During the months of the Spanish-American War, as a Red Cross nurse, I saw soldiers suffer. I saw them screaming and moaning from the bullets in their bodies. I heard that 3,289 soldiers died in this war, most of whom had families. I felt so horrible seeing them suffer so much, so I started the American Red Cross Foundation. I bandaged the soldiers and helped them recover, but I still think this war was unnecessary. I, Clara Barton, do not think that the Spanish-American War was justified or worth it. First of all, the Spanish probably didn't even sink the Maine. The Maine is a battleship that was in Havana harbor one evening and the ship exploded. There were hundreds of men killed, 268 to be exact, in this accident. This was one of the main causes of the war, and I find that Spain was wrongly accused of sinking the ship. No one really knows what happened to the ship, but I'm pretty sure Spain didn't sink it. At first everyone thought it was Spain who did it. This obviously could have been a possibility at the time, but upon closer examination there are more definite possibilities. Personally, I think it was an internal explosion that sank the Maine. “Like all warships, Maine was loaded with explosives and flammable materials, including shells and powder for her cannons, coal used to fuel her engines, and paint supplies.” All of these items were highly flammable, which could have triggered an internal explosion. I think someone could have accidentally done something that would have started a chain reaction of explosions or internal sabotage. You never know if someone could have gotten angry with a commander and triggered the mine themselves. I saw what happens in war as a nurse, and I... middle of paper... Spain didn't sink the USS Maine, we lost a lot of soldiers and money, and there was no initial conflict between the United States and Spain. I'm proud to say I was a nurse and helped wounded soldiers, but I'm not proud to say we got into this war in the first place. I've seen too much suffering on both sides of the war to know that this war didn't even need to happen. I hope that in the future our country will only go to war when it is truly necessary, not just to imperialize. Works Cited What Destroyed the USS Maine. " NPS. Np, nd Web. April 12, 2014. history/museum/exhibits/clba/redcross.html>. "Platt Amendment." Our documents. Np, nd Web. April 15. 2014..