First Chilean Navy Squadron
Encyclopedia
The First Chilean Navy Squadron was the naval force that terminated Spanish colonial rule on the south-west coast of America and protagonaized the most important naval actions in the Latin American wars of independence. The Chile
an government organized the squadron in order to carry the war to the Viceroyalty of Perú
, the center of Spanish power in South America, and thus secure the independence of Chile
and Argentina
.
had crippled Spain's navy, and the French occupation had destroyed the logistical base of its dockyards. Nevertheless, from Callao
, the royalist stronghold in Perú, the Spanish were able to blockade any Chilean port, to land in Talcahuano
and support the advance of the royalist troops against Santiago de Chile, the main city of the revolutionary forces and crush the rebellion in Chile.
Naval capacity played almost no role for the revolutionary forces in the time from the first declaration of independence 1810 to the Spanish "reconquest" of Chile 1814. Two ships bought by the patriots were defeated in a short fight off Valparaíso
in May 1813.
The Chilean patriots decided that they needed their own navy with trustworthy crews if they were to protect the long coasts of the state and to mobilize troops against the enemy. Absent a proper naval force, Chile was vulnerable to enemy landings.
The major concern of the British government and the US-administration was the preservation of their trade, so both were neutral in the conflict. Still, public opinion welcomed the end of Spanish autocratic government in South America. Also, in England, end of the Napoleonic wars permitted the government to reduced the number of ships in the Royal Navy
from 700 to 134 and the number of sailors from 140,000 to 23,000.
Bernardo O'Higgins
remarked that "this triumph and a hundred more will be insignificant if we do not control the sea". Consequently the Chilean government, led by O'Higgins, on 20. November 1817 authorized privateer
s to engage as a commerce raiders, interrupting the Spanish trade off the west coast of South America (as Argentina had also done since 1815). Although the commerce along the whole coast from Chile to Panama was interrupted, the military and naval achievements of the privateers expeditions were insignificant.
O'Higgins set out to create a navy out of nothing. José Ignacio Zenteno
was nominated as Minister of Marine and promulgated in November 1817 the Reglamento General de Marina, a legal framework for the new institution. Alvarez Condarco and Manuel Hermanegildo Aguirre were sent to London respective to New York
to recruit men and to acquire warships.
Few days after the Battle of Chacabuco Chilean revolutionaries commissioned their first ship, the old US-smuggler ship Eagle, once captured by the Spaniards and now in the hand of the Chileans. Eagle was first renamed Águila
and then later Pueyrredón. In July 1818 the Columbus, a US-origin 18-gun brig, reached Valparaíso and was bought and renamed Araucano. The regular Chilean navy began to grow steadily and soon was able to man the East Indiaman Windham, which arrived at Valparaíso in March 1818, and Cumberland, which arrived at Valparaíso in May 1818. The Chileans had bought both in England and renamed and Lautaro
and respective San Martín.
As usual at the time all prizes and seized property was object of a sophisticated system of rules defining commissions and differences between property and ship captured afloat or in transit or at land.
The first task of the Águila was to bring home 72 patriots being held prisoner in the Juan Fernández Islands
. Later, she joined Lautaro to break the blockade of Valparaíso by the Spanish vessel Esmeralda.
to Cape Horn
the crew of Trinidad mutinied and put into Buenos Aires, handing over orders, signals and rendezvous points. This information was immediately handed over to the Chilean government.
On 19 October 1818 the first Commander of the Chilean Squadron Manuel Blanco Encalada
was ordered to set sail with San Martín, Lautaro, Chacabuco and Araucano in order to intercept the Spanish convoy. On 28 October they found the María Isabel at anchor in Talcahuano
. The frigate was taken in a brisk action. With the Spanish prize the squadron sailed to Santa María Island, approximately 30 km south of Talcahuano, where they stayed for a week until, one by one, the Spanish transports Xavier, Dolores, Magdalena, Elena, Jerezana and Carlota sailed innocently into their arms.
On 12 November 1818 only four Spanish transporters, San Juan Bautista, Tagle, Comercio and Preciosa, arrived to the Spanish enclave of Valdivia and later to Callao.
The Esmeralda was renamed O'Higgins and added to the Chilean Squadron.
, a daring and successful captain of the Napoleonic Wars, became a Chilean citizen, was appointed Vice Admiral, and took command of the Chilean Navy by pay and allowances of ₤ 1200 a year. He was the first Vice Admiral of Chile. Cochrane reorganized the Chilean navy, introducing British naval customs. The organization of the squadron was complete in January 1819 and the government could recruit 1400 of the 1610 officers and men it needed. Two-thirds of the seamen and almost all the officers were British or North-Americans.
On 14 January 1819 the squadron set sails for the first blockade of Callao. The orders were specific and detailed: to blockade the port of Callao, to cut off the maritime forces of the enemy, and other 17 clauses to lay down his task.
The expedition freed 29 Chilean soldiers imprisoned in the San Lorenzo Island
, seized ships (best prizes were Moctezuma and Victoria), property, money, gold and silver but the massive batteries and Spanish passive system of defence and the refusal of their warships to come out of Callao and fight frustrated further success. On 1 June the squadron arrived at Valparaíso from the first expedition to Callao.
The cost of the expedition for the Chilean state was no less than ₤80.000.
As Cochrane found that the forts of Callao had been reinforced and the element of surprise had been lost, he was convinced that further attacks would be doomed to failure.
The campaign was a cause for frustration, also because of the death of Colonel Charles and the failure of the Congreve rockets.
But the Spanish reinforcement sent from Cadiz had schrunk to a fraction of its original size. The 76-gun Alejandro I had to turn back to Spain because of its bad condition and the San Telmo was lost in a severe storm rounding Cape Horn with all hands. Only the frigate Prueba reached Callao but, pursuit by the Chileans fled to Guayaquil
.
After failing to capture the Spanish fortress of Real Felipe in Callao Thomas Cochrane decided to assault the city of Valdivia, the most fortified place in South America at the time. Valdivia was considered a threat to Chilean independence as it was a stronghold and supply base for Spanish troops. Valdivia provided a safe landing site for sending reinforcements to the loyalist guerrilla fighting the Guerra a muerte
in the area of La Frontera and the first landing site for ships coming from Spain after Cape Horn
.
Valdivia was isolated from the rest of Chile by native Mapuche
territory, and the only entrance to Valdivia was via the mouth of Valdivia River
; Corral Bay
. The bay was fortified with several forts built to prevent pirate raids or any attack from a foreign nation.
The forts of Valdivia were captured on 3 and 4 February 1820, and his fall effectively ended the last vestiges of Spanish power in mainland Chile and put big amount of materiel
in the Chileans hands: 50 tons gunpowder, 10,000 cannon shot, 170,000 musket balls, small arms, 128 pieces of artillery, and the Dolores. The Chilean Intrépido was lost.
back to Argentina. San Martín choose to disobey (see Acta de Rancagua) and O'Higgins decided that Chile would assume the costs of the Freedom Expedition of Perú.
On 20 August 1820 the expedition sailed from Valparaíso for Paracas, near Pisco in Perú. The escort was provided by the squadron and comprised the flagship O'Higgins (under Captain Thomas Sackville Crosbie), frigate San Martín (Captain William Wilkinson), frigate Lautaro (Captain Martin Guise), the corvette Independencia (Captain Robert Forster), the brigs Galvarino (Captain John Tooker Spry), Araucano (Captain Thomas Carter), and Pueyrredón (Lieutenant William Prunier) and the schooner Moctezuma (Lieutenant George Young).
Every expeditionary ship got a painted number so that it could be identified at a distance. There are discrepancies between authors about the names and number and some names of the transports.
On 8. September 1820 the liberating army disembarked 100 miles southeast of Lima
: 4118 soldiers, 4000 of them were Chileans.
On the night of 5. November Cochrane, personally, and 240 volunteers wearing white with blue armbands captured the Spanish frigate Esmeralda (1791)
within the port of Callao. She was renamed Valdivia and commissioned to the Chilean Navy.
Perú was not seen as an enemy territory but the occupying Spanish military forces and the commander of the expeditionary troops José de San Martín
understand that the task was to neutralise the Spanish army so that the population could liberate themselves and he followed a slow and relentless course.
As San Martín refused to provide the squadron with funds unless it was handed over to the new government of Perú, Cochrane ordered to seize the Mint and State Treasury loaded onto the Sacramento by nightfall of 14. September. The amount loaded was, according to the Peruvians, ₤80,000 or $400,000.
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 government organized the squadron in order to carry the war to the Viceroyalty of Perú
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
, the center of Spanish power in South America, and thus secure the independence of 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...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.
Background
The Napoleonic warsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
had crippled Spain's navy, and the French occupation had destroyed the logistical base of its dockyards. Nevertheless, 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...
, the royalist stronghold in Perú, the Spanish were able to blockade any Chilean port, to land in Talcahuano
Talcahuano
Talcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.-Geography:...
and support the advance of the royalist troops against Santiago de Chile, the main city of the revolutionary forces and crush the rebellion in Chile.
Naval capacity played almost no role for the revolutionary forces in the time from the first declaration of independence 1810 to the Spanish "reconquest" of Chile 1814. Two ships bought by the patriots were defeated in a short fight off 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...
in May 1813.
The Chilean patriots decided that they needed their own navy with trustworthy crews if they were to protect the long coasts of the state and to mobilize troops against the enemy. Absent a proper naval force, Chile was vulnerable to enemy landings.
The major concern of the British government and the US-administration was the preservation of their trade, so both were neutral in the conflict. Still, public opinion welcomed the end of Spanish autocratic government in South America. Also, in England, end of the Napoleonic wars permitted the government to reduced the number of ships in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
from 700 to 134 and the number of sailors from 140,000 to 23,000.
Build up
After the Battle of ChacabucoBattle of Chacabuco
The Battle of Chacabuco, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, occurred on February 12, 1817. The Army of the Andes of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata led by General Captain José de San Martín defeated the Spanish force led by Rafael Maroto...
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...
remarked that "this triumph and a hundred more will be insignificant if we do not control the sea". Consequently the Chilean government, led by O'Higgins, on 20. November 1817 authorized privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s to engage as a commerce raiders, interrupting the Spanish trade off the west coast of South America (as Argentina had also done since 1815). Although the commerce along the whole coast from Chile to Panama was interrupted, the military and naval achievements of the privateers expeditions were insignificant.
| Old/New name | tons | old owner | from | Captain | new owner | comm. | prizes | fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adeline/Chileno | 230 | Andrew Curcier & David Maffet |
Philadelphia | Henry James | Felipe Santiago del Solar |
25 Dec. 1817 | 6 | |
| Avon/Coquimbo | Boston Boston Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had... |
early 1818 | Chilean corvette Chacabuco (1815) Chilean corvette Chacabuco (1815) Chacabuco was a 20-gun corvette of 450 tons built 1815 in Boston, USA. She came to Coquimbo as Avon and was bought by investors of Copiapó, Chile, in order to be used as privateer vessel under the name Coquimbo. But as the businessmen drew back, the Chilean government bought the ship on 20 June... |
|||||
| Ariel/María del Carmen de Maipú |
Goodings & Williams |
Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore... |
Pullen | 12 feb. 1812 | ||||
O'Higgins set out to create a navy out of nothing. José Ignacio Zenteno
José Ignacio Zenteno
José Ignacio Zenteno del Pozo y Silva , was a Chilean soldier, politician and hero of the Chilean War of Independence....
was nominated as Minister of Marine and promulgated in November 1817 the Reglamento General de Marina, a legal framework for the new institution. Alvarez Condarco and Manuel Hermanegildo Aguirre were sent to London respective to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to recruit men and to acquire warships.
Few days after the Battle of Chacabuco Chilean revolutionaries commissioned their first ship, the old US-smuggler ship Eagle, once captured by the Spaniards and now in the hand of the Chileans. Eagle was first renamed Águila
Chilean Brigantine Águila (1796)
Águila was the first naval vessel of the Chilean Navy. She was later renamed Pueyrredón.-US time:She was the old US-smuggler Eagle, a 220 tons brig and sixteen guns launched in England in 1796.-Spanish career:...
and then later Pueyrredón. In July 1818 the Columbus, a US-origin 18-gun brig, reached Valparaíso and was bought and renamed Araucano. The regular Chilean navy began to grow steadily and soon was able to man the East Indiaman Windham, which arrived at Valparaíso in March 1818, and Cumberland, which arrived at Valparaíso in May 1818. The Chileans had bought both in England and renamed and Lautaro
Chilean ship Lautaro (1818)
The Lautaro was initially the British East Indiaman Windham of 850 tons built in Perry, Wells & Green shipyards for the East India Company and launched 1800. She made seven voyages to the India and China for the HEIC. In 1809-10, the French captured her twice, and the British recaptured her twice...
and respective San Martín.
As usual at the time all prizes and seized property was object of a sophisticated system of rules defining commissions and differences between property and ship captured afloat or in transit or at land.
| Ship name | Type | ton | Other names | Commissioned yyy.mm |
from | Price |
| Águila Chilean Brigantine Águila (1796) Águila was the first naval vessel of the Chilean Navy. She was later renamed Pueyrredón.-US time:She was the old US-smuggler Eagle, a 220 tons brig and sixteen guns launched in England in 1796.-Spanish career:... |
Brigantine Brigantine In sailing, a brigantine or hermaphrodite brig is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which is square rigged.-Origins of the term:... |
220 | Eagle | 1817.02 | Spanish prize | |
| Lautaro Chilean ship Lautaro (1818) The Lautaro was initially the British East Indiaman Windham of 850 tons built in Perry, Wells & Green shipyards for the East India Company and launched 1800. She made seven voyages to the India and China for the HEIC. In 1809-10, the French captured her twice, and the British recaptured her twice... |
East Indiaman | 850 | Windham | 1818.03 | bought in London | $180,000 |
| San Martín | East Indiaman | 1300 | Cumberland | 1818.05 | bought in London | $140,000 |
| brig-sloop | 398 | HMS Hecate (1809) Lucy |
1818.10 | bought in London | $70,000 | |
| O'Higgins | Frigate Frigate A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"... |
1220 | Patrikii (Russia) María Isabel (Spain) |
1818.10 | Spanish prize | |
| Independencia Chilean corvette Independencia (1818) Independencia was a corvette of 851 tons and 26-gun built 1818 in the Forman Cheeseman Shipyard of New York under the name Curatio for the Chilean revolutionary government.... |
Corvette | 700 | Curatio | 1819.06 | bought in USA | USD300.000 |
| Moctezuma Moctezuma (ship) The Moctezuma was a 200 tons sloop of the First Chilean Navy Squadron of unknown provenience.A ship under this name is mentioned as a British whaler captured in April by Captain David Porter on board of the USS Essex during his raid to the South Pacific Ocean in 1813... |
Sloop Sloop A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter.... |
200 | 1819.02 | Spanish prize | ||
| Chacabuco Chilean corvette Chacabuco (1815) Chacabuco was a 20-gun corvette of 450 tons built 1815 in Boston, USA. She came to Coquimbo as Avon and was bought by investors of Copiapó, Chile, in order to be used as privateer vessel under the name Coquimbo. But as the businessmen drew back, the Chilean government bought the ship on 20 June... |
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... |
450 | Coquimbo, before Avon | 1818.06 | bought from Chilean privateer | $36.000 |
| Araucano Chilean brigantine Araucano Araucano was the 217 tons and 18-gun brigantine Columbus built 1817. She was bought in New York by the envoy of the Chilean government in the United States Manuel Hemanegildo Aguirre for $33,000.... |
Brigantine | 270 | Columbus | 1818.06 | bought in USA | $33,000 |
The first task of the Águila was to bring home 72 patriots being held prisoner in the Juan Fernández Islands
Juan 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...
. Later, she joined Lautaro to break the blockade of Valparaíso by the Spanish vessel Esmeralda.
The Capture of the Spanish frigate María Isabel
In May 1818 the Spanish frigate María Isabel (also Reina María Isabel) was sent to Perú with a convoy of twelve ships carrying 2400 men as a reinforcement to the Viceroy. On the way from CadizCádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
to Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
the crew of Trinidad mutinied and put into Buenos Aires, handing over orders, signals and rendezvous points. This information was immediately handed over to the Chilean government.
On 19 October 1818 the first Commander of the Chilean Squadron 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:...
was ordered to set sail with San Martín, Lautaro, Chacabuco and Araucano in order to intercept the Spanish convoy. On 28 October they found the María Isabel at anchor in Talcahuano
Talcahuano
Talcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.-Geography:...
. The frigate was taken in a brisk action. With the Spanish prize the squadron sailed to Santa María Island, approximately 30 km south of Talcahuano, where they stayed for a week until, one by one, the Spanish transports Xavier, Dolores, Magdalena, Elena, Jerezana and Carlota sailed innocently into their arms.
On 12 November 1818 only four Spanish transporters, San Juan Bautista, Tagle, Comercio and Preciosa, arrived to the Spanish enclave of Valdivia and later to Callao.
The Esmeralda was renamed O'Higgins and added to the Chilean Squadron.
First blockade of Callao
On 11 December 1818, at the request of Chilean leader Bernardo O'Higgins, Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of DundonaldThomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald
Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, 1st Marquess of Maranhão, GCB, ODM , styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831, was a senior British naval flag officer and radical politician....
, a daring and successful captain of the Napoleonic Wars, became a Chilean citizen, was appointed Vice Admiral, and took command of the Chilean Navy by pay and allowances of ₤ 1200 a year. He was the first Vice Admiral of Chile. Cochrane reorganized the Chilean navy, introducing British naval customs. The organization of the squadron was complete in January 1819 and the government could recruit 1400 of the 1610 officers and men it needed. Two-thirds of the seamen and almost all the officers were British or North-Americans.
On 14 January 1819 the squadron set sails for the first blockade of Callao. The orders were specific and detailed: to blockade the port of Callao, to cut off the maritime forces of the enemy, and other 17 clauses to lay down his task.
The expedition freed 29 Chilean soldiers imprisoned in the San Lorenzo Island
San Lorenzo Island, Peru
San Lorenzo Island is the largest island of Peru. The island is in the Pacific Ocean near the port of Callao and measures .-Access:As of 2011, San Lorenzo is not open to the public...
, seized ships (best prizes were Moctezuma and Victoria), property, money, gold and silver but the massive batteries and Spanish passive system of defence and the refusal of their warships to come out of Callao and fight frustrated further success. On 1 June the squadron arrived at Valparaíso from the first expedition to Callao.
Second blockade of Callao
On 12 December 1819, the squadron set sails to renew the attack on the Viceroyalty of Perú. The orders were:- to secure the command of the Pacific
- to find and destroy a Spanish convoy (San Telmo, Alejandro I and frigate Prueba) coming from Cadiz
- to attack Callao with Congreve rocketCongreve rocketThe Congreve Rocket was a British military weapon designed and developed by Sir William Congreve in 1804.The rocket was developed by the British Royal Arsenal following the experiences of the Second, Third and Fourth Mysore Wars. The wars fought between the British East India Company and the...
s - any hostility against Peruvian persons or properties was forbidden
The cost of the expedition for the Chilean state was no less than ₤80.000.
As Cochrane found that the forts of Callao had been reinforced and the element of surprise had been lost, he was convinced that further attacks would be doomed to failure.
The campaign was a cause for frustration, also because of the death of Colonel Charles and the failure of the Congreve rockets.
But the Spanish reinforcement sent from Cadiz had schrunk to a fraction of its original size. The 76-gun Alejandro I had to turn back to Spain because of its bad condition and the San Telmo was lost in a severe storm rounding Cape Horn with all hands. Only the frigate Prueba reached Callao but, pursuit by the Chileans fled to Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
.
Capture of Valdivia
After failing to capture the Spanish fortress of Real Felipe in Callao Thomas Cochrane decided to assault the city of Valdivia, the most fortified place in South America at the time. Valdivia was considered a threat to Chilean independence as it was a stronghold and supply base for Spanish troops. Valdivia provided a safe landing site for sending reinforcements to the loyalist guerrilla fighting the Guerra a muerte
Guerra a muerte
Guerra a muerte is a term coined by Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna used in Chilean historiography to describe the irregular, no-quarter warfare that broke out from 1819 to 1821 during the Chilean War of Independence...
in the area of La Frontera and the first landing site for ships coming from Spain after Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
.
Valdivia was isolated from the rest of Chile by native Mapuche
Mapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
territory, and the only entrance to Valdivia was via the mouth of Valdivia River
Valdivia River
The Valdivia River or Río Valdivia, as it is known locally, is a major river in southern Chile. It is the continuation of the Calle-Calle River, from the point where it meets the Cau-Cau River in the city of Valdivia. The Valdivia river ends in Corral Bay, on the Pacific coast. Other tributaries...
; Corral Bay
Corral Bay
Corral Bay is a bay in the mouth of the Valdivia River, southern Chile. Its main towns are Corral and Niebla. The mouth of the bay is between Juan Latorre point and Morro Gonzalo, with a width of 5.5 km. All the year the bay is transited by merchant, transport and fish boats...
. The bay was fortified with several forts built to prevent pirate raids or any attack from a foreign nation.
The forts of Valdivia were captured on 3 and 4 February 1820, and his fall effectively ended the last vestiges of Spanish power in mainland Chile and put big amount of materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
in the Chileans hands: 50 tons gunpowder, 10,000 cannon shot, 170,000 musket balls, small arms, 128 pieces of artillery, and the Dolores. The Chilean Intrépido was lost.
Liberating Expedition to Perú
The emancipation of Perú was to have been a common enterprise by Chile and Argentina. Argentina, then a lose alliance of provinces, distracted by internal strife and another threat of invasion from Spain was unable to contribute for the expedition and ordered José de San MartínJosé de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
back to Argentina. San Martín choose to disobey (see Acta de Rancagua) and O'Higgins decided that Chile would assume the costs of the Freedom Expedition of Perú.
On 20 August 1820 the expedition sailed from Valparaíso for Paracas, near Pisco in Perú. The escort was provided by the squadron and comprised the flagship O'Higgins (under Captain Thomas Sackville Crosbie), frigate San Martín (Captain William Wilkinson), frigate Lautaro (Captain Martin Guise), the corvette Independencia (Captain Robert Forster), the brigs Galvarino (Captain John Tooker Spry), Araucano (Captain Thomas Carter), and Pueyrredón (Lieutenant William Prunier) and the schooner Moctezuma (Lieutenant George Young).
Every expeditionary ship got a painted number so that it could be identified at a distance. There are discrepancies between authors about the names and number and some names of the transports.
| Ship name | Shipnumber | tons | Other names | troops | personnel or cargo |
| PotrilloProperty of Thomas Cochrane, hired out to Chile, Brian Vale, Cochrane in the Pacific, page 144 | 20 | 180 | 0 | 1400 boxes munition for infantry and artillery, 190 boxes munition for flamethrowerfor and 8 barrels powder | |
| Consecuencia | 11 | 550 | Argentina | 561 | |
| Gaditana | 10 | 250 | 236 | 6 guns | |
| Emprendedora | 12 | 325 | Empresa | 319 | 1280 boxes musket balls, 1500 boxes supplies of tools and repair shop |
| Golondrina | 19 | 120 | 0 | 100 boxes munition, 190 boxes clothes, 460 sack kekse, 670 bunches jerked beef | |
| Peruana | 18 | 250 | 53 | hospital, physicians and 200 boxes | |
| Jerezana | 15 | 350 | 461 | ||
| Minerva | 8 | 325 | 630 | ||
| Águila | 14 | 800 | not Brigantine Pueyrredón |
752 | 7 guns |
| Dolores | 9 | 400 | 395 | ||
| Mackenna | ? | 500 | 0 | 960 boxes with weapons, armors and leather goods for infantry and cavalry. 180 quintal Quintal Quintal may refer to:* Quintal , a unit of mass* Quartal and quintal harmony in music* Quintal, Haute-Savoie, a commune of the Haute-Savoie département in France* Stéphane Quintal, NHL ice hockey player... iron pieces |
|
| Perla | 16 | 350 | 140 | 6 guns | |
| Santa Rosa | 13 | 240 | Santa Rosa de Chacabuco or Chacabuco |
372 | 6 guns |
| Nancy | 21 | 200 | 0 | 80 horses and fodder | |
| Notes |
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On 8. September 1820 the liberating army disembarked 100 miles southeast of Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
: 4118 soldiers, 4000 of them were Chileans.
On the night of 5. November Cochrane, personally, and 240 volunteers wearing white with blue armbands captured the Spanish frigate Esmeralda (1791)
Esmeralda (1791)
The Spanish Esmeralda was a 44 gun frigate built in Port Mahón, Balearic Islands in 1791. The First Chilean Navy Squadron under the command of Thomas Cochrane captured her in the night from 5 to 6 November 1820. She was renamed Valdivia in Chilean service...
within the port of Callao. She was renamed Valdivia and commissioned to the Chilean Navy.
Perú was not seen as an enemy territory but the occupying Spanish military forces and the commander of the expeditionary troops José de San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
understand that the task was to neutralise the Spanish army so that the population could liberate themselves and he followed a slow and relentless course.
Cochrane sails to California
Not until July 1821 the troops entered in Lima, declared Perú's independence and San Martín was acclaimed as Protector of the new state. But undefeated Spanish troops still occupied the highlands. Cochrane clashed with the cautious San Martín because of the unrealistic hope for a national rising in support of Peruvian independence and San Martín's commanders were disenchanted about his inaction.As San Martín refused to provide the squadron with funds unless it was handed over to the new government of Perú, Cochrane ordered to seize the Mint and State Treasury loaded onto the Sacramento by nightfall of 14. September. The amount loaded was, according to the Peruvians, ₤80,000 or $400,000.