Maine Explodes in Havana: War With Spain Begins
The forward magazines of the USS Maine detonated at 9:40 PM on February 15, 1898, while the battleship sat at anchor in Havana Harbor. The explosion killed 260 of the 355 men aboard, most of them enlisted sailors sleeping in the forward berthing areas. The cause was never definitively established. A naval court of inquiry blamed an external mine, but modern forensic analysis suggests an internal coal fire ignited the adjacent ammunition magazine. The actual cause mattered far less than the political effect. 'Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain' became the rallying cry of the yellow press, particularly Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal, which published inflammatory coverage that made war inevitable. President McKinley, who privately opposed war, buckled under public pressure. Congress declared war on Spain on April 25, launching the conflict that transformed America into an imperial power.
February 15, 1898
128 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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