Navy Days at Fort Jefferson

In 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine sailed from this anchorage to her destruction in La Habana harbor, and “Remember the Maine” became the rallying cry for the Spanish-American War that followed. The anchorage served the navy through World War I. One of the coaling facilities that fueled navy ships from 1901 to 1906 stood on this concrete pad. During navy occupation, the channel was dredged to accommodate deep-draft vessels in a protected anchorage adjacent to the fort. A few seaplanes were based at Fort Jefferson during World War I to patrol nearby shipping lanes.