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| Battle of Iquique | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar of the Pacific | |||||||
 Sinking of the Esmeralda during the Battle of Iquique,Thomas Somerscales | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Peru |  Chile | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Miguel Grau |  Arturo Prat † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2 ironclads | 2 corvettes | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 8 killed and wounded | 143 killed and wounded 57 captured 1 corvette sunk | ||||||
TheBattle of Iquique was anaval engagement on 21 May 1879, during theWar of the Pacific, where aChileancorvette commanded byArturo Prat Chacón faced aPeruvianironclad underMiguel Grau. The battle occurred off the port ofIquique, Peru, and ended with the sinking of the Chilean wooden corvetteEsmeralda by the Peruvian ironcladHuáscar after four hours of combat, marking a victory for Peru.
In 1879, theBolivian government threatened to confiscate and sell the Antofagasta Nitrate & Railway Company, a mining enterprise with Chilean andBritish investors. In response, the Chilean government sent a small military force to seize control of the port ofAntofagasta on February 14. This action prompted Bolivian PresidentHilarión Daza todeclare war on Chile and forced Peru to honor a secret 1873 treaty with Bolivia. Despite Peru's attempts to negotiate and prevent conflict, Chile, aware of the pact, declared war on both Peru and Bolivia on April 5. Another Chilean force took control of the city ofCalama after winning theBattle of Topater on March 23.
Both sides recognized that control of the sea was crucial for victory. Thus, Chile focused on destroying thePeruvian Navy in the first year of the war. Chileannaval commanderJuan Williams Rebolledo planned to sail north with his fleet to engage the Peruvian Navy atCallao and achieve naval dominance. The main ships of the Chilean Navy headed toward the port of Callao, while two older wooden ships, the corvetteEsmeralda and theschoonerCovadonga, blockaded the Peruvian port of Iquique. However, two ironclad ships of the Peruvian Navy, themonitorHuáscar and thearmored frigateIndependencia, commanded byRear AdmiralMiguel Grau and CaptainJuan Guillermo More, respectively, steamed south from Callao undetected. TheEsmeralda, with Captain Arturo Prat, and theCovadonga, with CaptainCarlos Condell, remained at Iquique.
The wooden corvetteEsmeralda, constructed in 1854, was armed with twenty 32-pound cannons and two 12-pound cannons. It was later upgraded in 1868 with twelve 40-pound rifled cannons and four 40-pound Whitworth cannons.[1] The Peruvian ironcladHuáscar, built in 1865, displaced 1,180 tons and was armed with two 300 lb (140 kg) cannons, two 40 lb (18 kg) cannons, one 12 lb (5.4 kg) cannon, and aGatling machine gun. It had a maximum speed of 11knots (20 km/h; 13 mph).
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On the morning of May 21, 1879, at 6:30 a.m., a dense marine fog obscured the harbor. As the fog cleared,Covadonga's lookout shouted, "Smoke to the north!" However, the crew couldn't identify the approaching ships. Moments later, they recognized them as the Peruvian squadron,Huáscar andIndependencia. At 6:45 a.m., a sailor noticed the ships' rigging through a telescope and informed Commander Condell. He based his identification on the shape of the platform on top of theforemast. Condell immediately ordered awarning shot to be fired to alert the anchoredEsmeralda. It was confirmed that the ships were indeedIndependencia andHuáscar.
At the same time, Peruvian admiral Grau rallied his crew:
"Crewmembers and Sailors of theHuáscar, Iquique is in sight, there are our afflicted fellow countrymen from Tarapacá, and also the enemy, still unpunished. It's time to punish them! I hope you will know how. Remember how our forces distinguished in Junin, the 2nd of May, Abtao, Ayachucho, and other battlefields, to win us our glorious and dignified independence, and our consecrated and brilliant laurels of freedom. No matter what the outcome, Peru will not fall. For our fatherland,Long Live Peru!"
Meanwhile, Carlos Condell de la Haza informed Commander Arturo Prat, who assessed the difference in forces and ordered to hoist the signal: "reinforce the charge," "come to the talks," and "follow my waters" (follow his course) and then inspired the crew with the following words:
Lads, the struggle will be against the odds, but cheer up, and have courage. Never has our flag been hauled down in the face of the enemy, and I hope, thus, this will not be the occasion to do so. For my part, as long as I live, this flag will fly in its place, and if I should die, my officers shall know how to fulfill their duties.Long Live Chile!
The crews ofEsmeralda andCovadonga, led by Commander Condell, were instructed to strengthen their positions. Abugler sounded the call to stations, and the Chilean crew took their assigned posts.
The battle commenced asHuáscar fired its first shot, causing an explosion and a plume of water and foam on the two ships. On land, people awakened to the sound ofCovadonga's gun and flocked to the beach to witness the vessels breaking the city's blockade.
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At 8:15 a.m., the initial exchange of fire occurred between the ships, with Prat commandingEsmeralda to initiate movement, followed byCovadonga. Prat also ordered thetransport vesselLamar to retreat southward. At 8:25 a.m., a second round of shots was fired, andHuáscar's projectile struckEsmeralda'sstarboard side, penetrating the ship and resulting in the death of Surgeon Videla, the beheading of his assistant, and the fatal injury of another sailor. In response, Condell altered his course and positionedCovadonga behindLamar. Grau commandedIndependencia to block the path ofCovadonga andLamar. Observing Condell's actions, Prat questioned Condell's intentions. Despite Prat's orders being ignored, Condell managed to keepCovadonga away fromIndependencia. Juan Guillermo More, in control ofIndependencia, pursuedCovadonga whileHuáscar dealt the final blow toEsmeralda. Prat swiftly positioned the ship near the coastline, approximately 200 meters (660 ft) away, forcingHuáscar to fire in aparabolic trajectory to avoid hitting the Peruvian village where onlookers had gathered to witness the battle. General Buendía, the commander of the Peruviangarrison in Iquique, positioned artillery on the beach and dispatched a messenger in a fast rowing boat to warnHuáscar thatEsmeralda was loaded withtorpedoes. Grau haltedHuáscar approximately 600 meters (660 yards) away fromEsmeralda and began firing the 300-pound cannons, but due to the Peruvian sailors' lack of experience in handling the monitor'sColes turret, they failed to hit their target for an hour and a half. The Chilean crew responded with their 30-pound cannons and gunfire, which proved ineffective againstHuáscar's armored plating. Along the coast, the Peruvian Army garrison stationed in the town positioned cannons manned by gunners and bombardiers to attack the Chilean ship. A grenade reachedEsmeralda, resulting in the deaths of three men. Prat commanded the warship to move, pushing the engine to its limits and causing one of the boilers to explode.
As a result, the ship's speed decreased to 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) due to a defective engine caused by age and lack of maintenance. This maneuver allowed Grau to ascertain thatEsmeralda did not contain the torpedoes it was believed to carry.Huáscar's shot directly hit the ship, beheading the bugler and causing severe injuries to the gun crews. The battle continued, with the crew ofHuáscar facing difficulties in targeting the Chilean corvette as, from their perspective, their own countrymen and the Peruvian port lay behindEsmeralda. A missed cannon shot posed a significant risk of hitting the population or the Peruvian port's batteries. Realizing the futility of winning the battle through a cannon exchange and desiring to conclude the combat, Grau orderedHuáscar to ramEsmeralda. Prat attempted to evade the collision by maneuvering the ship forward and closing a port, managing to avoid further damage when the blow struck near themizzen mast. Upon impact,Huáscar finally had the opportunity to fire its 10-inch (300-pound) cannons at close range, resulting in the deaths of approximately 40 to 50 sailors and marines. In a heroic gesture, Prat tried to board the enemy vessel. Allegedly shouting, "Let's board, boys!" he leaped onto the Peruvian ship, but only one fellow countryman followed him due to the deafening noise of the battle. Prat was then fatally shot while the companion who boarded with him,Petty OfficerJuan de Dios Aldea, sustained injuries. Together with Prat and Aldea, soldier Arsenio Canave jumped on the deck of the Peruvian ship to find death.[2]
AsEsmeralda continued to sink, Grau wanted to give his opponents time to surrender. LieutenantLuis Uribe Orrego, acting as the ship's captain at that point, called for an official meeting onEsmeralda and decided not to surrender to the Peruvian Navy. During this time, a sailor climbed the mizzen mast tosecure theChilean national flag, ensuring that the crew would remember Prat's words before the battle.
Grau soon received information that the attempted truce had failed once again and decided to ramEsmeralda for a second time, charging at full speed towards its starboard side. Uribe attempted a maneuver similar to Prat's, angling the ship to avoidHuáscar's impact. However, this time, the collision caused a breach, allowing water to flood into the powder magazine and machinery compartments. With a shortage of crew members and limited ammunition on deck,Esmeralda could not mount an effective defense.Huáscar once again unleashed gunfire at close range, resulting in casualties among the crew, including engineers and firemen who had surfaced on deck, and destroying the officers'mess room, which also served as the ship's clinic. Emulating Prat's actions during the initial ramming, Sublieutenant Ignacio Serrano and eleven other men armed withmachetes and rifles boardedHuáscar but were unsuccessful and fell victim to the Gatling guns and the monitor's crew. Serrano, the sole survivor, sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the groin. Grau quickly ordered his rescue and had Serrano taken to the infirmary in a state of shock, where he was placed alongside the mortally wounded Petty Officer Aldea. Twenty minutes later,Huáscar rammedEsmeralda for a third time, targeting the mizzen mast area, accompanied by two guns. The corvette tilted forward and began to sink. AsEsmeralda descended,Midshipman Ernesto Riquelme fired the last cannon shot. The Chilean flag, still flying and affixed to the mizzen mast, was the final part of the warship to submerge. It was midday, precisely 12:10 p.m., and Grau realized that many Chilean sailors and marines (reports indicate that 57 survived) were struggling to avoid being pulled down by the sinking ship, while their captain had perished hours earlier.
Grau ordered the deployment of rescue boats to save the enemy survivors from drowning. Initially apprehensive, the Chilean sailors were surprised to find that the Peruvians onHuáscar's deck were actually attempting to rescue them rather than harm them, picking them up one by one. Meanwhile, in an action on the same day which is sometimes considered the separateBattle of Punta Gruesa,Independencia pursuedCovadonga, which was heading south of the port of Iquique.Covadonga remained close to the bay's beach at Chiquinata, asIndependencia had a deeperdraft. However,Independencia ran aground on the rocks and shallow waters of Punta Gruesa. Commander Condell commanded an attack onIndependencia, resulting in its sinking and the fleeing of its crew on lifeboats, with only 20 remaining on board. Justifying his actions by pointing out that thePeruvian flag still flew from the mast, Condell ordered the shooting of the survivors. The divergent attitudes between the Chilean commander Condell and the Peruvian commander Grau are often highlighted by Peruvian maritime historians. While Grau had ordered the rescue of the 57Esmeralda survivors, he learned at 2:20 p.m. thatIndependencia, located 9 miles (14 km) away, was being bombarded byCovadonga. Grau promptly joined the engagement and arrived at 3:10 p.m., findingIndependencia stranded in shallow water with 20 surviving crew members, including More, as the rest had landed on the shore in boats. The Peruvian armored ship continued its pursuit ofCovadonga for three hours until Miguel Grau realized that the distance between them could not be closed before sunset. Consequently, he returned to aidIndependencia. Assessing the frigate's complete loss, Grau ordered the ship to be set ablaze after evacuating the remaining crew members.
After the battle, Rear Admiral Grau ordered the return of Prat's personal belongings, including his diary, uniform, and sword, to hiswidow. Along with these items, she received a letter from the Peruvian flag officer praising her late husband's valor and bravery during the engagement. News of the events in Iquique and Punta Gruesa reached Chile through an underwatertelegraph cable inValparaíso. On Saturday, May 24, the Chilean Navy General Staff and Naval High Command held a special meeting and sent reports of the battles to the War Department inSantiago. This led to a mass conscription draft being ordered in response. Many men enlisted in theArmy and Navy in the following days, driven by a desire to honor the fallen and contribute to the country's victory in the conflict.
The Battle of Iquique resulted in a clear victory for Peru, lifting theblockade on Iquique and temporarily forcing Chilean forces to retreat. However, the loss of theIndependencia, one of Peru's most powerful warships, in the subsequent Battle of Punta Gruesa proved to be a strategic setback, whereas Chile only lost one of its oldest wooden warships. Captain Prat's untimely death while on duty inspired thousands of Chilean youths to join the army and navy. Chilean historians consider this a crucial factor contributing to the eventual Chilean victory in the war. Over time, Prat's significance became deeply ingrained in the Chileancollective consciousness, to the extent that newspapers began using the term "Pratiotism" as a substitute for "Patriotism." Since 1905, the date of the battle has been commemorated asDía de las Glorias Navales ("Naval Glories Day"), anational holiday in Chile celebrated throughout the country. The honor extended beyond Prat, as Rear Admiral Grau, known as the "Gentleman of the Seas" for his actions during the battle and his noble gesture toward Prat's widow and surviving crew members, became revered as a gallant naval hero in both Peru and Chile.
20°12′06″S70°09′21″W / 20.2016°S 70.1559°W /-20.2016; -70.1559
