The times., 1898-02-17
The Names HjSfoPy

The second class battleship Maine was
launched at The Brooklyn navy yard ON
November Is 1888 and WAS christened
Maine" by Miss Alice Tracy Wilmer
ding a. niece of Gen. Benjamin +. Tracv.
then Secretary of the Navy. Her hun is
OF steel. her displacement 66s2 tons She
is propelled by twin screws. Like all
modern war vessels the Maine had tlou-
ble bottom. Her length over all is S2l
feet s1-2 inches; extreme beam. - feel
mean drauEht, y feet 6 inches ana her
speed Il knots.
The Maine has had many accidents
since she was launched. The Maine on
July g. 1897 TO avoid collision with the
excursion steamer Isabel in the East
river. was headed shoreward and crashed
into q pier, and sank "A float and ten cars
belonging to the New York New Haven
and Hartford Railroad. There was \ fire
on the Maine on August ]. 1895 while she
was lying al her dock in the Brooklyn
navy ward. II was caused by some oil
soaked waste becoming ignitcd by the
suns rays. \ bucket brigade of marines.
assisted by the Brooklyn fire department
put out the blaze before much damage
was done.
During It furious storm on February >.
the North Carolina coast. great waves
dashed over her. I. &. Cogel. an appren-
iice. was struck by one Of the waves,
dashed against a turret. and The life beat
en out of him. Before his males could
seize the body il WAS washed overheard.
Two men sprang overheard in q despcr-
ate effort TO rescue the body. They were
Seaman John Brown and Private A. b.
Nelson of the marines. In moment
faaar-
soon went down with the Comrade they
had tried to save. Charles Haskell was
swept overheard at The same time. Will
lam J. Creelman, landsman. who was
on the poop deck, saw him go and in
stantly sprang after him. In the mean
time two life bUoys had been thrown
overheard, and Haskell managed to catch
one Of them Creelman failed to catch
the other, and Haskell, seeing his plight.
managed to reach him in time To keep
him from sinking.
The Maine was put about and a lifeboat
manned by Naval Cadet Ghersrdi and q
crew of six men. This boat was swampcd
within n few yards of the battleship, but
her men were saved by the use Of life
lines. The boat was lost. together with
another torn by the waves from the da-
Wits While at Key West, Fla. July s.
1896, the Maine grounded slightly on n
small coral head alongside the coral dock,
iniuring slightly her bottom plates.
There was serious accident on the
Maine February 9, 1897. while the fleet
WAS off Charleston harbor. A one-pound
caliber cartridge, while being loaded in
"A gun in the secondary battery, exploded,
injurinG Fire Sergt. Wagner Another
man was slightly hurt. There has been a
sort OF fatality connected with the bat
tleship. After her plans were adopted a
great delay occurred in procuring neces-
,sar'y material. The first frame was bent
September 10. 1885. Her steel stem was
cast i'm Pittsburg. and upon examination
by Government inspectors ii was found
to be warped. A new contract was then
entered into with another company. In
building. fourteen frames of the ship
were rendered practically useless by i'm
proper i'iNetins.
The Maines armament consists OF four
ten-inch guns six siX-inch guns. eight
siN-pOunder quick-fir'irg guns. eight one
poundcr machine quick-firing guns.