1898 U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry
E614679
The 1898 U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry was the official American investigation convened to determine the cause of the USS Maine’s explosion in Havana Harbor, an event that helped precipitate the Spanish–American War.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
military investigation
ⓘ
naval court of inquiry ⓘ |
| aim |
assign responsibility if possible for loss of USS Maine
ⓘ
determine cause of USS Maine explosion ⓘ |
| appliesTo | incident of 15 February 1898 in Havana Harbor ⓘ |
| appliesToJurisdiction | United States Navy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| archivesAt | U.S. National Archives (records of the Court of Inquiry) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| authorizedBy | United States government NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| chronology | convened shortly after 15 February 1898 explosion ⓘ |
| contextOf | U.S.–Spanish tensions over Cuba in late 19th century ⓘ |
| convenedBy | United States Navy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| describedBySource |
contemporary U.S. newspapers
ⓘ
later historical works on the Spanish–American War ⓘ |
| determination | explosion was caused by an external mine (as concluded in 1898 report) ⓘ |
| endTime | 1898-03 ⓘ |
| followedBy | later U.S. investigations into USS Maine (e.g., 1911–1912 board of inquiry) ⓘ |
| genre | military fact-finding investigation ⓘ |
| hasCause | explosion and sinking of USS Maine ⓘ |
| hasEffect |
contributed to outbreak of the Spanish–American War
ⓘ
increased U.S. public support for war with Spain ⓘ |
| hasLegalAuthority |
to examine physical evidence related to USS Maine
ⓘ
to take testimony under oath from naval personnel ⓘ |
| hasPart |
analysis of damage patterns on USS Maine
ⓘ
inspection of wreck of USS Maine ⓘ review of harbor conditions in Havana ⓘ testimony of surviving officers and crew of USS Maine ⓘ |
| historicalPeriod | prelude to the Spanish–American War ⓘ |
| inception | 1898-02 ⓘ |
| languageOfWorkOrName | English ⓘ |
| legalForm | court of inquiry under U.S. naval law ⓘ |
| location |
Havana Harbor (incident under investigation)
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Havana, Cuba (evidence gathering) ⓘ Key West, Florida (hearings) ⓘ |
| mainSubject | cause of USS Maine explosion ⓘ |
| objectHasRole |
Spanish authorities in Cuba (parties of interest)
ⓘ
USS Maine (subject of investigation) NERFINISHED ⓘ crew of USS Maine (witnesses) ⓘ |
| partOf | official U.S. governmental response to USS Maine disaster ⓘ |
| pointInTime | 1898 ⓘ |
| significantEvent | publication of findings on cause of USS Maine explosion ⓘ |
| significantOutcome |
no conclusive assignment of blame to Spain in formal findings
ⓘ
official endorsement of external explosion theory in 1898 ⓘ |
| significantPlace |
Havana Harbor, Cuba
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Key West Naval Station, Florida NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| statedIn | official report of the U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry on the loss of the USS Maine ⓘ |
| subjectOf | investigation into the explosion of USS Maine ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.