The ship whose explosion in Havana Harbor helped spark the Spanish-American War was USS Maine. The American battleship exploded and sank on February 15, 1898, while stationed in Havana, killing 266 crew members.
Maine had been sent to Cuba to protect American citizens and interests during the Cuban War of Independence. At the time, relations between the United States and Spain were already tense. The disaster intensified American public anger, especially after newspapers blamed Spain with headlines such as “Remember the Maine!”
The explosion’s exact cause remains disputed. A 1898 U.S. naval inquiry concluded that an external mine caused the destruction, while later investigations suggested an internal accident, possibly involving a coal bunker fire. No definitive evidence established that Spain deliberately attacked the ship.
Maine did not single-handedly cause the war: political pressure, Cuban resistance to Spanish rule, humanitarian concerns, and American expansionism also mattered. Congress declared war against Spain in April 1898, about two months after the sinking.