Salvaged bronze from the wreckage of the USS Maine. N.p., ca. early 20th c. Neatly inscribed "Remember the Maine". Approx. 4 5/8 x 2 1/16 x 1/8 in.

The USS Maine sunk in Havana Harbor on 15 February after suffering a massive explosion. While the explosion was not attributed to Spanish forces, New York-based journalists William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer decided to blame Spain for the explosion, publicizing this in their papers with the headline "Remember The Maine, To Hell with Spain!" quickly emerging. This ultimately helped in President William McKinley deciding to enter war against Spain, in part to intervene in the Cuban War of Independence. 

The Spanish-American War was fought between Spain and the United States in 1898 and saw the balance of power change — Spain ultimately lost its hold on territories in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, whereas the U.S. significantly expanded, asserting itself as a major world power. After the USS Maine sank and the U.S. intervened in the Cuban War of Independence against Spain, the countries continued to fight over territories until the 1898 Treaty of Paris. This treaty ceded the ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines to the U.S. and additionally established Cuba as a protectorate of the U.S. 

[Spanish American War, Spanish-American War, Cuban War of Independence, USS Maine, Remember the Maine, Philippine-American War, Philippine Revolution, Rough Riders, Battle of San Juan Hill, Theodore Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt] [Flags, Patriotic Textiles]