habana

The pinnacle of "Yellow Journalism", the Maine was significant because the major American publications at the time blamed the Spanish for the sinking of the ship (it was later discovered to be the result of a boiler explosion, I believe) without any evidence. It caused a major uproar that eventually led to the Spanish-American war and Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(ACR-1)

remember the MAINE! surprise? attack on PEARL HARBOUR! remember the BAY OF TOLKIEN! weapons of mass destruction-and over 900 "fabricated stories" to justify attacking IRAQ... remember BUSH!

Yes, the story is still the same! No matter how years passed. There always be a cause for the intervention. Roosvelt in Havana, Truman in Korea, Johnson in Vietnam, JFK in Cuba, Carter in Grenada, and many more. War is a great business.

Carter wasn't in Grenada, that was Reagan en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Grenada

This is interesting www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq71-1.htm

Likely in late1911. Quote below is from Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(ACR-1) 1911 Court of Inquiry == By 1908, the war drums had long stopped beating, and many parties demanded that the Maine be raised from Havana harbor. Cuban officials became worried about the safety of having a sunken ship in their harbor, U.S. officials wanted the remains of the sailors trapped in the wreck recovered and buried, and a few people wanted to confirm the cause of the sinking. Begun in December 1910, a huge waterproof cofferdam was built around the wreck and water was pumped out, finally exposing the wreck by late summer 1911. Sections of the hull of the Maine were numbered, many photographs were taken, and models of the Maine and her wreckage were built by the single Navy employee assigned to the job in Havana. Except for many souvenir items retained by the Navy and frequently distributed to the public, most of the tangled wreckage was dumped into the sea off the coast of Cuba. Between November 20 and December 2, 1911 a court of inquiry headed by Rear Admiral Charles E. Vreeland visited the wreck. ... After the investigation, the newly located dead were buried in Arlington National Cemetery and the hollow, intact portion of the hull of the Maine was refloated and ceremoniously scuttled at sea on March 16, 1912.

i think this document is mis-tagged because it is exactly the same as this one : www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/4100761011/ where it is called "Travel Document for the Schooner Syrena Permitting Transport from Africa to Havana, Cuba, 1817"

Thanks for the head's up- we're looking into it! Kristen (U.S. National Archives)