Many members of the Royal Navy also volunteered for the revolutionary forces. The most famous being Thomas Cochrane who reorganised the Chilean navy, most of whom were composed of Royal Navy veterans. Amongst many feats he he captured the Spanish fortress of Valdivia in 1820; and in the same year he captured the flagship of the Spanish South American fleet, the "Esmeralda", in the port of Callao. As well as helping Chile gain independence from Spain Cochrane did the same for Peru too by mounting an effective blockade and transporting troops. He then moved on to Brazil in their fight for independence from Portugal.