CRF-L Archives

Archiver > CRF > 2002-02 > 1013777355


From: "Connie D. Hurley" <>
Subject: [CRF] This Day in History -Febuary 15
Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 12:49:18 +0000


February 15

1764
St. Louis, Mo., was founded as a French fur-trading post.

1842
Adhesive postage stamps were used for the first time, in New York.

1898
USS Maine blew up in Havana harbor, touching off the Spanish-American War.
Maine

Maine, U.S. battleship destroyed (Feb. 15, 1898) in Havana harbor by an
explosion that killed 260 men. The incident helped precipitate the
Spanish-American War (Apr., 1898). Commanded by Capt. Charles Sigsbee, the
ship had been sent (Jan., 1898) to Cuba to protect American life and
property from the revolutionary turmoil there. The sinking of the Maine
produced an outcry against Spain in the United States, particularly by the
more jingoistic newspapers, which held the Spanish government responsible
for the disaster. The cause of the explosion was never satisfactorily
explained. A U.S. naval inquiry, headed by W. T. Sampson, reported on Mar.
21 that the Maine had been sunk by a submarine mine but that responsibility
could not be fixed on any person. A Spanish naval inquiry reported that the
disaster was an accident resulting from an explosion in the forward
magazine. Recent evidence, however, points to an accident. Whatever the
truth of the matter, Remember the Maine became a patriotic slogan during
the Spanish-American War. The vessel was raised from the harbor, towed to
sea, and sunk in 1912.

1965
The Maple Leaf Flag officially became the new national flag of Canada.

1989
More than 100,000 Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan almost 10 years
after the USSR invaded the country.




"Have A Beautiful Day"
Connie
*In Beautiful Western Kentucky*

*Kinkade-/Kincaide-/Kinkead- Together
http://www.angelfire.com/ky2/connie/KinkadeTogether.html
*Connie's Links Page to All Family Pages and Other's as well.
http://www.angelfire.com/ky2/connie/Links.html

"Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch
that never hurts."
Charles Dickens


_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

This thread: