Triangulating the USS Maine

On February 15, 1898 there was an explosion aboard the USS Maine which sank at her mooring in the mouth of Havana Bay. The battleship had been dispatched to Cuba the month before because of instability in the area caused by a war between Cuban revolutionaries fighting for independence and Spanish colonial occupiers. It was the Cubans' third revolt against Spain, and victory for the revolutionaries was by no means certain. The tragic loss of life and of the ship was a shock to the US, but the resulting American declaration of war surely shocked the Spaniards and led to an ignominious end to what was left of the Spanish colonial empire. Spain in rapid succession lost Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines. Several investigations, some as late as the 1990's, failed to fix the blame for the explosion. "Remember the Maine" was that era's equivalent of "Remember Pearl Harbor" a few decades later.

Well, from my history classes, I remembered the Maine, and when I got to Cuba the first time I wanted to see where this historic event happened. We had been out to Cojímar, Papa Hemingway's little fishing village east of Havana, and on our way back to town Nora directed the driver to see some places of interest.

We came to a little green park on a bluff overlooking Havana Bay and the city beyond it. We were at the feet of a 65 foot tall statue of Christ overlooking the city. A plaque at the foot of the statue told us it had been a gift of Dictator Fulgencio Batista to the people of Havana on December 25, 1958, just a week before Castro's Revolution was won and Batista high-tailed it out of the country. (See Cristo de la Habana, my blog of December 2011.)

Several teenagers patrolled the park offering to point out sights and answer any questions. They were after tips, of course, and one by one we were all approached. When a young man asked me if I had any questions, I did—I wanted to know where in the waters below us was the USS Maine when it exploded. He hesitated a minute and then told me it had happened in a part of the Bay not visible from this overlook. I wondered if he really knew and didn't put much stock in his answer.

Later at home, I got busy with my computer and found a photo of the wrecked man-of-war with only part of its superstructure, bent and broken, showing above the water. I was struck by the apparent point of view of the picture. The photo could only have been taken from the same overlook—the site of the future statue of Christ.


Well, this was getting interesting as a few landmarks were visible in the city beyond the submerged wreck. Practically in line with the ship and behind it was a distinctive mission church bell tower in Old Havana. Remember, there were few tall structures in Havana in the 1890's, and this church was one of the tallest structures visible in the sweeping photo of the Bay and city. With the help of my souvenir map of Havana (see last week's blog, Souvenir), and photos from my friend, Bob Skogland, I identified the San Francisco Plaza in Old Havana and the church with its distinctive bell tower.

I estimated the wreck was practically centered in the wide mouth of Havana Bay, and I then had all the coordinates I needed to pin down the spot where the Maine had sunk. I can locate the spot without doubt whenever I set foot in that little park.

The Spanish American War is now 114 years behind us and not well remembered by most Americans. But, it was a momentous occasion, as it ended Spanish rule which at one time had reigned in most of this hemisphere. Even though the US and Cuba don't see eye to eye on much these days, the war was the final step in changing Spain from an oppressive global colonial power to the quiet, charming tourist destination it is today.

Les Inglis