'Remember the Maine'

The Spanish American War is, perhaps, the United States' least understood war by most Americans. A precursor to that war was the explosive destruction and sinking of the battleship USS Maine. The Maine had arrived in Havana on Jan. 25, 1898, for a peaceful visit. Aboard the Maine was a complement of 24 officers, 290 sailors and 40 Marines. Capt. Charles D. Sigsbee, commander of the Maine, had ordered that no crew member take shore leave due to some civil unrest in Guba.

At 9:40 p.m. Feb. 15, 1898, the Maine was rocked by an explosion and began to sink. Capt. Sigsbee later testified about the event. He said "It was a bursting rending, and crashing roar of immense volume, largely metallic in character. It was followed by heavy, ominous metallic sounds. The electric lights went out. Then there was intense blackness and smoke.

"The situation could not be mistaken. The Maine was blown up and sinking. For a moment the instinct of self-preservation took charge of me, but this was immediately dominated by the habit of command."

Killed in the explosion and sinking were two officers, 222 enlisted sailors and 28 Marines. There were also eight sailors who died later from their wounds. Newspaper headlines two days after the explosion reported, "MAINE EXPLOSION CAUSED BY BOMB OR TORPEDO?" The New York Journal speculated in another headline, "THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WAR SHIP MAINE WAS THE WORK OF AN ENEMY." While the newspaper headlines sold papers, they also stirred the desire for revenge. War fever was further fed by the promoted slogan "Remember the Maine." These headlines ignored the fact that multiple investigations were ongoing and no conclusions had been reached about the sinking of the Maine. On March 28, 1898, the United States Naval Court of Inquiry found that the Maine was destroyed by a submerged mine. The court did not determine the origin of the mine. The popular belief was that the mine was the work of the Spaniards.

Debate has continued since the Spanish American War over the cause of the sinking of the USS Maine. In 1976, a team of American naval investigators concluded that the Maine explosion was likely caused by a fire that ignited its ammunition stocks, not by a Spanish mine or act of sabotage.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.