Image: USS Maine bell on entrance door - USS Maine Mast Memorial - Arlington National Cemetery - 2013-03-15

Description: Bell of the USS Maine at the USS Maine Mast Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The USS Maine blew up with extensive loss of life while at anchor in Havana, Cuba, on February 15, 1898. The incident, long believed to be sabotage, sparked the Spanish-American War. ((Modern historians believe the explosion may have been an accident, caused by exploding coal dust in the ship's fuel bunker.) On March 30, 1898, Congress approved legislation requiring that the recovered dead of the Maine be disinterred and transferred from Havana to Arlington National Cemetery. Delayed by the war, this burial occurred on December 28, 1899. Only 165 bodies were interred in Section 24: 63 were known, 102 were unknown. In 1910, Congress enacted legislation authorizing the raising of the USS Maine, recovery of the bodies aboard, and the raising of the mast at Arlington as a memorial. The wreck was raised in 1912. Only 66 bodies were recovered. One sailor's family buried him privately, while the other 65 were interred at Arlington. None of the remains were identified. The USS Maine Mast Monument was dedicated on February 15, 1915. Norcross Brothers Company designed and constructed the memorial. The monument consists of a broad plaza of concrete. Set in the center is a mausoleum in the shape of a battleship gun turret. The mausoleum is 33 feet, 6 inches across. The walls are 3 feet, 6 inches thick and 7 feet, 1 inch high. The mausoleum is constructed of granite, with the interior walls lined with marble and the floor lined with polished tile. An inner and outer bronze door provide access to the interior of the mausoleum. The inner door is 3 feet, 3 inches wide and 7 feet high, and half of the USS Maine's bell is welded to its surface. An inscription on the door reads: "USS MAINE, Navy Yard, New York, 1894." The outer bronze door is in the shape of a grille and of the same dimensions. A small bronze anchor is welded to this door. Inside the mausoleum are two granite funeral urns set on tripods. Each is 3 feet, 5 inchest tall and 2 feet wide. Each tripod stands on a square marble base. The names of the dead are inscribed on the exterior of the mausoleum, while over the door is a memorial inscription describing the disaster. On the south side of the plaza are two bronze cannon from captured Spanish naval vessels. A huge anchor adorns the plaza, but this is not from the USS Maine but rather an anonymous anchor donated by the Boston Navy Yard. A bronze memorial plaque on the anchor also describes the disaster.
Title: USS Maine bell on entrance door - USS Maine Mast Memorial - Arlington National Cemetery - 2013-03-15
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/23165290@N00/8565486191/
Author: Tim Evanson
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes