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USS Catawba (1864)
Encyclopedia
USS Catawba was a Canonicus-class 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...
built for the American Civil War; but completed too late to see action in that conflict. To help finance the Reconstruction, Catawba was sold to 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....
.
Construction and sale
Catawba was launched 13 April 1864 by Alexander Swift and Co., Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
and accepted by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
on 7 June 1865 and placed in ordinary at Mound City, Illinois
Mound City, Illinois
Mound City is a city located along the Ohio River in Pulaski County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 692. It is the county seat of Pulaski County.-Geography:Mound City is located at ....
until early in 1868 when she was resold to her builders. Alexander Swift and Co. put the Catawba up for sale to any country interested in buying her. The Peruvian government
Politics of Peru
Politics of the Republic of Peru takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Peru is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...
acquired her on 2 April 1868 for a price of US$400,000. Though the selling of the Catawba and her sister the was disputed because of a potential treaty violation between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
following the Chincha Islands War
Chincha Islands War
The Chincha Islands War was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru and Chile from 1864 to 1866, that began with Spain's seizure of the guano-rich Chincha Islands, part of a series of attempts by Isabel II of Spain to reassert her country's lost...
between Spain and Peru, the sale was allowed to proceed. Alexander Swift and Co. had to pay fines that equaled nearly ⅓ of the total sale amount and the vessels were moved to New Orleans, to await their new crews.
BAP Atahualpa
She was renamed Atahualpa, after the EmperorEmperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Atahualpa
Atahualpa
Atahualpa, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa, or Atawallpa , was the last Sapa Inca or sovereign emperor of the Tahuantinsuyu, or the Inca Empire, prior to the Spanish conquest of Peru...
, the last ruler of the Inca Empire
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
. A few months later, 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....
Juan Guillermo More
Juan Guillermo More
Juan Guillermo More Ruiz, , was a Peruvian navy officer, who during his lifetime was considered as the man who "lost the War of the Pacific". He was killed during the Battle of Arica....
brought a Peruvian Navy
Peruvian Navy
The Peruvian Navy is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the Peruvian littoral...
crew to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to bring the ship to 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....
. The monitor sailed from New Orleans in early January 1869 arriving in Peru in June 1870.
The Atahualpa deteriorated quickly in the Pacific. When 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...
with 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...
was declared in 1879, she was in very poor condition. In May 1879, the Atahualpa was to sail from 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...
to Arica
Arica, Chile
Arica is a commune and a port city with a population of 185,269 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica and Parinacota Region, located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capital of both the Arica Province and the Arica and Parinacota Region...
. However, her engines broke down and the monitor had to be towed back to Callao, were she remained.
On 11 December 1880, the Chilean fleet staged off Callao and started firing at the port at ranges of up to 6.5 kilometres (4 mi). The Atahualpa, escorted by a tug, carried out a long range battle with the Chilean fleet. On 16 January 1881, her crew was forced to scuttle the Atahualpa to prevent her capture by advancing Chilean forces..