Charles Eiermann
| Date and Place of Birth: | 1873 Eberbach, Germany |
| Date and Place of Death: | February 15, 1898 Havana Harbor, Cuba |
| Baseball Experience: | Amateur |
| Position: | Manager |
| Rank: | Gunner's Mate, First Class |
| Military Unit: | US Navy |
| Area Served: | Caribbean |
Charles F.W. Eiermann was born in Eberbach, Germany in 1873. He
became a US citizen in 1895 and during the latter part of the 19th
Century he served as a Gunner's Mate, First Class aboard the USS Maine
(ACR-1), the United States Navy's second commissioned battleship.
Eirmann was the ships' baseball team manager, and in Florida, in
December 1897, the team defeated a team from the cruiser USS Marblehead,
18-3, to earn the title Navy baseball champions. Their next game was
scheduled with an all-star squad in Havana, Cuba, and the Maine arrived
in Havana Harbor in January.
On February 15, 1898, Marine Corps Fifer C.H. Newton, the ship’s bugler
and the ball team’s third baseman, blew taps as the Maine bobbed
listlessly in Havana Harbor. Shortly afterwards, the Maine blew up,
killing 261 of the crew, including Charles Eirmann and all but the
baseball team’s right fielder, John Bloomer.
Charles Eiermann is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Two months after the loss of the USS Maine, on April 25, 1898, saw the start of the Spanish-American War, during which the rallying cry, “Remember the Maine! To Hell with Spain!” was frequently heard.
Date Added: February 25, 2013
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