The court, having finished the inquiry it was ordered to make, adjourned at 11 A. M., to wait the action of the convening authority.
W. T. SAMPSON, Captain, U. S. N.,
President.
A. MARIX, Lieutenant-Commander, U. S. N.,
Judge Advocate.
U. S. Flagship New York,
March 22, 1898.
Off Key West, Florida.
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.
This in brief is the story of how the causes of the disaster were reached. Too much credit cannot be given to young Ensign Powelson for his intelligence and energy in proving to a mathematical demonstration that the Maine was blown up by a submarine mine.
The Spanish officials in Cuba made a perfunctory investigation. Altogether, their divers were down below about five hours, during which time they made a most cursory examination. This court then reported that the Maine had been blown up as the result of an interior explosion, one of the principal reasons for this being that no dead fish were found in the harbor afterwards. Our own experts testified that an explosion underneath the water would not necessarily kill fish, nor would it throw up a great volume of water, as the Spaniards claim.
When the news of the terrible calamity reached the United States, public feeling reached the highest pitch of excitement. Rumors of all kinds were in the air. Enormous editions of the great journals were printed, and the one topic of conversation was the cause of the disaster and the effect of the occurrence upon our relations with Spain. Hourly bulletins were displayed at the newspaper offices.