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| Later reclassified as Armored Cruiser (ACR-1) | |||
| Act of 3 August 1886: |
"._._. The President is hereby authorized to have constructed, ._._. |
" Two sea-going double-bottomed armored vessels of abut six thousand tons displacement, designed for a speed of at least sixteen knots an hour, with engines having all necessary appliances for working under forced draught, and costing, including engines and machinery and excluding armament, not more than two million five hundred thousand dollars each. Said vessels shall have each a complete torpedo outfit and be armed tin the most effective manner. |
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"._._. The vessels hereinbefore authorized to be constructed shall be built of steel of domestic manufacture, ._._. |
. . . . . . . |
"._._. The armor used in construction said armored vessels ._._. shall be of the best obtainable quality and of domestic manufacture, provided contracts for furnishing the same in a reasonable time, at a reasonable price, and of the required quality can be mad with responsible parties. ._._. |
" The Secretary of the Navy shall cause one or more of the new vessels hereinbefore provided for to be constructed ._._. in one or more of the navy-yards of the United States; ._._. |
"._._. The engines, boilers, and machinery of all the new vessels provided for by this act shall be of domestic manufacture ._._. unless the Secretary of the Navy shall be unable to obtain the same at fair prices, in which case he may construct the same, ._._. in the navy-yards of the United States: ._._." |
| The first Maine, a second-class armored battleship, was laid down at New York Navy Yard 17 October 1888; launched 18 November 1889; sponsored by Miss Alice Tracy Wilmerding, granddaughter of Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Tracy, and commissioned 17 September 1895, Capt. Arent S. Crowninshield in command. |
| Maine departed New York Navy Nard 5 November 1895 for Newport, Rhode Island, via Gardiner's Bay, New York, to fit out 16 to 23 November, and Men proceeded on the 25th to Portland, Maine, to visit her namesake. The battlewagon then put to sea on the 29th for trials and inspection, being assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron 16 December, and sailing via Newport to Tompkinsville, New York, arriving 23 December. The ship sailed tine nest day for Fort Monroe, Virginia, arriving on Christmas Day. She operated out of that place and Newport News through June 1896 and them on the 4th sailed for Key West on a two-month training cruise, returning to Norfolk 3 August. Maine continued extensive east coast operations until late 1897. Then the ship prepared for a voyage to Havana, Cuba, to show the flag and to protect American citizens in event of violence in the Spanish struggle with the revolutionary forces In Cuba. |
| On 11 December, Maine stood out of Hampton Roads bound for Key West, arriving on the 15th. She was joined there by ships of the North Atlantic Squadron on maneuvers, then left Key West 24 January 1898 for Havana. |
| Arriving 25 January, Maine anchored in the center of the port, remained on vigilant watch, allowed no liberty and took extra precautions against sabotage. Shortly after 2140, 15 February, the battleship was torn apart by a tremendous explosion that shattered the entire forward part of the ship. Out of 350 officers and men on board that night (4 officers were ashore), 252 were dead or missing. Eight more were to die in Havana hospitals during the neat few days. The survivors of the disaster were taken on board Ward Line steamer City of Washington and Spanish cruiser Alfonso XII. The Spanish officials at Havana showed every attention to the survivors of the disaster and great respect for those killed. The court of inquiry convened in March was unable to obtain evidence associating the destruction of the battleship with any person or persons, but public opinion in the United States was so inflamed that the Maine disaster led eventually to the declaration of war on Spain 21 April. |
| On 5 August 1910, Congress authorized the raising of Maine and directed Army engineers to supervise the work. A second board of inquiry appointed to inspect the wreck after it was raised reported that injuries to the ship's bottom were caused by an external explosion of low magnitude that set off the forward magazine, completing destruction of the ship. It has never been determined who placed the explosive; responsibility for the sinking of Maine remains one of the continuing enigmas of American history. |
| Maine's hulk was finally floated 2 February 1912 and towed out to sea where it was sunk in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico with appropriate ceremony and military honors 16 March; her crew was returned for burial in Arlington National Cemetery aboard North Carolina (ACR-12). |
| USS Maine, 2nd Class Battleship Specifications | |||
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1895
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Armament:
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Larry W. Jewell, Who's Who of United States Battleships, (Internet publication), edition: 30 August, 1993. | |
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James L. Mooney, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964), Vol.1 -- A-B, p. 189 | |
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James L. Mooney, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969), Vol.4: L-M, p. 200-201 | |
