On 2 July 1828, the Peruvian corvette
Libertad armed with 24 guns and a crew of 124 men under Captain Carlos Garcia del Postigo (a Chilean-born officer under the service of the
Peruvian Navy), sailed towards
Guayaquil with orders to cross the Gulf and guard the entrance to the Guayaquil River. On 31 August 1828, the Peruvian vessel was intercepted by two Gran-Colombian warships, the schooner
Guayaquileña and the corvette
Pichincha, commanded by Irish-born Captain Thomas C. Wright. Captain Wright, aboard the
Guayaquileña, inquired to the commander of
Libertad about his activities in Gran-Colombian waters, but suddenly the Peruvian corvette opened fire, starting a close-quarter artillery duel, during which the Peruvians almost boarded the
Guayaquileña; meanwhile, the
Pichincha stayed away and didn't participate in the combat. At the peak of the struggle, the Gran-Colombians ships suddenly retreated towards Guayaquil and were pursued closely by the
Libertad. The pursuit ceased when the
Libertad was forced to return to tend the wounded and bury the dead. The Peruvians lost 15 killed and 28 wounded, while the Gran-Colombians suffered 24 killed and 36 wounded.
Ships involved The
Libertad was a corvette originally named
General Brown, purchased from Chile in January 1826 for 25 thousand pesos under the name
General Salom, that started its service for the Peruvian Navy as a transport vessel, and on 6 March 1827 was finally named
Libertad. On 8 January 1828, the Commander-in-Chief of the Peruvian Navy, Rear Admiral José Pascual de Vivero, established a budget of 7,354 pesos to convert the
Libertad into a warship, initially armed with 22 12-pounder guns taken from the corvette
Limeña. On 14 May 1828 the Chilean officer Carlos García del Postigo Búlnes was assigned as commander of the vessel. The schooner
Guayaquileña was armed with twelve 12-pounder guns, and was under the command of Lieutenant Claudio Johnston. Among the officers on board were two future Ecuadorian presidents, ensign
José María Urvina and midshipman
Francisco Robles. The
Pichincha was under the command of Captain Archibald Taylor. ==Aftermath==