The Maine Monument commemorates the sailors who died when the Battleship Main exploded in Havana Harbour in Cuba in 1898.
The golden (gilded) bronze statue. The figure on the top is Columbia in a sea shell chariot being drawn by hippocampi. This statue was supposedly cast from the metal of the guns of Maine, but that’s a bit strange, they had bronze guns?
A representation of the ship. Can you see the sharp pointy thing in the front below the bow? That’s a ram bow. Used to poke into other ships.
The name of the sculptor
Looks like Poseidon to me, but I can be wrong.
The names of the officers and men who died.
This plaque was made after the ship was salvaged in 1910. 
Here are more details on this monument. And another one here. The monument was made with public subscriptions including contributions from thousands of children. Here is the slideshow with more photographs.
This monument represents one of those seminal events which lead nations into doing things which are seismic in nature. The sinking of the battleship lead to the Spanish American War. But think about the seamen, who were peacefully sleeping or going about their business. And so many would have died inside their steel tomb. Sleep well, brave sailors. One day, I need to visit Arlington.
