March Melies Madness! - Divers at Work on the Wreck of the Maine [Visite sous-marine du Maine] (1898)

Méliès filmed Divers at Work on the Wreck of the Maine (aka Visite sous-marine du Maine) thru a fish tank containing live fish to create an effect of the action taking place underwater.

Early in 1898, an explosion sunk the American battleship "The Maine", which was anchored in Havana harbor, killing 252 sailors. This ultimately led to the brief Spanish-American war. In the film, divers examine the wreck and find the body of a drowned sailor. They haul the corpse up via a rope.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0224357/

1st Yellow Journalism Propaganda in Film

Shooting Captured Insurgents (1898) - James H. White

Shooting Captured Insurgents is a hyper-realistic re-enactment filmed during the Spanish-American War, and having the purpose of bolstering sympathy for the Cuban rebels (and antagonism towards the Spanish). The United States had previously entered the conflict in early 1898 after the sinking of the USS Maine battleship in Havana harbor left 258 of the ship's crew dead.

In the film, Spanish freedom fighters are led in front of a Spanish firing squad and then executed. The movie would play with no explanation that the footage shown was not real i.e. staged, leaving the audience to believe they had just witnessed actual deaths.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0229725/