Battle of Callao

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Callao


caption=Spanish ships exchange fire with Peruvian coastal defenses at the "Battle of Callao" .
partof=the Chincha Islands War
date=May 2, 1866
place=Callao
result= Decisive Peruvian victory, the Spanish Fleet retreated from South America
combatant1=flag|Spain|1785
combatant2=flag|Peru|1825
commander1=flagicon|Spain|1785 Casto Méndez Núñez
commander2=flagicon|Peru|1825 Mariano Ignacio Prado
strength1=1 ironclad
5 frigates
1 corvette
(approx 250 guns)
strength2=2 small ironclads
3 gunboats
65 guns (including naval artillery)
3,000 infantry and cavalry
casualties1=43 dead
147 wounded
3 heavily damaged frigates.
casualties2=83 dead
100 wounded|

The Battle of Callao (in Spanish, sometimes called "el Combate del Dos de Mayo" in South America, or "Guerra del Pacífico" in Spain) occurred on May 2, 1866 between a Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and a combined alliance of Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Ecuador in the Peruvian port city of Callao during the Chincha Islands War. The Spanish fleet bombarded the port of Callao (or El Callao), but eventually withdrew without any major damage to the city structures.

Background

President Juan Antonio Pezet assumed the presidency of Peru in April 1863, at a time when Spain was making efforts to recover some prestige by recovering (or humiliating) its lost colonies in America. Spain began its campaign by seizing the Chincha Islands, which were rich in guano, and demanding indemnity as recompense for the murder of two Spanish citizens in Lambayeque.

Vacillating, President Pezet began removing vast quantities of Peru's guano deposits to give to Spain when Spanish ships threatened Callao and the neighboring coastline. Pezet believed that Peru’s naval forces were much too weak to challenge the Spanish fleet. In November 1865, at a moment of nationalism, Colonel Mariano Ignacio Prado seized power from Pezet after a coup, and organized an effective defense against Spanish aggression that culminated with the Battle of Callao.

After the indecisive Battle of Abtao in February 1866, Méndez Núñez decided to take punitive action against South American ports, his first target being the undefended Chilean port of Valparaíso. The neutral British and American naval commanders in Chilean waters were unable to prevent this action, and the Spanish bombarded the town and destroyed the Chilean merchant fleet. When Hugh Judson Kirlpatrick, United States minister to Chile, asked the American naval commander Commodore John Rodgers to attack the Spanish fleet, Méndez Núñez responded with, "I will be forced to sink the [United States] ships, because even if I have one ship left I will proceed with the bombardment. Spain, the Queen and I prefer honor without ships than ships without honor."cite web | title=The Dos de Mayo Combat| work=lycos.co.uk | url=http://members.lycos.co.uk/Juan39/DOS_DE_MAYO_COMBAT.html| accessdate=2008-03-05]

Méndez Núñez proceeded to seek such an honor for Spain by attacking a strong port, and changed his plans and went with his fleet towards the well-defended Peruvian port of Callao. The battle, starting in May 2, was characterized by arduous, long-range combat with ironclads utilized by both sides. Observing the combat were American and British ships.

Battle

The Spaniards arrived at Callao, on

Prior to the battle, Peruvian president Mariano Ignacio Prado rallied and mobilized the military and the townspeople against Spain. The strong forts and batteries of the stronghold at Callao, which had once repelled Sir Francis Drake and John Hawkins, was reinforced with heavy British-made Blakely guns. Moreover, four Armstrong guns were placed in two armoured turrets, "Junín" and "La Merced", both protected with a 10 cm thick iron belt. The Armstrong and the Blakely guns were the most potent cannons of the time, and they were a national pride for Peru.cite web | title=El Combate del 2 de Mayo de 1866 en El Callao| work=libreriadenautica.com | url=http://www.libreriadenautica.com/items/combate-el-callao-LC-36.html| accessdate=2008-03-05] In total, the Peruvians had 52 guns and 13 additional guns mounted on the warships "Colon", "Tumbes", and "Sachaca". Also, Peru had two locally-built ironclads: The Confederate-style casemated ram ironclad "Loa" and the monitor "Victoria", as well as several infantry and cavalry.cite web | title=chimpum-callao | work=chimpum-callao.com | url=http://www.chimpum-callao.com/historia/dosdemayo.html| accessdate=2008-03-05]

The Spanish fleet, forming a V-shaped line of attack, enter into the bay at 10:00 hours, and formed two lines of battle: In the north, the ironclad "Numancia" and the frigates "Almansa" y "Resolución" (137 guns in total), while the frigates "Villa de Madrid", "Berenguela" and "Reina Blanca" (122 guns in total) moved south. The rest of the fleet, including the corvette "Vencedora," remained back near the island of San Lorenzo. The Numancia, one of the largest ships to have ever existed, went forward in order to begin the attack.cite web | title=TODO CALLAO | work=gmcweb.net| url=http://www.gmcweb.net/todocallao/dosmayo.htm| accessdate=2008-03-05]

At 12:15 hours, the ironclad "Numancia" opened fire to the port. The Peruvian fort "Santa Rosa" bombarded back and ten minutes later, a Peruvian shot hit the "Numancia" silencing the fire of the entire broadside battery. While the ship tried to turn and use the other broadside, another shot impacted the ship injuring the Spanish Admiral Méndez Nuñez. The fire in both sides stopped for fifteen minutes, and when restarted, a Peruvian Blackely gun was silenced.

Meanwhile, by this time under heavy fire from both sides, a Spanish shot impacted the armored turret "La Merced", killing all the crew, including Peruvian Secretary of Defense José Gálvez. According to some accounts, José Gálvez showed valor and strength, and was key in raising the spirits of the Peruvian side. Shortly after his death, the battle became more intense, and the "Numancia", center of Peruvian fire, was impacted several more times. cite web | title=Marina de Guerra del Peru| work=marine.mil.pe | url=http://www.marina.mil.pe/historia/efemerides/dosdemayo.htm| accessdate=2008-03-06] Suddenly, the Spanish "Villa de Madrid" was hit by a Blackely 450-pound projectile which killed 35 crewman and destroyed her boilers. The ship was then towed out of the battled by the corvette "Vencedora". Also, the frigate "Almansa" was hit by another shot, resulting in the deaths of 13 crewman and causing the explosion of the powder room, thus forcing her to retreat. Then, "Berenguela" was pierced side-by-side by an Armstrong 300-pound projectile in the floating line, and hence was also forced to retreat.

During the course of the battle, the small Peruvian fleet under Lizardo Montero approximated itself towards the enemy a couple of times. The artillery from the Peruvian steamer Tumbes marked the final shots of the battle, as the Spaniards began to see the futility of continuing the encounter.cite web | title=Peru| work=deperu.com | url=http://www.deperu.com/calendario/resumen.php?dia=2&mes=5&cod=62 | accessdate=2008-03-05] The ship lost 2 men and had 3 wounded during the course of the battle.cite web | title=The Dos de Mayo Combat| work=lycos.co.uk | url=http://members.lycos.co.uk/Juan39/DOS_DE_MAYO_COMBAT.html| accessdate=2008-03-05]

Finally, by 5.00 p.m. the battle was finished. The Spanish fleet, unable to completely destroy the Peruvian batteries, withdrew to San Lorenzo Island to bury their dead and repair the damaged ships. Admiral Méndez Núñez was injured nine times in battle, but did not die from the wounds. Interestingly, the Sub-lieutenant Patricio Montojo y Pasarón, later admiral and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Navy in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War, participated in this battle in the frigate "Almansa".

Aftermath

In the aftermath, the Peruvians celebrated the battle as a victory, claiming that they had stopped the Spanish from trying to re-colonize South America.cite web | title=Conmemoran 142 Aniversario| work=andina.com.pe| url=http://www.andina.com.pe/Espanol/Noticia.aspx?Id=GuB28denb5o=| accessdate=2008-03-05] Whether that was a fact or an exaggerated idea is not really known, for even though the attack might have simply been a way for Spain to regain some prestige (or humiliate South America), the Spanish invasion of the Chincha Islands and attempts to meddle with other South American countries seem to show a Spanish intention of regaining South America.

On the other hand, since Spain had not yet recognized Peru as an independent nation, the Spanish claimed the battle as a Spanish victory since the intention was to punish Peru, not invade it. Nonetheless, in a private letter dated on May 3, 1866; an American eyewitness, T.H. Nelson, wrote: "The damages caused to Callao are barely noticeable. The [Peruvian] batteries occupied the [Spanish] squad so much that there was no time to bombard the city." In fact, after the battle, the hyped up and surprising situation was so big that American and British troops wittnessing the battle joined the cheers of "Viva Peru!"

A couple of months later, the famed ships of the War of the Pacific, "Huascar" and "Independencia", were added to the Peruvian fleet. While the war still remained without a peace settlement, the Peruvians contemplated the idea of invading the Philippines. To complete such a feat, the nation hired Comodore William Tucker, who had outshone himself in the American Civil War fighting for the Confederate States of America. Nonetheless, various Peruvian officers felt insulted at such a decision since they felt that they had shown they were just as capable as any other officers to lead and win a naval battle. At the end, the idea was abandoned, but Tucker found another important job in the Amazon of Peru.cite web | title=Peru| work=marine.mil.pe | url=http://www.marina.mil.pe/historia/efemerides/dosdemayo.htm| accessdate=2008-03-05]

The most concrete results, partly coming from this battle, came as a revolution in Spain (in 1868) and an official armistice between the rival nations in Washington D.C. in 1871. Which later concreted in Spain's official recognition of Peru as an independent nation in 1880, and hence sealing Latin American independence from Spain. From the battle, the nations of the area realized that a united South America was capable to resist any major invasion attempts by European countries (hence showing a complete opposite to the idea expressed by the Monroe Doctrine, and later the Roosevelt Corollary, which induced a reasoning that free nations in the western hemisphere--including South American nations--were incapable of protecting themselves without U.S. aid and intervention).

References