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Movie: Burial of the "Maine" victims at Key West

The U.S.S. Maine was destroyed by a mysterious explosion in the Havana Harbor, February 15, 1898. "Remember the Maine" became a rallying cry. From Edison films "war extra" catalog: Taken at Key West, Fla., March 27, 1898. First comes a detachment of sailors and marines in the left foreground, while at the right is seen a crowd of small colored boys, which precedes any public procession in the South. Then follow the nine hearses, each coffin draped with THE FLAG. At the side of each wagon walk the pall bearers, surviving comrades, their heads bowed in attitudes of grief. Next come naval officers and marines, and lastly a procession of carriages, followed by a large crowd on foot. The scene is reproduced as it actually occurred. The figures are life size and well in the foreground. Filmed March 27, 1898, in Key West, Florida.

Movie credit: Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

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