During the first year of the war, Chilean war efforts were focused on destroying the
Peruvian Navy, since the Chileans understood the strategic importance of sea domination. This was meant to enable the
Chilean Navy to help the
army conquer Bolivian and Peruvian territories with troop landings and port
blockades without interference. During May 1879, the main ships of the Chilean Navy were sent towards the Peruvian port of
Callao in order to destroy its navy, while two old, wooden ships, the
corvette Esmeralda and the
Covadonga, commanded by Captain
Arturo Prat and Captain
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, undetected. These ships were the
monitor Huáscar and the
armoured frigate Independencia, commanded by Captain
Miguel Grau and Captain
Juan Guillermo More, respectively.
History On the morning of May 21, 1879, the lookout of
Esmeralda spotted two ships coming from the north. These were the Peruvian
Independencia and
Huáscar. Condell noticed the
Independencia was moving separated from the Huascar, realizing their plan was to close both Chilean ships in the port and attack from the distance, so he ordered to run south to keep both Peruvian forces divided. The
Covadonga headed south while the Esmeralda kept the defense at the port, as it had engine problems making her difficult to maneuver. The battle had begun:
Huáscar engaged
Esmeralda and
Independencia pursued
Covadonga south. Many sources (Peruvian mostly) say Condell attempted to escape the Iquique battle, but that can't be the case as the
Covadonga had half the speed of the
Independencia, making it unlikely for the
Covadonga to escape to Antofagasta. Captain Carlos Condell of the
Covadonga realized that the quicker but heavier
Independencia had a deeper draft than his schooner, the reason why he decided to run south very close to the coast, risking to run his ship aground. With
Independencia in pursuit, both ships exchanged fire. The ''Independencia's
lack of trained gunners and the Covadonga's
accurate sniper fire prolonged the chase for over three hours. Chilean-Mapuche sniper Juan Bravo was hailed after the battle for taking down numerous Peruvians. Captain More of the Independencia
, tired because of the prolonged pursuit, lost his temper and patience, deciding to take a riskier approach and ram the Chilean ship. Constantly sounding the depth, he attempted to do so twice, only to have to call off the attack when approaching the shallows. Close to Punta Gruesa, a shallow cove, Covadonga
scraped and barely cleared a reef. The Independencia
, attempting to ram for a third time, struck the obstacle and immediately took on water while listing to starboard. The Covadonga
then turned around and opened fire, while Independencia'''s crew returned fire and tried to float her off the reef. As Captain More realized his ship was lost, he ordered her
scuttled, but the magazine was already flooded and it could not be blown up. The
Covadonga kept firing, as the crew of the
Independencia resisted to surrender. When they finally raised the white flag, Condell's men were preparing the boats to take prisoners, but then they saw the
Huáscar coming from the north, so they decided to run south to Antofagasta. ''Huáscar's
commander checked on Independencia
and decided to pursue the enemy after seeing she was immobilized, but this cost precious time and Covadonga
steamed south as fast as possible. Captain Grau realized that Huáscar
could not catch up on the head start before dusk, gave up the chase, and returned to assist Independencia'' and salvage her guns; the crew (those aboard and some who had escaped to the beach) were rescued and the ship set on fire. The Peruvians lost 5 crew with 5 wounded; 3 Chilean crewmen were killed and 5 wounded.
Aftermath The naval battle of Punta Gruesa was a Peruvian defeat. One of the most powerful warships in the Peruvian Navy was lost, while Chile only lost one of its oldest wooden warships. == Commanders ==