The
Naval Battle of Iquique was a confrontation that occurred on May 21, 1879, during the naval stage of the
War of the PacificThe War of the Pacific , occurring from 1879-1884, was a conflict between Chile and the alliance of Bolivia and Peru. Also known as the "Saltpeter War," the war arose from disputes over the control of territory that contained substantial mineral-rich deposits.The conclusion of the conflict...
, a conflict between
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and the alliance between
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
and
BoliviaBolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west....
. The battle took place off the Chilean port of Iquique. The Peruvian ironclad
Huáscar, commanded by Miguel Grau Seminario, sank the
Esmeralda, a Chilean wooden corvette captained by
Arturo Prat ChacónAgustín Arturo Prat Chacón was a Chilean navy officer. He was killed shortly after boarding the Peruvian armored monitor Huáscar at the Naval Battle of Iquique after the ship under his command, the Esmeralda, was rammed by the Peruvian monitor...
, after four hours of combat.
Background
The Bolivian government had threatened to confiscate and to sell the Antofagasta Nitrate & Railway Company, a mining enterprise with Chilean and British investors, by a decree on February 1, 1879. In response, the Chilean government sent a small military force which disembarked and seized control of the port of
AntofagastaAntofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of both Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has an urban population of 281,155 and a municipal population of 296,905...
on February 14. This event made Bolivian President
Hilarion DazaHilarión Daza Groselle was President of Bolivia from 1876 to 1879.A career military officer and native of Sucre, Daza came to power on May 4, 1876 in a coup against the constitutional president Tomás Frías. He was supported by much of the country's financial elite because of his avowal to maintain...
declare war on Chile, and also forced Peru to honor a secret 1873 treaty with Bolivia. Although Peru tried to negotiate and to stop the imminent conflict, Chile, knowing of this pact, declared war on both Peru and Bolivia on April 5. Another small Chilean force took control of the city of Calama after its victory in the
Battle of TopaterThe Battle of Topáter was fought on March 23, 1879 between Chile and Bolivia, and was the first of the War of the Pacific.-The Battle:The Chileans were taking possession of the Antofagasta province, at that time a part of Bolivia. The Bolivian troops, quite few in number, decided to make a stand...
on March 23.
From the beginning of the conflict, both sides clearly knew that control of the sea was the key to obtaining victory. Whichever country controlled the sea could freely transport troops and land them at any strategic point. So, during the first year of the war, Chilean strategy focused on destroying the
Peruvian NavyThe Peruvian Navy is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the Peruvian littoral...
.
Chilean strategy
In order to achieve this goal, the Chilean naval commander, Juan Williams Rebolledo, planned to sail north with his entire fleet, trying to engage the Peruvian Navy at Callao and achieve domination of the sea once and for all. The main ships of the Chilean Navy were sent towards the Peruvian port of
CallaoCallao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that concentrates...
. Two old, wooden ships, the
corvetteA corvette is a small, manoeuvrable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or Fast Attack Craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role. During the Age of Sail, corvettes were smaller than frigates and larger than...
Esmeralda and the
schoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being shorter or the same height as the rear masts...
Covadonga, commanded by Captains
Arturo PratAgustín Arturo Prat Chacón was a Chilean navy officer. He was killed shortly after boarding the Peruvian armored monitor Huáscar at the Naval Battle of Iquique after the ship under his command, the Esmeralda, was rammed by the Peruvian monitor...
and
Carlos CondellCarlos Arnaldo Condell De La Haza was a prominent chilean naval officer, hero of the Battle of Punta Gruesa during the start of the War of the Pacific....
respectively, were left blockading the Peruvian port of
Iquique||-||-||-||-||}Iquique is a city in northern Chile, capital of Tarapacá Region, on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census...
.
Peruvian strategy
However, as the Chilean Navy steamed north towards Callao, two ironclad ships of the Peruvian Navy steamed south from Callao, unseen. These ships were the monitor
HuáscarHuáscar is a 19th century small armoured turret ship of a type similar to a monitor. She was built in Britain for Peru and played a significant role in the War of the Pacific against Chile before being captured and commissioned with the Chilean Navy. Today she is one of the few surviving ships of...
and the
armored frigateA battleship is a large, heavily armored warship with a main battery consisting of the largest caliber of guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers or destroyers. There are currently no battleships in service....
Independencia, commanded by Admiral
Miguel GrauMiguel María Grau Seminario was a renowned Peruvian naval officer and hero of the Naval Battle of Angamos during the War of the Pacific . He was known as the el Caballero de los Mares for his chivalry and is esteemed by both Peruvians and Chileans...
and Captain Juan Guillermo More.
Chilean force
The wooden corvette
Esmeralda was constructed on 1854 in Henry Pritcher's shipyard, arriving at Valparaíso in 1856. This vessel was named
Esmeralda after the frigate of the same name captured by Lord Thomas Cochrane at El Callao in 1820. The
Esmeralda displaced 854 tons, and was armed with twenty 32-pound cannons and two 12-pound cannons. In 1868, its artillery was replaced with twelve strayed cannons of 40 pounds, and four 40-pound Withworth cannons.
Peruvian force
The Peruvian ironclad
Huáscar was built in 1865 in the Laird Brothers' shipyard. The
Huáscar displaced 1,180 tons, and was armed with two cannons of 300 lbs., two cannons of 40 lbs, one cannon of 12 lbs and one Gatling machine gun. This ship could reach a speed of 11 knots.
The battle
On the morning of May 21, 1879, the watch in the
crow's nestA crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the mainmast of a ship or structure, that is used as a lookout point.This position ensured the best view of the approaching hazards, other ships or land. It was the best device for this purpose until the invention of radar.In early ships it was...
of
Covadonga spotted two ships coming from the north. These were the Peruvian
Independencia and
Huáscar. The
Esmeralda was notified and Prat, its captain, gave the order to load and form up. The transport
Lamar was ordered to retreat, so it raised the
Flag of the United StatesThe flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows of five stars...
and headed south, attempting to escape.
The ships engaged in combat, but the armor of the Peruvian ships resisted the shots from the Chilean ships, while not being able to return fire. However, the
Esmeralda lost one of her engines, slowing down to . To Prat's dismay,
Independencia chased
Covadonga until it fled.
With damaged engines and deserted by the
Covadonga, Captain
PratAgustín Arturo Prat Chacón was a Chilean navy officer. He was killed shortly after boarding the Peruvian armored monitor Huáscar at the Naval Battle of Iquique after the ship under his command, the Esmeralda, was rammed by the Peruvian monitor...
made a short speech stating that he would never surrender to the enemy, and he trusted that if he were to die neither of his commanders would. He then gave orders to place the
Esmeralda between the port and the
Huáscar. This action prevented Captain
GrauMiguel María Grau Seminario was a renowned Peruvian naval officer and hero of the Naval Battle of Angamos during the War of the Pacific . He was known as the el Caballero de los Mares for his chivalry and is esteemed by both Peruvians and Chileans...
from firing on the Chilean ship without risking
also hitting the portCollateral damage is damage that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. The term originated in the United States military, but it has since expanded into broader use.-Etymology:...
. He was forced to fire at high angles which, because of the inexperience of the gunners, resulted in most of the shots missing. The
Esmeralda fired on the
Huáscar, but its weak firepower was unable to do any real damage.
Having received erroneous reports from the port authorities about naval mines being deployed around the blockading Chilean ships, Grau decided not to move closer. Meanwhile, the coastal battery at Iquique started to fire on the two ships. The
Esmeralda did not suffer much structural damage, but the battery succeeded in inflicting massive casualties on her crew. Prat was forced to move away from the port.
With this action, Grau realized there were no mines in the water, so the
Huáscar attempted to ram the wooden
Esmeralda. Grau was feeling uneasy about the unnecessary bloodshed (all casualties to date had been Chilean), and so asked Prat to surrender. Prat's refusal surprised Grau, who sent the order to capture him alive.
On impact Captain Prat, dressed in his parade uniform, gave his last order "
Al abordaje muchachos!" ("
To boarding, boys!"), but it was muffled by the sound of the Huascar's metal crushing the
Esmeralda-People:*Esmeralda García , Brazilian track and field athlete*Esmeralda Kapiolani Marignoli, Hawaiian-Italian noblewoman*Esmeralda, one of the main characters in the 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, or the character from the Disney film version*Esmeralda , a character from the...
's wood, and was thus heard and answered by only two sailors; both were killed by gunfire on the enemy ship's deck. Prat was hit in the knee but managed to stand and kill one lieutenant. Shortly afterward, a sailor delivered a deadly axe wound to Prat's head.
On Grau's orders, Prat was transported to Grau's cabin. There Grau, showing great chivalry, asked Prat if he wanted to send a message to his wife, to which he replied "...and... the
Esmeralda?" Later, Grau would give Prat's journal, sword, and personal belongings to his widow.
The second ramming saw a better-organized boarding attempt by about 11 sailors led by 1st Lt. Ignacio Serrano, which suffered a similar fate. One last ramming left the
Esmeralda too low in the water to attempt a new boarding. Minutes later
Esmeralda sank in Iquique Bay with her flag still flying. Even though the
Huáscar attempted to rescue all the survivors immediately, only 62 survived of 197. One Peruvian sailor was killed and 7 wounded.
Meanwhile,
Covadonga tried to escape south, with
Independencia in pursuit. This led to the
Naval Battle of Punta GruesaThe Naval Battle of Punta Gruesa took place on May 21, 1879 during the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru. This may be labelled as the second part of the Naval Battle of Iquique, although it is described in many sources as a separate battle....
, that ended with the Peruvian ship lost. This may be considered as the second part of the Naval Battle of Iquique, although it is described in many sources as a separate battle.
Aftermath
The Naval Battle of Iquique was a Peruvian victory; the blockade on Iquique was lifted and Chile temporarily left the area. However, Peru's loss of the
Independencia, one of its most powerful warships, in the following battle of Punta Gruesa was strategically costly, while Chile only lost one of its oldest wooden warships. This left the
HuáscarHuáscar is a 19th century small armoured turret ship of a type similar to a monitor. She was built in Britain for Peru and played a significant role in the War of the Pacific against Chile before being captured and commissioned with the Chilean Navy. Today she is one of the few surviving ships of...
alone to fight the entire Chilean Navy. Also, the death of
Captain PratAgustín Arturo Prat Chacón was a Chilean navy officer. He was killed shortly after boarding the Peruvian armored monitor Huáscar at the Naval Battle of Iquique after the ship under his command, the Esmeralda, was rammed by the Peruvian monitor...
inspired thousands of Chilean youth to join the army. This is considered by Chilean historians to be one of the most important factors leading to victory in the war. Years later the figure of Prat became so popular that newspapers started to talk about "Pratiotism" and "Patriotism".
See also
- Battle of Angamos
The Naval Battle of Angamos was fought on during the naval stage of the War of the Pacific. The Chilean Navy, commanded by Captain Galvarino Riveros and Captain Juan Jose Latorre surrounded and captured the ironclad Huascar, commanded by Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario, who died in combat...
- Battle of Punta Gruesa
The Naval Battle of Punta Gruesa took place on May 21, 1879 during the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru. This may be labelled as the second part of the Naval Battle of Iquique, although it is described in many sources as a separate battle....