The RMS Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat (submarine) on Friday, May 7, 1915, eleven miles off of the coast of Ireland. Among the dead were at least 120 Americans. The sinking of the Lusitania helped to turn public opinion against Germany in America. The United States formally entered WWI two years later.
The original caption for this photograph reads: Stars and Stripes Cover Body of American Recovered from Lusitania at Queenstown. As the body of one unidentified American covered with the American flag was silently borne thru the streets of Queenstown, soldiers and sailors as well as civilians reverently saluted. The body was taken to one of the temporary morgues. May 1915.
