The Explosion That Sank the Maine -- and Started a War
When the battleship USS Maine blew up in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898, killing 266 crewmen, the tragedy became the spark that drew America into war with Spain.
Tagged: naval history
The Day Blackbeard Fell at Ocracoke
On November 22, 1718, the notorious pirate Blackbeard was killed in a bloody dawn battle at Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina, ending the Golden Age of Piracy's most feared career.
Eleven Ships Struck Their Colors: Camperdown, 1797
On October 11, 1797, Admiral Adam Duncan smashed a Dutch fleet off Camperduin, capturing eleven ships and killing France's planned invasion of the British Isles.
When a Cyclone Sank Two Navies: The 1889 Apia Disaster
On March 15, 1889, a cyclone smashed American and German warships together in Samoa's Apia harbor, drowning more than 200 sailors — and averting a war.
Thirteen Days End: The Quarantine Lifts
On November 20, 1962, President Kennedy announced the end of the naval quarantine of Cuba, closing the book on the missile crisis that had brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.