El Combate De Angamos

At dawn that day, the Huascar was spotted by the Chilean first division, which Grau forced to veer to the southwest and then north again, trying to outrun its enemies. Soon after, the Huascar and theUnion met with the Chilean second division in front of Punta Angamos. Realizing that the Huascar could not avoid the fight for his little walk, the Union made its way north.

Then at 09:40 hours,with inevitable meeting, the Peruvian monitor strengthened its flag cannons firing on the Cochrane tower a thousand feet away. The Covadonga Blanco and at that time were at a distance of six milestowards the Huascar, while the O'Higgins and the Loa were going to cut over to the Union. The Cochrane initially said no shots, but pulled one back thanks to its greater speed, and when it was 200 meterson the port side of the Huascar, made his first shots, piercing the armor of the hull and damaging the system of government.

Ten minutes later a shell from the Cochrane also hit the conning towerand it blew off the Admiral Miguel Grau and dying left his companion Diego Ferré First Lieutenant. Then he took command of the ship Lieutenant Commander Elias Aguirre, who continued the fight withChilean vessels, until it too fell dead from a bullet enemy. One after another, Peruvian officials were happening over the ship, which received over and over the impacts of Chilean artillery, until thecommand has relied on the First Lieutenant Peter Gárezon, this officer, seeing that it was not possible to continue the struggle for the conditions under which was the ship, with its guns disabled, herrudder broken and decimated his crew, gave the order to open the bottom valves to flood the monitor and thus avoid being captured by the enemy.

At 10:55 the Cochrane and Blanco stopped the firingand seeing that the Huascar soon would founder, sent an armed boat crew to take it. When they entered the Chilean sailors aboard the Huascar and was 1.20 m. water and was about to sink by the stern....