In the New York Navy Yard, on October 17, 1888, many American ship builders began building a 6,682 ton battleship soon to be named the USS Maine. This second-class battleship sported four 10 inch and six 6 inch cannons, and 15 pound guns with four 14 inch torpedo tubes when she was launched from the navy yard a year later in November 1889. She was commissioned on September 17, 1895, her was Captain Arent S. Crowninshield, and she crewed 350 men; a few months after her commissioning, she was on her way to her first and final voyage, which was a peace keeping mission to Cuba.1
In January of 1898, the USS Maine steamed from the Florida Keys to Havana Cuba. A Cuban fight for independence from Spain was underway, and with American citizens in Cuba caught in the cross-fire, the presence of an American battleship there would demonstrate US concerns to Spain about those American citizens. The ship was there in what the United Stated called a “friendly act,” though there wasn’t many friendly feeling from the Spanish authorities toward the battleship being in their harbor. No actions against the ship were taken. But at 9:40 P.M. on 15 February, that all changed. Two explosions rocked the ship as it threw pieces of the Maine two-hundred feet in the air as it illuminated the whole harbor. The first explosion was a small dull roar that was followed by a much more powerful second explosion. The explosion was larger due to the forward magazines going off in the fire. The forward half of the ship was reduced to a mass of twisted steel; the aft section slowly sank, leaving two officers and 258 members of the crew dead in the aftermath of the destruction.2
Upon hearing what happened to the USS Maine, both the Spanish and American Governments sent their own investigators to the wreck to determine what happened to the ship. Both investigators came up with completely different conclusions as to the cause of the explosions. The Spanish said that the cause was an internal explosion in the coal bunker, while the American investigator said it was an external explosion that set off the forward magazine after the first explosion. While the investigators were working on the causes, the remaining survivors were rushed to hospitals on a ward steamer and a Spanish cruiser. Eight of those survivors subsequently died. Once news of the Maine’s explosion and the deaths of American sailors reached the States, many Americans believed that the explosion was due an external explosion caused by a shady individual, and they demanded an armed intervention against the Spanish. Though this wasn’t the cause of the Spanish-American War, it was certainly a catalyst for starting it.3
The wreck of the Maine stayed in Havana’s harbor for years, until 1911, when the American Government sent a group of Army engineers to raise the wreck. There they found that the aft section was the only intact part of the ship, so they raised it and floated it out to sea. Then, on the 16th of March, 1912, the Maine was given her minute gun salute as she sank with her flag flowing proudly one last time. Remains of the crew found with her were subsequently laid to rest as well in Arlington cemetery. Before she was sunk, officials performed one last set of investigations. They found evidence that pointed to a faulty boiler as the possible cause of the explosion, but they still lacked conclusive evidence to support the theory, so the cause of the explosion is still undetermined and we may never know for sure what caused the Maine to explode.4
- The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 2009, s.v. “USS Maine,” by Naval Historic Center. ↵
- Dictionary of American History, 2003, s.v. “Maine, Sinking of the Maine.” ↵
- The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 2009, s.v. “USS Maine,” by Naval Historic Center. ↵
- Dictionary of American History, 2003, s.v. “Sinking of The Maine,” by Walter B. Norris. ↵
41 comments
Sergio Cervantes
How tense things must have gotten after the two explosions sunk the USS Maine! It must have been interesting to be alive at this time and see how everything took a change for the worst. The presence of a US naval warship must have alerted the Spanish at the possibility of a future conflict with the United States. Without a doubt it must have been awkward for investigators from both nations to visit the wreck and determine what the cause of the explosions was.
Mario Sosa
The Spanish-American War tends to be overlooked, so it was good to read about what sparked the war. I was taught in high school that the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine was caused by a malfunction in it’s boiler, so it was interesting to read that there still isn’t enough evidence to support that theory. Intriguing article, nice job!
Tyler Sleeter
Great article with lots of good information. I had heard of the sinking of the USS Maine, but I did not know that it was one of the catalysts of the Spanish American War. It is good that they were able to locate and bury some of the fallen soldiers even though so many years had passed. I find it interesting that researchers are not sure if it was attacked and sank or if a boiler exploded and it sank. It would be good if someone could figure out what actually happened and put the mystery to rest.
Luke Trevino
Wow what a great article! I remember learning about this in high school! It is surely one of those moments in history that is not always remembered but very important. I believe it is crazy how it was so unknow to us why it happened when America prides its self on its advanced technologies. Like I said great informative and researched article.
Mariana Govea
Interesting article! I remember hearing about this in High school! It is so interesting and mysterious how even till this day they have not determine anything about the explosion! As well as it is so crazy that even though it is a very unfortunate event to the American history there was no investigation that actually found out about the explosion,super weird!Good images it helped the reader visualize and understand how big the explosion was and how it look where it took place!
Alyssa Valdez
Very interesting Article! I remember reading about this in high school I thought your article was very informative and such an interesting read. I also thought that the photo’s you decided to use were very captivating and such a nice addition to your article. I also thought it was interesting that you highlighted to different investigations that occurred that resulted in to completely different results.
Johnanthony Hernandez
Great article, interesting to think that the USS Maine’s first and only mission ended with such disaster for her and her crew during the a peace keeping mission. How no one other than the Navy would have had much interest in the situation unlike now where it would have grown following from around he world that a ship on a mission of peace had fallen due to the Spanish who had not taken any action against her or her crew until that fateful day when she was scuttled.
Sergio Cervantes
Great article! I enjoyed reading about the ship and its mysterious sinking. I must say that the amount of firepower this ship had was impressive. It adds to the reason as to why the explosion of the ship wiped out more than half of the crew. It is also interesting to see why the USS Maine was being sent to Cuba. This must have proven beneficial to Congress when declaring war on Spain years later. I am glad to see that the ship was eventually allowed to sink and the remains of her crew were taken to Arlington.
Briana Bustamante
What an interesting article. I like how you gave background information in the beginning. After reading your article I remember learning about the USS Maine. It was interesting to read the there were two different investigations that had two different results! It’s sad that there were people who were blaming one another because of an internal factor, for example the boiler. Overall I feel that you have written a nice article.
Cameron Mays
This is a very interesting topic that I was immediately drawn to because it features the United States’ naval power, in the form of USS Maine. Your article basically gives the biography of the ship and it was very neat learning about it, because I never really had before. However, I definitely feel like there was a lot more to talk about covering this topic and I wish you would have went into greater detail, specifically with how this affected various other things. Overall, this seems fairly well-researched a decent article all-around.