page_title: City of Washington (ship)
section_title: USS Maine and the Spanish–American War
hierarchical_section_title: City of Washington (ship) / USS Maine and the Spanish–American War
caption_attribution_description: English: Identifier: deedsofvalorhowa02beye (find matches) Title: Deeds of valor&#160;: how America's heroes won the medal of honor&#160;: personal reminiscences and records of officers and enlisted men who were awarded the congressional medal of honor for most conspicuous acts of bravery in battle&#160;: combined with an abridged history of our country's wars Year: 1901 (1900s) Authors: Beyer, Walter F Keydel, Oscar F. (Oscar Frederick), b. 1871 Subjects: United States. Army United States. Navy Publisher: Detroit, Mich.&#160;: Perrien-Keydel Co. Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: ck watch. Presently a sharp report like an explosion under the water somewhere forward was heard. It was followed by a lifting of the vast hulk of the battleship and a deafening roar which shook every building in the city and startled the thousands of people. Several passengers who were sitting on the deck of the City of Washington were thrown from their chairs by the shock, and then they were subjected to a rain of falling debris which had been hurled hundreds of feet in the air by the explosion.At first they thought the Maine was going to be lifted clear out of the water forward, but she settled back with a heavy plunge and began to fill and go down by the head immediately. Captain Sigsbee and all his crew were left in inky darkness, for at the second explosion every light in the ship went out. The captain hurried on deck as soon as possible. In the passage leading to the open part of the deck he ran mto a man who was coming toward the cabin entrance. It was Private William Anthony, orderly Text Appearing After Image: — 347 — at the cabin door. He stammered an apology and reported: The Maine has blown up, sir, and we are sinking. The two groped their way to the outer deck and looked about them in a dazed sort of way. What time is it, Anthony? inquired Captain Sigsbee. The explosion took place at 9:40, sir, replied Anthony. Lieutenant-Commander Wainright, hearing voices, made his way to the captains side and other officers gathered about them. The most perfect discipline prevailed.The subordinates waited for orders, apparently as calmly as if the incident had been expected. The awnings were bagged with debris that had fallen after the explosion and a fire was burning forward. Put that fire out at once, ordered the captain, and Wainright took the matter in charge. Another officer was ordered to flood the forward magazine, but it was found to be already flooded by the sinking of the forward portion of the Maine.Lieutenant Hood and Cadets Boyd and Culverins, who made an inspection amidships to see what cou Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: City of Washington was an American merchant steamship that aided in rescuing the crew of USS Maine when it exploded in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, in 1898.
context_section_description: 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.
  Captain Frank Stevens and other crew members of City of Washington provided eyewitness testimony on the Maine disaster in Naval Court of Inquiry hearings which ended on March 21, 1898. The Court of Inquiry concluded that Maine was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine. While the Court did not place responsibility for the explosion, media and popular opinion overwhelmingly attributed it to Spain's forces in Cuba. Shortly thereafter, Congress declared a state of War with Spain, effective April 20, 1898.
  In April 1898, City of Washington was one of many civilian steamships chartered by the US Army Quartermaster Department for use as a transport ship for the invasion of Cuba. She was chartered as Transport #16 at the rate of USD $450 per day through September 1898.
caption: A lifeboat from the City of Washington takes off survivors from the USS Maine)
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