Defeat of the Huascar

This is the second half of First Combat Between Modern Warships
our selection from War Between Peru and Chile by Clements R. Markham published in 1882.

For works benefiting from the latest research see the “More information” section at the bottom of these pages.

Previously in First Combat Between Modern Warships.

Time: October 8, 1879
Place: Punta Angamos

Grau fully realized his danger. Seeing that escape was impossible, he resolved to make a bold dash at his enemies and fight his way through or perish in the attempt. He prepared his ship for action, keeping close to the land, in order that the coast might form a background, and make the aim of the enemy more uncertain. The Union was ordered to part company, and exert her utmost powers to escape, as, with the Huascar gone, she would be the only effective vessel left to Peru. This, in consequence of her great speed, she had no difficulty in accomplishing. The Union was commanded by Captain Garcia y Garcia, an accomplished officer, author of a volume of directions for sailing along the coast of Peru, and other works. Painful as the necessity for parting company with the Huascar must have been, it was obviously the best course for the public service.

At twenty-five minutes past nine the first shot in the first and only action that ever had taken place between seagoing iron clads was fired at the Cochrane from the Huascar’s turret, at a distance of about three thousand yards. It fell short. The second and third shots were fired, with the same results. The fourth, also falling short, ricocheted and pierced the armor-plating of the Chilean ironclad, passing through the galley. Up to this moment the Cochrane’s guns had been silent. She now opened fire and the battle was kept up with spirit on both sides until the end. The fourth shot from the Cochrane struck the turret of the Peruvian monitor and temporarily disabled its revolving apparatus. The Huascar’s turret was worked by hand.

Almost at the same moment a shot from the Huascar struck the side of the Chilean, loosening and slightly indenting one of the iron plates. The ships had now closed considerably, and Admiral Grau made an attempt to ram his antagonist. This maneuver was frustrated by the quickness of the Cochrane’s movements, for, being fitted with twin screws, she was able to turn in half the space that was required by the Huascar, and Captain Latorre handled his ship with great skill and judgment. Several subsequent attempts to ram also proved unsuccessful. The ships were now engaging at about three hundred yards, although, in the course of their maneuvers, this distance was frequently decreased to about one hundred or even to fifty yards, when an incessant mitrailleuse and rifle fire was kept up on both sides. At five minutes. to ten, just half an hour after the first shot had been fired, a shell from the Cochrane struck the pilot- tower of the Huascar, in which were Admiral Grau and one of his lieutenants. It exploded inside, destroying the tower and killing its occupants. So deadly was the explosion that only a portion of a leg of the brave Admiral was afterward found. The body had been blown to pieces. He fought and died off Point Angamos. His deeds of patriotic heroism will never be forgotten, and Grau will be known in history as the hero of Angamos.

Up to the moment of the bursting of the fatal shell the Huascar had been maneuvered with skill and daring; yet the firing on both sides was indifferent.

Shortly after 10 a.m. the Blanco, which had been pounding up astern ever since daylight to close with the enemy, reached the scene of action, and on arriving within six hundred yards fired her first shot at the doomed Huascar.

On the death of the Admiral, Captain Elias Aguirre, the senior surviving officer, assumed command. But his head was taken to the post of honor. Captain Manuel Carbajal, the next in seniority, was severely wounded by the explosion of the same shell that killed Aguirre. No sooner had Lieutenant Rodriguez, by virtue of his rank, succeeded to Carbajal, than he also was added to the long list of slain. He was killed by a shot which, striking the turret at a tangent, glanced by the port out of which the unfortunate officer was leaning while directing the gun’s crews inside. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Enrique Palacios, who, before the end of the action, was in his turn severely wounded by a fragment from a shell. The command then devolved on Lieutenant Pedro Garezon.

By this time the Huascar was quite disabled. Her steam steering-gear had been rendered useless by the same shot that killed the Admiral, and from that time the ship had to be steered by relieving-tackles hooked below. As there was no voice-tube leading from the upper deck to the place where the men were steering, the words of command had to be passed down by messengers, which produced great confusion. A shot had entered the turret also, injuring one of the guns to such an extent as to render it useless, besides killing or wounding several men. The turret was disabled, but the unequal contest was maintained.

There was a momentary cessation of hostilities, caused by the flag of the Huascar being down, owing to the halyards being shot away. But the colors were quickly hoisted again, and the Chilean ironclads reopened fire. Several attempts were now made, on both sides, to bring the matter to an issue by means of the ram, but all failed. At the short ranges the effect of the machine-gun fire was very deadly, the Gatling gun in the Huascar’s top being silenced by the more effective fire of the Nordenfeldts, with which the Chilean ironclads were armed.

At eleven o’clock, one hour and a half after the beginning of the action, the Huascar’s flag was hauled down. Through some inadvertence the engines were not stopped at the same time, and the Chileans continued to fire upon her, although several men were observed on the deck, waving white handkerchiefs as an indication of surrender. At length a boat from the Cochrane was lowered and sent to take possession of the hard-won prize. Lieutenants Simpson and Rogers and an engineer, with half a dozen men and four soldiers, went in her. There were at least three feet of water in the hold of the Huascar, and the lining of the pilot-tower, in which the Admiral was killed, had caught fire. When Lieutenant Simpson came on deck he was received by Lieutenant Garezon.

The scene on board was terrible. Dead and mutilated bodies were lying about in all directions, while the captain’s cabin was blocked up by a heap of mangled corpses. Both upper and lower decks presented a shocking spectacle, being literally strewn with fragments of human remains. Out of a complement of one hundred ninety-three officers and men, with which the Huascar began the action, sixty-four, or nearly one-third, were killed or wounded. The survivors were ordered to assist in extinguishing the fire, and were kept at work by the captors until the water-tight doors were reported closed, the valves shut, the engines in working order, and the magazine safe. They were then treated as prisoners of war. Out of the crew of one hundred seventy there were thirty Englishmen, twelve other foreigners, and the rest were Peruvians.

This was entirely an artillery combat, the ramming tactics, though adopted by both sides, having entirely failed, while the torpedoes were not used. The number of rounds fired by the Cochrane was about forty-six, while the Blanco fired thirty-one. Out of these seventy-seven shots, only twenty-four took effect on board the Huascar. Only Palliser shells were used by the Chileans. They burst after penetration, showing that the weak armor of the Huascar was worse than useless. The Huascar fired about forty rounds, her guns being served with great rapidity, but there was a want of precision in the aim, owing to insufficient practice. Those shots received by the Cochrane, at a distance of about six hundred yards and at an angle of 300, penetrated about three inches, starting the bolts and inner lining, and breaking an iron beam. The projectiles were broken into fragments by the impact.

On the same afternoon the Chilean ships with their prize anchored in Mexillones Bay, where the remains of the Peruvian naval hero, together with twenty-five of his gallant companions in arms, were interred.

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