Miau

War of the Pacific

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Heroes of Iquique monument and crypt in Valparaiso, Chile. At the top is the statue of Prat, on the second level statues of Serrano, Riquelme, Aldea and a generic seaman.

When the war broke out, Prat was assigned to assistant of the Navy General Command, a position he tried to reject.

When Don Rafael Sotomayor Baeza was required to go to Antofagasta withinstructions from the Government, he requested an assistant, and Prat was assigned to the job. Being both of them aboard the armored Blanco Encalada, he was assigned to notifyIquique's authorities that they have been blocked by the Chilean army, which he did without letting the hostile position of the people daunt him.

He was assigned Covadonga's command. On 3 May the corvette Abtao,under lieutenant commander Carlos Condell de la Haza's command, and the Covadonga, under Prat's command, set sail towards Iquique arriving on 10 May.

To achieve the plan that Admiral Juan Williams Rebolledo had conceived, consisting of attacking the Peruvian squadron in El Callao's port, he assigned as Abtao's commander Manuel Thompson, who commanded the corvette Esmeralda until then. Arturo Pratreplaced him, and Carlos Condell de la Haza was designated Covadonga's commander.

On 16 May, the squadron set sail to Callao Port, with the intention of surprising the Peruvian warships, but the same day Peruvian monitor Huáscar and armored frigate Independencia set sail from that port, towards Arica, to carry reinforcements, armaments, ammunition and provisions, so both squadrons missed each otheron their trips.

[edit]Battle of Iquique
It was 21 May 1879, 6:30 in the morning, when the fog cleared, Covadonga's lookout shouted: "Smoke to the north!". But, owing to thick marine fog, they were not able to identify the newly arrived ships, but after a few moments they thought it was the Peruvian squadron coming back.

At 6:45 a.m., a sailor by Condell's side asked for the telescope, andin a moment of clarity he observed the warships' rigging and said to Condell: "It's the Huáscar and the Independencia". "What basis do you have to assert that?" asked Condell, and the sailor answered "From the shape of the platform on top of the foremast".

Immediately Condell ordered a shot to be fired in the air to warn the Esmeralda, still anchored in the port. The ships were indeedthe Independencia and the Huáscar.

In that same moment, the Peruvian admiral Grau roused his crew: "Crewmembers of the Huáscar, Iquique is at sight, there are our afflicted fellow countrymen from Tarapacá, and also the enemy, still unpunished. It's time to punish them! I hope you will know how. Long live Peru!"

Carlos Condell de la Haza warned Prat, and he, seeing the difference between theirforces and the enemies', pronounced his famous impassioned speech in front of his brothers in arms:

Lads, the battle will be unfair, but, cheer and courage. Our flag has never been hauled down before the enemy and I hope this will not be the occasion to do it. From my part, I assure you that as long as I live, this flag will blow in its place, and if I die, my officers will know how to fulfilltheir duties.

The Esmeralda was an old wooden corvette weighing 850 tons and 200 horsepower, with eight 40-pound cannons, four 30-pounders and two of 6 pounds. When the action began, Prat ordered Condell to follow his course and the Covadonga met with the Esmeralda and the La mar in the middle of the bay.

At 8:15, the first volley hit between the ships, and Prat ordered the Esmeralda to startmoving, followed by the Covadonga. At 8:25 a second volley fell and a shot from the Huáscar hit fully on the starboard (right) side, passed through Esmeralda's side, killing the surgeon Videla, beheading his assistant, and mortally wounding another sailor.

The transporter Lamar hoisted the US flag and fled to the South, and Condell changed his course and went behind that ship. Grau ordered...