The question has been asked many times if I believed then that the Maine was blown up from the outside. My answer to this has been that my first order on reaching the deck was to post sentries [guards] about the ship. I knew that the Maine had been blown up, and believed that she had been blown up from the outside. Therefore I ordered a measure which was intended to guard against attack. There was the sound of many voices from the shore, suggestive of cheers. What evidence did the captain give that might indicate that the explosion was a deliberate attack? The ship had blown up. The explosion came from inside the ship. The captain heard voices from shore. The captain thought he heard cheering.
