An enormous explosion tore through the American battleship USS Maine as it sat anchored in Havana harbor, killing 266 of the 355 men aboard. Though the cause was likely an accidental fire in a coal bunker igniting an ammunition magazine, American newspapers blamed Spanish sabotage, and the rallying cry 'Remember the Maine!' helped propel the United States into war with Spain just two months later.
At 9:40 PM on February 15, 1898, a thunderous explosion ripped apart the forward third of the USS Maine, an American battleship anchored in Havana harbor as a show of goodwill amid Cuba's revolt against Spanish colonial rule. The ship sank within minutes, and 266 of the 355 sailors and Marines aboard died, many trapped in the wreckage or killed instantly by the blast.
The cause remains debated to this day. Modern naval investigations suggest a spontaneous fire in a coal bunker likely ignited an adjacent ammunition magazine — a known hazard of the era's ship design. But in 1898, American newspapers, particularly Joseph Pulitzer's and William Randolph Hearst's, immediately blamed a Spanish mine, fanning public outrage with lurid, largely speculative coverage that epitomized 'yellow journalism.'
The slogan 'Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain!' swept the country. By April, the United States had declared war on Spain, a conflict that lasted only a few months but transformed America into a colonial power controlling Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. The Maine's wreck, and the mystery of its destruction, became one of the twentieth century's first great media-driven casus belli.