Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. REMEMBER THE MAINE! The battlecry echoes even to this day! It was the incident that led to the Spanish–American War, a relatively brief conflict lasting just under 4 months. It was the conflict that announced the arrival of the United States as a world power. Often overlooked however is the fate of the U.S.S. Maine (ACR-1) itself, which had sunk in Havana Harbor, occupying valuable space. It was not until 1910 that an official salvage operation was planned, which would recover the ship, and the remains of the brave soldiers entombed in it.

This is a tremendously unprecedented artifact, the likes of which are not to be repeated. This US Navy “Flat Hat” shows a regulation gold embroidered black silk tally band reading “U.S.S. MAINE” with small green thread borders embroidered at both edges. The brim of the hat itself is similarly embroidered with blue thread. The crown of the cap has attached a gorgeous 5-pointed star of the same dark blue fabric stitched on, with borders of green & what was likely originally red. Four small holes at the back of the cap retain their tightening ropes.

This is a gorgeous example of a “Going Ashore” Cap. There was a long tradition in the U.S. Navy of the men decorating their uniforms with colorful embroidery, both to occupy idle hours on shipboard and in hopes of attracting some attention when on shore. The designs might be concealable and not be displayed during inspections, of course, or the decorated pieces would be reserved entirely for wear on leave. In this case, a crewman of the USS Maine decorated his issue navy flat cap in hopes of getting some female attention when he had the chance.

Construction of ship was authorized in 1886 and started in 1888. It was launched in 1889 and finally commissioned in 1895 and assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron, operating out of Norfolk and along the east coast and in the Caribbean. The long design and construction period left the ship already outdated for some of its tasks, but armed with 10-inch and 6-inch guns as well as smaller pieces and torpedoes. The ship entered the harbor at Havana, Cuba, in January 1898 in theory to protect U.S. interests while the Cubans fought the Spanish for independence. Three weeks later, on the night of February 15, the ship was destroyed when the powder magazines blew up, killing roughly 261 of the 355 officers and men aboard, Navy and Marines. Initial reports and many later studies attributed the explosion to a spontaneous fire in the ship’s coal bunkers. Accusations or insinuations of a Spanish mine, however, combined with growing U.S. interest in intervening in the Cuban War of Independence, led to war little more than two months later.

This hat came to us from a life-long collection of militaria stretching across the centuries, and with it came a small display “plaque” of provenance reading:

Cap from the USS MAINE
Found in Havana Harbor Feb.
16 1898. Donated to the P.O.S. of A.
By Dr. William Foster a passenger
On the Ward Line Steamer “City of
Washington”.

On the night of February 15, 1898, City of Washington was moored in Havana harbor near USS Maine when Maine exploded in the incident that precipitated the Spanish–American War. City of Washington suffered minor damage in the explosion, but assisted in the rescue of Maine's crew by sending out lifeboats and providing her dining salon for use as a makeshift hospital. The efforts of City of Washington and the Spanish cruiser Alfonso XII resulted in the rescue of approximately 100 crew members from Maine.

The “plaque” indicates that the passenger, Dr. William Foster, found the cap in Havana Harbor on February 16th, the morning after the explosion. Foster then donated the cap to the Patriotic Order Sons of America, an American patriotic fraternal organization that traces its origins to the anti-alien riots of the 1840s. We haven’t been able to identify Foster any further due to the commonality of his name, making for a good research project.

The condition of the hat is fantastic considering its age and what it went through. There is a small loss of material in the cap directly below the M in Maine on the cap tally. There are also a good few small moth nips across the hat, but nothing that detracts from its beauty. The hat retains its complete sweatband, but it is folded up a bit. The hat would do well seated upon a mannequin head to help regain its shape. The construction is entirely correct for late-19th Century flat hats.

This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime item. Artifacts from the USS Maine do not come up often, and when they do, they are normally small bits of the ship that are near impossible to authenticate. Don’t miss out on this chance to own a verifiable piece of the USS Maine, a “Going Ashore” flat hat with tons of character. Comes ready for further research and display.

The USS Maine

Maine was a United States Navy ship that sank in Havana Harbor on 15 February 1898, contributing to the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April. U.S. newspapers, engaging in yellow journalism to boost circulation, claimed that the Spanish were responsible for the ship's destruction. The phrase, "Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!" became a rallying cry for action. Although the Maine explosion was not a direct cause, it served as a catalyst that accelerated the events leading up to the war.

Maine is described as an armored cruiser or second-class battleship, depending on the source. Commissioned in 1886, she was the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after the state of Maine. Maine and its contemporary the battleship Texas were both represented as an advance in American warship design, reflecting the latest European naval developments. Both ships had two-gun turrets staggered en échelon, and full sailing masts were omitted due to the increased reliability of steam engines. Due to a protracted 9-year construction period, Maine and Texas were obsolete by the time of completion. Far more advanced vessels were either in service or nearing completion that year.

Maine was sent to Havana Harbor to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban War of Independence. She exploded and sank on the evening of 15 February 1898, killing 268 sailors, or three-quarters of her crew. In 1898, a U.S. Navy board of inquiry ruled that the ship had been sunk by an external explosion from a mine. However, some U.S. Navy officers disagreed with the board, suggesting that the ship's magazines had been ignited by a spontaneous fire in a coal bunker. The coal used in Maine was bituminous, which is known for releasing firedamp, a mixture of gases composed primarily of flammable methane that is prone to spontaneous explosions. An investigation by Admiral Hyman Rickover in 1974 agreed with the coal fire hypothesis, penning a 1976 monograph that argued for this conclusion. The cause of her sinking remains a subject of debate.