County of memorial: Arlington County
Location of memorial: Wilson Ave. & Sigsbee Drive, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington
Artist:
Nathan C. Wyeth, architect
memorial built by: Norcross Brothers Company of Worcester, Mass
Memorial dedicated: May 30, 1915
"U.S.S. Maine Memorial (#55 on sketch map, Photo 16)- The sinking of the U.S.S. Maine, a key event in the
tensions that led up to the Spanish-American War in 1898, is commemorated in Section 24. The U.S.S. Maine
sank in Havana Harbor, Cuba, on February 15, 1898. Of her crew of 355 men, 252 immediately perished in the
explosion and another 8 died later of their wounds. In the immediate aftermath, the dead were buried in Colon
Cemetery in Havana and in the naval cemetery at Key West, Florida, while 66 remained aboard the U.S.S. Maine,
which remained in Havana Harbor for the next 12 years with only the mast visible above the waters of the harbor.
After the cessation of war with Spain, those crew members buried in Cuba were disinterred on December 28,
1899, and returned to the United States. They were the first members of the U.S. Armed Forces killed overseas
and brought back for burial in ANC.
"Eleven years later, on May 9, 1910, Congress authorized the raising of the U.S. S. Maine from Havana Harbor so
that those aboard could be property interred at ANC. The Secretary of War was authorized at that time to remove
the U.S.S. Maine's mast and place it at ANC as a memorial to those who died aboard the ship. The raising of the
U.S.S. Maine took nearly two years, but in March 1912, the 66 bodies were recovered and returned to the United
States. Only one of those individuals was identified and he was returned to his home for burial; the other 65 were
buried at ANC next to their fellow crewmembers in Section 24, bringing the total number of graves to 229, 62
known, and 167 unidentified. Once the mast of the U.S.S. Maine was removed, the ship was towed out to sea and
scuttled with full honors in water 600 fathoms deep (Peters 2008:289-91 ).
"The monument was dedicated February 15, 1915, the 17th anniversary of the sinking, and was built by Norcross
Brothers Company of Worcester, Massachusetts, at a cost of $56,14 7.94 (based on a report of the quartermaster
general for fiscal year 1915). Congress originally appropriated $44,818. The base of the memorial has a diameter
of 33 feet, 6 inches. The walls are 3 feet 6 inches thick and 7 feet 1 inch high inside the memorial. The base is
constructed of granite, with marble interior walls and tile floor. Two bronze doors are used to secure the base. The
inner door is solid, measuring 3 feet 3 inches wide and 7 feet high. Welded into the door is half of the U.S.S.
"Maine's bell, with the inscription, "U.S.S. MAINE, Navy Yard, New York, 1894." The outer door is a grille type, 3
feet 6 inches wide and 7 feet high. A semicircular piece of bronze with an anchor is attached to the top. A
rectangular piece of bronze along the bottom has three anchors displayed. On each side of the doorway are two
granite urns with a tripod, measuring 3 feet 5 inches tall and 2 feet wide at the top. They rest on a marble base 2
feet 6 inches square and 1 foot 5 inches thick. The base of the monument represents the turret of a battleship;
through its center is the main mast from the U.S.S. Maine. Around the sides of the turret are inscribed the names
of all who lost their lives in the disaster, and over the door is the inscription, "Erected In Memory of the Officers
and Men of the U.S.S. Maine at Havana, Cuba, February Fifteenth MDCCCXCVIII". On the south side are two
bronze cannons that were captured from the Spanish. The anchor is not from the U.S.S. Maine but is similar to it;
it was brought to ANC from the Boston Navy Yard. A bronze plaque on the anchor reads, "U.S.S. Maine Blown Up
February Fifteenth 1898 Here Lie the Remains of One Hundred and Sixty Three Men of the Maine's Crew
Brought From Havana, Cuba Reinterred at ANC December Twenty Eight 1899". The anchor appears to predate
the memorial and was installed at ANC by 1903. A photograph from that year shows the anchor in place, set on a
raised concrete platform. The immediate area around the platform was gravel, with only a few trees around the
periphery. When the U.S.S. Maine Memorial was designed, it included a decorative concrete guardrail around the
portion of Sigsbee Drive closest to the anchor (Peters 2008:291-2). The terrace paved with bluestone flagging
was constructed for the anchor in 1962.
"During World War II, the burial vault inside the U.S.S. Maine Memorial was used temporarily to house the remains
of leaders of countries who were allies of the United States who had died in the country while in exile. Dignitaries
included the president of the Philippines, Manuel Quezon y Molina, who died in 1944; and Ignace Paderewski,
exiled president of Poland, who died in the United States in 1941. President Roosevelt authorized the temporary
interment of Paderewski until Poland was free. Paderewski's remains were interred in ANC until 1992, after
Poland was no longer a communist country under Soviet influence (Peters 2008:291-292).
"Currently, the outer edge of the walk that encircles the U.S.S. Maine Memorial is planted with flowers. Decorative
plantings in the area also include evergreen shrubs and flowers along the outside edge of the cement fence and
stairs leading from the monument toward the Memorial Amphitheater. Both deciduous and evergreen trees have
grown tall enough that they partially obstruct views of the mast from certain directions. The primary view, that to
and from the monument and graves of the crew of the U.S.S. Maine remain unobstructed. Important landscape
features are the graves of the U.S.S. Maine casualties, Sigsbee Avenue, Mast of the U.S.S. Maine, base, anchor,
cannon, sidewalk, wall, landscaping." ~ NRHP Nomination Form