Remember the Maine:
A (Slightly) Later War
by Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
March 2024

Even as the Spanish-American War was underway, the United States Navy had a fleet building program under way that would more than double the combat strength of its battle line, just with the ships currently under construction.

Spain, not having seen herself in a naval arms race with the United States until war became inevitable, had far less-concrete plans to strengthen the Armada. But the Navy Ministry had indicated a desire to supplement the current program of armored cruiser construction with more battleships to accompany El Solitario.

More of the Same, But Stronger
The Kearsarge class of two ships, authorized in 1895 after a hiatus of several years as the Great Depression of 1893 eliminated funding for new battleships. Kearsarge would be unique in not carrying the name of a U.S. state; she memorialized the famed Civil War-era steam corvette Kearsarge, which had been lost in a wreck off the coast of Nicaragua in January 1894. Her sister would be named Kentucky.

Kearsarge, seen at Brooklyn Navy Yard.

They would have slightly more freeboard than previous American battleships, but retained the limited coal capacity of the earlier ships, and therefore a range suited more for coastal defense than power projection. And they added a uniquely American feature, a double-decked gun turret designed by Ensign Joseph Strauss. Strauss would have a very successful career, overseeing the North Sea Mine Barrage during the First World War and commanding the Asiatic Fleet afterwards, which is fortunate for his legacy, because the double-decked gun turret was not the best idea.

The new ships carried four 13-inch guns in a pair of monitor-style round, vertical-sided turrets with huge ports for their guns (necessary since the turret face had no slope). Previous American battleships had carried very similar turrets. They were heavy, and those huge gunports made them fantastically vulnerable to enemy fire. The Strauss turret welded a second turret atop the first, this one with two 8-inch guns. The upper-deck turret drew its ammunition from the same hoists as the 13-inch guns below, and could not rotate separately. The 8-inch guns had to shoot at whatever target had been chosen for the 13-inch guns. Fourteen five-inch guns plus a huge array of light weaponry rounded out the guns, plus four torpedo tubes.

Newport News Shipbuilding laid down both ships on 30 June 1896, and launched them on the same day, 24 March 1898, as war seemed more likely with each passing day. They completed in February and May 1900, well after the Spanish-American War had ended. They both participated in the Great White Fleet’s world-wide cruise in 1907, but by the time of the First World War were considered badly obsolete and relegated to training duties. Kentucky would be scrapped in 1923, but Kearsarge carried on for some decades as a crane ship.

More From France
FCM’s shipyard at La Seyne near Toulon had done good business with the Spanish Navy for decades, and in the early 1890’s the Armada looked at the French Navy’s then-new Charlemagne class with deep interest.

French battleship Charlemagne, object of Spanish desire.

All three Charlemagnes were built by French naval dockyards, and they represented a sharp break with past French design practice. FCM had the battleship Jauréguiberry under construction for the French Navy, but had no ship on order to replace her (and would not receive a new order for nearly a decade, laying down Patrie in 1902). FCM sought a Spanish order to keep their production line flowing, and the Spanish were willing to listen.

Previous French battleships carried four heavy guns in four separate, single mounts: two larger weapons mounted fore and aft, and a slightly smaller gun in a sponson on either side of the ship. Pelayo, Spain’s first battleship, followed this pattern. Charlemagne kept the steep tumblehome (inward-curving sides) of previous French battleships, but carried four 305mm (12-inch) guns in twin turrets fore and aft, like current practice in most other nations, with ten 138.6mm guns in a casemate battery and four torpedo tubes. She was roughly the same size as Kearsarge, also protected by Harvey armor, but was significantly faster making 18 knots compared to 16 knots for the American ships.

Great War at Sea: Remember the Maine gives the Armada two ships of the Charlemagne class, presumed to have been built by La Seyne between 1895 and 1899.

The First Modern Battleships
The next class of American battleships did not yet reflect the lessons of the Spanish-American War, rather the decision to move away from a coast-defense navy to a fleet that could project power well outside American waters. While only one battleship (Indiana) had even entered service, dissatisfaction with the monitor-style turrets and new developments in artillery technology sparked calls for a completely new design. The Secretary of the Navy, the fossil-denier Hilary Herbert of Alabama, tabbed Rear Admiral J.G. Walker to head a board to determine the new ship’s characteristics.

Battleship Alabama, seen in 1908.

The Illinois class would keep the 13-inch gun, but deploy four of them in more conventional twin turrets with sloped faces. The 8-inch guns would be abandoned entirely for a casemate battery of fourteen quick-firing six-inch guns, soon the standard weapon on everything from battleships to gunboats. Illinois would be roughly the same size as Kearsarge, but would draw only 23 feet of water and most importantly have substantially greater range than the previous classes.

The new ship reflected a new orientation by the Navy’s civilian and military leadership: a future naval war in the Caribbean. They needed great range because they would be operating farther from their own bases than would a potential enemy – likely a reference to Spain – and harbors in the Southern United States often had sandbars outside that prevented their use by deep-draft ships. And new construction had a sudden priority: Congress authorized three ships exactly one month after the Walker Board issued its recommendations.

At 16 knots, Illinois remained rather slow, but she did sport thick armor. The 13-inch Mark 1 had been retained over the 12-inch Mark 2; the 13-inch gun offered the same range but a much larger explosive round; the 12-inch gun could provide a much higher rate of fire. Alabama was laid down in December 1896 and her sisters Illinois and Wisconsin in February 1897; Alabama was commissioned in 1900 and the others in 1901.

The construction either under way, or contemplated, during the Spanish-American War can’t be called a true naval arms race. Neither side had much awareness of the other’s plans or actions, but both knew that a showdown over Spain’s remaining colonies was now inevitable.

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Mike Bennighof is president of Avalanche Press and holds a doctorate in history from Emory University. A Fulbright Scholar and NASA Journalist in Space finalist, he has published a great many books, games and articles on historical subjects; people are saying that some of them are actually good. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, three children, and his new puppy. His Iron Dog, Leopold, could swim very well.

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