<sod>The cause of ''Maine''{{'}}s sinking remains a subject of speculation. In 1898, an investigation of the explosion was carried out by a naval board appointed under the McKinley Administration. The consensus of the board was that ''Maine'' was destroyed by an external explosion from a mine. However, the validity of this investigation has been challenged. George W. Melville, a chief engineer in the Navy proposed that a more likely cause for the sinking was from a magazine explosion within the vessel. The Navy’s leading ordnance expert, Philip R. Alger took this theory further by suggesting that the magazines were ignited by a spontaneous fire in a coal bunker.<ref>{{Cite web|title = http://www.loc.gov/law/help/usconlaw/pdf/Maine.1898.pdf|url = http://www.loc.gov/law/help/usconlaw/pdf/Maine.1898.pdf|website = www.loc.gov|accessdate = 2015-05-19}}</ref> The coal used in ''Maine'' was bituminous coal, which is known for releasing [[firedamp]], a gas that is prone to spontaneous explosions.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bituminous_coal&oldid=661167893 | title=Bituminous coal | date=6 May 2015}}</ref> There is stronger evidence that the explosion of ''Maine'' was caused by an internal coal fire which ignited the magazines. This was a likely  cause of the explosion, rather than the initial hypothesis of a mine.<eod>
<sod>The cause of ''Maine''{{'}}s sinking remains a subject of speculation. In 1898, an investigation of the explosion was carried out by a naval board appointed under the McKinley Administration. The consensus of the board was that ''Maine'' was destroyed by an external explosion from a mine. However, the validity of this investigation has been challenged. George W. Melville, a chief engineer in the Navy proposed that a more likely cause for the sinking was from a magazine explosion within the vessel. The Navy’s leading ordnance expert, Philip R. Alger took this theory further by suggesting that the magazines were ignited by a spontaneous fire in a coal bunker.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Destruction of the Maine (1898) |url = http://www.loc.gov/law/help/usconlaw/pdf/Maine.1898.pdf|date=August 4, 2009|work=The Law Library of Congress |publisher = www.loc.gov|accessdate = 2015-05-19}}</ref> The coal used in ''Maine'' was bituminous coal, which is known for releasing [[firedamp]], a gas that is prone to spontaneous explosions.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bituminous_coal&oldid=661167893 | title=Bituminous coal | date=6 May 2015}}</ref> There is stronger evidence that the explosion of ''Maine'' was caused by an internal coal fire which ignited the magazines. This was a likely  cause of the explosion, rather than the initial hypothesis of a mine.<eod>