3-069-952 - LTL/Heritage Images

Burial of the "Maine" victims, Havana, Cuba, 1898. Demonstration of mourning on the occasion of the burial of the "Maine" victims, after the explosion that took place on February 15, 1898 in the port of Havana. USS Maine was an armoured cruiser of the United States Navy. The ship's crew consisted of 355 men: 26 officers, 290 enlisted sailors and 39 marines. Of these, there were 261 fatalities. The event, which occurred during the Cuban war of Independence, served as a pretext for the United States to declare war on Spain. From "La Ilustración Española y Americana", 1898.