MundoAndino Home : Andes Chile Guide at Mundo Andino
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.
Context
During the first year of the war, Chilean war efforts were focused on destroying the Peruvian Navy. This was in order to enable the Chilean Navy to help the army to conquer Bolivian and Peruvian territories with troop landings and port blockades without interference.
During May 1879, the main ships of the Chilean Navy were sent towards the Peruvian port of Callao in order to destroy its navy, while two old, wooden ships -the corvette Esmeralda and the schooner Covadonga, commanded by Captain Arturo Prat and Captain 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, undetected. These ships were the monitor Huascar and the armoured frigate Independencia, commanded by Admiral Miguel Grau and Captain Juan Guillermo More.
The battle
On the morning of May 21, 1879, the watchman of Esmeralda spotted two ships coming from the north. These were the Peruvian Independencia and Huascar. Attempting to escape in order to warn the fleet, Covadonga headed south, but Esmeralda experienced engine problems. By this time, the battle was inevitable: while Huascar engaged Esmeralda, Independencia pursued Covadonga south.
Captain Condell of Covadonga realized that the quicker but heavier Independencia could not clear shallow water as well as his own schooner. He kept close to the coast, with Independencia in pursuit, while both ships traded fire. ''Independencia'slack of trained gunners, and Covadonga'saccurate sniper fire on gunners and helmsmen, prolonged the chase for over three hours without resolution. Captain More of Independenciadecided to take a riskier approach and ram the Chilean ship. Constantly sounding for depth, he attempted to do so twice, only to have to call off the attack when approaching the shallows. Close to Punta Gruesa, a shallow cove, Covadongascraped, but barely cleared an underwater reef. Independencia, attempting to ram for a third time, struck the obstacle and immediately took water and settled listing to starboard. Covadongathen turned around and opened fire, while Independencia'screw fired back and tried to set her free.
As Captain More realized his ship was lost, he ordered its destruction, but the magazine was already flooded and it could not be blown up. Covadongakept firing, but retreated when Huascarwas seen coming from the north. Huascar'scommander checked on Independenciaand decided to pursue the enemy after seeing she was immobilized, but this cost precious time and Covadongasteamed south as fast as possible. Captain Grau realized that Huascarcould not catch up on the 10 mile head start before dusk, gave up the chase and returned to assist Independenciaand salvage her guns; the crew (those aboard and on the beach) were rescued and the ship set on fire.
Peru had 18 crew killed and 5 wounded; 4 Chilean crewmembers were killed and 3 wounded.
Aftermath
The naval battle of Punta Gruesa was a Peruvian defeat; 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 Huascaralone to fight the entire Chilean Navy. Also, the heroic death of Captain Prat inspired thousands of Chileans to join the army. This is considered in Chilean history as one of the most important factors in achieving victory.
References
Farcau, Bruce W. . The Ten Cents War: Chile, Peru, and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific, 1879-1884, ISBN 0-275-96925-8
Sondhaus, Lawrence . Navies in Modern World History'', ISBN 1-86189-202-0
See also
Battle of Iquique
Battle of Angamos
Need more information for your travel research or homework?
Ask your questions at the forum about 1879 in Chile or help others to find answers.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Battle of Punta Gruesa
