Battle of Papudo
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| Chincha Islands War |
|---|
| Papudo – Abtao – Callao |
The Naval Battle of Papudo was a naval engagement fought between Spain and a combined Peruvian-Chilean force on November 26, 1865. It was fought 55 miles north of Valparaiso, Chile, near the coastal commune of Papudo.
Until November 1865, Chile had been the only country firm in its declaration of war against Spain, whose desire it was to recapture its lost South American colonies. Through the efforts of its president Mariano Ignacio Prado, Peru was subsequently galvanized into action against Spain.
Familiar with Spanish naval movements, the Chilean corvette Esmeralda, under the command of Juan Williams Rebolledo, and whose crew included Arturo Prat, Juan José Latorre, and Carlos Condell y Uribe, waited for any Spanish ships to appear between Coquimbo and Valparaíso.
The Chileans hoisted a British flag on their ship and maneuvered themselves close to the Spanish ship Virgen de Covadonga, under the command of Luis Fery (or Ferry), who thought that the ship may have been the similarly built British vessels Shearwater, Colombina, or Mutine.
The Esmeralda opened fire on the Covadonga, which returned fire, but the Chilean gunners proved more skillful, and under withering and debilitating fire, the Covadonga received severe hits that incapacitated its crew.
The Spaniards attempted to escape, but it was too late. The Esmeralda followed her, continuing to fire. Deciding to surrender, Fery called out in a loud voice to Williams Rebolledo, who ordered Manuel Thomson Portomariño to take possession of the Spanish ship, with Chilean sailors to man her. Chilean engineers then worked to save the Spanish ship from further damage. All in all, the battle lasted only half an hour.
The Peruvian-Chilean naval forces captured the frigate Virgen de Covadonga and took Commander Fery, 6 Spanish officers, and 115 sailors as prisoners, besides inflicting casualties.
The South Americans also captured the correspondence of Spanish Admiral Antonio Manuel Pareja. This action, together with the general failure of Spanish operations during the Chincha Islands War, led to his suicide on board his flag-ship a few days later.
As a Chilean ship, the Covadonga later saw combat in the Battle of Iquique during the War of the Pacific.
External links
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