- Schooner Virjen de Covadonga
The schooner "Virjen de Covadonga" (1859) was a ship that participated in the
Chincha Islands War and theWar of the Pacific , under Spanish and Chilean flags.Construction
She was ordered by the Royal Order of
June 10 ,1857 . Her keel was laid at the Arsenal de la Carrara inCádiz ,Spain , onFebruary 13 1858 . She was launched onNovember 28 1859 .The "Covadonga" was a wooden ship fitted with a steam propulsion, commissioned by Royal Command of
October 8 1858 at a total cost of 5 million "Reales de Vellón". Her first commander was LieutenantEvaristo Casariego y García . She was originally intended as a mail boat betweenManila andHong Kong , with her berth at the Naval Base of Manila, in the Philippine Islands.The ship was named after the
Battle of Covadonga - a highly symbolic event in Spanish history, being considered the beginning of theReconquista .Chincha Islands War service
During the
Chincha Islands War , the "Covadonga" served as an auxiliary ship to the Spanish fleet. She was captured by the Chileancorvette "Esmeralda" under the command of captainJuan Williams Rebolledo , during the Naval Battle of Papudo, onNovember 26 1865 . Her capture caused the suicide of Spanish AdmiralJuan Manuel Pareja .The "Covadonga" was commissioned into the Chilean navy on
December 4 1865 , keeping her original name. During this war, she also participated at the Naval Battle of Abtao.War of the Pacific service
During the
War of the Pacific , the "Covadonga" together with the "Esmeralda", as the oldest and slowest ships of the Chilean navy, were left behind to blockade the port of Iquique. There they participated in the most important naval battles of the war.The "Esmeralda" faced the "Huascar" at the Naval Battle of Iquique, and the "Covadonga" manage to escape from the attacks of the Peruvian
ironclad "Independencia" when the latter collided with a submerged rock and sank, after trying to ram the schooner; in the so called Naval Battle of Punta Gruesa, both onMay 21 1879 .Fate
On
September 13 1880 , while enforcing a blockade in the port of Chancay,Peru , the sailors of the "Covadonga" saw a boat being carried unmanned by the currents and loaded with fresh fruits and produce. While trying to lift it, it exploded, being a floating mine. The ship sank in less than 10 minutes.In the disaster, out of the 109 men of the crew, the commander Captain
Pablo Ferrari and 32 sailors died, while 29 were rescued by the gun-boat "Pilcomayo ", and 48 were captured by the Peruvians. Among the dead was petty officerConstantino Micalvi , a survivor from the Naval Battle of Iquique.External links
* [http://www.armada.cl/site/unidades_navales/146.htm Official description from the Chilean Navy] es icon
* [http://historicaltextarchive.com/books.php?op=viewbook&bookid=16&cid= Historical Text Archive, Chile: A Brief Naval History]
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