Model of the Battleship, U.S.S. Maine.
Gift of Franklin S. Littlefield.
Brick Store Museum Collection

Construction on the 319'-long armored cruiser U.S.S. Maine began in 1888. A 6,682-ton "second class" battleship, it was the United States Navy's first vessel to be named for the state of Maine. It was deployed to Cuba in 1898 to protect American interests in an ongoing struggle by Cuban revolutionaries against the Spanish government. The vessel exploded in Cuba's Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. Though the actual cause of the destruction is still debated, public opinion blamed Spain, and the incident helped precipitate the onset of the Spanish-American War, with a rallying cry of "Remember the Maine!"

This wooden scale model (3/32 inch to 1 foot) of the Maine was made by Franklin S. Littlefield in 1959-1960 from plans secured from the National Archives in Washington, D.C. He later donated the model to the Museum.

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