title: Naval Battle of Arica
text: # Naval Battle of Arica
  
  vteWar of the Pacific :
  
  Naval campaign
  
  1st Iquique
  
  Chipana
  
  Pisagua
  
  1st Callao
  
  2nd Iquique
  
  Punta Gruesa
  
  Huáscar
  
  1st Antofagasta
  
  3rd Iquique
  
  Rímac
  
  2nd Antofagasta
  
  Punta Arenas
  
  Angamos
  
  Pilcomayo
  
  Arica
  
  Naval Battle
  
  Rupture
  
  2nd Callao
  
  Land campaigns
  
  Loa Line and Altiplano
  
  Calama
  
  Río Grande
  
  Quillagua
  
  Tambillo
  
  Tarapacá campaign
  
  Pisagua
  
  Pampa Germania
  
  San Francisco
  
  Tarapacá
  
  Tacna and Arica campaign
  
  Ilo and Pacocha
  
  Moquegua
  
  Mollendo
  
  Los Ángeles
  
  Locumba
  
  Buenavista
  
  Tacna
  
  Arica
  
  Tarata
  
  Lynch Expedition
  
  Lima campaign
  
  Chilca
  
  Yerba Buena
  
  Bujama
  
  Humay
  
  El Manzano
  
  Rinconada de Ate
  
  San Juan and Chorrillos
  
  Miraflores
  
  Lima
  
  Chilean occupation of Peru
  
  Sierra campaign
  
  San Jerónimo
  
  Letelier Expedition
  
  Sángrar
  
  Verrugas
  
  1st Purhuay
  
  Calientes
  
  1st Pachía
  
  Cieneguilla
  
  Motupe
  
  Guadalupe
  
  1st Pucará
  
  Acuchimay
  
  Sierralumi
  
  Huaripampa
  
  Llocllapampa
  
  Chupaca
  
  La Oroya
  
  2nd Pucará
  
  Concepción
  
  San Pablo
  
  Tarmatambo
  
  2nd Purhuay
  
  Huamantanga
  
  Crossing of the Andes
  
  Huamachuco
  
  Izcuchaca
  
  2nd Pachía
  
  Arequipa-Puno Line
  
  Arequipa
  
  Titicaca Lake :
  
  The Naval Battle of Arica (Spanish: Combate naval de Arica) was a naval battle which took place on 27 February 1880 during the Blockade of Arica as part of the War of the Pacific.
  
  ## Background
  
  The blockade of Arica was conducted by the Chilean navy's ships Cochrane, Covadonga, and an unnamed armed transport, all three having arrived by the 7th of December, 1879. The town of Arica was relatively well defended, with four batteries including one on a bluff, the other three built of sand and turf. Several foreign ships observed during the blockade, including corvettes from the US, France, and the UK.
  
  On 27 February, the Chilean Navy began bombarding the city's ground defenses. These defenses had a range of 3.5 km, providing a large covering zone for the remaining Peruvian ironclad, the Manco Cápac. The now Chilean warship Huáscar, after its capture at the Battle of Angamos, had been sent for repairs and fitted with two 40 lb Armstrong type guns, with a firing range between 6 and 7 km. The ironclad was put under the command of Captain Manuel Thomson. The Huáscar arrived in Arica on 25 February in order to take the place of the warship Almirante Cochrane in the port blockade as the Cochrane was needed to escort transports. Later the Magallanes, led by Captain Carlos Condell arrived to join the Huáscar in the operation.
  
  ## Battle
  
  The battle itself consists of three separate engagements all taking place on the same day.
  
  ### Initial Engagement
  
  At 8:30 am , the Huáscar approached the coast, near the island of Alacrán, to reconnoitre the state of the forts that defended the port of Arica. As a result of this approach, the Peruvian defences of the Morro de Arica, under the command of Colonel Arnaldo Panizo, opened fire on the Huáscar, joined by the monitor Manco Cápac. On the Chilean side, the Magallanes gunboat is also involved, which at the beginning of the engagement was 6 miles north of the port, producing an exchange of fire that lasts until 9:20 a.m. As a result of this cannonade, the Huáscar receives 3 hits without consequences.
  
  ### Attack on supply train
  
  At 11:00 a.m., the lookouts of the Chilean ships spot a train coming from Tacna heading to Arica, so for the second time the Huáscar and the Magallanes approach the coast to cannonade the train. Again, combat was engaged with the Peruvian defences, including the batteries located on the beach. The Huáscar receives a direct hit that exploded next to the cannon of the port fortress , killing 8 servants and injuring 12 others. Among the fatal casualties, were the aspirant Eulogio Goycolea and the sailor Luis Segundo Ugarte, who was one of the sailors on the Esmeralda that tried to board the Huáscar in the combat on May 21 in Iquique. Huáscar's second commander, 1st Lieutenant Emilio Valverde, and 2nd Lieutenant Tomás Pérez, were wounded. Another strong grenade hit the forearm, causing severe damage. The Huascar retired and together with the Magallanes, took their usual position in the lock.
  
  ### Naval battle
  
  At around 1:00 pm , the monitor Manco Cápac, commanded by the frigate captain José Sánchez Lagomarsino, lifts pressure and leaves the bay at 1:15 pm in the direction of Huáscar. Among the crew of the Peruvian monitor, was captain Juan Guillermo More, who came as a volunteer.
  
  An hour later, Commander Manuel Thomson orders an attack on the Peruvian monitor without initial consequences given the distance of 3,200m. At 2:30 pm, when the Manco Cápac was at 1800m, it opened fire but is weakened because one of its two guns got struck. During the combat the Huascar engine fails and the ship is immobilised. The Peruvians noticed this and concentrated fire on the immobile ship. A projectile from the Manco Cápac hits the chest of Commander Thomson who was on the poop deck, killing him instantly. The shot also knocked over a mast and destroyed the signal code. In the meantime, the engineers managed to get the engine back into operation, so Lieutenant Valverde removed the ship from the line of fire and Captain José Sánchez Lagomarsino ordered the return of Manco Cápac to the port at 3:30 pm, where it anchored at 4:30 pm.
  
  Captain Condell assumed command of Huáscar and the command of the blockade, and sent Magallanes to Ilo to notify Commander General of the Squadron, Rear Admiral Galvarino Riveros Cárdenas and the Minister of War and Navy Rafael Sotomayor of Thomson's death.
  
  ## Aftermath
  
  Arica was later taken by Chile in the Battle of Arica, in June, after the town had been weakened by the blockade, which prevented supply from the sea; important in the desert region.
  
  