Battle of Iquique The Battle of Iquique ( Spanish : " Batalla de Iquique " or " Combate Naval de Iquique " ) was a confrontation that occurred on May 21 , 1879 , during the naval stage of the War of the Pacific , a conflict between Chile and Peru and Bolivia . The battle took place off the then - Peruvian port of Iquique . The Peruvian ironclad " Huáscar " , commanded by Miguel Grau Seminario , sank the " Esmeralda " , a Chilean wooden corvette captained by Arturo Prat Chacón , after four hours of combat . Background . The Bolivian government had threatened to confiscate and to sell the Antofagasta Nitrate & Railway Company , a mining enterprise with Chilean and British investors , by a decree on February 1 , 1879 . In response , the Chilean government sent a small military force which disembarked and seized control of the port of Antofagasta on February 14 . This event made Bolivian President Hilarión Daza declare war on Chile , and also forced Peru to honor a secret 1873 treaty with Bolivia . Although Peru tried to negotiate and to stop the imminent conflict , Chile , knowing of this pact , declared war on both Peru and Bolivia on April 5 . Another small Chilean force took control of the city of Calama after its victory in the Battle of Topater on March 23 . From the beginning of the conflict , both sides clearly knew that control of the sea was the key to obtaining victory . Whichever country controlled the sea could freely transport troops and land them at any strategic point . So , during the first year of the war , Chilean strategy focused on destroying the Peruvian Navy . In order to achieve this goal , the Chilean naval commander , Juan Williams Rebolledo , planned to sail north with his entire fleet , trying to engage the Peruvian Navy at Callao and achieve domination of the sea once and for all . The main ships of the Chilean Navy were sent towards the Peruvian port of Callao . Two old , wooden ships , the corvette " Esmeralda " and the schooner " Covadonga , " commanded by Captains Arturo Prat and Carlos Condell respectively , were left blockading the Peruvian port of Iquique . However , as the Chilean Navy steamed north towards Callao , two ironclad ships of the Peruvian Navy steamed south from Callao , unseen . These ships were the monitor " Huáscar " and the armored frigate " Independencia " , commanded by Rear Admiral Miguel Grau ( then a Captain ) , the commanding officer of the Peruvian Navy and Captain Juan Guillermo More . Forces in combat . The wooden corvette " Esmeralda " was constructed on 1854 in Henry Pitcher ' s shipyard , arriving at Valparaíso in 1856 . This vessel was named " Esmeralda " after the frigate of the same name captured by Lord Cochrane at El Callao in 1820 . The " Esmeralda " displaced 854 tons , and was armed with twenty 32 - pounder cannon and two 12 - pounder cannon . In 1868 , this was replaced with twelve 40 - pounder rifled cannon and four 40 - pounder Whitworth cannon . The Peruvian ironclad " Huáscar " was built in 1865 in the Laird Brothers ' shipyard . The " Huáscar " displaced 1 , 180 tons , and was armed with two cannons of 300 lbs . , two cannons of 40 lbs , one cannon of 12 lbs and one Gatling machine gun . This ship could reach a speed of 11 knots . Before the battle . 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 , and in 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 indeed the " Independencia " and the " Huáscar " . In that same moment , the Peruvian admiral Grau roused his crew : " Crewmembers and Sailors 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 . Remember how our forces distinguished in Junin , the 2nd of May , Abtao , Ayachucho and other battlefields , to win us our glorious and dignified independence , and our consecrated and brilliant laurels of freedom , and as Commandant of the Navy will never let Peru be defeated . For our fatherland , " Long Live Peru ! " " Carlos Condell de la Haza warned Prat , and he , seeing the difference between their forces and the enemies ' , ordered to hoist the signal : " reinforce the charge " , " come to the talks " and " follow my waters ( follow his course ) " and then inspired the crew with the following words : Lads , the struggle will be against the odds , but cheer up and have courage . Never has our flag been hauled down in the face of the enemy and I hope , thus , will not be this the occasion to do so . From my part , as long as I live , this flag will fly in its place , and if I die , my officers shall know how to fulfill their duties . " Long Live Chile ! " After the speech , the Covadonga came to an halt and Commander Prat then told the crew of the " Esmeralda " and to the crew of the " Covadonga " led by Commander Condell : " For lunch people , Strengthening loads , each to his duty ! " . Condell simply replied , " All right , sir ! " A young ordering bugler at the same time was sounding the call to stations , and the Chilean crew then took their positions . After this everyone felt an explosion and a plume of water and foam up on the two ships , the Huascar had fired its first shot . The battle had begun . On land , people awoke to the first shot of the Covadonga ' s gun and went to the beach to get a first hand look of the vessels coming to lift the blockade of the city . First phase of the battle . At 8 : 15 , the first volley hit between the ships , and Prat ordered the " Esmeralda " to start moving , followed by the " Covadonga " . The transporter " Lamar " was ordered ( by Prat ) to retreat to the South . 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 . Condell changed his course and went behind the " Lamar " . Grau ordered the " Independencia " to block " Covadonga " and " Lamar ' s " way . Prat observed Condell ' s action and asked himself : " What is Condell doing ? " Condell ignored Prat ' s order and followed the " Lamar " , but the warship did get away from the " Covadonga " , and the " Independencia " under control of Juan Guillermo More followed him . The " Independencia " pursues the " Covadonga " , while the " Huáscar " finished the " Esmeralda " . Prat quickly positioned the ship in front of the coast , 200 meters from it , forcing the " Huáscar " to shoot with a parabolic trajectory to avoid hitting the Peruvian village , whose people gathered in crowds to see the battle . Second phase of the battle . General Buendía , commander of the Peruvian garrison of Iquique , had artillery cannons placed on the beach and sent an emissary in a fast rowing boat with a warning to the " Huáscar " that the " Esmeralda " was loaded with torpedoes . Grau stopped from her and began shooting with the 300 - pound cannons , not hitting her for an hour and a half , owing to the Peruvian sailors ' inexperience in the handling of the monitor ' s Coles turret . The Chilean crew answered with their 30 - pound cannons and gunfire , shots that rebounded uselessly from the " Huáscar ' s " plated armour . At the coast , the Peruvian Army garrison in the town installed a cannon battery manned by gunners and bombardiers , and began to bomb the Chilean ship . A grenade reached her , killing three men . Prat order the warship to move , overexerting the engine and causing one of the boilers to explode , The ship ' s speed dropped to 2 knots ( her engine was defective due to age and lack of maintenance ) . This move allowed Grau to see the absence of the torpedoes that supposedly filled the " Esmeralda " . One of " Huáscar ' s " shots hit directly on board , beheading the ordering bugle r and mutilating the gun crews . The position of the " Esmeralda " was desperate when it began to receive both " Huáscar " and Iquique ' s beach ' s cannon shots . Even Grau from his armoured tower exclaimed : “ It ' s remarkable how these Chileans fight ” , impressed by the courage shown by the enemy . Grau , seeing the useless slaughter that was taking place in the dismantled and disgraced corvette and wanting to end the combat , which had been nearly 4 hours long until that moment , ordered his ship to ram into the " Esmeralda " . Prat tried to avoid the blow by giving the rod forward and closing a port not managed to sidestep the blow to the mizzen mast height without further damage . When the ships collided , the " Huáscar " fired their ten inches ( 300 pounds ) cannons at close range , causing the deaths of 40 or 50 sailors and marines . By then , Prat raised his sword and cried his final order : " Let ' s board , lads ! " , but due to the roar of the battle only Petty Officer Juan de Dios Aldea and Seaman Arsenio Canave heard it , and both of them and Prat jumped aboard the other ship . Arsenio unfortunately slipped and fell down because of the impact , so only the two officers got to the monitor . Petty Officer Aldea , by then armed with a boarding hatchet and a pistol , received a burst from the artillery tower and fell mortally injured . Only Prat continued advancing armed with a sword and a pistol . Grau gave the order to capture the Chilean captain alive . Once on board , Prat , walked up to the conning tower , on the journey towards he killed the Peruvian Signal Officer , Second Lieutenant Jorge Velarde , but while moving to the Coles Tower a sailor from the artillery tower struck him dead with a shot in the forehead with a rifle in his hand . After the first boarding attempt failed , Grau wanted to give his opponents time to surrender . In the " Esmeralda " Lieutenant Luis Uribe Orrego by now the ship ' s acting Captain , then called the official meeting and decided not to surrender to the Peruvian Navy . While this was happening a sailor climbed the mizzen - mast to nail down the Chilean national flag . Grau was soon notified that the truce did not work again and decided to ram again the " Esmeralda " , rushing at full speed on it , now for the starboard side . Uribe tried to maneuver like Prat and managed to present his side at an angle to spur the monitor " Huáscar " , but this time he opened a water route , entering pouring into the powder magazine and machines . The ship had a crew shortage and without more ammunition than he had on deck . The " Huáscar " again fired guns at such close range that killed several crew members including engineers and firemen who went up on deck and washed away the officers ' mess room , which was then also the ship ' s clinic . Sublieutenant Ignacio Serrano cried again " Stand by for boarding ! " and he boarded the " Huáscar " with eleven more men , armed with machetes and rifles but which was also unsuccessful , falling on the deck of the monitor for Gatling gun s and the monitor ' s crew , some dying immediately due to bullet wounds sustained . Ignacio Serrano was then the only survivor and had received several shot wounds in the groin . Grau quickly had him picked up and carried to the infirmary in a state of shock , where they left him next to the dying petty officer Aldea . 20 minutes after was the third ram , this time in the sector of the mizzen mast accompanied by two guns , the corvette leaned forward and began to sink . When the " Esmeralda " was sinking , the last cannon shot was fired by Midshipman Ernesto Riquelme , while the main deck was going underwater the " Huascar " crew heard screams of " " Long Live Chile ! Glory and Victory ! " " from the ship ' s sailors . The Chilean flag was the last part of the warship to go underwater , still flying and nailed to the mizzen - mast . It was 12 . 10 pm at midday , and that was when Grau realized that Cmdr . Prat had already died in the infirmary . Third phase of the battle . " See also Battle of Punta Gruesa for a more detailed account " The " Independencia " was in pursuit of " Covadonga " , which when it was stuck to the beach in the bay of Chiquinata the latter was heading south of the port of Iquique , until the former came on the rocks and shallow waters of Punta Gruesa . Commander Condell ordered an attack on the " Independencia " which resulted in it being sunk and its crew fleeing using its lifeboats , with only 20 of its crew left . Grau ordered the rescue of the 57 survivors of the Esmeralda , but saw the " Independencia " at 2 : 20 pm to 9 miles away and arrived in front of her at 3 : 10 pm . He found it stranded on the shallow water and with the 20 surviving crew members , including More , since the rest had landed in boats on the shore . The Peruvian armored ship continued the pursuit of " Covadonga " for three hours until Miguel Grau , convinced that the distance that separated him it could not be shortened before sunset , he returned to the aid of " Independencia " . Grau estimated then that the loss of the frigate was complete and sent back to " Huáscar " the crewmen on board were still giving the order to burn it . Epilogue . After the battle , Rear Admiral Grau gave orders that Prat ' s personal objects ( diary , uniform and sword among others ) were to be returned to his widow . Carmela Carvajal received them , as well as an attached letter from the Peruvian Admiral , affirming his rival ' s personal qualities , his gentility and his high moral values . In Chile , news reached the submarine cable in Valparaiso . On Saturday May 24 the Chilean Navy General Staff and the Naval High Command convened a special meeting about the events in Iquique and Punta Gruesa on the 21st , and sent reports of the battles to the War Department , resulting in a mass draft being ordered . Since that time Chile was in a revival of patriotism and many Chileans went voluntarily to the barracks and the naval stations to enlist and participate in the conflict . Aftermath . The Naval Battle of Iquique was a Peruvian victory ; the blockade on Iquique was lifted and Chile temporarily left the area . However , Peru ' s loss of the " Independencia " , one of its most powerful warships , in the following battle of Punta Gruesa was strategically costly , while Chile only lost one of its oldest wooden warships . Also , Cpt . Prat ' s sudden death while on duty inspired thousands of Chilean youth to join the army and the navy . This is considered by Chilean historians to be one of the most important factors leading to victory in the war . Years later the figure of Prat became so popular that newspapers started to talk about " Pratiotism " and " Patriotism " . Since 1905 the date of the battle is a Chilean national holiday as " Naval Glories Day " ( " Dia de las Glorias Navales " ) and is honored through celebrations all over the nation . And it was not just Prat that was being honored . Grau , also now known as the " Gentleman of the Seas " due to his actions in the battle and later for his noble gesture toward Prat ' s widow and the surviving crewmembers , is honored in both Peru and Chile as a gallant naval hero .