THREE. The destruction of the Maine occurred at 9.40 P. M., on the
15th day of February, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, 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.