| The picture shows a view of this 1800s U.S.S. Maine Navy Battleship Celluloid Pin Back Button. It has a nice image of the ship with an American flag background. It is marked as follows: ''WAR BEFORE DISHONOR''
MAINE
THE BOSTON TRAVELER. There is a paper insert in the back that reads as follows: THE WHITEHEAD & HOAG CO.
Newark, N.J.
PATENTED
July 17, 1894
April 14, 1896
July 21, 1896 Below is some information found online about the Maine: ''The USS MAINE was one of the first United States battleships to be constructed. The vessel's destruction in the Cuba Harbor of Havana was a catalyst in bringing war between the United States and Spain. The loss of the ship was tremendous shock to the United States since it represented virtually the state of the art of naval shipbuilding in the United States, only recently eclipsed by newer vessels. "Remember the Maine" became the battlelecry of the United States Military Forces in 1898.'' ''The USS MAINE was the second "second-class battleship" constructed for the U.S. Navy. The construction of the vessel was authorized by the U.S. Congress on August 3, 1886. MAINE took nearly nine years to complete. Three years had been spent waiting for her armor plating alone.'' ''The USS MAINE was unique at the time in that she was purely the product of American naval design, and was built at a U.S. Naval Yard. By contrast, her contemporary, the USS TEXAS, was the product of a design competition, based on an English design, and constructed by a naval contractor. In fact, the USS MAINE is the largest vessel to be actually built in a U.S. Navy Yard.'' ''The new battleship MAINE was a showpiece for the United States Navy and was given many ceremonial tasks. For instance, it took part in the 1897 Mardi Gras ceremony in New Orleans, Louisiana along with the USS TEXAS. Between June and December 1897, the vessel could be found cruising off the coast of the United States between Virginia and Connecticut. On December 15, 1897, she got underway, heading south toward Florida and her final destiny.'' ''The USS MAINE arrived in Cuba's Havana harbor on January 24, 1898. Because of propaganda from the U.S. newspapers and the Cuban Insurgents, the situation in Cuba was not fully understood in Washington DC. The U.S. Consul in Havana, Fitzhugh Lee, was also somewhat out of touch with the country in which he was living. In response to a small protest by Spanish officers, not affecting the United States, Washington sent the USS MAINE, under the command of Capt. Charles Sigsbee, to Cuba on a "friendly" visit. At about 9:30 PM on February 15, the MAINE was shattered by two separate explosions and rapidly sank. Two hundred and fifty-two men were killed. Ammunition continued to explode for hours after the blast.'' Classification: Second Class Battleship (formerly Armored Cruiser, ACR-1)
Keel Laid: October 11, 1888
Comissioned: September 17, 1895
Rig: Two military masts, planned sails never provided.
Armament: Four 10" guns in two turrets
Six 6" guns
Seven 6-pounders
Eight 1-pounders
Several Colt Gatling Guns (for landing parties)
Four 14" surface torpedo tubes
Contractor: Designed by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Construction, and built at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York.
Length: 319 feet
Beam: 57 feet
Mean draft: 22 feet
Displacement: 6,682 tons
Complement: Under the command of Captain Charles Sigsbee
Engine type: Twin screw vertical inverted triple expansion engines, manufactured by Quintard Iron Works, and generating 9,000 hp.
The two propellers were 15 feet in diameter.
Speed: 15 knots
Coal bunker capacity:896 tons The pinback button measures 1-1/4'' wide. It is only in fair condition as pictured with surface cracking and water spotting. | 
