Histories & Mysteries...
This following historical account will appear in the 2026 edition of Captain Thomas Scott's
"Histories & Mysteries: The Shipwrecks of Key Largo, Revisited".
Over the past several months Best Publishing Company has had the privilege of working again with Tom as he revises this incredibly important book to include all the changes these Key Largo wrecks have overcome in the 30 plus years. If you like history, shipwrecks, and exciting ocean adventure keep an eye out for "Histories & Mysteries: The Shipwrecks of Key Largo, Revisited" by Captain Thomas Scott. This edition is expected to set sail sometime next year.
"When I first spoke with Tom about his book, he made sure I read the chapter on the "City of Washington" Remember the "Maine"! He passionately accounted for the history of this ship and followed it up with 'No monuments mark her passing or the actions of her heroic crew on that dark night so long ago.' Tom is relentless in his desire to balance the scales of recognition for the captain and crew who came to the aid of the "Maine". Enjoy reading this excerpt from the upcoming edition of "Histories & Mysteries: The Shipwrecks of Key Largo, Revisited" with permission from the author and Best Publishing Company." E.Peterson
The City of Washington REMEMBER THE MAINE!
The Spanish-American War, lasting only five months, was fought, primarily, to free the people of Cuba from Spanish domination. Military campaigns such as Commodore Dewey's naval victory at Manila Bay and the charge of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders up San Juan Hill will live forever in the annals of American history. Throughout the war the American battle cry was "Remember the Maine!"
Today, few remember the Maine, even fewer remember the steamship City of Washington and her involvement in the Maine tragedy. This involvement makes the City of Washington, in this author’s opinion, the most historically significant shipwreck in the Upper Keys.
The City of Washington, official number 125625, was built in 1877 by John Roach and Sons at Chester, Pennsylvania for the steamship line of F. Alexandre and Sons. She was launched on August 30 of that year destined for the thriving Caribbean routes, and for a place in American history.
Her iron hull, measuring 320 feet overall and 300 feet five inches at the waterline, contained three decks and six watertight bulkheads. Her beam measured 38 feet four inches and her depth 19 feet two inches. Her gross tonnage was 2685 tons.
Her two three-cylinder triple expansion engines, provided by Morgan Iron Works of New York, coupled to a 16-foot diameter propeller were designed to provide a top speed of 15 knots. Steam was provided by a battery of six return-tubular boilers. In addition to her engines, she was rigged as a half brig or hermaphrodite brig, carrying three masts, one square-rigged, the others fore-and-aft rigged. This type of rigging required less hands to operate the sails.
The newly built City of Washington arrived at New York on November 18, 1877 to commence passenger service to Havana Cuba, Progreso, and Campeche Mexico. She served Alexandre Line only briefly. The line was brought out in 1888 by its largest competitor, the New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company which had been formed through a merger of the Ward Line and shipbuilders John Roach and Sons. With Capt. Frank Stevens of the Ward Line now installed as master, the steamer continued to ply her trade between New York, Cuba, and Mexico.
On April 20, 1889 Morgan Iron Works received an order for new engines and boilers for the City of Washington. The ship was laid up from July 20 to October 12, 1889 while refitting was completed. On October 14, during her sea trails, the City of Washington was said to have given "perfect satisfaction”.
Resuming her regular routes, the newly refitted City of Washington was able to cut her sailing time greatly. On August 21, 1890 she was reported to have docked at New York after sailing from Havana, Cuba in only three days and one hour. At the time, this achievement was described as "remarkable."
On February 15, 1898, while under the command of her long-time master Capt. Frank Stevens, the City of Washington lay at anchor in Havana Harbor. Although tensions between the United States and Spain were building with the onset of the Cuban Revolution, Capt. Stevens and his crew undoubtedly felt safe and secure, anchored nearly in the shadow of the American battleship U.S.S. Maine, sent to Cuba to protect American lives and property.
The U.S.S. Maine, a second-class battleship, measured 319 feet long and displaced 6,682 tons. She was well armed and powerful, bristling with guns and capable of speeds up to 17 knots. Her offset turrets along with forward and aft superstructure made her appearance extremely formidable.
At approximately 9:10 p.m. the crew of the City of Washington had listened to the mournful sound of the Maine's bugler blowing “taps" to signal the official end of the day aboard the battleship. As they reflected on the day's work and prepared for bed, they could not possibly have suspected that the most important chapter in their ship's history was about to be written in blood, steel, and fire.
At 9:40 p.m. the battleship Maine exploded. The echoes of this explosion eventually reached into the hearts of every American. The first to hear, and to respond, were the crew of the City of Washington.
The City of Washington had been anchored so close to the stern of the Maine that she was riddled with shrapnel. Her awning, deck houses, and superstructure were damaged by flying debris. Almost immediately, with little thought for their own welfare, the crew of the City of Washington sprang into action, with some lowering boats and others organizing for the care of survivors.
The first two boats lowered were found to be so badly damaged that they were unusable. They were immediately replaced by other, more seaworthy, boats, joining the three surviving boats from the Maine, as well as boats from other nearby ships, in removing survivors from the wrecked battleship. Although rarely mentioned in contemporary American newspaper accounts, the boats and crew of the Spanish Navy cruiser Alfonso XII also assisted in the rescue of survivors from the Maine. The actions of these boat crews were later described as "heroic."
Working frantically in the glare of the burning battleship, the boat crews brought 90 survivors to the City of Washington where a make-shift hospital had been quickly set up in the ship's dining salon. Capt. Charles Sigsbee of the Maine arrived at the City of Washington in one of the Maine’s boats, having been, as is proper in maritime tradition, the last man to leave the sinking battleship. On the City of Washington, the American sailors were given mattresses, dry clothing, and medical care. Some hours later, having first ensured that his crew had been cared for as well as was possible, Capt. Sigsbee of the Maine retired to the captain's cabin on the City of Washington to compose a telegram informing the Navy of the loss of the Maine and the deaths of 260 of her crewmen.
In the first draft of that telegram, written on New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company letterhead, Capt. Sigsbee stated that the crew of the City of Washington "did great service" to the surviving crewmen of the Maine.
Naval investigations conducted shortly after the USS Maine disaster and again in 1912 when the wreck of the Maine was removed from Havana Harbor, found that the loss of the battleship was the result of an external explosion, likely a mine. These findings were based largely on the fact that her lower plates were blown inward and her keel upward. It was not known until many years later that such damage could also be inflicted as the result of an internal explosion.
The first investigation, by a Naval Court of Inquiry with Capt. William T. Sampson presiding, conducted in Havana Harbor aboard the lighthouse tender Mangrove and later aboard the battleship U.S.S. Iowa at Key West, the findings of which were dated March 21, 1898, concluded that “In the opinion of the court this effect could have been produced only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship at about frame 18 and somewhat on the port side of the ship.”
A second board of inquiry, convened by the Navy in 1911 when the ship was raised as part of a harbor clearing project, and led by Admiral Charles Vreeland, confirmed the conclusions of the 1898 court.
Both of these investigations had physical access to the wreck. Later investigations had no access to the wreck but did have access to more modern investigative techniques as well as more than 100 additional years, including two World Wars, of experience with explosions aboard ships. Direct access to the wreck was precluded because, following the raising of the wreck in 1911, the U.S.S. Maine was deliberately sunk in deep water off Havana on March 16, 1912 by the U.S. Navy.
In 1974, the famed Admiral Hyman Rickover, known as the "Father of the Nuclear Navy," for his work in the development of nuclear propulsion on naval vessels, conducted a third investigation of the Maine disaster. This inquiry was privately commissioned rather than official.
Adm. Rickover brought in several recognized experts on explosions in ships and they studied the photographs made by the earlier investigation. Their conclusion was that the Maine had been destroyed by an internal explosion, likely the result of a coal fire. They noted specifically that the Maine’s outer keel showed no evidence of blast damage.
Adm. Rickover faulted the original investigation for failing to call for testimony from experts, instead relying exclusively on eyewitness testimony which was often inconsistent. He believed that the findings were a foregone conclusion due to several factors. He stated “The finding of the court of 1898 appears to have been guided less by technical consideration and more by the awareness that war was now inevitable.”
Adm. Rickover also stated his belief that if the tragedy had occurred in an American or allied port the findings likely would have been different.
Writing in regards to the 1911 inquiry, Adm. Rickover stated “It would have been difficult for the board to raise the issue whether the nation and its constituted authorities had made a grave error in 1898.”
Adm. Rickover’s conclusion as to the cause of the loss of the Maine was that “In all probability, the Maine was destroyed by an accident which occurred inside the ship.”
The Spanish, of course, had stated from the beginning that the loss of the Maine was due to an internal explosion. Adm. Rickover’s conclusions would seem to have proven that they were right all along.
But not so fast; in 1998, the National Geographic Society commissioned yet another investigation. They brought in Advanced Marine Enterprises a well-respected research company, often used by the Navy, to conduct advanced computer analysis and simulations. Their findings concluded that "It appears more probable, than was previously concluded, that a mine caused the inward bent bottom structure and detonation of the magazines." The controversy continues to this day in Naval circles.
The finding of the original inquiry, along with strong public opinion, largely fueled by fiery editorials in leading American newspapers, believing Spain to be the culprit precipitated the Spanish-American War. Several months following the disaster, after the outbreak of war, the City of Washington was again called upon to serve her country, this time as a troop transport, carrying American soldiers into battle against Spain during the invasion of Cuba. She was under charter to the United States Army from April to September 1898.
Today, a portion of one of the Maine’s masts, along with her broken bell, remains as a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, along with the remains of 165 of her crew. Twenty-four, 17 unidentified, more are buried at Key West where a second memorial site was built, albeit without a mast section. A concrete monument instead was erected, inscribed with the words “In memory of the victims of the disaster of the U.S. battleship ‘Maine’ in Havana Harbor Feb. 15, 1898, Erected by the citizens of Key West, Fla.” The remainder of the casualties were most likely unrecovered.
History has not been as kind to the City of Washington. Although well-documented, her involvement in the Maine tragedy has been largely passed over in the history books. No monuments mark her passing or the actions of her heroic crew on that dark night so long ago. It is hoped that this will change someday.
After the conclusion of the war the City of Washington continued to serve on the New York to Cuba route. During the next several years she safely carried thousands of American tourists to the newly liberated island nation. On August 7, 1905 she was reported to have grounded on Triumph Reef off Miami but having been safely refloated with the aid of the wrecking Schooner Two Brothers and 9 other wrecking vessels.
In 1908 the steamer, now old and outmoded, was removed from service and laid up at Brooklyn New York. On June 9, 1911 the steamship was sold to the E.F. Luckenbach Company of New York. Her superstructure and machinery were removed and she was placed into service as a schooner-barge. Although she retained her masts and rigging, she was unable to sail on her own, and was towed into ports where she had once proudly steamed. As a barge her displacement was listed as 2410 tons. Her primary cargo was coal
.
In early July 1917 the City of Washington, under the command of Capt. McKay with a crew of five, left Norfolk, Virginia under tow for Port Tampa, Florida to load phosphate. According to notes found in the files of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company, the City of Washington, along with the barge Seneca and the tug Luckenbach #4, ran aground on Key Largo's Elbow Reef on July 10, 1917. On July 14 the City of Washington broke apart on the reef. She is said to have become "a total loss in few [sic] minutes.” Her long and distinguished career was at its end. Her crew was rescued by the vessels Halifax and Magnolia. The Luckenbach #4 and Seneca were refloated and arrived safely at Key West, Florida on July 15. In the newspaper article describing the City of Washington’s final loss, a mere 19 years after the U.S.S. Maine disaster, there is no mention of her involvement.
The wreck of the City of Washington lies on the northern end of the Elbow Reef, between mooring buoys E9 and E10. On a calm, clear day the outline of her hull is easily seen from the surface, her massive size and still graceful lines recall her former glories.
Time, like history, has also not been kind to the City of Washington. Although her outline survives, the wreck is badly broken up. Large sections of her hull and deck plating are scattered throughout the area. Moray eels now inhabit her twisted beams. Few recognizable features remain. In the stern section of the wreckage, propeller shaft bearings, along with measurements taken at the site, support the identification of this wreck as that of the City of Washington. The bearings prove beyond doubt that the vessel was originally a screw steamer.
The City of Washington is an easy dive, within the capabilities of divers of nearly any skill level. Depth range is from 20 to 25 feet. Currents are generally mild. The area surrounding the wreck is primarily sandy bottom with little reef growth in the immediate vicinity. For these reasons the City of Washington wreck is often used as a diver training site by local instructors.
Access to the site is generally easily arranged. Most local dive operators run regularly scheduled trips to this wreck. A few phone calls should quickly determine, on any given day, which boats will visit the City of Washington.
Boaters wishing to visit this site on their own should moor to the one of the 2 mooring buoys provided. The wreck site lies several hundred feet to the northeast of the Elbow Reef light tower. GPS coordinates are 25° 08.786N, 80° 15.354W.
The wreck of the City of Washington is within the boundaries of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and is fully protected by federal law. It is unlawful to remove or damage any portion of the wreckage or surrounding bottom features.
About the Author
Capt. Thomas A. Scott is the author of “Histories & Mysteries: The Shipwrecks of Key Largo, Revisited” from which this article is derived. The book is scheduled for release in early 2026. Look for it at your favorite dive shop or Best Publishing Company.
Photo Credit:
Cover Photo: The steamship City of Washington (Photo with permission: Thomas H. Franklin Collection, Steamship Historical Society Archives, www.sshsa.org)
Photo Right: Shaft alley on "City of Washington" wreck.
(Photo with permission from Jared Bronson.)
BEST PUBLISHING COMPANY
631 US Highway 1, Suite 307,
North Palm Beach, FL 33408
Phone: 561.776.6066
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.bestpub.com