure it.
Q. What became of it then?
A. It was broken off. It did not extend any farther forward.
Q. In what direction did this few feet of longitudinal run?
A. Seemingly it appeared to be il its normal condition, not bent out
of shape.
Q. When you looked for the bow of the ship did you again find it
was over on the starboard side?
A. Yes, sir. I could feel over the rail on the bow of the ship and
feel the mud. The starboard side must be covered with mud.
Q. She seemed to be lying on the starboard side?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Which way did the keel go, with the line of the mud-up and out?
Did it go aft and parallel to the line of the mud?
A. The keel is up and over to starboard a little aft.
Q. Counting from the stem aft?
A. Where the keel is out of the mud, up over to starboard, a little
aft.
Q. Did you take the depth of water over the break of the keel at
frame 18?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How much was it?
A. Six feet of water, sir.
Q. ])id you plumb it at the top of the frame, or where?
A. At the point where the keel plates are broken away from the
bottom angle irons of the vertical keel.
Q. Did you plumb and take depths of the bend of the keel lower
down?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What depth did you find?
A. It was 25 feet.
Q. Twenty-three feet?
A. I think so.
Q. I would like you to get that exact. What part of the bend did
you plumb with your line?
A. I plumbed the point where she starts to go aft-where the vertical
keel comes down and goes aft.
Q. Did you plumb the top of the vertical keel?
A. It was the inner skin of the double bottom...*...,  *.




252    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. While down diving since you gave your last testimony have you
looked for the keel on the port side of the ship?
A. Yes, sir; I have been looking for the coal. I was told Monday to
look for the coal, and every time 1 have been down since I have looked
for it, but have not been able to find it.
Q. On the port side of the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you looked as far forward as "B7?"
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And as far aft as frame 41?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Well out from the ship?
A. Yes, sir; as much as 20 feet from the ship.
Q. In toward the ship?
A. Yes, sir; inside, and bottom.
Q. Did you find much wreckage on the port side?
A. No, sir; no wreckage there.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, he was directed
to appear to-morrow to read over his testimony, and to hold himself in
readiness to give further testimony. Whereupon, having been cautioned by the president not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry,
he withdrew.
Gunner's Mate T. SMITH appeared before the court.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you read over your testimony which you gave before this
court yesterday?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is it correct as it is recorded?
A. Yes, sir; with the exception of one mistake. On the seventh line
of page -, change "five and one-half to "five-eighths," so as to read
" five-eighths of an inch."
Q. Is your testimony as now recorded correct?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you been down since you gave your last testimony?
A. No, sir; I have not.
The witness then withdrew, after being cautioned by the president
not to discuss matters pertaining to the inquiry.
The court then, at 11.45, took a recess until 2 p. m.
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, and the stenographer.
Gunner's Mate SCHLUTER, a former witness, was then recalled, and,
after being warned by the president of the court that he was still under
the oath he had taken, testified as follows:
Examined by JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you read over the record of your testimony which you gave
before this court last Monday 
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. It is, sir, with the exception of two lines. On page 507, eighth
line, the word "plates" should read "breaks." On page 509, second
lines.teb word "plate" should read "break."
Q:.'4.sterided, is it now a correct record?.*  -: *.*   O..*




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


253


A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you been down diving since you gave your last testimony?
A. Yes, sir. I was down yesterday.
Q. Please tell to the court what you did and found.
A. I was dressed and lowered down by order of Mr. Powelson to
look for boilers, if I could find them. While I was down, crawling
down a little ways I found a boiler. I crawled all around it and all
over it, and found it to be in good condition. Then, while I was on top
of the boiler, I hit my helmet up against a plate overhead, and while
crawling up on top of there I found a piece of wire. This wire looked
to me not to belong to the ship, so I cut off a piece of it and sent it
up on the line. After Mr. Powelson had inspected it, he called me up,
and then sent me down again, telling me to saw off a piece of the wire
and send it up. I went down again in the afternoon and tried to locate
it, and did so after an hour or so. I tied the line to it and pulled in as
much slack as I could, then sawed it off. Then I signaled for them to
haul it up. They took it on board the Fern to Mr. Wainwright, who
said it was telophotos wire.
Q. Where was this boiler situated that you found?
A. This boiler was situated about 20 feet forward of the crane,
thwart ships.
Q. On which side of the ship?
A. A little over on the port side, sir.
Q. Did you find any other boilers?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you look for them?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where 
A. In the same place and a little to the left of the one I found and
abaft of it.
By the COURT:
Q. What prevented you from finding them?
A. A lot of wreckage, sir, over which I had to crawl.
Q. Looking at the plan of the ship, which boiler is it that you think
you found?
A. I think it is the forward one. [Here witness pointed out the port
forward boiler.]
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him and by him pronounced to be correct; after
which he withdrew.
Gunner's Mate RUNDQUIST, a former witness, was then recalled, and
after having been cautioned by the president of the court that he was
still under the oath which he had taken, he testified as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you read over the record of your testimony given before
this court on Monday last?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. Yes, sir; it is, with the exception of on page 501, end of line 6,
strike out "forward of." Same page, line 16, "piece of keel"' should
read "piece of coal." After that the word "rain-plate" appears several
times, and should in each case read "armor-plate.".
Q. Is your testimony, as amended, now correct?  * e 
t eeod @ 




254   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you been down diving since you gave that testimony?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Tell us what you did.
A. I went down on Monday afternoon and examined the boilers. I
landed in a place that looked to be something like a big shell or compartment. It may have been a boiler blown in. The top part of it was
blown away; the sides were sloping up. I could not say what it was.
I examined it, and it looked to be a place measuring inside 10 feet wide,
and of the same length. I found a big square hole in the bottom of it,
and going through, got out among a lot of coal. I was feeling around
for some time and got hold of some pipe. I sent up a piece of pipe and
also got some asbestus after I had come up out of the square hole.
Then I went to the other side of this place where I came down and
found some wire netting. I put my hand through this netting, and it
was all carried away, and found something that looked to be the end of
a boiler or what appeared to be the end of a boiler. There were lots of
nuts. I think there were eleven of them; but I found I could not count
them all. They were six-cornered nuts and measured 4& inches across.
The top of the boiler looked to be in good condition. I was sitting on
top of this boiler and examining it when I got the signal to come up.
I was down only a short time. 1 also found three 10-inch shells inside
this place where I landed when I first came down. That was all
that day.
Q. What part of the ship was this place in where you first landed?
A. That was on the port side of the ship. I should say it must have
been somewhere about there. [Witness pointed out coal bunker B. 4.]
Q. Where was this boiler that you landed on; can you point that
out?
A. No, sir; I do not know where I landed.
Q. Where did you go down when you landed on that boiler?
A. From the lighter on the port side.
Q. Then you went down forward of the crane?
A. Forward of the crane; yes, sir.
Q. Have you looked for any coal on the port side of the ship?
A. Yes, sir; I have been looking for coal. I found some coal after
going through the square hole. I was not on the bottom of the ship.
It must have been some place inside of the ship. It may have been in
a coal bunker.
Q. Did you go down again?
A. Not that-day. I went down this morning.
Q. State to the court where you went down and what you found.
A. I had orders to go down and look for powder tanks. I went
down from the lighter on the starboard side and landed about midships
among a lot of wreckage. I was walking around there and got hold
of three 10-inch shells lying flat down. I tried to lift them up, but
could not on account of the wreckage. I walked away from there
and found a 6-inch shell with the straps on. I sent it up. I also found
a 10-inch powder tank, which I sent up. I was walking over a lot of
plates and wreckage down there and did not find any more powder
tanks, but found different parts of the ship. I then got a signal to
come up. The second time to day I landed close to a heavy piece of
plating. I examined it and found it to be armor belonging to the
transverse armor, because it was about the same thickness all over. I
should.say that it was about 6 inches thick, as well as I could measure
it witth m tfn.ers. I went over this and lowered myself over the other




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


255


side to what looked to be a wing passage, and this plate was standing
up. I examined this for some time, when I got the signal to come up.
Q. When you first landed on the 10-inch shell, were these three shells
ranged together?
A. Yes, sir; they were lying side by side.
Q. Noses which way?
A. Toward starboard, I should say, from where I was, down below.
Q, Which way did you walk before you found the 6-inch shell?
A. I found the 6-inch shell close to these-only a few feet apart.
Q. What was the condition of the powder tank you sent up?
A. The top and the bottom of it was gone; the rest of it was in good
condition; not split or anything in it.
Q. Empty?
A. Empty.
Q. Which way did you walk when you found the armor that you
speak of?
A. I walked aft.
Q. Aft?
A. Aft and to starboard.
Q. Which way was this armor plating standing?
A. It was standing on the end, sloping over to port.
Q. Was it fore and aft, or was it athwartships?
A. No, sir; it was neither way. It was standing in an angle facing
the starboard bow and port quarter.
Q. How large was this plate?
A. I did not measure the length of it, but I extended my two arms
and could not reach the end of it.
Q. What, side of the ship was it in?
A. Starboard side, sir.
Q. Are you sure it did not increase in thickness as it went down?
A. Yes, sir; it may have increased, but if it did, it was very little.
Q. How far from the top did you feel?
A. I felt and followed one edge down until I got to the corner, and
felt the same thickness.
Q. How deep did you say it was?
A. Six or seven feet.
By the COURT:
Q. What did it rest on?
A. It looked like it had been jammed in amongst some wreckage, and
it also rested on the bottom of the ship and the passageway that I got
into. I went over the plate and got into the wing passage on the starboard side of the ship. It was very dark, and I could hardly distinguish anything.
Q. Did you see the armor plate that has been reported in previous
testimony?
A. Yes, sir; I seen the armor plate on the port side the first time I
went down. This is not 'the same armor, because that plate had some
wood backing, but I could not find any wood backing on this one.
Q. Was not that first plate in the neighborhood of the one you just
described 
A. No, sir; the'first plate was more on the port side. This one was
well out toward starboard.
Q. Did you, on tlhat occasion, feel the side of the ship when you
examined that plate?
A. Do you mean the first plate or the one I examined to-day?




256    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. The one you examined to-day.
A. Yes, sir; I found the inside of the ship; that is, it felt to me like the
inside of the ship. I found the slope of the ship and found beams
extending out —4 or 5 feet between each beam.
Q. Were there any bolts in this armor plate?
A. No, sir; I could not feel any. I was feeling all over with my
hands, but could not feel either bolts or places for them.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, the testimony
was read over to him, and by him pronounced correct, and after being
cautioned by the president of the court not to converse upon matters
pertaining to the court he withdrew.
There being no further testimony ready to give, the court (at 3.45)
adjourned to meet to-morrow, Thursday, at 10 in the morning.
FOURTEENTH DAY.
U. S. L. HE. TENDER MXANGROVE,
Harbor of Havana, Cuba, 2Thursday, 3larch 10, 189S-10 a. m.
The court met pursuant to the adjournment of yesterday.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, and stenographer,
Chief Yeoman F. J. Buenzle, U. S. Navy; Messrs. Hulse and Bisselle
having been discharged.
The record of proceedings of yesterday was then read over and
approved.
The court was then cleared for deliberation.
The doors were opened at 12 o'clock and the court proceeded to the
wreck. On the return of the court from the wreck a recess was taken
until 2 p. m.
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, and the stenographer.
The court again visited the wreck.
On returning from the wreck, at 3 p. m., there being no further evidence ready, the court adjourned to meet to-morrow at 10 a. m.
FIFTEENTH DAY.
U. S. LT.-H. TENDER MANGROVE,
Harbor of Havana, Cuba, Fridacy, March 11, 1898 —10 a. m.
The court met pursuant to the adjournment of yesterday.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, and the stenographer.
The court was then cleared for consultation.
Two members of the court visited the wreck, and returned with some
of tle mud taken from the bottom of the iarbor where the wreck of
the Maine is now lying. This mud, after having been dried, was ignited
by a match, and burned readily, the smoke having a strong odor of gunpowder.
At 12.15 the court took a recess until 2 p. m.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


257


The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, and the stenographer. Captain Sigsbee also entered the court.
Commander G. A. CONVErSE, U. S. Navy, was summoned by the
court as an expert witness, and. having been duly sworn by the president of the court, testified as follows:
Questioned by JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
~r    G1Q. What is your name, rank,-and present station?
A. George A. Converse; comllmander, U. S. Navy; commanding the
U. S. S. 1Montgomery.
Q. How long have you been in the naval service?
A. Thirty-six and one-half years, sir.
Q. Have you made a study of the nature and effects of explosives?
A. Yes, sir; considerable.
Q. Please state to the court what duties you have had on shore which
brought you inllclose contact with this subject.
A. About eleven years at the torpedo station; commencing in 1869.
Q. When were you at the torpedo station last?
A. In June, 1897.
Q. Had you then been in charge of torpedo supplies?
A. Yes, sir; for over four years.
Examined by the COURT:
Q. Did you, while at the torpedo station, have many opportunities
to witness the explosion of submarine mines?
"A. Yes, sir; very frequent opportunities.
Q. What material-what explosives were used?
A. Gunpowder, nitroglycerin, dynamite, and gun cotton.
Q. What quantities of these materials have you seen used for such
purposes at any one time?
A. The largest quantity I have ever seen used consisted of a torpedo
containing 300 pounds of gunpowder and 200 pounds of dynamite, all
in separate cases-100 pounds in each case-securely lashed together.
Single charges of gunpowder of 150 pounds; charges of nitroglycerin
of about 100 pounds; charges of dynamite of about 100 pounds, and
charges of gun cotton of about 120 pounds.
(A plan of the forward magazine and shell room of the Maine was
then shown to the witness.)
Q. Examine that blue print, Captain Coliverse, and tell the court if,
in your opinion, one or more of those magazines should explode or partially explode in that ship would such an explosion lift the forward
body of the ship partly out of the water?
A. I don't think it would lift the ship out of the water.
Q. Will you please give the court your reasons for thinking so?
A. I think that the body of the ship, water borne in all directions,
would tend to offer a resistance which would cause a general effect of
a large explosion to be exerted upward; and that an explosion tending to lift the ship up would necessarily have to be diffused over a very
large surface.
Q. Suppose that a submarine mine explodes adjacent to the side or
bottom of a ship thus water borne; what will be the direction of the
explosion?
A. It exerts some effect in all directions, but the most violent effect
S. Doc. 207 —17




258   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


in the direction of the least resistance, and that depends entirely upon
the depth of the explosion below the surface of the water. 1 believe it
to be possible to explode moderate charges of gunpowder against tie
sides of a strong ship and tdo very little damage, if the center of the
charge is comparatively near the surface of the water; but if the center of the charge is well below the surface of the water, so that it will
afford a large- amount of water-tamping, then an injury will be done
to the ship, while there will be comparatively little disturbance of the
water at the surface.
Q. Supposing the charge to be a large one, and'placed under the  U
bottom of the ship where the water is only 8 or 10 feet below the bottom
of the ship, what will be the direction of the explosion?
A. It would depend very much upon the position of the torpedo with
regard to the bottom of the ship; that is to say, whether the torpedo
was in close contact with the bottom, or was lying on the ground at
some distance below the bottom of the ship, with water intervening.
If the torpedo contained a large amlount of explosive, and were placed
in contact with the bottom of the ship, it is my opinion that it would
endanger the ship by blowing a well defined hole through it. The size
of the hole depends, of course, upon the distance of the center of the
charge from the skin of the ship. If, however, the charge is on the
bottom of the harbor, and a depth of water of several feet intervened
between it and the bottom of the ship, I think the tendency would be
to lift the ship bodily; in other words, it would cause a large upheaval
of water similar in effect to a large wave striking the ship, at a point
directly over tile mine-would tend to lift the body of the ship at that
place exactly as the crest of a wave.
Q. In case of the explosion of a submarine mine under the bottom
of a vessel, as you have described it, the effect upon a vessel, either
in lifting her bodily, of blowing a hole in the bottom, would depend
upon the size of the charge and its proximity to the bottom of the
ship, would it not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. If the charge is sufficiently large, and near enough to the bottom
of the ship, both of these phenomena would take place-ship lifted up
and the bottom blown in?
A. Yes, sir. A point to be taken into consideration is the nature of
the explosives employed. Gunpowder is the more moderate explosive,
and tends to produce a greater upheaval of water, as a rule, than do
the more violent explosives, which, in proportion to their violence,
seem to cut a hole out of the water, lifting in the shape of a fine spray 
all that directly above the charge. To illustrate this point, and the
injury sometimes done by high explosives, I cite the case of the
Aquidaban, which, according to authentic photographs, had holes
blown completely through from one side to the other by charges of gun
cotton; whereas I have seen wooden vessels of comparatively good size,
in which large quantities of gunpowder have been exploded, without
injuring the vessel to any great extent, there being in the latter case
simply a large upheaval of water, to which the vessel rose and fell
exactly as she would have done in a heavy sea.
Q. What is your experience, Captain, in the case of the explosion of
a submarine mine, as to what becomes of the mine; of the case itself?
A. I have rarely seen any considerable pieces of mine, whether they
consisted of powder or of more violent explosives which have been found;
they are almost invariably ruptured and lost.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


259


Q. That is to say they are not blown up?
A. They are blown up. That is noticeable in the case of spar torpedoes, in which I have exploded gunpowder and gun cotton, in cases
made of wood, cast iron, copper, and steel, and perhaps other metals.
In all my experience I do not recollect to have seen any considerable
pieces of any case after an explosion. Sometimes small fragments of
cast iron have been seen, and, onl one or two occasions, thrown into a
boat, indicating a complete demolition of the case containing the explosive.
Q. In the case of a submarine mine that was exploded under the
bottom of the ship, and containing sufficient explosive to completely
destroy the.ship in that region, would your remarks about the submarine mine case itself apply to the bottom of the ship which is submerged,
not referring at all to the interior portion of the ship?
A. In the.case of all mines the form of the mine is usually such as
to contain only the amount of the explosives used, and hence there
must be a rupture of the case for the gases to escape. Were the mine
in contact with the ship, or quite close to it, I think the effect on the
bottom of the ship would be-depending, of course, upon the size-of
the mine-to blow to pieces that part of the ship directly over the
center of the explosion, and rending and tearing the bottom of the ship
from the center in different directions, the amount of damage depending entirely upon the quantity and nature of the explosive employed.
In other words, that the violent explosive would cut a hole, blowing
that part that was cut out into small fragments, and that the size of
the hole would depend entirely upon the size of the charge employed.
Q. Captain, will you please examine the sketches which have been
shown you and tell the court whether, in your opinion, the explosion
of one or all of these forward magazines, or their partial explosion,
would leave the bottom of the ship in the condition which now exists,
as represented in these sketches?
(Exhibit H was shown witness.)
A. The sketch might represent two explosions of entirely different
natures. That part of the sketch represented here as frame 14# to
frame 18~, aft, in a direction of frame 23, might be produced by the
explosion of a comparatively large mine of not violent explosive matter
at some distance below the bottom of the ship; whereas the part abaft of
frame 23 has all the appearance of the effect produced on iron plates by a
high explosive in close proximity to it. There are in all explosions two
general effects: First, the upheaval of the water, caused by the direct
action of the explosion, followed almost immediately afterwards by the
second upheaval of water and mud, being the reaction of the water
from the sides and the bottom, which rushes in to fill the crater produced by the first explosion. But the location of this upheaval and the
distortion of the keel in the present instance does not appear to have
been formed by the secondary effect referred to above. It is too far forward ptoo remote. It is too far from the place marked "'Dbris," which
must be somewhere about frame 27. If that is 27, then the distance,
as marked, from frame 18, will be eleven frame spaces, or 44 feet
forward of what would appear to be the crater of the most violent
explosion.
Q. Then to what kind of an explosion do you attribute the force
that caused this bending of plates and keel on sketch?
A. I am of the opinion that it could be produced by the explosion of
a submarine mine containing a large amount of the lower explosives



260    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


gunpowder or similar-not inl contact with the ship, but some distance
below it, perhaps on the bottom.
Q. Looking at the sketch shown you, especially at that portion of
the keel which has frame 18 on top, and the plates-bent plates-forward of it, excluding entirely all portion abaft of it, could this part
which you are now told to consider have become so distorted from the
effects of an intrrnal explosion alone?
A. I do not think it could. I have never seen anything in my experience which would lead me to believe that it is possible to produce the
effect indicated by any explosion within the interior of the ship in that
immediate vicinity.
Q. Looking at the sketch shown you, and informing you that the forward 6-ilch magazine and the fixed ammunition room were at that part
of the keel which is represented as nearly vertical-that is, frame 18 to
frame 24-could the'conditions as shown forward of frame 24 have been
caused by an explosion of those two magazines, or of any magazine
abaft of frame 24?
A. I do not think it could.
Q. Do you think, then, necessarily, there must have been an underwater mine to produce these explosions?
A. Indications are that an under-water explosion produce the conditions there.
Examined by the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Looking at the plan of the Maine's forward 10-inch and 6-inch
magazines, would it be possible for them to have exploded, torn out the
ship's side on both sides, and leave that part of the ship forward of
frame 18 so water borne as to raise the after portion of that part of the
ship, drag it aft, and bring the vertical keel into the condition that you
see on the sketch?
A. It is difficult for me to realize that that effect could have been
produced by an explosion of the kind supposed.
Q. You said in your previous testimony that the distortion of the
plates forward of frame 18 could have been caused by an outside mine
of moderate explosive power. Could such a mine, if producing that
effect, also set fire to the magazine~?
A. I am unable to answer that question.
Q. Can you consider it possible, under any circumstances, to have a
portion of the 6-inch magazine exploded and not all the powder in that
magazine explode? If so, please state under what circumstances this
would be possible.
A. I think I am positively certain an explosion might occur without
exploding all the powder in separate tanks.
Q. But if the explosion originated on the inside of the magazine,
without any water on the inside of it, would it not be almost certain
that all the powder in that magazine would explode?
A. I think it would be much more certain. 
There being no further questions to ask this witness, he was directed
to hold himself in readiness to appear before the court when summoned,
and to give further evidence, if desired, whereupon he withdrew.
The court then adjourned (at 5.20) to meet to-morrow at 10 a. m.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


261


SIXTEENTH DAY.
U. S. L. H. TENDER MAANGROVE,
IHARBOR OF HAVANA, CUBA,
Satulrday, March 2 1 1898-10 a. m.
The court met pursuant to the adjournment of yesterday.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, and the stenographer.
The record of the proceedings of yesterday was read over and ap.
proved.
Capt. JOHN HAGGERTY, of the Merritt Wrecking Company, was
called as a witness, and, having been duly sworn by the president of the
court, testified as follows:
By JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state to the court your full name and your profession.
A. John Haggerty, a submarine diver of the Merritt & Chapman
Derrick and Wrecking Company.
Q. Are you one of the officers of that company?
A. Yes, sir; I am one of the Merritt's divers. I am in charge of the
diving department.
Q. How long have you been a diver 
A. Thirty-seven years, sir.
Q. Have you recently gone down to the wreck of the Maine, and outside of the wreck of the Maine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. About how many hours in all have you been down?
A. I could not state that exactly; about seven days, at three and
one half hours per day.
Q. Which side of the ship did you go down?
A. Inside first, looking for the dead bodies.
Q. And then did you go down on the port side or the starboard side?
A. I went down both the port and starboard sides; also into the
staterooms, and got the doctor's watch and chain and his rings, and in
the afterroom I got those gold cups and some other things.
Q. Did you make an examination of the ship itself on the outside?
A. Yes, sir; partly.
Q. Please state to the court how you found the Miaine when you
examined her.
A. I found the deck-that is, the protective deck-aft, and it lays aft
now, with the upper side against the ship's side and the waterways
and juts out on an angle of about 30 degrees from the horizontalthat is, the thick steel deck-2-inch plate. It lies on the port side, with
the outer edge right in the mud. That is what we are trying to pull
out, so as to get inside to examine her.
Q. About what part of her did you find the deck in this condition;
how far aft and how far forward?
A. It is just forward of the turret on the port side. The forward part
of the turret on the port side is about 2 or 3 feet abaft of that. I could
stand on that deck and reach my hands over to the forward part of the
turret.
Q. How tar forward does this deck go in this condition?
A. About 35 to 40 feet forward of the break. On the bottom it runs
a little farther forward than it does on top.




262


DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Did you feel the armor belt underneath this protective deck?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is the court to understand that this protective deck has been
pulled over to port so as to bring the beams of the deck on top?
A. Yes, sir; the beams are on top.
Q. And you further mean to say that which is now the outer edge
was formerly inboard?
A. Yes, sir; that is, when it was on the ship.
Q. And, furthermore, that this edge extends farther out from the
ship's side forward than it does aft?
A. It does. If it is anything, it goes down at more of an angle.
Q. How far forward from the after part can you go under this protective deck to feel the armor belt?
A. About 8 feet; I don't think you can get any farther than 8 feet.
Probably 6 or 8 feet.
Q. And what is the condition of this armor belt for these 8 feet?
A. I found it all right. Another thing I found forward of this port
turret, I think that the iron is broken, and I have not made a good
examination. From the main deck down it looks like a split of about
2 feet.
Q. Does it seem to be an up-and-down break?
A. Yes, sir; up and down.
Q. How wide do you think this piece of protective deck which has
been folded outboard is?
A. I dare say it is somewhere about 30 feet.
Q. Is it wider forward or wider aft?
A. It looks to me, if anything, to be wider forward, as it runs out
and more down into the mud.
Q. Can you tell whether the break of the protective deck on the
inside of the ship runs fore and aft?
A. The break runs athwartship, and the deck is folded back from
forward and to port, and the edge which was forward and is now aft is
cut off sharp.
By the COURT:
Q. Captain, have you been down forward of this protective deck?
A. Not yet, sir.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, the testimony
was read over to him and by him pronounced to be correct, whereupon
he withdrew.
WILLIAM HENRY DXWYER, a submarine diver, was then called as a
witness by the court, and, having been duly sworn by the president of
the court, he testified as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please state to the court your full name and your profession.
A. William Henry Dwyer; a submarine diver.
Q. Are you one of the regular divers of the Merritt Wrecking Company?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long have you been a diver?
A. Since 1876.
Q. Have you been down to the wreck of the Maine recently?
A. Yes, sir.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.  263


Q. About how many hours have you been under water examining the
Maine?
A. Six hours every day; for three days I have been down examining
her.
Q. Please tell the court in what condition you found the wreck of the
Maine where you examined her.
A. On the starboard side, about 20 feet aft of the midship torpedo
tube, about frame 43, I found the armor belt started froln tile side.
From that point forward to about 8 feet forward of the torpedo tube
the top of the armor belt gradually leaned out until ' feet forward of
the torpedo tube it leaned out the whole thickness of the armor and
about 2 inches more. That is all abaft the turret. About 4 feet forward of the torpedo tube —that is, at about fiame 36-the top side; that
is, from the top of the armor up to the main deck. leaned out until it
was almost horizontal at the forward edge, where the armor is broken
off  About 18 inches forward of the eiid of the armor the skin of the
ship below the armor was cut down. The next plate forward was gone
completely-that is, between that and the turret. Then, I slould judge,
about 18 inches beyond the end of the last plate, the side itself was
cut down plumb for three plates deep-that is, the skin of the ship. It
was cut down level with the bottom, so that I could walk right in on
the inner bottom. Inside, the fore-and-aft bulkheail, between the side
of the wing passage and the bunker, was intact up to the berth deck,
and stood perpendicular.
The bulkhead between the coal bunker and the boiler room was also
plumb up to the forward end of the Punker back of the starboard for
ward boiler; but the forward thwartship bulkhead of that bunker was
blown aft and torn out completely. There is a thwartship bulkhead
about in line with the after side of the forward boiler, and that was
also intact, but the protective deck was lifted:$ or 4 feet up off of it. I
went over that thwairtship bulkhead into the next bunker-that was
by the after boiler of the forward fire room. I went over there and
went back through the next bunker nearly to the thwartship pocket.
It is a coal bunker abaft of the after boiler in the forward fire room.
At that point the protective deck is down in its place. The inner bulkhead of the wing passage is intact right forward-as far forward as
frame 30. I went in over the top of the armor, at frame 35, over the
three bulkheads, and got in on boiler A, and then on boiler C, and
after tearing off the felting and wiring I could feel the boiler itself.
Then I found the same on boiler A. At the bottom of the armor belt,
all along, it is flush with the side. It is not started out.
As far as the armor extends, which is at frame 35, the bottom edge
of the armor is all right, but the top leans out. By boiler A I mean
the starboard forward boiler, and by boiler C I mean the next after
boiler on the starboard side. That ended the inspection on the starboard side. On the port side I went down at about frame 35, dropping
a weight at the end of boiler B. I crossed the top of boiler B and then
back across the back of it, along the back of the boiler to the starting
point. From there I went to boiler D, striking it at about thle middle,
and went to the back end of it. I took off the cover and felting and
felt the iron in that. I found the boilers not materially damaged. The
felting was all burned off the forward.part of boiler B. The protective
deck over boilers B and D seems to have been broken off at about the
middle of these boilers, and the outboard edge is resting just above
these two boilers, somewhat at an angle from the fore-and-aft line,
sloping to starboard and upward.




264   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Outboard of this outer edge the protective deck is gone altogether.
The starboard side of the protective deck rests in its place at the after
end of boiler C, but is raised at the after end of boiler A about 3 feet.
At the forward end of boiler A it is raised almost vertical and projects
out of the water. Along the forward side of boiler D I crawled in
under the protective deck and crossed the face of boiler 1). On~ the
face of boiler D I could feel the tules, the hand hold, and the forward
furnace door. The boiler appeared to have rolled about one-eighth of
a turn aft. From that boiler I came out again, and, crossing over the
protective deck, found an opening in the protective deck antd went
down through that about the inner frame 3(i, and from there I crawled
diagonally forward to starboard, and found the front end of boiler A,
took the felting off and felt the plates myself. Returned to this starting point, frame 36, amidships, and went down again under the protective deck, through the same opening, and found boiler C. The A,
B, and C boilers appeared to be in their proper positions.
I forgot to mention that the forward bulkhead of the coal banker
abaft boiler C is buckled aft and horizontally. That is all.
Q. Could you notdescribe that opening in the protective deck through
which you passed, a little better?
A. I think it is a hatch.
Q. Did you ascertain how far aft the protective deck was carried away?
A. No, sir.
There being no further questions to ask this witniiss his testinmony
was read over to him and by him pronounced to be correct, and, after
havinig been cautioned by the president of the court not to converse
upon matters pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.
The court then proceeded to the wreck.
After returning from the wreck,.the court reassembled, and took a
recess subject to being reassembled upon being called upon.
At the expiration of the recess, 10 a. lm., Sunday, March 13,1898, the
court reassemlbled.
Present: All the memnbers. the judge-advocate, and the stenographer.
Lieutenanlt-Comlmander Wainwright entered the court.
Ensign POWELSON, a former witness, was called by the court, and
after having been warned by the president of the court that lie was still
under oath which he had taken, he testified as follows:
By JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Mr. Powelson, have you read over the testimony which you gave
before this court the last time?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. Yes, sir; it is with the exception of, on page 549, fourth line, next
to last word, "a" should be "the." I wish to chauge the testimony in
regard to the horizontal angle that the keel forward of the frame 18
makes with the keel abaft of frame 18. It was 101 degrees, and I have
since ascertained that it is about 94 degrees. The angle had been
recorded wrong in my notebook.
Q. Have you made any further discoveries that you wish to testify
to betore this court since your last testimony?
A. I have taken some soundings, and have cut iu prominent points
in the keel by taking angles on fixed points of the ship, but have itot
yet completed my work.




DESTRUCTION OF THE 1J. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


265


Q. When do you think that your drawings will be ready?
A. I think by to-night or early to-morrow morning.
By the COURT:
Q. Is this work that the court had directed you previously to do?
A. Yes, sir.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his amended
testimony of previous day and his testimony of to-day was read over to
him and by him approved and pronounced correct, whereupon he withdrew.
Chief Gunnler's Mate ANDREW OLSEN, a former witness, appeared
before the court, and having been warned by the president of the court
that he was still under the oath which he had taken, testified as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you read over the record of your testimony given before
this court on Wednesday last?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. It is, with a few exceptions. On page 552, eighth line, second
word, change 31 to 41. On lpage 553, ninth line, "keel" should be
changed to " rail," and the same corrections made twice on the tenth
line. Page 553, seventh line from the bottom, change "' bow " to " buoy."
Page 557, tenth line, "' 25 " to "23."
Q. Is your testimony, as now amended, correct?  o
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you done any diving since you gave your last testimony
before this court?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. About how many hours in all?
A. About eight or ten hours since I gave my last testimony.
Q. With what object did you go down?
A. To look for the armor plate which I had previously reported.
Q. Did you find it?
A. No, sir.
Q. Are you still confident, in your own mind, that you had found it
before.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How can you account for its disappearance?
A. The only way I can account for it is that it sunk in the mud at
that point. It is three weeks now since I found it. There has not been
any diving since two weeks at that place.
Q. Have you made any further discoveries while down during these
last hours which make you wish to change any of your testimony previously given before this court?
A. No, sir.
Q. Have you made any additional discoveries that you wish to testify
to before this court?
A. Yes, sir. About some loose powder that I have reported before.
I scooped some of it up and sent it up to Mr. Powelson. It was sent
up in a bag.
Q. Powder and mud mixed?
A. Both, sir.
By the COURT:
Q. Has that fore-and-aft bulkhead, which was bent over the 10-inch




266    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


shell room, and which was near the plate which you formerly described,
disappeared?
A. Yes, sir; I can not locate it.
Q. What plates have you found there lately?
A. Around the vicinity I found a thwartship bulkhead-an armor
bulkhead
Q. In how many parts?
A. One plate. I found something that looked like the bulkhead plate6-inch-farther in amidships, but I could only feel it for a space of a
few inches underneath some wreckage.
Q. How high did the fore-and-aft bulkhead which leaned over the
10-inch shell room appear to you when you were down there, as you
stood in the 10-inch shell room?
A. I went down in a hole and the curved part just touched my helmet.
Q. And that bulkhead you have not lately been able to locate?
A. No, sir.
Q. Does not that plate lead you to believe that you have not been down
in the same place where you at first found the outside armor plate?
A. My belief is that I was down in the vicinity.
Q. Does not that make you doubt that you have not been down in
the same place?
A. Yes; I might not have been down in the same place. I might be
within 5 or 6 inches of that place without seeing the plate. You can
not tell where you are down there.
Q. That would be a more reasonable explanation than to suppose
that this plate has disappeared in some way?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In locating the points under Mr. Powelson's direction, have you
been again to the stein of the ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you are confident of its position?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you followed up again the keel from the stem?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Does the bottom of the ship, thenl, forward of frame 17, appear
to be fairly intact?
A. It seems to be in a pretty good condition.
Q. Did you get around at all so as to feel up on the forecastle deck?
A. Yes, sir: I could feel the scupper inside the rail.
Q. At what angle did the deck seem to lie?
A. At about 45 or 50 degrees from the horizontal.
Q. That is, the whole bow lies over on its starboard side?
A. Yes, sir; I am confident of that, because I can put my hand over
the port rail and down into the mlld.
Q. How high does the mud go up on the deck? Does it come pretty
nearly up to the port rail 
A. Taking a point level between the two hawse pipes of the sheet
chain and of the bow chain, the mud is just on a level at that point.
Q. Are you understood to have said that this stem lies nearly parallel
with the general direction of the ship?
A. Nearly parallel with the general direction of the ship.
Q. What is the direction of the keel.of this part of the ship, forward
of frame 17?
A. The keel there is up and over to starboard and aft, at an angle of
about 60 degrees with the horizontal.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.      267
Q. Did you see anything of a deep depression in the mud forward
there?
A. Yes, sir; right at the bow of the ship.
Q. Under the bow, do you mean?
A. Right where the keel goes into the mud I found a big hole in the
mud. I could go right down into the hole, and extend my arms and
feel the top of the hole. It was about level with my armpits.
Q. How deep was it?
A. About 4 or 5 feet.
Q. Was it solid at the bottom?
A. It was muddy. It was seemingly more solid than any other mud
higher up.
Q. How wide was this at the top?
A. It extended out from the ship about 4 or 5 feet, then it seems
to extend around the keel-abaft and around the keel. I was down at
this point yesterday. The ship is rapidly sinking into it and the hole
is closing up.
Q. When were you there?
A. Yesterday.
Q. Is it to be understood that this hole extends under the after part
of the remainder of the bowr
A. Underneath the keel, as it goes aft; yes, sir. The bottom of the
stem is in the hole, and the hole goes around and to starboard, underneath the keel.
Q. How far, according to your observation, has the powder been
mixed with the mud; over how great an area?
A. In several places where I found tanks split up, ill the seams I found
this mud and powder mixed. I think it is powder and mud. When
you stirred it up you can not see a thing. When you go outside of the
ship and walk in the mud it shows a kind of greenish light color.
That is what made me think it is- powder. Mr. Powelson has what I
brought up.
Q. Does the quantity of this mixed material down there seem to be
large?
A. No; not very large, sir. You can find it in small spots here and
there.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him, and by him pronounced to be correct; and, after
being warned by the president of the court not to converse upon matters pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.
Gunner's Mate THOMAS SMITH, a former witness, was called by the
court, and having been warned by the president of the court that he
was still under the oath which he had taken, he testified as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you done any diving in the wreck of the.Maine since you
gave your last testimony before this court?
A. I was down for about one hour.
Q. What was your object in going down?
A. To search for the armor plate.
Q. Did you find it?
A. No, sir.
Q. What, then, did you find?
A. I found the one that has been already reported-the transverse
armor.




268   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. Are you confident you found this side armor plate before, as
you reported 
A. The plate that I found now I am sure is not the one f found first
when I came here.
By the COURT:
Q. Smith, how can you account for the fact that you can not fitd this
plate?
A. The only thing is that it may be in the mud.
Q. What was there near the plate-the side armor plate-as you
originally found it, by which you might identify it?
A. I remember there was some of the frames of the ship stood up
vertically.
Q. Did you find those frames?
A. No, sir; I have not found those frames yet. Right near this
transverse armor plate there srems to be an inner bottom rolled up
over on top of it. I can not tell whether it is an inner bottom or a bulkhead.
Q. Referring to the hole that you testified to on a previous occasion,
as having found near the bow of the ship, will you please describe that
hole and its location again.
A. The hole is chiefly abaft the keel on the port side on the bow,
and extends a little way forward along the stem as it lies.
Q. How deep do you think that it was?
A. I should judge it to be about 7 feet deep.
Q. How wide across the top?
A. About the same, sir.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him and by him approved; and, after having been
cautioned by the president of the court not to converse upon matters
pertaining to the inqiiry, he withdrew.
Gunner's Mate ItrTNDQUIST, a former witness, was called by the
court, and after having been warned by the president of the court that
he was still under the oath which he had taken, he testified as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you done any diving in the wreck of the Maine since you
last testified before this court?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. About how many hours in all? 
A. I went down about eight hours.
Q. Did you have any special object in going down?
A. I was sent down to look for the side armor plate.
Q. Did you find it?
A. No, sir.
Q. Are you confident that you found it before?
A  Yes, sir.
Q. By what localities could you identify the spot where it was before?
A. Well, I won't say I am unable to identify the place. I was not
down long enough that day. I happened to come across it more by
accident than anything else. I slipped and fell, and landed close to
this plate.
Q. And that is the only time you saw it before?
A. Yes, sir; the only time I saw it before.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


269


Q. Then you are sure it was the side armor plate, with the thinner
edge up?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. During this recent diving of eight hours have you made any
further discoveries that would change your previous testimony?
A. No, sir; I have not.
Q. Bave you made any additional discoveries that you wish to testify before this court?
A. Yes, sir; I found lots of shells down there-6 pounders and 10 -inch; I also found some powder tanks. I sent some of them up-about
six of them; and I also found another boiler-two boilers in all. I
only saw one before. That is all.
Q. Where did you find the shell; in what part of the ship?
A. I found it right amidships, forward of the boiler.
Q. Where did you find the tanks?
A. In the same localities; close to it; not very far from it.
Q. In which direction from the shell?
A. Forward and to port.
Q. How many tanks did you send up?
A. I sent up about five tanks.
Q. Were these boilers that you found forward boilers?
A. They looked to be forward boilers, sir. I also found a piece ot
transverse armor which I never saw before.
By the COURT:
Q. Are you certain, absolutely certain, that the piece of armor which
you first reported was as much as 11 or 12 inches thick at the thickest
part?
A. I could not say what thickness it was, because I did not measure
it. I measured the top of it with my fingers, and then followed the
armor plate with my two hands, and it felt to me that it was getting
thicker down below.
Q. You are confident it was thicker at one part than it was at
another?
A. Yes, sir; I am certain of it.
Q. How far down in the mud did you follow it?
A. I followed it to about one-half a foot down into the mud. It
extended way down, sir. I could not say how far down.
By Lieutenant-Commander WAINWRIGHT':
Q. Did you notice any difference in the condition of the wood backing of the transverse and side armor?
A. Yes, sir; on the side armor the backing looked to be all ragged,
but on the back of the transverse armor the backing is all in good condition. I also found on the side armor, where the bolts went through
the backing, the backing is broken away, and left the part of the bolt
uncovered where the wood is gone.
By the COURT:
Q. Was there anything besides the nut on it?
A. I found some rubber gaskets, and it felt soft when I put my hand
on the bolt. Nothing else.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read out to him and by him pronounced to be correct; and, after
having been cautioned by the president of the court not to converse
upon matters pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.




270   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Gunner's Mate SCHLUTER, a former witness, was called by the court,
and, after having been warned by the president of the court that he was
still under the oath which he had taken, he testified as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you done aly diving on the wreck of the Mdine since your
last testimony before this court?
A. Yes, sir; I have been down forward in the magazine for shells
and powder tanks.
Q. Is that all the diving you have done?
A. I have been looking for the armor plate, sir.
Q. Looking for the side armor plate?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you find it?
A. No, sir.
Q. What did you find in the way of tanks?
A. I found some 6-pounders, sir. Some of them had the shell in
them; some of them had the shell out, and there was still some
dark stuff left that looked like powder. I brought them up. Some
6-pounder empty ones with the side burst out, and the top of a 10-inch
tank.
Q. How many 6-inch tanks did you send up?
A. Three or four.
Q. What part of the ship did you find them in?
A. Right around the 10-inch magazine. I also found another boiler
on the starboard side, in good condition, as far as I could feel.
Q. Was it a forward boiler?
A. Yes, sir; it looked to me like the second boiler forward on the
starboard side.
Q. Did you make any discoveries which would now cause you to
change any of your previous testimony?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you make any other discoveries which you wish to testify
before this court?
A. No, sir.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him and by him pronounced to be correct; and after
having been cautioned by the president of the court not to converse
upon matters pertaining to the inquiry he withdrew.
Lieutenant-Commander WAINWRIGHT, a former witness, was then
called by the court, and after having been warned that he was still
under the oath which he had taken he testified as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you kept an account of the powder tanks that have been
sent up out of the wreck of the Mlaine.
A. Only in my memory.
Q. Can you state to the court about how many have been sent up of
each kind, and also their condition?
A. About thirty-five 6-inch and about ten 10-inch. I have seen one
10-inch tank and two 6-inch tanks that contained powder in bags, and
the remainder were either empty and contained parts of excelsior packing or parts of powder bags.. All the tanks were more or less injured,
a large proportion opening lengthwise along the seam. Nearly all the
tanks show signs of having been subjected to outside pressure, as if
pressed against the powder inside; and their ends are also crushed in.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


271


I saw two 6-inch tanks that were opened at the seams and were
pressed down flat, as if by an exertion of considerable force. Those
two have more the appearance of having been exploded, in my mind,
than any other, and though not the appearance [ would expect powder
tanks to exhibit after a charge inside had burst. Others are not sufficiently destroyed to give me the impression of having been exploded,
although I have never seen powder tanks after an explosion and can
only draw my own ideas. The damage to the tanks seems to have been
caused by contact with some hard object, and as the shells were found
on top of these tanks accounts for the damage.
Q. How was the Maine made fast to her buoy at the time of her
destruction?
A. Starboard bow chain.
Q. Do you know whether there was any private uammuuition on board
the Miaine-that is, ammunition belonging to individunals and not to
the Government?
A. None that came to my knowledge.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him and by him pronounced to be correct, whereupon
he took his seat as an interested party.
~Naval Constructor HOOVER, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was called
by the court, and having been cautioned that he was still under the
oath which he had taken, he testified as follows:
By the COURT:
Q. In the examination you made of the portion of the wreck above
water, recognized as being about frame 17, what do you make out the
thin plate in that vicinity to be?
A. It is the forward part of the forward water tank, on the port side,
beneath the platform deck at frame 18.
Q. What is the portion painted white?
A. It is a portion of the bulkhead at frame 18, forming the forward
side of the 6 inch magazine.
Q. Is the forward side of the water tank crushed in at all, or is it
approximately still a plane surface?
A. Nearly a plane surface. It is distorted a little; but it is torn
away from its fastenings to frame 1S. The after side of this water-tank
bulkhead now faces forward.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read to him and by him pronounced to be correct, and after being
cautioned by the president of the court not to converse upon matters
pertaining to the inquiry he withdrew.
The court then took a recess at 12.20 p. m., to meet to-morrow at 10 a. m.
SEVENTEENTH DAY.
U. S. L. H. TENDER MANGROVE,
Harbor of Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 14, 1898-10 a. m.
The court met pursuant to adjournment.
Present:' All the members, the judge-advocate, and the stenographer.
The record of yesterday's proceedings was read and approved.




272   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Lieut. H. HUTCHINS, U. S. Navy, a witness called by the court,
appeared, and, after having been duly sworn by the president of the
court, testified as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Please give to the court your full name, rank, and present station?
A. Hamilton Hutchins; lieutenant, U. S. Navy, serving as navigator
on the U. S. S. Montgomery.
Q. Is the Montgomery at Havana?
A. She is; at buoy No. 3.
Q. How long has the Mlontgomery been at Havana?
A. Since the morning of the 9th instant.
Q. Have you, since her arrival here, been engaged in taking soundings
around the wreck of the Main.e?
A. I have; assisted by Lieutenant Fields, of the Montgomery.
Q. Have you with you a chart of these soundings?
A. I have; in original and blue-print copy.
(The witness presented to the court the two charts in question.)
Q. This chart was made from soundings taken under your supervision?
A. Yes, sir; from soundings taken under my supervision on the 9th
and 10th instants.
Q. Is it a correct chart? 
A. It is; as nearly as possible under the conditions. The depths are
correct, although their positions may not be accurate.
(The chart was presented to the court, with the request that it be
appended to the record, marked I.)
Q. Was the depth of the soundings reduced to datum line, or the
mean low water?
A. No, sir; the soundings around the after body were all taken in
the forenoon, and the soundings around the forward body in the afternoon. The time of high water on these two days I made to be about
9.30 on the morning of the 9th.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read to him and by him pronounced to be correct; and, after hav:
ing been cautioned by the president of the court not to converse upon
matters pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.
Chief Engineer HOWELL, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was recalled
by the court, and, after having been cautioned by the president of the
court that he was still under the oath which he had taken, he testified
as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. During the stay of the M1aine at Havana the last time, what forward coal bunkers were painted, and at what times were they painted?
A. B 3, B 5, B 4, and B 6 were painted. They were painted between
February 1 and about February 10. Somewhere between the 1st and
the 10th.
Q. Did the paint you used contain dryer and turpentine?
A. The first paint we used was made of red lead, oil, and turpentine.
The turpentine gave out, and after that the paint was without any turpentine or dryers. I don't remember when this change took place.
Q. After having painted the bunkers, were they kept closed in such
a manner as to endanger any accumulation of combustible gases?
A. No, sir; these bunkers were opened frequently by the battle
doors and schutes which led up to the open air on the main deck. The




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


273


chutes were opened, and the battle doors were worked to keep them
in good order; also these bunkers have air-ventilating pipes leading to
the open air.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him and by him pronounced to be correct; and, after
having been cautioned by the president of the court not to converse
upon matters pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.
The court thereupon took a recess, to reassemble upon being called.
At 2 p. in. the court reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, and the stenographer.
Commander CONVERSE, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was called by
the court, and having been cautioned that he was still under the oath
which he had taken, he testified as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you read over the record of the testimony'that you gave
before this court on Friday last?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is it correct as recorded?
A. Yes, sir.
By the CouRT:
Q. Having somewhat examined the wreck, and being informed as to
the conditions existing in the forward part of the ship, as she now is,
are you able to express an opinion as to the initial cause of the
damage?
A. I am unable to form any opinion from the observations of the
wreck which I have seen above water. Assuming that the sketch of
the forward part of the ship, from frame 18 forward, is approximately
correct, [witness here looked at Exhibit IH], it would appear to me that
the result indicated or shown might have been produced by an explosion of a large quantity of explosive material of small power, which, by
causing a large upheaval of water, would lift the vessel bodily, and at
the same time throw it slightly over to starboard.
The rupture of the vertical keel, and of the skin plating on the port
side occurred, and that, as the vessel was still farther lifted, the edges
of the skin plating came in contact with the water, and by being lifted
still farther, these fragments, marked B and A, were bent forward and
downward in the position shown; and that, wheat the vessel slowly sank
*      again, having her starboard bow water borne, would naturally cause
the whole bow to slide off to port. The amount by which the piece of
A and B are bent forward corresponds approximately with the amount
by which the vessel has been shortened. I can not realize that pieces
of the bottom as large as A and B could have been blown forward and
downward by any interior explosion, the surfaces being, as they were,
supported by water on the outside.
Q. Supposing the initial cause of the disaster had been exterior, by
such a mine as you hiave described, and this explosion had exploded
the forward magazines of the Mainee, what would have been the result
to the Maine, caused by this second explosion?
A. The explosion of a magazine, entirely or partially flooded, containing powder il tanks, would undoubtedly, on account of the water
tamping given the charges, produce marked local effects. Escaping
gases, if in sufficient quantity, would tend to blow open and back the
sides and deck of the ship. It is thought that an explosion of this
S. Doc. 207 — 18




274    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


kind would be, in its nature, progressive, and that the accumulation of
gases would become more and more rapid until all obstacles were
removed. Judging also from the effects of explosions which I have
witnessed, much of the explosive material in the magazine, if contained
in separate cases or tanks, would be dispersed and scattered without
exploding..Q. Frame 18, as shown on the plan of the Maline, represents the
highest point of the keel at present, and the point at which the keel is
broken. Do you think that, in the case of a powder pressure in this
compartment of the berth (leck, between frames 12 and 18, sufficient to
rend asunder the sides of the ship, it would have been possible for any
man to have escaped alive?
A. I think it not impossible.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him and by him pronounced to be correct; and, after
having been warned by the president of the court not to converse upon
matters pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.
The court then adjourned at 3.40 p. in. to meet to-morrow at 10 a. m.
EIGHTEENTH DAY.
U. S. L. EI. TENDER MANGROVE,
HARBOR OF HAVANA, CUBA,
Tuesday, March 15, 1898-2 p. m.
The court met pursuant to the adjournment of yesterday, but not
until 2 p. m., as no testimony was ready during the forenoon.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, and the stenographer.
Lieutenant-Commander WAINWRIGHT entered the court.
The record of yesterday's proceedings was read over and approved.
Submarine Diver DWYER, a former witness, was called by the court,
and after having been warned by the president of the court that he was
still under the oath which he had taken, he testified as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you done any diving in the wreck of the Maine since you
gave your last testimony before this court?
A. Yes, sir; about one-half day on Saturday, one-half day on Sunday, all day Monday, and this forenoon.                          s
Q. Please state to the court what you found.
A. I otund the bow portion of the ship laying on its starboard broadside, with the stem laying flat on the bottom. The port side of the
main deck to the berth deck was torn loose and thrown forward-bent
forward-and slightly upward. The break from the main deck started
at the forward shutter of the (i-incll gun port. At the same point the
main deck was turned up at right angles from its proper position. The
break begins aft and extends as far forward as the forward shutter of
the 6-inch port. Forward of this the deck is in place, and also the bow.
The port 6-inch gun lays across the knightheads; the port 6-pounder
is still attached to thie deck, and so is the port anchor davit. The
6-pounder is traiiied aft on its own deck.
(Sketch H was here shown to the witness.)
By the COURT:
Q. Do you recognize that, Mr. Dwyer?




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


275


A. On the sketch the stem seems to come up out of the mud. In
reality the ram is in the mud and the stem lies flat along the mud. For
the first eighteen frames from forward the keel of the ship slants upward. The keel is then thrown up from its original position for a distance of about 1S inches; after that it makes a sharp bend up at an
angle of 45 degrees, and then it bends down. At this upper point the
vertical keel is broken sharp off and bent right down, comes straight
down, almost plumb, for a listance of, I should judge, of about 16 feet.
The vertical keel is then bent back on itself for a distance of about 2
feet. Tlhe flat keel itself, at this lower point, appears to be broken.
Then the keel is bent aft and downward for about 20 feet, when the
vertical keel appears to end. I could feel the broken end.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
v     Q. How much of the vertical keel, as you have described it, had the
flat keel still attached to it?
A. That would be difficult to answer. The inner bottom covers the
vertical keel almost the whole length of it, so that it is impossible to
see whether the flat keel is underneath or not, except that one point,
about ten feet forward of the end of the vertical keel, where it is possible to reach down there. At that point, on feeling the vertical keel, it
appeared to be crushed-the lower portion up toward the upper portion or reverse.
The inlner bottom on the starboard side of tile vertical keel appeared
to be pressed downward, showing the sharp outline of the vertical keel.
It was in that shape from where I found the vertical keel to end for
about fifteen feet forward. The port side of the bow appears to be
blown outward to within one or two plates of the keel. On the starbard side, abreast of where the keel is bent, there are two bottom plates
attached to the keel, and the outer edge of these plates take the same
general curvature as the keel does, but with a larger radius.
Q. What is the general direction of the inner bottom which is attached
to the keel, and how much of it is attached to different portions of the
keel 
A. From frame 18 down to about frame 21 there is none of the inner
bottom attached to the vertical keel on the port side, while there is on
the starboard side from 3 to 4 feet. Abaft of this the inner bottom is
intact, and the end of the vertical keel, except at one point, about 10
feet forward from the after end, where the inner bottom is split from
the vertical keel out to port.
Q. How much of the bottom plating is attached to the keel on each
side, as far as you could find?  What is its general condition?
A. At about frame 161 counted five plates from the starboard side of
the keel down to the mud. They did not seem to be damaged in any
way. About 10 feet forward of that point I counted two plates to port
of the keel. Farther forward I could not tell how many plates it was.
Near the ram I was unable to find the edge of the plates so as to count
them, as the plates appeared to b. but seams.
Q. Was there any bottom plating attached to the keel on the port
side in the vicinity of frame 17 
A. Yes, sir; on the port side of the keel, at frame 17, there was plating attached, but I could not get the general contour of it.
By the COURT:
Q. Mr. Dwyer, did you examine the outside of the ship, from the
turret, forward on the starboard side?
A. Yes, sir.




276   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


Q. What condition of things did you find there?
A. It was a bewildering mass of bulkhead and iron plates. I could
not keep track of it, especially as I had to work from aft forward.
Q. Could you tell us anything about the armor forward of what you
testified to the last tilne?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you examine the port side abaft?
A. No, sir.
Q. Where the bow of the ship lies on its bilge, as you might say, on
its starboard side, is the position of that portion of the ship due to its
form, or is it held there by the keel and by the bow, or stem, sticking
in the mud?
A. No, sir; I should say it was the form of the ship. I should say,
from the position of the keel in relation to the bottom plating, that she
is lying a little farther over than on her beam end. In regard to the
depression in the mud which you spoke of, I searched.for that, and find
no hollow such as was described. What I found was that the rain, when
the bow fell over on its side, had turned up quite an amount of mud,
and on going from the top of that aft I appeared to go down in a hollow; but going from aft forward you find the general bottom, and then
the mound raised up to the ram.
Q. You are assluming, then, that the bow went down first?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And that it struck a blow in the mud and threw this up?
A. Yes, sir; I assume that from the condition of the bottom just
forward of the ram.
Q. Just forward of the rain or just abaft?
A. Well, you might say under the ram. There is one point to mention about the main deck. After turning at right angles it takes a
general twist over to starboard, so that the point where the hatch isthe forward hatch-the deck was upside down at that point.
Q. What hatch?
A. Forward hatch on the forecastle.
Q. Are you referring to the upper deck or the main deck?
A. Main deck, sir.
Q. Did you find the foremast?
A. No, sir; I did not. I crossed the deck just by the hatch and found
a brass plate on the under side of the deck which spoke of ' showers."
Q. Did you come across any projectiles or powder tanks when you
were in the vicinity of frame IS or abaft of it?
A. I found a 10-inch shell laying close to the vertical keel on the inner
bottom at about frame 21-a percussion 10-inch shell. I found no powder tanks here. Further aft to port I found quite a number of powder
tanks, 6-inch, 6-pounder, and 10-inch shell, and also some brass cartridges about the same diameter as the 6-pounders, but they were
exploded.
By Lieutenant-Commander WAINWRIGHT:
Q. When you stood in the mud at the point where the keel entered
the mud forward, did there appear to be any depression there-a hollow?
A. No, sir; the mud appeared to be, as I stood at the side of the
keel, facing toward the ramn, on the left, appeared to be turned up
higher on one side, and the ram appeared to be going down into the
bottom. Following the keel down with my hands toward the point of
the ram I found the ram was covered with the mud.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


277


There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him, and by him pronounced to be correct, and after
being cautioned by the president of the court not to converse upon
matters pertaining to the court, he withdrew.
The court thereupon took a recess at 3.30
The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess at 4.30 p. in.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, ai'd the stenographer.
Lieutenant HUTCHINS, a former witness, was called by the court,
and having been cautioned by the president of the court that he was
still under the oath which he had taken, he testified as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Have you observed and can you tell t4e court the magnetic direction of the keel ot the Maine-the after part of the ship?
A. Yes, sir; I examined it by horizontal angles and checked it as
near as possible with the compass. It is north 85 degrees west magnetic, looking forward. The ship is lying head north 1Y5 degrees west.
There being no further questions to ask this witness, his testimony
was read over to him and by him pronounced to be correct, and after
hAving been canltioneld by the presiden.t of the court not to converso
upon matters pertaining to the inquiry, he withdrew.
Ensign POWELSON, U. S. Navy, a former witness, was recalled by
the court, and after having been cautioned by the president of the
court that he was still under the oath which he had taken, he testified
as follows:
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:
Q. Mr. Powelson, have you made the drawings you were directed to
make by the court of the wreck of the Maine?
A. They are not quite complete; but nearly so.
Q. Will you please explain to the court how you obtained the data
for these drawings?
A. I sent divers down to various points on the line of the keel, and
then sent a lead line down to the diver; got into a boat; plumbed the
point; took soundings and two angles on stations that I had established
on the ship and wreckage near the ship. Station A is the mainmast;
Station C the port crane; Station ) the forward edge of the after
smoke-pipe, alnd Station B is at a piece of wreckage 126 degrees in
azimuth from Station A, measured at Station D, and distant 414 feet
from Station D. Station E is the piece of wreckage in azimuth 64
degrees froth Station B, measured at Station D, and distant 94 feet from
Station D. After establishing several points on the line of the keel, I
sent the diver down to get points on the line of the break of the bottom plating on the port side. These points are one, two, three, and
four E. These points were angled on, and depths taken as I have
described.
Mr. Powelson was then directed to complete the drawing and send it
to the court, at Key West, on board the Iozca, to morrow, and attest the
correctness over his signature.
There being no further questions to ask this witness his testimony
was read over to him, and by him pronounced to be correct, and after
having been cautioned by the president of the court not to converse
upon matters pertaining to the court, he withdrew.
The court then, at 5.10, adjourned to hold its next meeting on board
the battle ship Iowa, off Key West, Fla.




278    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


NINETEENTH DAY.
U. S. BATTLE SHIP.IOWA (1st rate),
Off Key West, Fla., Thursday, March 17, 4898-10 a. m.
The court met pursuant to the last adjournment.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, and the stenographer.
The record of last day's proceedings was read over and approved.
The court was then cleared for deliberation.
The doors being opened at 5 p. m., the court adjourned to meet to.
morrow at 10 a. m.
TWENTIETH DAY.
i. S. BATTLE SHIP IOWA (1st rate),
Off Key West, Fla., Friday, March 18, 1898-10 a. l.
The court met pursuant to the adjournment of yesterday.
Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, and the stenographer.
The record of yesterday's proceedings was read over and approved.
The judge-advocate informed the court that he had received seven
more photographs from Chief Engineer (. P. Howell-the ones that
Chief Engineer C. P. Howell lad been directed by the court to have
taken-and asked permission of the court to place them with Exhibit I.
The request was granted.
The judge-advocate then informed the court that he had received the
plan of the wreck of the Maine that Ensign Powelson had not finished
before the court had left Havana.
The plan was shown to the court, with the request to have it appended
to the record, marked L.
The request was granted.
The judge-advocate then informed the court that he had also received
the plan of the broken part of the vertical and flat keel of the Maine
which Gunner's Mate A. Olsen had sent to him, the same not ]laving
been quite complete when the court left Havana.
This plan was shown to the court, with the request that it be appended
to the record, marked M.
This request was granted.
The judge-advocate also requested to have five views taken by Photographer Hart-which he had requested Photographer Hart to takeand added to Exhibit 1.
The request was granted.
The court was then cleared for deliberation.
At 3.50 p. m. the doors were opened, and court adjourped to meet
to-morrow at 10 a. m.
TWENTY-FIRST DAY.
U. S. BATTLE SHIP IOWA (1st rate),
Off Key West, Fla., Saturday, March 19, 1898-10 a. m.
The court met pursuant to the last adjournment.
Present: All the members and the judge-advocate.
The record of last day's proceedings was read over and approved.
The court was then cleared for deliberation.
The doors being opened, the court adjourned to meet to-morrow,
Sunday, March 20, 1898, at 10 a. m.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


279


TWENTY-SECOND DAY.
U. S. S. IOWA (1st rate),
Off Key West, Fla., Sunday, lMarch 20, 1898-2 p. m.
The court met pursuant to the last adjournment.
Present: All the members and the judge-advocate.
The record of last day's proceedings was read over and approved.
The court was then cleared for deliberation.
The doors being opened, the court adjourned at 4.30 p. m. to meet
to-morrow, Monday, the 21st day of March, 1898.
TWENTY-THIRD DAY.
U. S. S. IOWA (1st rate),
Key West, Fla., Monday, March 21, 1898-10 a. n.
The court met pursuant to the adjournment of yesterday.
Present: All the members and the judge-advocate.
The record of last day's proceedings was read over and approved.
The court was then cleared for deliberation.
After full and mature consideration of all the testimony before it,
the court finds as follows:
1. That the United States battle ship Maine arrived in the harbor of
Habana, Cuba, on the 25th day of January, 1898, and was taken to
buoy No. 4, in from 54 to 6 fathoms of water by the regular Government pilot.
The United States consul-general at Havana had notified the authorities at that place, the previous evening, of the intended arrival of
the Maine.
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 carried out.
All ammunition was stowed in accordance with prescribed.instructions, and proper care was taken whenever ammunition was handled.
Nothing was stowed in any one of the magazines or shell rooms which
was not permitted to be stowed there.
The magazines and shell rooms were always locked after having been
opened, and after the destruction of the Maine the keys were found in
their proper place in the captain's cabin, everything having been
reported secure that evening at 8 p. m.
The temperatures of the magazines and shell rooms were taken daily
and reported. The only magazine which had an undue amount of heat
was the after 10-inch magazine, and that did not explode at the time
the Maine was destroyed.
The torpedo war heads were all stowed 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 detonators were stowed in the cabin
aft, and remote from the scene of the explosion.
Waste was carefully looked after on board the Maine to obviate
danger. Special orders in regard to this had been given by the commanding officer.
Varnishes, driers, alcohol, and other combustibles of this nature were
stowed on or above the main deck and could not have had anything to
do with the destruction of the Maine.




280    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


The medical stores were stowed aft, under the ward room, and remote
from the scene of the explosion.
No dangerous stores of any kind were stowed below in any of the
other storerooms.
The coal bunkers were inspected daily. Of those bunkers adjacent
to the forward magazines and shell rooms four were empty, namely:
B3, B4, B5, B6. A15 had been in use that day, and A16 was full of
New River coal. This coal had been carefully inspected before receiving it on board. The bunker in which it was stowed was accessible on
three sides at all times, and the fourth side at this time on account
of bunkers B4 and Bi; being empty. This bunker, A16, 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.
The two after boilers of the ship were in use at the time of the disaster, but for auxiliary purposes only, withl 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 a
fair condition.
On the night of the destruction of the Mlaine everything had been
reported secure for the night at 8 p. ll. by reliable persons, through
the proper authorities, to the commandihig officer. At the time the
Maine was destroyed the ship was quiet, and, therefore, least liable to
accident caused by movements from those on board.
EXPLOSIONS.
3. The destruction of the Miaine occurred at 9.40 p. m. on the 15th
day of February, 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 a distinctly different character,
with a very short but distinct interval between them, and the forward
part of the ship was lifted to a marked degree at the time of the first
explosion. The first explosion was more in the nature of a report like
that of a gun, while the second explosion was more open, prolonged,
and of greater volume. This 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.
CONDITION OF THE WRECK.
4. The evidence bearing upon this, being principally obtained from
divers, did not enable the court to form a definite conclusion as to the
condition of the wreck, although it was established that the after part
of the ship was practically intact, and sank in that condition a very
few minutes after the destruction of the forward part.
The following facts in regard to the forward part of the ship are,
however, established by the testimony:
A portion of the port side of the protective deck, which extends
from about frame 30 to about frame 41, was blown up, aft, and over to
port. The main deck, from about fiame 30 to about frame 41, was
blown up, aft, and slightly over to starboard, folding the forward part
of the middle superstructure over and on top of the after part.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


281


This was, in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion
/of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine.
5. At frame 17 the enter shell of the ship, from a point 11. feet
from the middle line of the ship, and 6 feet above the keel when in its
normal position, has been forced up so as to be now about 4 feet above
the surface of the water, therefore about 34 feet above where it would
be had the ship sunk uninjured.
The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed V shape (A), the
after wing of which, about 15 feet broad and 32 feet in length (from
frame 17 to frame 25), is doubled back upon itself against the continuation of the same plating, extending forward. 
At frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two, and the flat keel bent
into an angle similar to the angle formed by the outside bottom plating.
This break is now about 6 feet below the surface of the water, and
about 30 feet above its normal position.
In the opinion of the court this effect could have been produced only
by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship at
about frame 18 and somewhat on the port side of the ship.
6. The court finds that the loss of the Maine on the occasion named
was not in any respect due to fault or negligence on the part of any of
the officers or members of the crew of said vessel.
7. In the opinion of the court the Maine was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two or
more of the forward magazines.
8. The court has been unable to obtain evidence fixing the responsibility for the destruction of the Maine upon any person or persons.
W. T. SAMPSON,
Captain, UJ. S. N., President.
A. MARIX,
Lieut. Corn., U. S. N., Judge-Advocate.
The court having finished the inquiry it was ordered to make,
adjourned at 11 a. m., to await the action of the convening authority.
W. T. SAMPSON,
Captain, U.-S. N.; President.
A. IMARIX,
Lieut.-Corn., U. S. N., Judge-Advocate.
U. S. FLAGSHIP NEW YORK,
Off Key West, Fla., March 22, 1898.
The proceedings and findings of the court of inquiry in the above
case are approved.
M. SICARD,
Rear Admiral, Commander in Chief of the
United States Naval force on the North Atlantic Station.




a.  A  f                                                                             $                 A~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




INDEX TO EXHIBITS.
A.-Precept, with telegrams forming part of it.
B.-Letter from convening authority, permitting certain officers to be present during the inquiry.
C.-Letter from the convening authority upon the same subject.
D.-Sketch of portions of underside of protective deck.
E.-Sketch of protective deck where it shows above water.
F.-Translation of an anonymous letter in regard to a plot.
G.-Letter showing the amount of ammunition on board the Maine June 30, 1897.
H.-Sketch showing forward part of the ship under water; keel about as far aft as
frame 28, and two plates bent into a V shape.
I.-Photographs of wreck.
K.-Survey of soundings around the wreck of the Maine.
L.-Plans of the keel and other permanent points of the wreck.
M.-Plan made by diver of break of vertical and flat keel of the Maine, frame 18.
283


J




S.1 A




EXHIBITS.
A.
U. S. FLAGSHIP NEW YORK (1st rate),
Key West, Fla., February 19, 1898.
Capt. WILLIAM T. SAMPSON, U. S. N.,
Commanding U.S. S. Iowa, Key West, Fla.
SIR: A court of inquiry, consisting of yourself as president, and of
Capt. French E. Chadwick and Lieut. Commander William P. Potter,
Tnited States Navy, as additionnal memhobrasj and of TieAnt. Commander
Adolph Marix, United States Navy, as judge-advocate, is hereby ordered
to convene at noon on Monday, February 21, 1898, or as soon thereafter
as practicable, for the purpose of inquiring into the circumstances connected with the loss by explosion of the United States battle ship Maine,
in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, on the night of Tuesday, February 15,
1898.
The court is authorized to hold its sessions on board any ship of the
North Atlantic Squadron, or in the city of Key West, Fla., or in the
harbor of the city of Havana, Cuba.
The attention of the court is invited to the instructions, concerning
the particulars to be investigated in the case of the loss or grounding
of a ship of the Navy, contained in the United States Navy Regulations.
The following-described papers relating to the loss of the U. S. S.
Maine on the occasion referred to are attached to and made part of this
precept:
1. The copy of a telegram sent by Capt. C. D. Sigsbee, United States
Navy, at Havana, Cuba, to Commander James M. Forsyth, United
States Navy, at Key West, Fla., without date, but probably sent on
the night of. February 15, as it was received at Key West, Fla., by
Lieut. Commander William S. Cowles, United States Navy, at 1 a. m.
of February 16, 1898, and by the commander in chief at 5.30 a. m. of
February 16, at Dry Tortugas, Fla.
2. A telegram sent by Capt. C. D. Sigsbee, United States Navy, to
the commander in chief at Key West, Fla., dated Havana, Cuba, February 16, 1898.
The court will diligently and thoroughly inquire into all the circunstances attending the loss of said vessel on the date named, and upon
the conclusion of the investigation will report to the commander in
chief its proceedings, all the testimony taken, and the facts which it
may deem established by the evidence adduced, together with its opinion as to what further proceedings, if any, should be had in the matter.
The court will also report whether or not the loss of said vessel was,
on the occasion named, in any respect due to fault or negligence on the
285




286   DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


part of any of the officers or members of the crew of said vessel, and
if so, the names of such officers or members of the crew, and in what
respect and to what extent any or either of them were so at fault or
negligent.
If the court shall be of opinion that further proceedings should be
had in the matter, it will include in its report a succinct statement as
to the person or persons against whom, and the specific matter upon
which, such proceedings should be had.
The court will also report its opinion as to the cause or causes of the
explosion, or other incidents that bore directly or indirectly upon the
loss of the Maine.
It will also record any information that it may be able to obtain by
testimony and evidence, as to any person or persons not connected with
the Navy of the United States, who are, in its opinion, responsible, in
part or wholly, directly or indirectly, for the explosion and loss of the
Maine, and will include their names, in its opinion, together with the
degree of responsibility in each case.
M. SICARD,
Rear-Admiral, Commander in Chief,
U. S. Naval Force on North Atlantic Station.
I certify the above to be a true copy.
A. MARIX,
Lieut.-Com., U. S. N., Judge-Advocate.
No. 1.
FORSYTH, Key West:
Tell admiral Maine blown up and destroyed. Send light-house tenders. Many killed and wounded. Don't send war vessels if others
available.
SIGSBEE.
I certify the above to be a true copy.
A. MARIX,
Lieut. Corn., U. S. N., Judge-Advocate.
No. 2.
FEBRUARY 16.
COMMANDER IN CHIEF, Key West:
Maine blown up in Habana harbor at 9.40 last night and destroyed.
Many wounded and doubtless more killed or drowned. Wounded and
others on board Spanish man-of-war and Ward Line steamers. Send
light-house tender from Key West for crew and the few pieces of
equipment above water. None has clothing other than that upon him.
Public opinion should be suspended until further report. All officers
believed to be saved; Jenkins and Merritt not yet accounted for.
Many Spanish officers, including representatives of General Blanco,
now with me to express sympathy.
SIGSBEE.
I certify the above to be a true copy.
A. MARIx,
Lieut. Corn.,. S. N., Judge-Advocate.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


287


B.
U. S. FLAGSHIP NEW YORK (1st rate),
Key West, -Fla., February 19, 1898.
SIR: Referring to my order of this date convening a court of inquiry,
of which you are president, to meet at such place as the president of
the court may deem proper, on Monday, February 21, 1898, at noon, for
the purpose of inquiring into the circumstances connected with the loss
of the U. S. battle ship Maine in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, on the night
of Tuesday, February 15,1898, I have to inform you that Capt. Charles D.
Sigsbee, United States Navy, commanding the U. S. S. Maine, and
Lieut. Commander Richard Wainwright, United States Navy, the executive officer, and Lieut. George F. W. Holman, United States Navy, the
navigator, and Chief Engineer Charles P. Howell, United States Navy,
the chief engineer of that vessel, have been informed of their right to
be present during the investigation, to cross-examine witnesses, and offer
evidence before the court should they desire to do so.
As the court has been directed to report whether or not the loss of
the U. S. S. Maine was in any respect due to fault or negligence on the
part of any of the officers or crew of said vessel, etc., you will inform
the officers and such of the crew as. may have flled positio+s of special
responsibility upon the occasion referred to that they have the same
right to be present during the sessions of the court, to offer evidence,
and to cross-examine witnesses, if they so desire.
Very respectfully,
M. SICARD,
Rear-Admiral, Commander in Chief,. S. Naval Force on North Atlantic Station.
Capt. WILLIAM T. SAMPSON, U. S. N.,
Commanding U. S.. Iowa, Key West, _Fla.
I certify the above to be a true copy.
A. MARIX,
Lieut. Cor., U. S. N., Judge-Advocate.


D




288    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


C.
U. S. FLAGSHIP NEW YORK (1St rate),
Key West, Fla., February 19, 1898.
SIR: Referring to my communication of this date informing you that
Capt. Charles D. Sigsbee, United States Navy; Lieut. Commander
Richard Wainwright, United States Navy; Lieut. George F. W. Holman, United States Navy, and Chief Engineer Charles P. Howell,
United States Navy, have been informed of their right to be present
during the investigation to cross-examine witnesses and offer evidence
before the court should they desire to do so, I have to inform you that
if, during the progress of the investigation it shall appear that others
than those above mentioned should be entitled to appear as defendants,
they will be called before the court and informed of their right to be
present and cross-examine witnesses and offer such evidence as they
may desire.
Very respectfully,                   M. SIOARD,
Rear-Admiral, Commander in Chief
U. S. Naval Force on North Atlantic Station.
Capt. WILLIAM T. SAMPSON, U. S. N.,
Commanding U. S. S. Iowa, Key West, Fla.
I certify the above to be a true copy.
A. MARIX,
Lieutt. Corn., U. S. T., Judge-Advocate.




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


289


D.


-cp-        R0oLLk    a3k&tdC of-Ucior -Q tCS-a- S -j rot+et C-t v f/cc d eCus  AA nfn tS- Comti.
tk;r ls {^oe  et   <S ow ' fvo-  ii '   oi; '  a l
bosi iov 'S % -   ia./


S. Doc. 207   19




290    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.
E.
5cale
Csar.    Torward bert t   r^tos rt urQ. J^1 k
//  o/  I    cr         I. _ _ _ ____ ',o
//o 
0
0rUE~vzzi7  -— 0Q '   oI 
0   0   0  0C  0  0  0  0  0
/0
o    o     o
o    o         o
o     cc
0
0
1o                I 0I
\1        pr0               a 
o                          o 
o             _ o_         o
"0 ' 0      t
0l                    10
I 0                       I;  -Io4
jo   7 f  C_. 0   U4LPC(   oV,X ~ /     io:o~~~~~5,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~y



DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.      291
F.
It should be remembered that at dawn of the day of the terrible
catastrophe an individual was killed in a small boat, together with
another, who is to be found wounded and a prisoner. They were going
about the cruisers Maine and Alfonso X21, and as the said individuals
are the worst antecedents as harbor thieves, I have interested myself
in investigating what connection this occurrence could have with the
explosion of the Maine, and I have discovered that those two men,
together with another, who is called Pepe Taco, had bought in a hardware store in Mercaderes street, called La Marina, a hose such as is
used by divers, and that the three left Regla in a small boat, which
they placed under the wharves of Sta. Catalina, and they were loitering more than an hour and a half, while Pepe Taco, who is a calker
and diver, probably the best in these parts, did the work to bring about
the explosion of the Maine. With this data I went to Regla and discovered that the family of the dead man,.who lived in the utmost
misery in a house in Rodriguez Batista street, had moved to a wellfurnished one in Gelabert street. There I learned that they had agreed
with some merchants of Muralla street for the work of blowing up the
ship for the sum of $6,000-$2,000 in advance, the other $4,000 after
seeing the result. But as they did not come out of the adventure very
well, having been attacked when they were retiring, the result of which
was the death of one, who left his teeth in the boat, and another one
wounded, the third one has not presented himself to collect the rest
of the money, and it could probably be secretly done that, by paying
him the rest that the others will not now pay him, he would declare
the truth of all this. The one whom I call the third is the diver Pepe
Taco, who was unwounded, who no doubt is afraid to present himself
to collect the rest. In Muralla street they tell me was the place where
the business was arranged with Messrs. Garcia Corujedo, Villasuso,
Maribona, and others, whom I do not remember. The man arrested is
being administered morphine constantly to see if he will die and not
give evidence, so as not, as they express it, to spoil the -affair after it
has come off so much to their taste.
HAVANA, Feb. 11th, 1898.
I certify the above to be a true copy.
A. MARIX,
Lient. Corn. U. S. Navy, Judge-Advocate.




292    DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


G.
U. S. S. MAINE (1st rate),
Hampton Roads, Va., June 30, 1897.
SIR: In compliance with the commandant's indorsement of the Bureau
of Construction letter, No. 1096-E3, of June 23, 1897, directing that a
statement of the amount of ammunition of each size stowed in the various ammunition rooms be given, I make the following report, which
gives the amount stowed in the ammunition rooms as well as that stowed
outside in the handling and passing rooms.
The amount given is the full allowance of ammunition.
Very respectfully,
C. D. SIGSBEE,
Captain, U. S. N., Commanding U. S. S. Mlainte.
The COMMANDANT, NAVY-YARD AND STATION.
UI. S. FLAGSHIP NEW YORK,
Fortress Monroe, Va., June 30, 1897.
Forwarded by direction of commander in chief.
C. H. WEST,
Commander, U. S. N., Chief of Staff.
[Second indorsement.]
NAVY-YARD, NEW YORK, July 2, 1897.
1. Respectfully referred to the Bureau of Construction and Repair.
2. This letter is in reply to the Bureau's No. 1096-E3 of the 23d
ultimo.
F. M. BUNCE,
Commodore, U. S. Navy, Commandant Navy- Yard and Station.
Forward magazine (Compartment A 6M).-99 full charges for 6-inch
B. L. R.; 164 reduced charges for 6-inch B. L. R.; 146 common shell, in
slings, for 6-inch B. L. R.; 100 armor-piercing shells, in slings, for 6-inch
B. L. R.; 24 shrapnel, in slings, for 6-inch B. L. B.
Forward fixed ammunition room (A 9M).-152 chests 6-pounder steel
shell (1,672 rounds); 112 chests 6-pounder common shell (1,232 rounds);
27 chests 6-pounder blank (297 rounds); 17 chests 1-pounder steel shell
(1,020 rounds); 11 chests 1-pounder common shell (660 rounds); 10
chests 6mm. cartridge, ball (10,000 rounds); 3 chests.38-caliber cartridges, ball (9,000 rounds).
Forward 10-inch shell room (A 12M).-90 common shell for 10-inch
B. L. R.; 74 armor-piercing shell for 10-inch B. L. R.
Forward 10-inch magazine (A 13M1).-92 full charges for 10-inch B. L.
R.; 88 reduced charges for 10-inch B. L. R.
Reserve magazine (A 14M).-113 full charges for 6-inch B.L. R; 51
reduced charges for 6-inch B.L. R.; 3,400 pounds of spare saluting
powder (19 tanks); 100 pounds of shrapnel and impulse powder.
10-inch shell room amidships (C 3M).-90 armor-piercing shell for 10 -inch B. L. R.; 90 common shell, loaded and fused, for 10-inch B. L. R.
10-inch magazine amidships (C 4M).-88 full charges for 10-inch B. L.
R.; 91 reduced charges for 10-inch B. L. R.
6-inch magazine amidships (C 5M).-101 full charges for 6-inch B. L. R.;
131 reduced charges for 6-inch B. L. R.; 208 common shell, loaded and




DESTRUCTION OF THE U. S. BATTLE SHIP MAINE.


293


fused, for 6-inch B. L. R.; 100 armor-piercing shell for 6-inch B. L. I.;
23 shrapnel, in slings, for 6-inch B. L. R.
After torpedo head and fixed ammunition room (D 1M).-8 Whitehead
torpedo warheads, filled; 8 Whitehead torpedo wet primer cases, filled;
76 chests of 6-pounder steel shell (836 rounds); 32 chests of 6-pounder
common shell (396 rounds); 32 chests of 1-pounder steel shell (1,920
rounds); 20 chests of 1-pounder common shell (1,200 rounds); 20 chests
of.45-caliber cartridges, ball (20,000 rounds); 7 chests of.3-caliber
cartridges, ball (21,000 rounds); 100 chests of 6 mm. cartridges, ball
(100,000 rounds); 10 chests of.22 caliber cartridges, ball (93,000 rounds);
11 chests of 6 mm. cartridges, blank (11,000 rounds); 7 chests of United
States cannon primers, 3,700 rounds; 8 boat ammunition tanks, small
arm, 7,000 rounds.
In addition to the shell stowed in the shell rooms there are stowed
10-inch shells as follows:
Forward 10-inch loading room (A55).-2 common shell for 10-inch B.
L. R.; 2 armor-piercing shells for 10-inch B. L. R.
Forward 10-inch passing room.-2 drill shells for 10-inch B. L. R.
Midship 10-inch loading room ( C1).-1 armor-piercing shell for 10-inch
B. L. R.; 2 drill shells for 10-inch B. L. R.
Midship 10-inch passing room.-15 armor-piercing shells for 10-inch
B. L. R.
I certify the above to be a true copy.
A. MARIX,
Lieut. Corn., U. S. N., Judge-Advocate.




I
I




EXHIBIT H.
SKETCH SHOWING FORWARD PART OF THE SHIP UNDER
WATER, KEEL ABOUT AS FAR AFT AS FRAME 28, AND
TWO PLATES BENT INTO A V SHAPE,
295




v\




I   ilil  i11ii                                     1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1,~:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i
flog ~; |I.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~;.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.i;..s
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  lull  Al llllllllllllllllllllllll   l l  llllll  l  lllllllllllll  lllllllll  ill  lllll l  Al  l  Fil  llllllllllllllllllll  l  llllllllllllllllll




r
I
r
r




EXHIBIT I.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF WRECK.
297
S. Doe. 207 —20




1.
I
I
a~~~~~~~~~
t
_6_
0
To




................................................. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   ~  ~  ~ ~ ~   ~   ~ ~ ~~    ~   ~ ~ ~~    ~  ~ ~~    ~  ~ ~~   ~  ~ ~~   ~  ~ ~~  ~  ~~~   ~ ~~~   ~ ~~~  ~ ~~~ ~~~~  ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
'i il i~ii i'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiii i~iiiii i'ii i'iiiiiiiiii~iiii'iiiiii ~i iiiiiiiii 'iiii i'ii~iiiiii 'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 'iiiiii iiii 'i i'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiii 'i iiiiiiiiiiiiiii i~iiiiiii i'iiiiiii ii i' i'i 'i ii i~ii'i ~i~i li iiii ii il i~i''i ii i'ii'i ~i il ilii~i ii i' i~iiiiiiili i i~ii i' i'i 'i ii i'ii~i 'i i' i'iiiiiii i~iiiii i~ii~iiii'i  ~..,i ili li i~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ii iiiiiii i'iiiiii 'i i'ii ili ii i'i ~i i'i ~i i'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'i i~ii i~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiiiii i'iiiiiiii ~iii iiii i'ii i~i 'i ili i ili ~i ili 'iii i' i'iiii~i ilii~iii 'i i~iiii i~ii i~iiii~i i~ i~iiiiiiiiiii'i i'ii~iii ii i~iiiiii i~iiiiiii i~iiiiii i~iiiiii 'iiiiii~iiiiii'iii.




I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
i
t




:        -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i:...............~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i
I
s
l       l ll            l l   l    ll4lll         lllllllllllll




1
I
i
1
d




I.iiiiiii;.!......




~<^__I _____'a     I  I
-




N..........................




* 
I                                          i




............




-__-.                A




............
t..........................................................
F l-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,
S 0 S S f l ---.;:S;-:  S.:: -  l   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I
fi And S~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~l  -~kDS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~l.S.N  ~ ~~~.,,,;,,i;;




1'




L~
i i I
I |
ii




i
L\
I




.......................................................................................................~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i
l l l l l l l  re~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i
I;,,,;;i~,i,..~.u~,., I, I,,,,, I I,.,.,, |;,iiii~ii~~




I4
T  A 




*.x x x xU, | x x x x, x j. j. j j. j..................................................
l
l 
Wg.g..
g I
l
g 
S f vJ
I 
| 1
Do_
X
|
g - g 
l
- I |
| I
1
- 
- g g
l
- 




r
I
r
r
1
r
r
f
r
i
t
r
i r
r








O




..................




~
C
t
~~
s
r*



~~~~~~. -.............~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_,,,,,,.,,5,,,,,,,,,,,,




I i




Ii..... llill...... i....i.............. i..............i.l.i.....i~..................




I
~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
N~~~~~~~~~~~ 
I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




1




I




Iii....N.......... N.................................




l
1
I~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




.....................
*............................................................




I  -




.............




I ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~   ~~~~   ~~~    ~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 








f
i
I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




....................                                       SEEM::....:":*M:..:.: *.................:.........:.:.:..::..... *..; S..:..;:.;L.......j -.: L:.....;..:.;..:;:.:l..'....j;':.; l::*:.:::;..:; "  ";........;....;:..;l;.l;.l:::: OM::;.




I




EXHIBIT K.
SURVEY OF SOUNDINGS AROUND THE WRECK
OF THE MAINE.
299








Bottom of Meit Zaoo.


"X ",I I


Soundingt in fe*t,,~ * -. 


36
36? ^  32   311       1 92   32  32   J/.S  32


Note


36,


3 37%
33
39


sli


s/oundintsr were taken at edae oJ
Wrecraqe as nearly a poJsi'/ee copt
th eytrer,A /te ofSou dtngr OrAicA
"ere aten to ron, /e, w e1ee  dat. A
ha soanddL s cot accepted wacrhy did
iu~ sAO    soft oittOr


33


36          31 Yz


374


30


Aerr^
hete


p,7 e9   30,O$g 1   30 3~'
~30 30*
aq I   ^  30.9^ Y'


341
31ya




J/8.24-,              *7 /*.Soundings in the vicin;it of the
374         wreoc* of( te


y'


U. S ma c'ne.


a/ a


33


33


- {
3/J s
30   3ik
30


No botfom could be o3fained here on aecount
of wreckaae.


37h


Havana    Harbor     r:a9 /  /B, 898
Z ieut.. Hftchineld..S.A.
Zreut, W~S.m. Ftiotd, l.S.ln.


30 30


3 3 2


3$3  33 3Y 37


34i


ft
344     3 
34 1   33   J4^f  is


34 3 J


33


33


z3/   332  34f


36


33


33


34k




a




EXHIBIT I..
PLANS OF THE KEEL AND OTHER PROMINENT
POINTS OF THE WRECK.
301




I




Z~~ ~A/ Abi     ~JI~C     pP/'// PPP
j
1                                                                 17~~~~7
-7N                                           Li~~~~~~~~~
I                                   kII ~ -i
I  p
2~~~~~~~.          -" —3.: —I-`
_                                         _ i..       ii; i,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.......
ai~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4i
4                                                                                        #7) 7~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~J i 
KY__~~ 1                                         ~~
ILL-`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
//                                                                                                                  17~~~~~~~~~~~C
i                                     j j         Ii~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i
~~~x~-,  ~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~ ---      i   Iii ii~ i  i         i~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~df~i                                       f4 — -  4 — 4  - 1-  1 - -                                                     i
i                                                          ii~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ R d - 




j                               L     ____~~~~~~~~~~~777
V  ~             ~            ~;Y:>K
A ~~~~~~~AIA                        I~~~~~~~t
7Ti         A 
f                                 /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~......




i


EXHIIBIT [M.
PLAN MADE BY DIVER OF BREAK OF VERTICAL AND
FLAT KEEL OF THE MAINE, FRAME 18.


303




II
I~ ~~~~




,.Src ck showing  erttrc  keel broken  '  l
ahd fla-t Ireel -plc-s be'nt, 'u pTeserit-       ' 
i. Sttos. os. Q -it  oik e.r~l4 te. A  on project- a
Jatn o ji tjurie,.  Redrawn from draiVing 
n4e^  b Chref   n  et Mate A. OfsonLS. (dovr):'t




I




INDEX TO TESTIMONY.
Page.
First day:
Capt. Charles D. Sigsbee, U. S. Navy..................................        10-19
Second day:
Lieut. F. M. G. Holman, U. S. Navy....................................        20-24
Lieut. Commander Richard Wainwright, U. S. Navy-..................  25-29
Naval Cadet W. T. Cluverius, U. S. Navy...... —........................      29, 30
Naval Cadet J. H. Holden, U. S. Navy................................  30, 31
Third day:
Chief Engineer Charles P. Howell, U. S. Navy.........................       32-36
Lieut. F. M. G. Holman (recalled). --- —.........-.......-.-............ 36,37
Paymaster Charles M. Ray, U. S. Navy............................... —.          38
Surg. L. G. Henneberger, U. S. Navy..................................  39, 40
Private William Anthoniiy, U. S. Navy..................................      40, 41
Capt. Charles D. Sigsbee (recalled) -.....41-43,A-Ensign W. V. N. Powelson, U. S. Navy..................................      43-49
Fourth day:
William H. Van Syckel..............................     49-51
Chief Engineer Charles P. Howell, U. S. Navy. --- ——... —.-...-.... —   51,52
Capt. Frederick G. Teasdale.... ---.. —.........................     52-55
Chaplain John P. Chidwick, U. S. Navy...............................  55, 56
v-Sigmond Rothschild. ---... ----      -—...............              57-62
'-Louis Wertheimer.. —... --- —..... ----      -... ---............-.. -..........  62-66
Gunner Charles Morgan, U. S. Navy...................................  66-69
Chief Gunner's Mate Andrew Olsen, U. S. Navy... —.............. ---...-       69-76
Fifth day:
Gunner's Mate Thomas Smith, U. S. Navy..............................         76-83
Seaman Martin Reden, U. S. Navy-.....................................        83-87
Gunner's Mate W. H. F. Schluter, U. S. Navy...........................          88
Gunner's Mate Carl Rundquist, U. S. Navy --—........-...............  89-93
v.AVitness, name not given. (See testimony) -................   93-95
'1.Ensign W. V. N. Powelson (recalled)...96-100
Sixth day:, Henry Drain.......................................................... 100-102
Capt. Charles D. Sigsbee (recalled).................................... 102,103
Lieut. Commander Richard Wainwright (recalled)..-...... —.... —...... 103-105
Ensign W. V. N. Powelson (recalled)................................. 105-112
Gunner's Mate Olsen (recalled)........................................         112
Seventh day:
Lieut. John J. Blandin, U. S. Navy...................................  113-116
Lieut. John Hood, U.S. Navy.......................................... 116-126
Lieut. George P. Blow, U. S. Navy..-.-..-......-..................... 126-130
Lieut. Carl W. Jun gen, U. S. Navy.................................... 130-136
Naval Cadet Amon Bronson, jr., U. S. Navy-........................... 136-138
Naval Cadet D. F. Boyd, jr., U. S. Navy............................... 138-141
Lieut. George F. WV. Holman, U. S. Navy (recalled) -..                    141
Lieut. A. W. Catlin, U. S. Marine Corps............................... 142, 143
Gunner Joseph Hill, U. S. Navy.                                   143-146
Boatswain Francis E. Larkin, U. S. Navy..-............................ 146,147
Carpenter George Helm, U. S. Navy................................... 147-150
Eighth day:
Past Asst. Engineer Frederick C. Bowers.............-............... 151-154
Asst. Engineer John R. Morris........................................ 154-156
Naval Cadet Pope Washington........................................            156
Naval Cadet Arthur Crenshaw........................................ 156-158
Private Edward McKay, U. S. Marine Corps........................... 160-162
S. Doc. 207 —21                                                     305




306                                   INDEX.
Page.
Eighth day-Continued.
Apprentice Ambrose Ham, U. S. Navy.-..-.... —.. —.. —....-... ---        - 162,163
Lieutenant Blow, recalled -—.-...-....... ---. —...... ---..............      164
Apprentice C. J. Dressier, U. S. Navy........... ---............. 164-166
Sergeant Michael Mehan, U. S. Marine Corps....-...-.. —.-..-.......-. 166,167
Corporal Frank G. Thompson, U. S. Marine Corps.. —.. —..........-... 167-169
Lieut. C. W. Jungen, recalled....-.....-........ —....    --—........    170
Master at Arms John B. Load, U. S. Navy. —... --- —........... —...... 170-173
Seaman Peter Larsen, U. S. Navy.        —..................................... 173-175
Seaman Louis Moriniere, U. S. Navy................................... 175, 176
Boatswain's Mate Charles Bergman..        —................................. 176-178
Landsman George Fox, U. S. Navy...................................... 178-180
Landsman Michael Lanahan, U. S. Navy.............................. 180, 181
Coalpasser Thomas Melville, U. S. Navy        -        -............................... 181-184
Coxswain Benjamin R. Wilber, U. S. Navy.............................    184, 185
Fireman John H. Pank, U. S. Navy. ---...-........... —.............. 185,186
Seaman Otto Rau, U. S. Navy -------..........-....... ---. --- ——...... 186, 187
Fireman William Gartrell, U. S. Navy -1.......................... 187-189
Seaman Edward Mattson, U. S. Navy................................. 189-191
Mess Attendant John H. Turpin, U. S. Navy -. —.....-.. —.......... —.. 191-193
Seaman Martin Larsen, U. S. Navy.....................................  193
Ninth day:
Passed Assistant Engineer Bowers (recalled)...........................      194 -Seaman Harry S. McCann, U. S. Navy.-.-................-....-........ 199, 200
Landsman Kane, U. S. Navy..... --- ——.....-......-.................. 200, 201
Commander James M. Forsyth, U. S. Navy. —_...................... 201-203
Machinist Charles Goodwin........................................... 203, 204
Interrogation of survivors, officers and men, of the Maine, at military
barracks, Key West......................................     204
Tenth day:
Ensign W. V. N. Powelson (recalled).................................. 205-218
George Cornell....................................................... 218-220
Capt. Frank Stevens.................................................. 220, 221
Eleventh day:
Chief Engineer Howell (recalled)...................................... 221, 222
Ensign Powelson (recalled)...........................................  222
Chief Engineer Howell (recalled).. —....-............. —.-...........  224
Gunner's Mate Rundquist (recalled)................................... 224-229
Gunner's Mate Schluter (recalled)..................................... 229-231
Chief Gunner's Mate Olsen (recalled).................................. 232-238
Naval Cadet Cluverius (recalled)...................................... 238, 239
Twelfth day:
Gunner's Mate Smith.................................................. 239-242
Naval Constructor J. B. Hoover...-.....-..... —.....................-  242-244
Carpenter Helm (recalled)............................................. 244-246
L-Consul-General Fitzhugh Lee........................... 246,247
Thirteenth and fourteenth days:
Naval Constructor Hoover............................................  247
Carpenter Helm, U. S. Navy..............................       247
Ensign Powelson, U. S. Navy..........................................       248
Chief Gunner's Mate Olsen, U. S. Navy-................ --- —........ 249-252
Gunner's Mate T. Smith, U. S. Navy..................................        252
Gunner's Mate Schluter, U. S. Navy........................ 252,253
Gunner's Mate Rundquist, U. S. Navy —......-.....-..... —....... ----. 253-256
Fifteenth day:
Commander G. A. Converse, U. S. Navy.................  257-260
Sixteenth day:
Capt. John Haggerty.................................................. 261, 262
William Henry Dwyer, submarine diver............................... 262-264
Ensign Powelson (recalled)........................2.................. 264,265
Andrew Olsen, chief gunner's mate (recalled).................... 265-267
T. Smith, gunner's mate (recalled).................................... 267, 268
Carl Rundquist, gunner's mate (recalled).............................. 268, 269
Gunner's Mate Schluter (recalled)..........................       270
Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright (recalled)........................ 270, 271
Naval Constructor Hoover (recalled)..................................       271
Seventeenth day:
Lieut. H. Hutchins.........................................          272
Chief Engineer Howell (recalled)...................................... 272,273
Commander Converse (recalled)....................................... 273, 274




INDEX.                    307
Page.
Eighteenth day:
Submarine Diver Dwyer (recalled)......................   274-277
Lieutenant Hutchins (recalled)........................ -..........  277
Ensign Powelson (recalled).........................  277
Nineteenth day...................2....          278
Twentieth day..  -................................................  278
Twenty-first day..........................-.....-..-. —.....  278
Twenty-second day...-.......-.........-....-..............-.... —..-  279
Twenty-third day:
tFindings of the court.................................  279-281
Adjournment.............................  281
Exhibits:
A..-.... —...-..-........-....................... ---......... 285
B..-............-....-......................................... —  287
C..-...... ----... --........-.... - -....... ---.. 2-88
D............................................................-.......  289
E.......................                      2410
F.. —............................. —...  -—..-........... ----.  291
G.....................................................................  292
F    -----                                      291
G........-........-.. —......-..-....-...... —..-. --- —-.  297
K.. -—........-..........-..................-......................  29
L-............... ---.... —........ —..........-........-........ —...  301
M........... -...................................................   303
C




I -~~~~~~~~~ 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i
Q~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I
I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *




MESSAGE
FROM THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
TRANSMITTING,THE REPORT OF THE NAVAL COURT OF INQUIRY UPON THE
DESTRUCTION OF-THE UNITED STATES BATTLE SHIP
MAINE IN HAVANA HARBOR, FEBRUARY 15,1898,.TOGETHER WITH THE TESTIMONY
TAKEN BEFORE'THE COURT.
~, 
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNM ENT PRINTING OFFICE.,1898;




':~: j
"~
4
i. '. . c
I




I 
I 


I
I
I I;


r


k,
-      I
I


I
I
1
r
-~ ~ Si
1
r
i~
'1
I
r
r
i r


*        I.      I


J


r I.        I  




/I
I
j




1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




: THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN.
GRADUATE LIBRARY


DATE DUE




I w
cD: 
4:
-
-=(I-b- 
0
CA)
O)
O     r 
--
WO
X;.Up
=t —






Ix~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I
-!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~