There was no special work for the Maine to do; she was simply to stay
in the harbor till further orders. The Spanish officers called on
Captain Sigsbee, and he returned their visits, according to the rules
that naval officers of all countries are bound to observe. Yet it was
easy for the men of the Maine to see that they were not welcome
guests. The Maine had twenty-six officers, and a crew of three hundred
and twenty-eight men. With her guns, ammunition, and other valuable
stores, she was worth $5,000,000. She had been three years in service,
having left the Brooklyn navy-yard in November, 1895.

The evening of February 10th, 1898, was dark and sultry. At eight
o'clock Captain Sigsbee received the reports from the different
officers of the ship that every thing was secure for the night. At ten
minutes after nine the bugler sounded "taps," the signal for "turning
in," and soon the ship was quiet. At forty minutes after nine a sharp
explosion was heard, then a loud, long, roaring sound, mingled with
the noise of falling timbers; the electric lights went out, the ship
was lifted up, and then she began to sink. The Captain and some of the
other officers groped their way to the deck, hardly knowing what had
happened. They could do nothing; the ship was sinking fast, and was on
fire in several places.

The force of the explosion was so great that it threw Captain Sigsbee
out of his cabin, where he sat writing a letter, and against William
Anthony, a marine who was on duty as a sentry. As coolly as though
nothing had happened, Anthony saluted the Captain and then said:

"Sir, I have the honor to inform you that the ship has been blown up
and is sinking."