Charles Hauck
| Date and Place of Birth: | 1873 Brooklyn, NY |
| Date and Place of Death: | February 15, 1898 Havana Harbor, Cuba |
| Baseball Experience: | Amateur |
| Position: | Outfield |
| Rank: | Landsman |
| Military Unit: | US Navy |
| Area Served: | Caribbean |
Charles Hauck, son of Wendel and Katherine Hauck, was from Brooklyn, New York.
He enlisted in the Navy on August 13, 1895 and served as a Landsman
aboard the USS Vermont. A month later he joined the crew of the USS Maine (ACR-1),
the United States Navy's second commissioned battleship.
Hauck was the centerfielder of the ships' baseball team, 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 Hauck and all but the
baseball team’s right fielder, John Bloomer.
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 Updated August 29, 2013
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