This happened in March 1880, in the midst of the Pacific War, when the Chilean squadron blockaded the then Peruvian port to prevent the arrival of supplies for its declining army. But in a daring maneuver, the Peruvian corvette Unión managed to circumvent the threatening presence of the Huáscar (which was already fighting for Chile) and the Cochrane, to deliver a last cargo of supplies. Here is the story of a disappointment for the Chilean Navy.
In March 1880, the military actions of the Pacific War were concentrated in southern Peru. The Chilean army had landed at Ilo and Mollendo, and was gradually preparing operations to take control of the Tacna region. Therefore, the idea was to prevent the Peruvian army from the south from receiving supplies by sea from Arica since by land the Chilean expeditionary force cut off access to the main cities.
Thus, the Chilean squadron had deployed in front of the then Peruvian port, taking advantage of its superiority at sea. In February of the same year, the repaired monitor Huáscar joined the blockade, this time serving under the Chilean flag under the command of Captain Manuel Thomson. But in a fight in front of the Peruvian monitor Manco Capac (strictly speaking a floating battery), under the command of José Sánchez Lagomarsino, the Huáscar was damaged and Thomson killed. Faced with misfortune, it is Carlos Condell, the hero of Punta Gruesa, who takes command of the ship.
From Callao, the corvette Unión was enlisted with a cargo of supplies at the port . He was the same one who had taken part in an unusual expedition to Punta Arenas almost at the start of the war; according to Gonzalo Bulnes in his classic Pacific War, clothes, shoes, medicine, two machine guns, a torpedo boat and some ammunition were sent. But the obstacle of the blockade maintained by Huáscar with the transport Matías Cousiño had to be overcome.
the double break
Thus, the Union commander, Captain Manuel Villavicencio, sailed to the outskirts of Arica on the night of March 16-17. Before dawn, taking advantage of the fog, he managed to bring the ship back to port and ordered the immediate unloading of the cargo. The crew was there, when at dawn the Huáscar and the transport Matías Cousiño, in charge of the blockade, arrived from a patrol from the south of the bay and noticed the surprise. “As soon as I dropped anchor, I saw the Peruvian corvette Unión in Arica Bay”, Condell details on his side.
Immediately, Condell gave the squadron notice and entered the bay to attack the Union. , although this was protected by the forts of Arica and the monitor Manco Capac. Shortly after, at 9 a.m., the Cochrane Armored arrived at the bay, under the command of Admiral Juan José Latorre, with the artillery transport Amazonas. With this force, far superior to that of the Union, it was very difficult for the Peruvian corvette to escape.
In his facts section, Latorre details what happened when he arrived at the port. “I called the commander of the monitor, from whom I learned that the enemy ship had broken through the blockade during the night. Therefore, I decided to enter the port, which we did at 1 p.m., doing the Cochrane from the North and (sic) the Huáscar from the South . The fires of the enemy and (sic) of ours opened at 1:30 p.m., they continued without interruption until 2:50 p.m., when I thought it appropriate to suspend them to renew them on a better occasion. .
For a few hours, the Chilean ships launched their attack against the Union, which responded by continuing to unload its cargo. There he was aided by Manco Cápac and the strong Peruvians, who gave the Union the time it needed.. “The batteries of the Morro and the San José, perfectly equipped, as well as the Manco-Capac, adequately protected this corvette every time the enemy tried to close in, and thanks to such efficient and timely (sic) assistance, the corvette did not suffer the consequent damage of such an unequal fight, and I can assure you that both armored vehicles, although in constant motion, received projectiles launched by our recommended battery gunners”, details the part of the Peruvian commander Manuel, Villavicencio.
As Latorre’s report details, after 2:00 p.m. he decided to suspend fire and organized the ships into formation to prevent the Union withdrawal. At this moment the commander made an error of appreciation. According to Bulnes, Latorre felt that the gunfire from the Chilean ships had left the Union in a very bad state. Sure enough, it was damaged by the attack, but on a much smaller scale than it appeared.
So the Admiral called on the leaders of the other ships to confer aboard the Cochrane to coordinate the final attack on the Union. But, a few meters away, Villavicencio noticed the crowd of boats around the Chilean armored vehicle. This led him to deduce what was going on. Before him, he had an unexpected opportunity to escape. He asked to expedite some repairs to his ship, then to weigh anchor and begin sailing along the island of Alacrán, taking advantage of the fact that Latorre had laid out the Amazon near there.
Latorre tells his side that they noticed the escape maneuver while he was in the middle of a meeting with the leaders of the other ships. “After the cannonade and finding ourselves west of the port, eight kilometers away, I conferred with the commanders of Huáscar and Amazonas (sic) on the best way to take position at night to attempt a definitive result concerning the Union, when I was warned that the enemy ship was leaving the anchorage, beginning the retreat south at full steam” .
The same situation is told by Condell in his part. “While VS, together with the undersigned and the commander of the Amazon, has combined a convenient plan to prevent the Union from escaping during the night, the various ships of the division sounded the alarm that the Union was fleeing. .
Immediately, Latorre ordered a pursuit of the Union, but it was useless. In no time, the double breach of the blockade of Arica had been achieved. This is how Villavicencio remembered him in his role. ” A few moments later, all enemy ships began to move and began their hunt on the corvette with full force and in different directions , who laughed at their mighty ships, amid cheers and enthusiastic cheers of the crowd of people (sic) who crowned the Morro, and other places near by, around which I had to pass on leaving port”. This was the last aid the defenders of the port received before the fierce takeover of El Morro on June 7 of that year.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
