| Battle of Iquique |
| Part of the War of the Pacific |
Naval Combat of Iquique - The sinking of the Esmeralda |
| Date |
May 21, 1879 |
| Location |
near Iquique, Chile |
| Result |
Peruvian victory |
|
| Belligerents |
 Chilean Navy |
 Peruvian Navy |
| Commanders |
 Arturo Prat † |
 Miguel Grau |
| Strength |
1 wooden corvette
|
1 ironclad turret ship
|
| Casualties and losses |
135 dead
62 wounded
1 corvette lost |
1 dead
7 wounded
|
The Naval Battle of Iquique was a confrontation occurred on May 21, 1879; during the naval stage of the War of the Pacific, a conflict between Chile and the alliance between Peru and Bolivia. This battle took place on the shores of the Peruvian port of Iquique, where the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar, commanded by the Captain Miguel Grau Seminario sunk the Esmeralda, an old Chilean wooden corvette led by Captain Arturo Prat Chacón; after four hours of combat. This event has became one of the most emblematic battles of this war due to the glorification of the fallen Chilean captain Prat and Peruvian Captain Miguel Grau's noble gesture of saving the enemy crew and rescuing Prat's body.
Background
After the Bolivian government 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; the Chilean government sent a small military force which disembarked and seized control of the port of Antofagasta, on February 14. This event made Bolivian President Hilarion Daza to declare war to Chile, and also forced Peru to honour a secret treaty signed between both countries on 1873. Although Peru tried to negotiate and to stop the inminent conflict, Chile, knowing of this pact, declared war both Peru and Bolivia on April 5.
After these events, another small chilean force took control of the city of Calama with the victory in the Battle of Topater, on March 23.
Since the beginning of the conflict, both sides had pretty clear that the sea domination was the key in order to obtain a final victory. So, during the first year of the war, Chilean war efforts were focused on destroying the Peruvian Navy. This goal had a strategic relevance, since the country who controled the sea, would be free to unship troops in any point of the extensive shores in order to invade enemy soil.
Chilean strategy
In order to achieve this goal, the Chilean naval commander, Juan Williams Rebolledo, planned to sail north with the entire fleet, trying to engage the Peruvian Navy at Callao and decide the domination of the sea once and for all.
Meanwhile the main ships of the Chilean Navy were sent towards the Peruvian port of Callao, two old, wooden ships, the corvette Esmeralda and the schooner Covadonga, commanded by Captains Arturo Prat and Carlos Condell respectively were left blockading the Peruvian port of Iquique.
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 Huáscar and the armored frigate Independencia, commanded by Admiral Miguel Grau and Captain Juan Guillermo More.
Peruvian strategy
[] Chilean force
The wooden corvette Esmeralda was constructed on 1854 in the Henry Pritcher's shipyard, arriving to Valparaíso on 1856. This vessel was named Esmeralda after the fragate of the same name captured by Lord Thomas Cochrane at El Callao on 1820. The Esmeralda displaced 854 tons. and was armed with twenty 32 lbs. cannons, and two 12 lbs cannons. Besides, could reach a max. velocity of 8 knots. On 1868, its artillery was replaced with twelve strayed cannons of 40 lbs, and four 40 lbs. Withworth cannons[1].
Peruvian force
The Peruvian ironclad Huáscar was built on 1865 in the Laird Brother's 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 nest 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 reload and form up. Transport Lamar was ordered to retreat, so it raised the Flag of the United States and headed south, attempting to escape.
Meanwhile, in the Huascar Captain Grau said to his crew:
"Crew of the Huáscar: the time to punish the enemy of the Motherland has come and I hope you will perform this task harvesting new victories and glory, worthy of shining next to Junín, Ayacucho, Abtao and 2 de Mayo. Long live Perú!"[citation needed]
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 2 knots (4 km/h). To Prat's dismay, Independencia chased Covadonga until it ran away.
With damaged engines and having been deserted, Captain Prat made a short speech stating that he'd 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 itself and the Huascar. This action prevented Captain Grau from firing on the Chilean ship without also hitting the port. He was forced to fire at high angles which, due to the inexperience of the gunner's crew, resulted in most of the shots missing. The Esmeralda fired on the Huascar, 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, he 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 succeeded in inflicting massive casualties on the 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. His 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!")[citation needed], but it was muffled by the sound of the Huascar's metal crushing the Esmeralda's wood, and thus heard and answered by only two sailors; both were killed by gunfire on the enemy ship's deck. Prat received an impact on the knee but managed to stand and kill one Lieutenant. Shortly after a sailor delivered a deadly axe wound to Prat's head.[citation needed]
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?"[citation needed]. Later, Grau would give Prat's journal, sword, and personal belongings to his widow.
The second ramming saw a better organized attempt with about 11 sailors led by 1st. Lt. Ignacio Serrano, which suffered a similar fate. One last ram left the Esmeralda too low to attempt a new boarding. Minutes later Esmeralda sank in Iquique Bay with her flag still flying.
Even though the Huascar attempted to rescue all the survivors immediately, only 62 survived of 197. 1 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 Gruesa, that ended with the Peruvian ship lost. This may be labeled 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 tactical victory; the blockade on Iquique was lifted and Chile temporarily left the area. In the battle of Punta Gruesa, Peru lost the "Independencia". Both battles proved to be strategically costly; one of the most powerful warships in the Peruvian Navy was lost, while Chile only lost one of its oldest wooden warships. This left the Huáscar alone to fight the entire Chilean Navy. Also, the heroic death of Captain Prat inspired thousands of Chilean youth to join the army. This is considered in Chilean history as one of the most important factors for achieving victory. Years later the figure of Prat became so popular that newspapers started to talk about "Pratiotism" and "Patriotism".
In a short story, "Una historia de amor en la corbeta Esmeralda", Chilean author, Pedro Lemebel, tells the fictional tale of two sailors on the Esmerelda who become lovers, in 1873, six years before the famous battle. When they are discovered naked together they are court-martialed and sentenced to 60 lashes each, followed by ten years imprisonment upon land. At the end the narrator tells us that in this way the two men lose their chance to inscribe their names as heroes in the pages of their country's story but earn a few scrawled lines in the log of homosexual history.
Notes
- ^ Mellafe, Rafael; Pelayo, Mauricio (2004). La Guerra del Pacífico en imágenes, relatos, testimonios, Centro de Estudios Bicentenario.
References
- ^ Farcau, Bruce W. (Sep 30, 2000). The Ten Cents War: Chile, Peru, and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific, 1879-1884, ISBN 0-275-96925-8
- ^ Sondhaus, Lawrence (May 4, 2004). Navies in Modern World History, ISBN 1-86189-202-0
See also
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