The wars for Cuban Independence began long before the arrival of the Americans, however, on the night of February 12, 1898, 266 American lives were lost when the United States Battleship Maine was ripped in half by an explosion in Havana Harbor. War with Spain ensued. Interestingly enough it was for the first time a war was covered by members of the media creating an unprecedented impact at home. Much of the footage shown were actual film produced by Thomas Edison's film crew that were found in