destruction of the Maine

destruction of the Maine, (February 15, 1898), an incident preceding the Spanish-American War in which a mysterious explosion sank the U.S. battleship Maine in the harbor of Havana. The destruction of the Maine was one of a series of incidents that precipitated the United States’ intervention in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain, which had begun in 1895.

In January 1898 the Maine had been sent to Havana partly as a conciliatory gesture to Spanish authorities and partly to safeguard U.S. citizens and property following unrest in the city. Then, on February 15, an explosion sank the ship, carrying 260 Navy crewmen and officers to their deaths. Shortly following the explosion, a U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry concluded that the Maine had been destroyed by an underwater mine, and suspicion quickly fell on Spain. Certain U.S. newspapers seized upon the incident and coined the popular slogan, “Remember the ‘Maine,’ to hell with Spain!” in an effort to whip up public sentiment in favor of armed intervention, which followed in April.

In 1976 a subsequent U.S. naval investigation determined that the explosion most likely resulted from an internal fire that ignited the ship’s ammunition, rather than from a Spanish mine or deliberate sabotage.