Arturo Prat
Encyclopedia
Agustín Arturo Prat Chacón (April 3, 1848, near Ninhue
, Chile
– May 21, 1879, Iquique
, Peru
) was a Chile
an navy
officer. He was killed shortly after boarding the Peruvian armored monitor Huáscar
at the Naval Battle of Iquique
after the ship under his command, the Esmeralda
, was rammed by the Peruvian monitor
. Prat, as captain
of the Esmeralda, was the first to board the Huáscar.
During his career, Prat had taken part in several major naval engagements, including battles at Papudo
(a coastal city north of Valparaíso
) (1865), and at the Battle of Abtao
(1866), at the islet of Abtao across from Chiloé Island
. Following his death, his name became a rallying cry for Chilean forces, and Arturo Prat has since been considered a national hero
.
Prat's name is commemorated on numerous plazas (squares), streets, buildings and other structures in Chile. His name has been commemorated by four of Chile's major warships, including a USS Brooklyn class cruiser
in the 1950s, a British County class destroyer
from 1983 to 2006, and most recently a Dutch Jacob van Heemskerck class frigate
transferred to Chile as Capitan Prat in 2006. One of Chile's Antarctic
research facilities, Arturo Prat Station
, and the Chilean Naval Academy, Escuela Naval Arturo Prat are named after him. His portrait also appears on the 10,000 Chilean peso
bank note.
origin (not to be confused with the English 'Pratt'). He entered the Naval Academy on August 28, 1858 at the age of 10 years thanks to one of the scholarships created by President Manuel Montt Torres. There were two scholarships per province: one for Arauco went to Prat, and the other went to Luis Uribe
. Both had the same benefactor, Don Jacinto Chacón (uncle of Arturo and stepfather of Uribe), resulting in the two youths considering each other as brothers.
At the time, the academy was directed by Frenchman Juan Julio Feillet and was backed by another Frenchman, Don Anatolio Desmadryl. Young Arturo and his friend Luis were part of the so-called "class of the heroes" including, among others, Carlos Condell de la Haza, Juan José Latorre
and Jorge Montt Álvarez.
During his first year, Prat was often distracted and struggled in his studies, especially mathematics. Nevertheless, just as he had in his previous school, he overcame these difficulties and went on to win a silver medal for his accomplishments.
In 1859, his second year as a cadet, he commenced a nautical apprenticeship – a requirement for second-year students. His first voyage of training was completed in the steamer Independencia, with sail and rigging maneuvers, followed later by practice in seamanship and artillery.
In January 1860, Arturo Prat boarded, for the first time, the "Esmeralda", the ship which would be the scene of his glory. His nautical apprenticeship continued: embarkation and disembarkation, combat simulation, etc. In July 1861, he left the Naval Academy as "primera antigüedad" (the most distinguished in the course). He obtained the grade of "midshipman
without examination".
During this period, Prat distinguished himself in an incident involving the Infernal, a French ship that was carrying explosive materials. On October 1, 1861, it (fittingly) caught on fire while in the Bay of Valparaíso. The Esmeralda, which was nearby, sent boats to save the wreck, one of which was steered by Arturo Prat, who would struggle for two hours against the fire.
by a Spanish squadron. The resulting war that was declared would prove to be a baptism of fire for Prat and his classmates.
Commanding the Esmeralda at the time was Juan Williams Rebolledo, who planned the recovery of the Chilean steamer
Matías Cousiño
and the capture of the Spanish schooner
Covadonga. The naval battle of Papudo
occurred on December 26 and rapidly went the way of the Chilean force which was superior in firepower and was able to capture the defeated ship. The capture of the Covadonga resulted in the promotion by one grade of all sailors participating in the battle, converting Prat into an ensign
(equivalent to a second lieutenant in the army).
Wishing to offset their losses at Papudo, the Spanish fleet sought another confrontation with the allied navies (Peru and Ecuador added to Chile's side). Their desire for vengeance was fulfilled at Chiloé
in the battle of Abtao
on February 7, 1866. Artillery combat occurred only between the Covadonga and the Spanish ships Villa de Madrid and Blanca, as the other allied ships were unused due to a lack of coal and the rocky estuary. Prat then served on the Covadonga, the ship which luckily resisted the Spanish bombardment. There were no losses on the allied side, while the Spanish suffered two deaths.
, Easter Island
(on the corvette
"Esmeralda" under Policarpo Toro
's command), Magallanes and Peru
. During the latter trip in 1868, he was responsible for transporting aid to those affected by that year's earthquake, and he later brought back the remains of Bernardo O'Higgins
, at the orders of Manuel Blanco Encalada
.
Prat was promoted to a Lieutenant
on September 9. The future hero returned to Naval School, but this time as an instructor. From 1871, he was the Second Commander of the Esmeralda, leading to his appointment to several positions in the school (teacher, subdirector, internal director), and was assigned to teach courses such as Naval Order, Law, Naval Tactics and Cosmography. Additionally, he was responsible for docking the corvette for four years (1871–1874) in the port of Mejillones
. He received the title of Graduated Corvette Captain (equivalent to Lieutenant Commander
) in 1873 and in 1874. He was a dedicated teacher who fought against the lack of resources available to provide quality education. He himself translated textbooks from French to Spanish.
Around that time, Prat faced an unusual situation. On May 24, 1875, the Esmeralda was in the port of Valparaíso while Prat was on sick leave. The commander of the ship, Luis Alfredo Lynch, was also on leave so Lieutenant Constantino Bannen was left in charge. A storm began in the bay and the Valdivia broke its ties and went right towards the Esmeralda, which then impacted with the Maipo. It appeared that the destruction of the Esmeralda would be unavoidable. When Prat and Lynch returned, they managed to get transported back to the ship by boat, but the violent waves kept them from embarking. Arturo Prat threw himself into the water and swam to the ship to climb a rope (as Lynch had done just before him). He worked feverishly with a rope tied from his waist to the mast to accomplish rescue maneuvers resulting in the ship stopping with its bow against the beach and securing it there with riggings. Luis Alfredo Lynch would later remember Prat's "unflappable calm in the face of danger".
The reparation of the Esmeralda was long and hard and cost 100,000 pesos. Lynch had to face charges of dereliction of duty, however he was saved by a tie in the voting. Throughout the trial, Arturo Prat was always faithful to his superior, helping him however he could.
After the tests of May 1876 and only three years before the War of the Pacific
, the Chilean government closed the Naval School explaining that Chile no longer needed naval officers.
Prat, who left Condell in charge of the Esmeralda, disembarked and, because of his studies in law, was named helper of the Maritime Government of Valparaíso. It was December 1876, he was already a graduated commander
, but he would only return to the ship of his destiny once the war started.
In 1870, Prat began the path of becoming a lawyer. Prat had always had an interest in law and therefore decided to pursue his law degree. He entered as a secondary student in Humanities at the Liceo de Valparaíso and the National Institute (Instituto Nacional
). In 1871, he received his diploma in Philosophy and Humanities — a prerequisite for studying law. One of his examiners was the renowned Chilean historian Diego Barros Arana
.
In the following year, he began his studies in Property Law
in the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile. He studied on board the "Esmeralda", which was located in Mejillones. Upon returning from his mission, he requested to take his examinations in Valparaíso
where he passed the required subjects.
In 1875, he began practicing law at a law firm in the port town as a prerequisite to receiving his license.
In July of the following year, Prat passed his remaining courses and was then ready to complete his licensing. In order to graduate, he was required to pass an examination on a randomly-chosen area of law. He was assigned Roman Law
, which he managed to pass between 24–26 July 1876, while his thesis "Observaciones sobre la ley electoral vigente" (Observations on the current electoral law) was approved. There remained one final step before receiving his license — a final exam before the judges of the Supreme Court.
On 31 July 1876, at 11 a.m., the lieutenant commander
passed through the corridors of Supreme Court of Justice in full dress uniform wearing his sword at his belt; he had come to take his examination before the highest judges, the final requirement to practise law. However, much to his surprise, Prat was told that the judges had decided not to hear examinations that day. Prat that he had an appointment for that day, that he had very little free time as a naval officer, and requested a meeting with Manuel Montt Torres, the Supreme Court president. Having convinced Montt to receive him, and to much applause from the court, Prat went on to become a lawyer at the age of 28.
Prior to his final exam, Prat had already conducted legal work while defending the engineer Ricardo Owen, accused of disobedience, and also his friend and classmate Luis Uribe
, accused of disobedience and contempt to his superiors. He succeeded the first time, but he was not so successful with the defence of his friend, who was condemned to six months of jail by six votes. The amnesty of the President saved Uribe and his naval career from that fate.
He aspired to be a Navy auditor, but he was only sworn as "assistant" (mainly because of his lack of experience), assigned the legal aspects of the Navy General Command. Prat performed a complete remodeling of the army's legal system, starting with the Navigation Law. He presented 152 modifications to it, many of which were approved. He was also in charge of the regularization of the promotion system, proposing changes to avoid social relations, politics and other factors, making it a merit and seniority based system. Prat died without this navy code having been published.
's government, in which the Greater Taxpayer Institution and Parliament Member Cumulative Vote were established.
Prat analyzes this law with the perspective that it would make possible further progress towards electoral freedom. He points out the contradictions and obscurity of the text, but he stresses that it is an "eminently liberal" law. Prat ends saying: ...deep-down a good law, it needs serious and important reforms with respect to regulations if it is to achieve the lofty objective it is destined to: to be the effective guarantee that the voting result is the happy expression of the national will."
The text reveals Prat's political ideas, clearly reflecting the common liberalism
of the times, and demonstrates a great naivety (not even with all of its indications could the law prevent the intervention of the executive power.)
In the voyage of repatriation of O'Higgins mortal remains from Peru, Prat brought presents for Carmela: a sewing box, a fan, a silver cross, and an ivory card holder.
Their attraction was obvious, but Prat was concerned when others mentioned it. In addition to his shyness, he was annoyed because he was afraid to formalize an engagement because he had no money to support the marriage.
When he learned that he would be promoted to Corvette Captain, he finally decided to ask for Carmela's hand, in 1873. The only love letter from Prat to his fiancée that has survived is dated shortly after:
On 5 May 1873 the wedding bells sounded over the San Agustín de Valparaíso church. A beautiful red carpet was laid, over which the radiant 22-year-old bride passed on her way to the altar. Her parents had died when she was a girl, and she had been raised by her siblings, through whom she had contact with the Chacón family. The Chacóns adopted her as a member of the family. Tall, slender and beautiful, she met with a sturdy Arturo Prat, with large forehead due to his baldness, thick beard and steady step. The minister, José Francisco Salas, blessed them at 10:30 am. They were man and wife.
Their relationship as spouses was based on a love that did not fade during the six years they lived together. Prat treated his wife as an equal, as a partner (something really rare in that society), putting her in charge of the family budget; and he, on the other hand, helped with some house chores: "At every moment I seem to find you exhausted from rocking our daughter, without me being next to you and sharing, albeit a bit, your labors...".
and in the Cauquenes's hot springs. After that, Prat returned to Valparaíso to resume his navy duties. He did not see his wife again until October.
By that time Carmela was already pregnant with their first daughter. Prat wrote of his daughter's birth:
But like Prat's older brothers who died very young, the girl inherited a very frail and sickly build. Arturo writes to Carmela: "Keep using homeopathy for my little daughter and inform me after she is healthy." He has, undoubtedly, the hope that the method that (he supposed) cured his weak condition, would work the same wonders in little Carmela. But it didn't work, the child's life was extinguishing more and more every day, to the despair of the helpless parents, who put all their strengths in their prayers.
Carmelita's problem was a hernia
caused by the badly removed umbilical cord
, in addition to several other illnesses (diarrhea, fever, etc.)
Adding to Prat's despair, at the end of the annual season, he had to be transferred to the center of the country, on the Abtao, a steamer that should have arrived but had not. On Sunday 13 December the boat finally arrived, and he wrote to his wife: "Later then I will be seeing you, as I will see my little child who I hope is completely healthy..." But the girl had died one week before on 5 December. At dusk, a devastating letter arrived from his wife: "My beloved Arturo, our dear little angel is still not well; I feel my heart fainting from pain and you are not here to hold me... If it were possible for you to come, that would be my only comfort. Don't despair my wellbeing, think of your unhappy Carmela." Adding to Prat's desperation, the steamboat would not leave until the 18th.
All his hopes were destroyed in that trip, days later, when he was given a condolence letter in an intermediate port, signed by Juan José Latorre
. Arturo wrote at the foot of Carmela's previous letter: "The 5 December, at past 1 hour and 3 minutes after midnight, my daughter Carmela de la Concepción died. This is the letter destined to announce it to me. The sadness it reveals should have made me see, but hope is so sweet."
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
with instructions 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 notify Iquique
'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 Covadongas 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 Prat replaced 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 other on their trips.
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', pronounced his famous impassioned speech in front of his brothers in arms:
After this, a bugler sounded the call to stations, and all went to the ship's guns and stern armed and ready.
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 start moving, 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 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 Moore followed him. On the other hand, the monitor Huáscar weighed 1,130 tons and had armour plating 4½-inches thick, with two 300-pound cannon in a revolving turret and 11 knots maximum speed.
The Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario
, Huáscar's captain directed the Independencia to chase the Covadonga, while he finished the Esmeralda. Prat went down to his cabin, dressed in his parade uniform, and put away his wife's picture and other mementoes and returned to the command post. 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. (This had been an important factor in the escape of the Huáscar, then in Peruvian rebel hands, from Admiral de Horsey's British squadron consisting of HMS Shah and HMS Amazon, off Ilo two years earlier in 1877.)
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. (Again, these had been used by Admiral de Horsey off Iquique in 1877.) Grau stopped 600m (660 yd.) 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 9-pound-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, slowly maneuvering at scarcely 4 knots, for her engine was defective and one the boilers had burst. He stopped 1,000 from the city and 250 m from land, where they would stand until their sinking. 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 bugler
and mutilating the gun crews. The decks were stained with the blood of the fallen.
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.
At 11:30am, Admiral 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. The monitor backed to get enough impulse and charged bow-first into starboard side of the ship. When Prat saw the enemy warship colliding into his, near the stern, he raised his sword and cried his final order: "Let's board, boys!", 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, amazing the Peruvian crew with his tremendous courage. Grau gave the order to capture the Chilean captain alive.
Prat got to the enemy's deck and advanced towards to command tower, but he was hit by a bullet. Nevertheless he did not fall and could stand on his knee, but a sailor from the artillery tower struck him dead with a shot in the forehead with a rifle.
From the Esmeralda they saw with horror their captain's sacrifice, and when Grau tried another charge, now against the Esmeralda's bow, Sublieutenant Ignacio Serrano cried again "Stand by for boarding!" and he boarded the Huáscar with ten more men, armed with manchetes and rifles but they were massacred by shots from the mounted Gatling gun
s and the monitor's crew. (The second landing was authorized by the ship's acting captain, Lt. Luis Uribe, who was one of Prat's long time friends.) Some of the crew who boarded died on the Huáscar's deck from bullet wounds sustained. Ignacio Serrano was then the only survivor and had received several wounds in the groin, and his shouts were terrible due to the pain. 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.
A third ram, this time into the middle of the Esmeralda, was fatal and sentenced the ship to death. Nobody else could jump to the other ship, as the Esmeralda was already sinking. The last cannon shot was fired by Midshipman Ernesto Riquelme, while the main deck was going underwater. Grau and the Huáscar crew by then also heard shouts 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. It was 12.10 pm at midday. Grau expressed grief for Prat's death and paid his respects at his own cabin.
After the battle, 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. Grau was later named "The Gentleman of the Seas" for this and other reasons.
Grau also ordered the rescue of the surviving Chilean sailors, by then led by the ship's second in command and acting captain, Lt. Uribe, immediately after they repaired their boats, and gave them dry clothes and food. He kept them in the stern hold, because if they went back to the beach, the crowd (mainly Peruvian), together with some Peruvian soldiers stationed there, would certainly kill them. He then transferred the survivors to another ship in order not to be hurt by Iquique's Peruvian residents.
In the confrontation of Iquique, that day Chile lost an old wooden ship, but Prat's death allowed the mobilization of the Chilean population to support the war, and that would be one of the factors of the Chilean victory in the War of the Pacific
, the most important being the superiority of the Chilean fleet in the Pacific.
Ninhue
Ninhue is a Chilean commune and town in Ñuble Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Ninhue spans an area of and has 5,738 inhabitants . Of these, 1,433 lived in urban areas and 4,305 in rural areas...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
– May 21, 1879, Iquique
Iquique
Iquique is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
) was a Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an navy
Chilean Navy
-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...
officer. He was killed shortly after boarding the Peruvian armored monitor Huáscar
Huáscar (ship)
Huáscar is a 19th century small armoured turret ship of a type similar to a monitor. She was built in Britain for Peru and played a significant role in the battle of Pacocha and the War of the Pacific against Chile before being captured and commissioned with the Chilean Navy. Today she is one of...
at the Naval Battle of Iquique
Battle of Iquique
The Battle of 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, by then, Peruvian port of Iquique...
after the ship under his command, the Esmeralda
Esmeralda (1855)
The Esmeralda launched in 1855, was a wooden steam corvette sunk during the War of the Pacific as was set against superior forces, fought until sunk with colors flying on 21 May 1879 at the Battle of Iquique...
, was rammed by the Peruvian monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
. Prat, as captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
of the Esmeralda, was the first to board the Huáscar.
During his career, Prat had taken part in several major naval engagements, including battles at Papudo
Battle of Papudo
The Naval Battle of Papudo was a naval engagement fought between Spanish and Chilean forces on November 26, 1865, during the Chincha Islands War...
(a coastal city north of Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
) (1865), and at the Battle of Abtao
Battle of Abtao
The Naval Battle of Abtao took place on February 7, 1866, between a Spanish naval squadron and a combined Peruvian-Chilean fleet, at the island of Abtao in the Gulf of Ancud near Chiloé Archipelago in south-central Chile.-Background:...
(1866), at the islet of Abtao across from Chiloé Island
Chiloé Island
Chiloé Island , also known as Greater Island of Chiloé , is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean...
. Following his death, his name became a rallying cry for Chilean forces, and Arturo Prat has since been considered a national hero
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
.
Prat's name is commemorated on numerous plazas (squares), streets, buildings and other structures in Chile. His name has been commemorated by four of Chile's major warships, including a USS Brooklyn class cruiser
Brooklyn class cruiser
The Brooklyn-class cruisers were seven light cruisers of the United States Navy which served during World War II. Armed with 5 triple turrets mounting 6-inch guns, they and their near sisters of the St. Louis class mounted more heavy-caliber guns than any other US cruisers...
in the 1950s, a British County class destroyer
County class destroyer
The County class was a class of guided missile destroyers, the first such vessels built by the Royal Navy. Designed specifically around the Sea Slug anti-aircraft missile system, the primary role of these ships was area air-defence around the aircraft carrier task force in the nuclear-war...
from 1983 to 2006, and most recently a Dutch Jacob van Heemskerck class frigate
Jacob van Heemskerck class frigate
The Jacob van Heemskerck class frigate was a class of frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy. They were built to be an air defence version of the Kortenaer class frigate. 2 ships were built for the Dutch Navy and have recently been sold to the Chilean Navy...
transferred to Chile as Capitan Prat in 2006. One of Chile's Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
research facilities, Arturo Prat Station
Captain Arturo Prat Base
Captain Arturo Prat Base is a Chilean Antarctic research base located at Iquique Cove, Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Opened February 6, 1947, it is the oldest Chilean Antarctic station. Until March 1, 2006, it was a base of the Chilean Navy, on which date it was handed...
, and the Chilean Naval Academy, Escuela Naval Arturo Prat are named after him. His portrait also appears on the 10,000 Chilean peso
Chilean peso
The peso is the currency of Chile. The current peso has circulated since 1975, with a previous version circulating between 1817 and 1960. The symbol used locally for it is $. The ISO 4217 code for the present peso is CLP. It is subdivided into 100 centavos, although no centavo denominated coins...
bank note.
Early life
Prat, the fourth (and only surviving) son of Agustín Prat del Barril and Rosario Chacón Barrios, was born at the San Agustín de Puñual Hacienda in south-central Chile on April 3, 1848. The name Prat is of CatalanCatalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
origin (not to be confused with the English 'Pratt'). He entered the Naval Academy on August 28, 1858 at the age of 10 years thanks to one of the scholarships created by President Manuel Montt Torres. There were two scholarships per province: one for Arauco went to Prat, and the other went to Luis Uribe
Luis Uribe
Luis Uribe Orrego was a Vice-Admiral of the Chilean Navy and a hero of the War of the Pacific.Luis Uribe was born in Copiapo, the son of Juan José Uribe and of Rosario Orrego. He joined the navy on August 20, 1858, at the age of 9 years old, and graduated from the naval academy on July 16, 1861 as...
. Both had the same benefactor, Don Jacinto Chacón (uncle of Arturo and stepfather of Uribe), resulting in the two youths considering each other as brothers.
At the time, the academy was directed by Frenchman Juan Julio Feillet and was backed by another Frenchman, Don Anatolio Desmadryl. Young Arturo and his friend Luis were part of the so-called "class of the heroes" including, among others, Carlos Condell de la Haza, Juan José Latorre
Juan José Latorre
Juan José Latorre Benavente Chilean Vice Admiral, one of the principal actors of the War of the Pacific, and hero of the Battle of Angamos.-Early life:...
and Jorge Montt Álvarez.
During his first year, Prat was often distracted and struggled in his studies, especially mathematics. Nevertheless, just as he had in his previous school, he overcame these difficulties and went on to win a silver medal for his accomplishments.
In 1859, his second year as a cadet, he commenced a nautical apprenticeship – a requirement for second-year students. His first voyage of training was completed in the steamer Independencia, with sail and rigging maneuvers, followed later by practice in seamanship and artillery.
In January 1860, Arturo Prat boarded, for the first time, the "Esmeralda", the ship which would be the scene of his glory. His nautical apprenticeship continued: embarkation and disembarkation, combat simulation, etc. In July 1861, he left the Naval Academy as "primera antigüedad" (the most distinguished in the course). He obtained the grade of "midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
without examination".
During this period, Prat distinguished himself in an incident involving the Infernal, a French ship that was carrying explosive materials. On October 1, 1861, it (fittingly) caught on fire while in the Bay of Valparaíso. The Esmeralda, which was nearby, sent boats to save the wreck, one of which was steered by Arturo Prat, who would struggle for two hours against the fire.
War with Spain
On July 21, 1864, Prat passed with flying colors the theoretical and practical test needed to be promoted from "midshipman without exam" to "examined midshipman". That year saw the incidents that resulted in the war against Spain, inflamed by the Chilean attitude towards the occupation of the Peruvian Chincha IslandsChincha Islands
The Chincha Islands are a group of three small islands 21 km off the southwest coast of Peru, to which they belong, near the town of Pisco,...
by a Spanish squadron. The resulting war that was declared would prove to be a baptism of fire for Prat and his classmates.
Commanding the Esmeralda at the time was Juan Williams Rebolledo, who planned the recovery of the Chilean steamer
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
Matías Cousiño
Matías Cousiño
Matías Cousiño Jorquera was a Chilean coal magnate and patriarch of the wealthy Cousiño family. Cousiño's most emblematic coal mine lied in Lota a small coastal town on the coast of the Bío-Bío Region, there steam ships that passed the Strait of Magellan could be resupplied with coal.-Early and...
and the capture of the Spanish schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Covadonga. The naval battle of Papudo
Battle of Papudo
The Naval Battle of Papudo was a naval engagement fought between Spanish and Chilean forces on November 26, 1865, during the Chincha Islands War...
occurred on December 26 and rapidly went the way of the Chilean force which was superior in firepower and was able to capture the defeated ship. The capture of the Covadonga resulted in the promotion by one grade of all sailors participating in the battle, converting Prat into an ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
(equivalent to a second lieutenant in the army).
Wishing to offset their losses at Papudo, the Spanish fleet sought another confrontation with the allied navies (Peru and Ecuador added to Chile's side). Their desire for vengeance was fulfilled at Chiloé
Chiloé Archipelago
Chiloé Archipelago consists of several islands lying off the coast of Chile. It is separated from mainland Chile by Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and Gulf of Corcovado to the southeast. All of the archipelago except Desertores Islands, which are part of Palena...
in the battle of Abtao
Battle of Abtao
The Naval Battle of Abtao took place on February 7, 1866, between a Spanish naval squadron and a combined Peruvian-Chilean fleet, at the island of Abtao in the Gulf of Ancud near Chiloé Archipelago in south-central Chile.-Background:...
on February 7, 1866. Artillery combat occurred only between the Covadonga and the Spanish ships Villa de Madrid and Blanca, as the other allied ships were unused due to a lack of coal and the rocky estuary. Prat then served on the Covadonga, the ship which luckily resisted the Spanish bombardment. There were no losses on the allied side, while the Spanish suffered two deaths.
Young officer
After the war, Prat completed a large number of sea voyages, both inside and outside his country, including voyages to the Juan Fernández IslandsJuan Fernández Islands
The Juan Fernández Islands are a sparsely inhabited island group reliant on tourism and fishing in the South Pacific Ocean, situated about off the coast of Chile, and is composed of three main volcanic islands; Robinson Crusoe Island, Alejandro Selkirk Island and Santa Clara Island, the first...
, Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
(on the corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
"Esmeralda" under Policarpo Toro
Policarpo Toro
Policarpo Toro Hurtado was a Chilean naval officer, . He enrolled in the Chilean Navy in 1871 and visited Easter Island in 1875. From 1877 to 1879 he participated in the English Navy as second lieutenant...
's command), Magallanes and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. During the latter trip in 1868, he was responsible for transporting aid to those affected by that year's earthquake, and he later brought back the remains of Bernardo O'Higgins
Bernardo O'Higgins
Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme was a Chilean independence leader who, together with José de San Martín, freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. Although he was the second Supreme Director of Chile , he is considered one of Chile's founding fathers, as he was the first holder...
, at the orders of Manuel Blanco Encalada
Manuel Blanco Encalada
Manuel José Blanco y Calvo de Encalada was a Vice-Admiral in the Chilean Navy, a political figure, and Chile's first President .-Biography:...
.
Prat was promoted to a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
on September 9. The future hero returned to Naval School, but this time as an instructor. From 1871, he was the Second Commander of the Esmeralda, leading to his appointment to several positions in the school (teacher, subdirector, internal director), and was assigned to teach courses such as Naval Order, Law, Naval Tactics and Cosmography. Additionally, he was responsible for docking the corvette for four years (1871–1874) in the port of Mejillones
Mejillones
Mejillones is a Chilean port city and commune in Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta Region. Its name is the plural form of the Spanish mejillón meaning "mussel", referring to a particularly abundant species and preferred staple food of its indigenous inhabitants. It is situated in the northern side...
. He received the title of Graduated Corvette Captain (equivalent to Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
) in 1873 and in 1874. He was a dedicated teacher who fought against the lack of resources available to provide quality education. He himself translated textbooks from French to Spanish.
Around that time, Prat faced an unusual situation. On May 24, 1875, the Esmeralda was in the port of Valparaíso while Prat was on sick leave. The commander of the ship, Luis Alfredo Lynch, was also on leave so Lieutenant Constantino Bannen was left in charge. A storm began in the bay and the Valdivia broke its ties and went right towards the Esmeralda, which then impacted with the Maipo. It appeared that the destruction of the Esmeralda would be unavoidable. When Prat and Lynch returned, they managed to get transported back to the ship by boat, but the violent waves kept them from embarking. Arturo Prat threw himself into the water and swam to the ship to climb a rope (as Lynch had done just before him). He worked feverishly with a rope tied from his waist to the mast to accomplish rescue maneuvers resulting in the ship stopping with its bow against the beach and securing it there with riggings. Luis Alfredo Lynch would later remember Prat's "unflappable calm in the face of danger".
The reparation of the Esmeralda was long and hard and cost 100,000 pesos. Lynch had to face charges of dereliction of duty, however he was saved by a tie in the voting. Throughout the trial, Arturo Prat was always faithful to his superior, helping him however he could.
After the tests of May 1876 and only three years before the War of the Pacific
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
, the Chilean government closed the Naval School explaining that Chile no longer needed naval officers.
Prat, who left Condell in charge of the Esmeralda, disembarked and, because of his studies in law, was named helper of the Maritime Government of Valparaíso. It was December 1876, he was already a graduated commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
, but he would only return to the ship of his destiny once the war started.
The studies
Instituto Nacional
Instituto Nacional , founded on August 10, 1813 by the Chilean patriot José Miguel Carrera , officially Liceo Ex A-0 - Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera, is Chile's oldest and most prestigious school...
). In 1871, he received his diploma in Philosophy and Humanities — a prerequisite for studying law. One of his examiners was the renowned Chilean historian Diego Barros Arana
Diego Barros Arana
Diego Jacinto Agustín Barros Arana was an educator, diplomat and Chilean historian. He is considered the most important Chilean historian of the 19th century and his most famous work is the General History of Chile...
.
In the following year, he began his studies in Property Law
Property law
Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
in the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile. He studied on board the "Esmeralda", which was located in Mejillones. Upon returning from his mission, he requested to take his examinations in Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
where he passed the required subjects.
In 1875, he began practicing law at a law firm in the port town as a prerequisite to receiving his license.
In July of the following year, Prat passed his remaining courses and was then ready to complete his licensing. In order to graduate, he was required to pass an examination on a randomly-chosen area of law. He was assigned Roman Law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
, which he managed to pass between 24–26 July 1876, while his thesis "Observaciones sobre la ley electoral vigente" (Observations on the current electoral law) was approved. There remained one final step before receiving his license — a final exam before the judges of the Supreme Court.
On 31 July 1876, at 11 a.m., the lieutenant commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
passed through the corridors of Supreme Court of Justice in full dress uniform wearing his sword at his belt; he had come to take his examination before the highest judges, the final requirement to practise law. However, much to his surprise, Prat was told that the judges had decided not to hear examinations that day. Prat that he had an appointment for that day, that he had very little free time as a naval officer, and requested a meeting with Manuel Montt Torres, the Supreme Court president. Having convinced Montt to receive him, and to much applause from the court, Prat went on to become a lawyer at the age of 28.
Prior to his final exam, Prat had already conducted legal work while defending the engineer Ricardo Owen, accused of disobedience, and also his friend and classmate Luis Uribe
Luis Uribe
Luis Uribe Orrego was a Vice-Admiral of the Chilean Navy and a hero of the War of the Pacific.Luis Uribe was born in Copiapo, the son of Juan José Uribe and of Rosario Orrego. He joined the navy on August 20, 1858, at the age of 9 years old, and graduated from the naval academy on July 16, 1861 as...
, accused of disobedience and contempt to his superiors. He succeeded the first time, but he was not so successful with the defence of his friend, who was condemned to six months of jail by six votes. The amnesty of the President saved Uribe and his naval career from that fate.
Jurist
Prat practised his recently adopted profession for a very short time. He primarily devoted himself to resolving the legal problems of the Chacón and Carvajal families, as well as naval-related problems.He aspired to be a Navy auditor, but he was only sworn as "assistant" (mainly because of his lack of experience), assigned the legal aspects of the Navy General Command. Prat performed a complete remodeling of the army's legal system, starting with the Navigation Law. He presented 152 modifications to it, many of which were approved. He was also in charge of the regularization of the promotion system, proposing changes to avoid social relations, politics and other factors, making it a merit and seniority based system. Prat died without this navy code having been published.
"Observaciones a la ley electoral vigente"
This was Arturo Prat's thesis book, which contained many clues about his political thoughts. It was written within the framework of the promulgation of the new electoral law during Federico Errázuriz ZañartuFederico Errázuriz Zañartu
Federico Marcos del Rosario Errázuriz Zañartu was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1871 and 1876. He was born in Santiago in 1825 and died there in 1877. Errázuriz was of Basque descent....
's government, in which the Greater Taxpayer Institution and Parliament Member Cumulative Vote were established.
Prat analyzes this law with the perspective that it would make possible further progress towards electoral freedom. He points out the contradictions and obscurity of the text, but he stresses that it is an "eminently liberal" law. Prat ends saying: ...deep-down a good law, it needs serious and important reforms with respect to regulations if it is to achieve the lofty objective it is destined to: to be the effective guarantee that the voting result is the happy expression of the national will."
The text reveals Prat's political ideas, clearly reflecting the common liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
of the times, and demonstrates a great naivety (not even with all of its indications could the law prevent the intervention of the executive power.)
Engagement and matrimony
Don Pedro Chacón used to throw parties in his portside house once or twice a week. Prat frequently attended, as did Concepción Chacón's sister-in-law, Carmela Carvajal. In those happy get-togethers the couple met and fell in love, a love that would last a lifetime.In the voyage of repatriation of O'Higgins mortal remains from Peru, Prat brought presents for Carmela: a sewing box, a fan, a silver cross, and an ivory card holder.
Their attraction was obvious, but Prat was concerned when others mentioned it. In addition to his shyness, he was annoyed because he was afraid to formalize an engagement because he had no money to support the marriage.
When he learned that he would be promoted to Corvette Captain, he finally decided to ask for Carmela's hand, in 1873. The only love letter from Prat to his fiancée that has survived is dated shortly after:
My Carmela, my life, my treasure, I have to tell you, that I adore you every day more fervently, I cannot do it now because I am afraid I could fall ill. Receive the passionate heart of your Arturo.
On 5 May 1873 the wedding bells sounded over the San Agustín de Valparaíso church. A beautiful red carpet was laid, over which the radiant 22-year-old bride passed on her way to the altar. Her parents had died when she was a girl, and she had been raised by her siblings, through whom she had contact with the Chacón family. The Chacóns adopted her as a member of the family. Tall, slender and beautiful, she met with a sturdy Arturo Prat, with large forehead due to his baldness, thick beard and steady step. The minister, José Francisco Salas, blessed them at 10:30 am. They were man and wife.
Their relationship as spouses was based on a love that did not fade during the six years they lived together. Prat treated his wife as an equal, as a partner (something really rare in that society), putting her in charge of the family budget; and he, on the other hand, helped with some house chores: "At every moment I seem to find you exhausted from rocking our daughter, without me being next to you and sharing, albeit a bit, your labors...".
First happiness and first tragedy
The newlyweds spent their honeymoon in QuillotaQuillota
Quillota is a city and commune located in the Aconcagua River valley of central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is the capital and largest city of the Quillota Province where many inhabitants live in the surrounding farm areas of San Isidro, La Palma, Pocochay, and San Pedro...
and in the Cauquenes's hot springs. After that, Prat returned to Valparaíso to resume his navy duties. He did not see his wife again until October.
By that time Carmela was already pregnant with their first daughter. Prat wrote of his daughter's birth:
The fifth of march Carmela de la Concepción was born at 9:35 a.m., under the circumstances that I had to go to Santiago just the day before... The fifth of April she was baptised in the Church of the Holy Spirit, the godparents being Conchita with José Jesús...
It seems to me that she was to be very vivacious, smiling, playful... Last night I dreamt about her and she seemed to know me and with her little face a bit sad, she extended her little arms to hug me...
But like Prat's older brothers who died very young, the girl inherited a very frail and sickly build. Arturo writes to Carmela: "Keep using homeopathy for my little daughter and inform me after she is healthy." He has, undoubtedly, the hope that the method that (he supposed) cured his weak condition, would work the same wonders in little Carmela. But it didn't work, the child's life was extinguishing more and more every day, to the despair of the helpless parents, who put all their strengths in their prayers.
Poor little angel! I cannot see her any more, at least I want her to be healthy.
Carmelita's problem was a hernia
Hernia
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....
caused by the badly removed umbilical cord
Umbilical cord
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is the connecting cord from the developing embryo or fetus to the placenta...
, in addition to several other illnesses (diarrhea, fever, etc.)
Adding to Prat's despair, at the end of the annual season, he had to be transferred to the center of the country, on the Abtao, a steamer that should have arrived but had not. On Sunday 13 December the boat finally arrived, and he wrote to his wife: "Later then I will be seeing you, as I will see my little child who I hope is completely healthy..." But the girl had died one week before on 5 December. At dusk, a devastating letter arrived from his wife: "My beloved Arturo, our dear little angel is still not well; I feel my heart fainting from pain and you are not here to hold me... If it were possible for you to come, that would be my only comfort. Don't despair my wellbeing, think of your unhappy Carmela." Adding to Prat's desperation, the steamboat would not leave until the 18th.
All his hopes were destroyed in that trip, days later, when he was given a condolence letter in an intermediate port, signed by Juan José Latorre
Juan José Latorre
Juan José Latorre Benavente Chilean Vice Admiral, one of the principal actors of the War of the Pacific, and hero of the Battle of Angamos.-Early life:...
. Arturo wrote at the foot of Carmela's previous letter: "The 5 December, at past 1 hour and 3 minutes after midnight, my daughter Carmela de la Concepción died. This is the letter destined to announce it to me. The sadness it reveals should have made me see, but hope is so sweet."
War of the Pacific
When Don Rafael Sotomayor Baeza was required to go to Antofagasta
Antofagasta
Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 296,905...
with instructions 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 notify Iquique
Iquique
Iquique is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census...
'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 Covadongas command. On 3 May the corvette Abtao, under lieutenant commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a 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
Juan Williams Rebolledo
Juan Williams Rebolledo was a Chilean rear admiral who was the organizer and commander-in-chief of the Chilean navy at the beginning of the War of the Pacific.-Early life:...
had conceived, consisting of attacking the Peruvian squadron in El Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
's port, he assigned as Abtao's commander Manuel Thompson, who commanded the corvette Esmeralda
Esmeralda (1855)
The Esmeralda launched in 1855, was a wooden steam corvette sunk during the War of the Pacific as was set against superior forces, fought until sunk with colors flying on 21 May 1879 at the Battle of Iquique...
until then. Arturo Prat replaced him, and Carlos Condell de la Haza was designated Covadonga's commander.
On 16 May, the squadron set sail to Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
Port, with the intention of surprising the Peruvian warships, but the same day Peruvian monitor Huáscar
Huáscar (ship)
Huáscar is a 19th century small armoured turret ship of a type similar to a monitor. She was built in Britain for Peru and played a significant role in the battle of Pacocha and the War of the Pacific against Chile before being captured and commissioned with the Chilean Navy. Today she is one of...
and armored frigate Independencia set sail from that port, towards Arica
Arica
Arica is a city in northern Chile. "Arica" may also refer to:Places* Arica and Parinacota Region, Chile* Arica Airport , Chile* Arica, Amazonas, town in Colombia* Rio Aricá-açu, tributary of the Cuiabá River south of Cuiabá, BrazilOther...
, to carry reinforcements, armaments, ammunition and provisions, so both squadrons missed each other on their trips.
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, 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', pronounced his famous impassioned speech in front of his brothers in arms:
Lads, the battle will be unfair, but, cheer and have courage. Never has our flag been hauled down before the enemy and I hope this will not be the occasion for it to happen. 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 fulfill their duties. Long Live Chile!
After this, a bugler sounded the call to stations, and all went to the ship's guns and stern armed and ready.
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 start moving, 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 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 Moore followed him. On the other hand, the monitor Huáscar weighed 1,130 tons and had armour plating 4½-inches thick, with two 300-pound cannon in a revolving turret and 11 knots maximum speed.
Miguel Grau Seminario
Miguel María Grau Seminario was a renowned Peruvian naval officer and hero of the Naval Battle of Angamos during the War of the Pacific . He was known as the el Caballero de los Mares for his chivalry and is esteemed by both Peruvians and Chileans...
, Huáscar's captain directed the Independencia to chase the Covadonga, while he finished the Esmeralda. Prat went down to his cabin, dressed in his parade uniform, and put away his wife's picture and other mementoes and returned to the command post. 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. (This had been an important factor in the escape of the Huáscar, then in Peruvian rebel hands, from Admiral de Horsey's British squadron consisting of HMS Shah and HMS Amazon, off Ilo two years earlier in 1877.)
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. (Again, these had been used by Admiral de Horsey off Iquique in 1877.) Grau stopped 600m (660 yd.) 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
Cowper Phipps Coles
Captain Cowper Phipps Coles, C.B., R.N. , the son of the Reverend John Coles and his wife Mary Ann Goodhew Rogers, was an English naval Captain and inventor. Coles died when HMS Captain, an experimental warship built to his designs, sank with him onboard.-Naval career:He entered the Royal Navy at...
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 9-pound-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, slowly maneuvering at scarcely 4 knots, for her engine was defective and one the boilers had burst. He stopped 1,000 from the city and 250 m from land, where they would stand until their sinking. 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 bugler
Bugle (instrument)
The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure, since the bugle has no other mechanism for controlling pitch. Consequently, the bugle is limited to notes within the harmonic series...
and mutilating the gun crews. The decks were stained with the blood of the fallen.
At 11:30am, Admiral 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. The monitor backed to get enough impulse and charged bow-first into starboard side of the ship. When Prat saw the enemy warship colliding into his, near the stern, he raised his sword and cried his final order: "Let's board, boys!", 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, amazing the Peruvian crew with his tremendous courage. Grau gave the order to capture the Chilean captain alive.
Prat got to the enemy's deck and advanced towards to command tower, but he was hit by a bullet. Nevertheless he did not fall and could stand on his knee, but a sailor from the artillery tower struck him dead with a shot in the forehead with a rifle.
From the Esmeralda they saw with horror their captain's sacrifice, and when Grau tried another charge, now against the Esmeralda's bow, Sublieutenant Ignacio Serrano cried again "Stand by for boarding!" and he boarded the Huáscar with ten more men, armed with manchetes and rifles but they were massacred by shots from the mounted Gatling gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
s and the monitor's crew. (The second landing was authorized by the ship's acting captain, Lt. Luis Uribe, who was one of Prat's long time friends.) Some of the crew who boarded died on the Huáscar's deck from bullet wounds sustained. Ignacio Serrano was then the only survivor and had received several wounds in the groin, and his shouts were terrible due to the pain. 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.
A third ram, this time into the middle of the Esmeralda, was fatal and sentenced the ship to death. Nobody else could jump to the other ship, as the Esmeralda was already sinking. The last cannon shot was fired by Midshipman Ernesto Riquelme, while the main deck was going underwater. Grau and the Huáscar crew by then also heard shouts 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. It was 12.10 pm at midday. Grau expressed grief for Prat's death and paid his respects at his own cabin.
After the battle, 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. Grau was later named "The Gentleman of the Seas" for this and other reasons.
Grau also ordered the rescue of the surviving Chilean sailors, by then led by the ship's second in command and acting captain, Lt. Uribe, immediately after they repaired their boats, and gave them dry clothes and food. He kept them in the stern hold, because if they went back to the beach, the crowd (mainly Peruvian), together with some Peruvian soldiers stationed there, would certainly kill them. He then transferred the survivors to another ship in order not to be hurt by Iquique's Peruvian residents.
In the confrontation of Iquique, that day Chile lost an old wooden ship, but Prat's death allowed the mobilization of the Chilean population to support the war, and that would be one of the factors of the Chilean victory in the War of the Pacific
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
, the most important being the superiority of the Chilean fleet in the Pacific.
Trivia
- "Arturo Prat" is the most ubiquitous street name across Chile. There are 162 communes in Chile which have a street bearing his name, outnumbering "Manuel Rodríguez" (158), "Gabriela MistralGabriela MistralGabriela Mistral was the pseudonym of Lucila de María del Perpetuo Socorro Godoy Alcayaga, a Chilean poet, educator, diplomat, and feminist who was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945...
" (134) and "LautaroLautaroLautaro was a Mapuche military leader and protagonist of the War of Arauco in Chile. He defeated and exterminated the Spanish forces of Governor Pedro de Valdivia and was almost able to expel them from the area when he was killed in battle.-Early life:...
" (116).
External links
- Arturo Prat University (In Spanish)
- "Arturo Prat" Naval Academy (In Spanish)
- Chilean Navy - Arturo Prat, Chile's Greatest Hero
- Brief History of the school Arturo Prat (In Spanish)