SCOTT #3192 REMEMBER THE MAINE 32 CENT

 

In 1898, America and Spain were fighting for control over Cuba.  Spain deployed over 200,000 soldiers to Cuba, so President McKinley sent the battleship Maine to protect US interests.  On February 15 – 20 days after arriving in Havana Harbor – the ship mysteriously exploded, killing 260 crew members. 

The Maine explosion ignited the Spanish-American War.  To help fund the war, the US taxed many different consumer products: liquor, matches, and medicine, and more.  This led to issuing beautifully engraved battleship Tax stamps, issued the same year the Maine sank.

US #3192

1998 USS Maine Explosion 100th Anniversary Stamp

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