US BATTLESHIP EXPLODES IN HAVANA HARBOR
Havana, Cuba (JFK+50) At 9:40 p.m. February 15, 1898, five tons of gunpowder detonated aboard the U.S.S. Maine* docked here in Havana Harbor. The explosion destroyed the forward one-third of the vessel and took the lives of 260 American sailors.
What was the American battleship doing in Havana?
The story goes back to 1878 when a ten year revolt by Cubans against the Spanish government ended. A second revolt broke out in 1895. Spain set up concentration camps in which 100,000 Cubans died. These events were covered by the American "yellow press" which took the side of the rebels.
In January 1898, a series of pro-Spanish riots resulted in President William McKinley's decision to send the U.S.S. Maine to Havana. The ship arrived on January 24, 1898.
Three investigations were conducted involving the incident. The first two determined the explosion to be caused by a naval mine presumably planted by the Spanish. The last investigation in 1976 determined the explosion to be caused internally by a coal dust fire.
It was the American press, however, who put the blame squarely on the Spanish. Thus the headline...
"REMEMBER THE MAINE! TO HELL WITH SPAIN!"
*U.S.S. Maine (ACR-1) was launched on November 18, 1889 at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. USSM was the first American navy ship to be named after the state of Maine. The battleship was based in Key West before being sent to Cuba.
SOURCE
"The Spanish-American War: The U.S.S. Maine Explosion", ThoughtCo., www.thoughtco.com/
Havana, Cuba (JFK+50) At 9:40 p.m. February 15, 1898, five tons of gunpowder detonated aboard the U.S.S. Maine* docked here in Havana Harbor. The explosion destroyed the forward one-third of the vessel and took the lives of 260 American sailors.
What was the American battleship doing in Havana?
The story goes back to 1878 when a ten year revolt by Cubans against the Spanish government ended. A second revolt broke out in 1895. Spain set up concentration camps in which 100,000 Cubans died. These events were covered by the American "yellow press" which took the side of the rebels.
In January 1898, a series of pro-Spanish riots resulted in President William McKinley's decision to send the U.S.S. Maine to Havana. The ship arrived on January 24, 1898.
Three investigations were conducted involving the incident. The first two determined the explosion to be caused by a naval mine presumably planted by the Spanish. The last investigation in 1976 determined the explosion to be caused internally by a coal dust fire.
It was the American press, however, who put the blame squarely on the Spanish. Thus the headline...
"REMEMBER THE MAINE! TO HELL WITH SPAIN!"
*U.S.S. Maine (ACR-1) was launched on November 18, 1889 at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. USSM was the first American navy ship to be named after the state of Maine. The battleship was based in Key West before being sent to Cuba.
SOURCE
"The Spanish-American War: The U.S.S. Maine Explosion", ThoughtCo., www.thoughtco.com/
U.S.S. Maine
Aftermath of the Explosion
