THE "MAINE."
Before the United States joined in the war, the Cubans had succeeded
in driving the Spaniards out of many places in the eastern part of the
island, but could not get possession of the western part and the chief
harbors. We have seen that the war between the United States and Spain
began in April, 1898. But, two months before that time something
happened in the harbor of Havana, the capital of Cuba, which caused
terrible excitement in our country. You must understand that many
persons belonging to the United States have business in Cuba, own
property there, and even live there. Though these Americans did not
take part with the Cubans against Spain, yet it seemed sometimes as if
they were in danger on account of the disturbance in the island. So
our country decided to send one of our battleships--a man-of-war--to
stay awhile in the chief harbor of Cuba, so that the Americans might
feel safer by having such a ship to help them if they should need
help, as I have told you. Spain made no objections to this plan, and
said she would send a ship in return to visit New York. The ship
chosen from our navy was the Maine, commanded by Captain Sigsbee. On
January 25th, early in the morning of a bright warm day, the Maine,
with all her colors flying, and with all her men dressed in their best
clothes, drew near the harbor of Havana. A Spanish pilot went out to
meet her, took her carefully through the narrow entrance to the fine
harbor, and anchored her near some other ships. Though the entrance is
narrow, yet the harbor itself is large enough to accommodate a
thousand ships. The entrance is guarded by several fortresses, one of
which, called "Morro Castle," is nearly three hundred years old. It
stands on a high point of land, and for this reason is called "Morro,"
a name that means in Spanish, headland, or promontory.
[Illustration: U.S. Battleship "Maine."]
[Illustration: Morro Castle, Havana.]
No doubt the place seemed very attractive to the men on board the
Maine that bright sunny morning. The new part of Havana is pretty, the
old part is quaint and interesting. There are a number of famous
buildings, one of which is the Cathedral, where the remains of
Columbus were treasured at that time, but they have since been removed
to Spain. All the buildings are low, for low buildings are the fashion
in countries that are subject to earthquakes; they are built of
stone, and generally adorned with bright colors. There are wide
avenues, and large parks and gardens.
If you should visit Havana, you would see many curious sights. All the
houses, hotels and stores have iron-barred windows, which gives one
the impression that the inmates are confined there. Many houses have
large gates which open into beautiful gardens and court yards. Some of
the streets have very funny names, such as "Ladies' Delight," and "Fat
Stick," when the Spanish names are translated into our language; and
they have bright-colored awnings stretched across, from side to side.
The fish market is one of the most noted buildings in the city. It has
one long marble table running the entire length of the building, which
has one end open to the harbor. Poultry and fruits are brought to the
doors of the houses in baskets which are carried on donkeys or the
little horses of the country. Often you can see what looks like a
large bunch of grass, slowly moving over the pavements, but as it gets
nearer you will see the head of a donkey sticking out of one side,
while his tail alone is visible on the other side. This is the way
that food for horses and mules is brought into the city; no hay is
used, only green feed. The milkman does not call at the house, as with
us, but instead drives his cow up to the door and supplies you direct
from her with as much milk as you wish to buy. Charcoal is almost the
only fuel used in cooking, and the ranges look like benches placed
against the walls with holes in the tops of them. But we must return
to the battleship Maine.
[Illustration: Columbus Chapel, Havana.]
There was no special work for the Maine to do; she was simply to stay
in the harbor till further orders. The Spanish officers called on
Captain Sigsbee, and he returned their visits, according to the rules
that naval officers of all countries are bound to observe. Yet it was
easy for the men of the Maine to see that they were not welcome
guests. The Maine had twenty-six officers, and a crew of three hundred
and twenty-eight men. With her guns, ammunition, and other valuable
stores, she was worth $5,000,000. She had been three years in service,
having left the Brooklyn navy-yard in November, 1895.
The evening of February 10th, 1898, was dark and sultry. At eight
o'clock Captain Sigsbee received the reports from the different
officers of the ship that every thing was secure for the night. At ten
minutes after nine the bugler sounded "taps," the signal for "turning
in," and soon the ship was quiet. At forty minutes after nine a sharp
explosion was heard, then a loud, long, roaring sound, mingled with
the noise of falling timbers; the electric lights went out, the ship
was lifted up, and then she began to sink. The Captain and some of the
other officers groped their way to the deck, hardly knowing what had
happened. They could do nothing; the ship was sinking fast, and was on
fire in several places.
The force of the explosion was so great that it threw Captain Sigsbee
out of his cabin, where he sat writing a letter, and against William
Anthony, a marine who was on duty as a sentry. As coolly as though
nothing had happened, Anthony saluted the Captain and then said:
"Sir, I have the honor to inform you that the ship has been blown up
and is sinking."
[Illustration: Captain Charles D. Sigsbee.]
Small boats came out from the other ships, and rescued many men from
the Maine. The Spaniards helped the sufferers in every possible way,
taking them to the hospitals in Havana, where they received the best
care that the hospitals could give.
In that awful destruction of the Maine, two officers and two hundred
and fifty-four of the crew were lost. Several of those who were
rescued, died afterward.
The next day divers went down into the water to see what they could
find in the wreck, and nineteen dead bodies were brought up. The
Spanish officers of Havana asked Captain Sigsbee to permit the city to
give the a public funeral; and a plot of ground in Colón Cemetery,
outside the city, was given to the United States free of expense
forever. The day of the funeral all the flags were put at "half mast,"
as a sign of mourning, and the stores were closed. Crowds of people
joined the long funeral procession.
In the latter part of the year 1899, however, the Maine dead were
brought from Havana by the battleship Texas, then commanded by Captain
Sigsbee, formerly of the Maine. They were laid away in Arlington
Cemetery, near Washington, on December 28th, with simple religious
services and the honors of war, in the presence of the President of
the United States and his Cabinet, officers of the army and navy, and
many other spectators.
Besides Captain Sigsbee and Father Chidwick, who was chaplain of the
Maine at the time she was blown up, three others who lived through
that awful night were present. They were Lieutenant Commander
Wainwright, who was the executive officer of the Maine and who
afterwards sank the Furor and Pluton at Santiago; Lieutenant F.C.
Bowers, formerly assistant engineer of the Maine; and Jeremiah Shea, a
fireman of the Maine, who was blown out of the stoke-hole of the ship
through the wreckage.
[Illustration: Wreck of the "Maine."]
After three volleys had been fired over the dead, and the bugles had
rung out the soldiers' and sailors' last good night, Captain Sigsbee
introduced Shea to President McKinley. Being asked for an explanation
of his escape, he responded, as he had done to Father Chidwick when
he visited him in the hospital in Havana, where he lay covered with
wounds and bruises, and with nearly every bone in his body broken:
"I don't know how I got through. I was blown out. I guess I must have
been an armor-piercing projectile!"
The work of saving the guns and other valuable things on the Maine was
carried on for some time. Among other things that the divers recovered
was a splendid silver service that had been presented to the ship by
the state of Maine. The keys to the magazines were found in their
proper places in the captain's cabin, and his money and papers were
also recovered. Finally, it was found that the hull of the great ship
could not be raised, and in April the United States flag, that had
been kept flying above the wreck since the night of the fatal
explosion, was hauled down and the ship formally declared out of
commission.
Of course, the awful disaster caused deep sorrow in the United States.
There was great excitement also, for many persons thought that some of
the Spaniards had wrecked the Maine on purpose. The harbor was full of
"mines" or immense iron shells filled with stuff that will explode.
All countries at war protect their harbors in this way.
President McKinley appointed men to examine the wreck and find out all
they could about the explosion. They found that the ship was destroyed
by a "mine," but could not prove that the Spaniards had purposely
caused the "mine" to explode.
[Illustration: Captain-General's Palace, Havana.]
So there will always be a mystery connected with the horrible
destruction of the Maine.
On April 10th, Consul-General Lee and such Americans as wished to do
so, left Havana and returned to the United States. From that time on,
it seemed to the people of the United States that war with Spain was
inevitable, and preparations for it were carried on rapidly. On April
19th--which, by the way, was the anniversary of the first battle of
the war of the Revolution and also of the Civil War--Congress declared
that the United States must interfere in the affairs of Cuba and help
the Cubans to become a free and prosperous people. This declaration
was signed by President McKinley on the following day, and then our
minister to Spain, Mr. Woodford, was instructed to tell the Spanish
government what had been done, and also what would be done, if Spain
did not promise before the 23d to withdraw her soldiers from Cuba and
give up the island to the Cubans.
The message was sent by one of the submarine cables which connects
America with Europe, and the operator who received it told the Spanish
officials about it before sending it to its destination. So, before
Mr. Woodford could deliver his message, the Spanish government sent
him his passports, which was a polite hint to leave the country, and
he did so, at once. This action on the part of Spain was virtually a
declaration of war, and was so regarded by the President and the
people of this country. On the 22d, a blockade of Cuban ports was
established by the navy, and a Spanish ship was captured.