The Naval Battle of Iquique was a confrontation that 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. 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 Chacón, 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 Antofagasta on February 14. This event made Bolivian President Hilarion Daza 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 Topater 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 Navy.

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 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.

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 Huáscar and the armored frigate Independencia, commanded by Admiral Miguel Grau 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 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 load and form up. The transport Lamar was ordered to retreat, so it raised the Flag of the United States 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 Prat 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 Grau from firing on the Chilean ship without risking also hitting the port. 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'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 Gruesa, 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 Huáscar alone to fight the entire Chilean Navy. Also, the death of Captain Prat 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".