October 8, 1879, Punta Angamos: the Huáscar, Peru's last ironclad, falls to the Chilean squadron, and Admiral Miguel Grau dies in combat. From that day forward, the ship never returned to Peru and remains in Talcahuano, Chile, today.
How a single ship, built in England, held the entire Chilean coast at bay for five months during the War of the Pacific. The Battle of Iquique and Arturo Prat on its deck, Grau's letter to Prat's widow, the capture of the Rímac, the torpedo that backfired on the Huáscar itself, and the hunt that ended at Angamos. And why Peru and Chile commemorate it today, each in their own way.
Sources:
– Jorge Basadre, *Historia de la República del Perú, 1822–1933*, vol. VIII. Lima, El Comercio, 2005.
– Melitón Carvajal Pareja, *Historia Marítima del Perú*, vol. XI. Lima, IEHMP, 2004.
– Gonzalo Bulnes, War of the Pacific. Valparaíso, 1911–1919.
– William F. Sater, Andean Tragedy: Fighting the War of the Pacific, 1879–1884. University of Nebraska Press, 2007.
– Chilean Navy, Huáscar. Santiago, Editorial Kactus, 2005.
– Letters from Miguel Grau to Carmela Carvajal and Dolores Cabero (1879).
#Huáscar #MiguelGrau #WarOfThePacific
October 8, 1879, Punta Angamos: the Huáscar, Peru's last ironclad, falls to the Chilean squadron, and Admiral Miguel Grau dies in combat. From that day forward, the ship never returned to Peru and remains in Talcahuano, Chile, today.
How a single ship, built in England, held the entire Chilean coast at bay for five months during the War of the Pacific. The Battle of Iquique and Arturo Prat on its deck, Grau's letter to Prat's widow, the capture of the Rímac, the torpedo that backfired on the Huáscar itself, and the hunt that ended at Angamos. And why Peru and Chile commemorate it today, each in their own way.
Sources:
– Jorge Basadre, *Historia de la República del Perú, 1822–1933*, vol. VIII. Lima, El Comercio, 2005.
– Melitón Carvajal Pareja, *Historia Marítima del Perú*, vol. XI. Lima, IEHMP, 2004.
– Gonzalo Bulnes, War of the Pacific. Valparaíso, 1911–1919.
– William F. Sater, Andean Tragedy: Fighting the War of the Pacific, 1879–1884. University of Nebraska Press, 2007.
– Chilean Navy, Huáscar. Santiago, Editorial Kactus, 2005.
– Letters from Miguel Grau to Carmela Carvajal and Dolores Cabero (1879).
#Huáscar #MiguelGrau #WarOfThePacific