Maine. The sinking of the United States battleship Maine helped cause the Spanish-American War. The Maine arrived in Havana, Cuba, on Jan. 25, 1898, to protect American lives and property in case of riots. On Feb. 15, 1898, it blew up, killing about 260 of the crew. A naval court of inquiry concluded that a submarine mine had caused the explosion. The United States accused Spain in this matter because Havana was then a Spanish port. But Spain claimed that an explosion inside the ship caused the disaster. The slogan “Remember the Maine” aroused widespread patriotic sentiment in favor of war against Spain.
In 1976, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover published a study of the incident based on research by several U.S. Navy experts. They concluded that the most likely cause of the explosion was heat from a fire in a coal bin that exploded a nearby supply of ammunition.
