By Richard Gorby
On the night of February 15, 1898, the Battleship Maine, of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, was riding quietly at anchor in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. At twenty minutes before ten the Maine was racked with a terrific explosion that shattered window glass in Havana and sent rocket-like fingers of brilliant light skyward from the mangled decks. In seconds the Maine became a crushed mass of floating wreckage as flames leapt from one ammunition locker to another, causing internal explosions. In only a few minutes the great ship had sunk, with only her superstructure poking above the water. She took 263 men with her to their deaths.
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