CAPTAIN OF U.S.S. MAINE DIES IN NEW YORK CITY
New York City (JFK+50) On July 19, 1923, Rear Admiral Charles D. Sigsbee*, U.S. Navy retired, passed away suddenly here in New York. The Admiral, who had been in poor health for two years, was captain of the U.S.S. Maine which exploded in Havana, Cuba on February 15, 1898.
The explosion cost the lives of 261 American sailors but Sigsbee was unhurt. When he arrived on deck, the Maine's captain saw horrific devastation. He later said...
"None can ever know the awful scenes of consternation, despair and suffering down in the forward compartments."
The destruction of the battleship Maine, largely blamed on Spain, was a major contributory factor to a United States declaration of war on that country.
*Charles Dwight Sigsbee (1845-1923) was born in Albany, New York & served in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War & Spanish-American War. CDS developed the Sigsbee sounding machine which became the standard for deep water oceanographic equipment.
SOURCE
"Rear Admiral Sigsbee Dead; Was Captain of Ill-Fated Maine," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., July 19, 1923, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
