Our Action on the Maine Disaster: City and Powers
"A party of us were sitting in the cabin engaged in idle conversation. It was nearly as I can recall, between nine and ten o'clock. Suddenly we were startled by a loud report. As by a single impulse our little group rushed to the port-holes and saw an immense flash shoot up in the air with a horrible, grinding, hissing noise that might have been an earthquake or a cyclone. Debris of all kinds and a large number of bodies were thrown upward. It was at first believed that the Maine was being fired upon, but afterwards, as the City of Washington was struck by what turned out to be falling debris and she careened, it was thought she was the ship attacked. A second explosion took place, and following it we heard groans and cries of `Help,' `Help us.' The boats of the City of Washington and those of the Spanish cruiser Alfonso XII. were hurriedly launched and went to the rescue. I went into one of the boats of the City of Washington, and the scenes I witnessed were heartrending beyond description.. Two of the small boats on board the City of Washington were stove in by the debris from the Maine. The battle-ship sank even with the water in about thirty minutes after the explosion. The City of Washington was converted into a hospital. Many of the rescued men were brought on board almost nude, and the passengers gave them clothing. The officers of the City of Washington did all in their power to make the rescued men comfortable.. About half an hour after the explosion Consul-General Lee, the Civil Governor of Havana, and Captain-General Blanco's chief of staff came on board. General Lee remained with us all night.
"When all was over, and the casualties were estimated,
it was found that 266 seamen, including two commissioned officers, had lost their lives."
Spain asked to be allowed to join in the investigation we set afoot, but, being refused, started one of her own in a desultory manner.
A Court of Inquiry, composed of Captain William T. Sampson, of the Iowa; Lieutenant-Commander Adolph Marix, Captain French E. Chadwick, and Lieutenant-Commander W.P. Potter, began an investigation, February 26, which lasted twenty-three days. All the survivors were closely questioned; the Maine was examined by divers; the fullest testimony was obtained and sifted.
These were the conclusions of the court:
"That the loss of the Maine was not due in any respect to negligence on the part of any of the officers or members of the crew.
"That she 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."
The Spanish Court of Investigation reported that the explosion was from the inside of the Maine.
The President sent the report of our Court of Inquiry to Congress, saying he had referred it to Spain, expecting that nation to do what was right in the premises. Under orders of the President, Consul-General Fitzhugh Lee left Havana April 9, 1898, by which time nearly all our consuls and citizens were already gone. On April 7 an unusual event took place at the White House. The diplomatic representatives of Great Britain, Germany, Austro-Hungary, France, Italy, and Russia, headed by Sir Julian Pauncefote, handed the President a joint note expressing the hope that further negotiations would bring about peace. The President replied that he was anxious for peace, and concluded: "The Government of the United States appreciates the humanitarian and disinterested character of the communication now made on behalf of the Powers therein named, and for its part is confident that equal appreciation will be shown for its own earnest and unselfish endeavors to fulfil a duty to humanity by ending a situation, the indefinite prolongation of which has become insufferable." This is generally conceded to be one of the most convincing answers to an appeal for peace ever made. It satisfied the Powers, not one of which thereafter made a protest.
On April 10, 1898, the new Spanish Minister presented a long note to the State Department, making the best of the situation from a Spanish point of view, calling attention to autonomy, the armistice, the repeal of the Weyler decree of reconcentration, and the fact that General Blanco, who had succeeded Weyler, was trying to do the best he could for humanity. It wastoo late. War was already certain, and the only question was as to the preliminaries. There were many members in both Houses who wanted to recognize the existing Cuban Republic, but the President opposed this, and, after a long struggle, the administration won.