The sinking of the first battle ship ever named for the state of Maine marked a solemn occasion Sunday.
February 15, 1898 was the day that the USS Maine went down in Havana Harbor.
The disaster contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War two months later.
The phrase, “Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!” became a rallying cry for action.
Although the Maine explosion was not a direct cause of the war, it served as a catalyst that accelerated the events leading up to it.
The 324-foot ship was launched November 18, 1890 from the New York Naval Shipyard.
The Maine, sent to Havana Harbor to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban War of Independence, exploded and sank on the evening of February 15, 1898, killing 268 sailors,
A U.S. Navy board of inquiry ruled that the ship had been sunk by an external explosion from a mine.
However, some U.S. Navy officers disagreed with the board, suggesting that the ship’s magazines had been ignited by a spontaneous fire in a coal bunker.
The ship lay at the bottom of the harbor until 1911, when a cofferdam was built around it.
The hull was patched up until the ship was afloat, then it was towed to sea and sunk.
The Maine now lies on the seabed 3,600 feet below the surface.
The ship’s main mast is now a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.
Arlington officials three months ago unveiled a new exhibit in the cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater Display Room, featuring a rare artifact from the Maine.
The centerpiece of the exhibit is a wooden fragment of the Maine’s spar mast that survived the explosion and was recovered after the ship sank.
“Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!” – A Rallying Cry For Action 128 Years Ago
By Ted Cohen
