The Anniversary of the Battle of Iquique marks one of the major naval battles in the War of the Pacific, which took place in 1879.
During the first year of the war between Chile and Peru, Chilean war efforts were focused on destroying the Peruvian Navy.
During May 1879, the main ships of the Chilean Navy were sent towards the Peruvian port of Callao, in order to destroy its navy. Two old, wooden ships - the corvette Esmeralda and the schooner Covadonga, commanded by Captain Arturo Prat and Captain Carlos Condell de la Haza - were left blockading the Peruvian port of Iquique.
As the Chilean Navy steamed North towards Callao, two ironclad ships of the Peruvian Navy, the monitor Huáscar and the armoured frigate Independencia, commanded by Admiral Miguel Grau and Captain Juan Guillermo More, steamed South unseen.On the morning of May 21, 1879, the watch on Covadonga spotted ships coming from the North. At first, due to thick fog, they thought it was their own navy, but the lookout recognised the riggings of the Independencia and Huáscar. The Covadonga, which was in the bay, fired a warning shot to alert the Esmeralda, which was still moored in port.
Captain Prat made a stirring speech to his men: "Lads, the battle will be unbalanced, but, cheer and courage. Our flag has never been hauled down before the enemy and I hope this is not the occasion to do it. From my part, I assure you that while I live, this flag will blow in its place, and if I die, my officers will know how to carry out their duties", before donning full parade uniform and moving the ship into a position 200m off the coast, blocking access to the port.
Meanwhile, General Buendia, Peruvian commander of the garrison of Iquequi, ordered artillery to be set up on the beaches, and started firing on the Chilean ships. By this time, Covadonga was heading South, pursued by the Independencia.
Captain Grau on the Huáscar, having been misinformed that the Esmeralda was loaded with torpedoes, stood off some 600m away and started firing its 300 pound cannons at it, although due to lack of experience it was over an hour before the first hit. Because of the position of the Esmeralda, and the Peruvian villagers crowding the beach to watch the show, Grau had to take care that the civilian population was unharmed. Esmeralda's return fire was equally ineffective, bouncing harmlessly off the Huáscar's plated armour.
About three hours into the battle, Grau decided to ram Esmeralda, realising that the reports of torpedoes on board were untrue. Esmeralda's captain saw this as an opportunity to board the Peruvian ship and overpower its crew in hand-to-hand combat - a plan not without merit, as his ship was definitely no match for the monitor otherwise.
The opportunity came with the first ramming, but the plan did not work. Captain Prat's yell "Al abordaje muchachos!" ("Let's board, boys!") was muffled by the sound of the Huáscar's metal crushing the Esmeralda’s wood, and thus heard and answered by only two sailors; both were killed by gunfire on the enemy ship's deck.
The second ramming saw a better organised attempt with about 11 sailors led by 1st. Lt. Ignacio Serrano, who suffered a similar fate. Battered by heavy fire and Huáscar's ram, Esmeralda sank in Iquique Bay after the third ramming. 135 Chilean sailors perished, and 62 were rescued on the orders of the Huáscar's captain; 1 Peruvian sailor was killed and 7 wounded.
Meanwhile, Covadonga tried to escape South, with Independencia in pursuit. This led to the Naval Battle of Punta Gruesa, which ended with the loss of the Peruvian ship and is often referred to as the second part of the Naval Battle of Iquique, although it is described in many sources as a separate battle.
The twin naval battles of Iquique and Punta Gruesa were Peruvian tactical victories; the blockade on Iquique was lifted and Chile left the area.
However, the battles proved to be strategically costly; one of the most powerful warships in the Peruvian Navy was lost, while Chile only lost one of its oldest wooden warships. This left the Huáscar alone to fight the entire Chilean Navy. Also, the heroic death of Captain Prat inspired thousands of Chilean youth to join the army. This is considered in Chilean history as one of the most important factors for achieving victory. Years later the figure of Prat became so popular that the newspapers started to talk about "Pratiotism" and "Patriotism".