The USS Maine's Goshen connection

By Ginny Privitar
Remember the Maine! It’s a familiar phrase — but do you know the story behind it? Or that a Goshen man was a part of its history?

On Feb. 15, 1898, the USS Maine was at anchor in Havana Bay in Cuba to protect American interests during a period of unrest. The Cuban people rose up in armed rebellion against their Spanish rulers, and the United States were supporting the rebels in their quest for independence.

At 9:40 p.m., an explosion ripped the ship apart, killing 260 men instantly. Several more died later from their injuries. The incident was the spark that ignited the Spanish American War (see sidebar).

The chief engineer on the ship, Charles Pheletus Howell, a Goshen native, was injured in the explosion but was pulled to safety and survived.

He later testified about the explosion at a Navy Court of Inquiry in Washington. After a bout of malaria, he was assigned to inspect vessels at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He was in the service of the Navy for 27 years.

According to reports, he never fully recovered from his injuries, and died from either a stroke or heart failure the following year, on Dec. 7, 1899, in Brooklyn. He was reportedly at his desk at the Inspection Board at the Navy Yard a few days before he fell ill. He was 51.

His rank at death was U.S. Naval Commander. He was buried with full honors at Slate Hill Cemetery in Goshen, where his mother and brothers still lived.

Howell’s father was a wealthy landowner in Goshen, DeWitt Clinton Howell, and his mother was Jane Roe Howell. Charles was born on Jan. 18, 1848, the second-oldest son. His brother William became a well-known photographer. The family lived on “the Florida Road,” 17A, just before the current-day BOCES, in an area where the Borden Creamery was later located.

Howell graduated from Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis on Oct. 7, 1867. Accounts say he graduated fourth in his class in June 1868.

Charles was married in Paris to Emma Orlowska, date unknown. They lived for a time at 124 East 34 St. in Manhattan and had no children. He was promoted to chief engineer in Nov. 1893.

Editor's note: Many thanks to Bill Grohoski of VFW Post 1708 in Goshen, who reminded us of the anniversary of the sinking of the USS Maine and told us the story of Charles P. Howell. A former member of the post, Richard Cobb, built a large model of the USS Maine, which is presently on display in the Goshen Chamber of Commerce building.