U.S.S.+Maine

=Maine= toc The U.S.S. Maine was a battle ship in The Spanish American War. It was one of the most famous ships in the war. It fought in many battles during the war. It spent most of its career along the coast of the Eastern United States, and it spent time on the Caribbean. It later went to Havana, Cuba to protect some vital U.S. land, materials, and supplies. The U.S.S. Maine is a very famous ship.

Early History of the Ship
The ship was first ordered on August 3, 1886. Little did people know that it was going to be one of the most famous battle ships in U.S. history. However, it wasn’t launched until about three years later, on November 18, 1889. It was the first ship in the U.S. Navy to be named after a state (Maine). It had 374 officers and men. It weighed about 6,682 tons. It was about 319 ft. long, and it went about 31 km/h. It had many guns on it; the ship even had a 4 by 14 surface torpedo gun. This ship was very hard to defeat in combat.


 * U.S.S. Maine**

Arriving to Cuba
The U.S.S. Maine will go through many tough voyages in its time. The first action it would see would be in Havana, Cuba. President Mckinley sent the ship there to protect American citizens there against possible Spanish attack in January of 1898. It then arrived there on January,1898. The Spanish officers positioned in Cuba were unaware of the ship's intentions. In case of any trouble, the captain of the ship, Charles Sigsbee, did not let any of his crew off the ship and on to land.

Life On The Ship
The living conditions, as you can imagine were not good on the ship while they were anchored in Cuba. Even when they were next to Havana, Cuba, they couldn't get off because the Spanish might cause trouble and they wanted to avoid that trouble. This means they had to live off the food and water of what they already had. The living conditions were not that good aboard the ship.

Destruction
The ship was anchored at Havana Cuba on January of 1898. About three weeks later on February the 15, 1898. It blew up. There are many myths on what might have happened still being debated today. Many think the Spanish destroyed it with mines. Others think it was just an accident. McKinley believed that the Spanish did which was one of the many catalysts of why we went to war with them. 266 of the men that were aboard the ship died that day because of the catastrophe. Later in the Spanish War, people would " The Hell With Spain, Remember The Maine." It was a sad day in U.S. history.
 * Wreckage of the Ship**

Memorials
Many can see memorials of the ship today. The mast of the ship is in Arlington National Cemetery along with some of the crew members. There are also many other parts of the ship that are there in Arlington, Virginia. There is a monument of the ship and a portion of the bronze engine room ventilator shaft from the Maine in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. There are still many more memorials around the country today.