Skip to main content

Naval History and Heritage Command

National Museum of the U.S. Navy

<p>NMUSN:&nbsp; Ships:&nbsp; USS Maine (Battleship #10)</p>

USS Maine (1895-1898)

Related Content
USS Maine (1895-1898)

USS Maine, a second-class battleship, was commissioned in September 1895 at the New York Navy Yard.   Originally, she was classified as Armored Cruiser #1.   Following her commissioning, she spent the next few years patrolling off the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean area.  Sent to Havana, Cuba, in January 1898 to protect U.S. interests during local unrest, Maine was sunk by a massive explosion on February 15.   Out of the 350 officers and crew, 252 were dead or missing, with eight more to die in hospitals later.  Following a Court of Inquiry and subsequent public outcry, the United States declared war with Spain on April 21, 1898.  Congress authorized the raising of Maine in August 1910 and was raised in February 1912.    Towed out to sea, she was sunk in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico with appropriate ceremony and military honors on March 16, 1912.  

Image:   LC-DIG-DET-4a05501:  USS Maine, port view, passing while under Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York.  Published by Detroit Publishing Company, 1895-98.   Courtesy of the Library of Congress.