The sinking of the US Battleship Maine in 1898 was a major watershed change in public opinion. Besides leading directly to war with Spain, the results of the war changed the future of the entire USA and the world.
Generic spoon designed for any Navy application, designed by William Barthman, NY
In the late 19th century, The Hearst and Pulitzer newspaper chains started writing articles about the terrible conditions found in Cuba. They repeatedly produced bizarre stories and major headlines decrying the Spanish occupation. The repeated accusations (many of which were false--If they didn't have anything to say they simply made it up) stirred up the American public and soon reached a crescendo (very similar to the TV media feeding frenzies that we have lately seen regarding Clinton, Diana, El Nino etc.).
President McKinley and Secretary of War, Long, sent the Battleship Maine to Cuba to investigate the charges. While anchored in Havana harbor, the Maine blew up. To this day, we do not know the reason for this, but the newspapers said that it was the Spanish (despite considerable evidence that it was the Maine's own boiler). The American public was soon demanding war with Spain.
President McKinley and the Spanish government did everything possible to avoid a war and even offered to pay for the Maine; allow international investigations etc. But the media feeding frenzy was too great and soon we declared war on Spain.
Many spoon variations were made to commemorate the Battleship Maine. Pictures of two engraved bowls are below.
engraved
scene of the Maine
Secretary
of War, Long
Admiral Dewey tea caddy spoon with his flagship the USS Olympia in the bowl. This spoon is unknown metal--not silver.
This spoon has a portrait of Admiral Dewey above the American Eagle and shield. The bowl shows seven ships which are named "McCollough, Petrel, Raleigh, Olympia, Baltimore, Boston, Concord" with the slogan "Victorious in the Philippines"
A number of other spoons were created regarding the Spanish American War and some of them are shown on other pages on this site.
For more information about the Spanish American War and President McKinley
The U.S. Navy wanted to build public support to obtain more funds to build a larger fleet of ships. They came up with the idea of naming new battleships after various states. Cruisers and smaller ships were named after various cities. The scheme was pretty successful and fund raisers were held before the launching of a new ship. For some of the battleships, large servings of exquisite silver were made for use by the captain and officers. In addition, these elaborate silver services were used in a diplomatic manner when the ship was in a foreign port. The captain would invite local dignitaries on board and they were served banquets using the silver sets. The battleship Arizona had one of the most elaborate silver services. I saw this magnificent silver display in the capitol building in Phoenix. Much has been written about this service and there have been several articles in Silver Magazine.
These spoons are all hand engraved with a picture of the ship.
USS New York, Galveston, Texas USS Independence, Vallejo, California
Acid etched bowl of the battleship "Connecticut"
Battleship Iowa, 11340 tons (silverplated and embossed)
hand engraved demi of the Battleship Oregon
These two spoons are from the Navy Shipyard at Mare Island, Vallejo, California. The top spoon has an unusual detailed standing bear finial and the gate to the shipyard is engraved in the bowl. (the back of the bear is also decorated with vines and grapes). The bottom spoon features a large poppy flower and an unusual rendition of the California state symbol. The bowl features an engraved picture of the "new dry dock". There is an interesting history of this shipyard available, but I haven't had time to write it up yet. So you will have to come back at a later date.