COCHRANE--CALLAO--VALDIVIA.
1819--1820.
The new Admiral when hoisting his pennant on the _O’Higgins_ might,
after the manner of the old Dutch admirals, have nailed a broom to his
masthead; his commission was to sweep the Spanish fleet from the
Pacific.
This ideal hero was one of the first sailors of the first navy of the
world, and became indisputably the first in the naval annals of three
Nations of South America, yet he never was master of his own destiny, he
founded no school which should endue posterity with his spirit. With
great faculties, both moral and intellectual, he had no political
talent, there was no method in what he did. His exploits were performed
under many flags, and in both the Old and in the New World, but he made
no country his own. He left his native land with curses, he parted from
Chile, from Peru, from Brazil, and from Greece in anger, stigmatizing
them as ungrateful. He valued his deeds in gold as though they had been
merchandize. Yet, in the abstract he was a lover of liberty; he placed
his sword and his genius only at the service of some noble cause.
On the 14th January, 1819, he sailed from Valparaiso with four ships,
the _San Martin_, _O’Higgins_, _Lautaro_, and _Chacabuco_, leaving
Rear-Admiral Blanco Encalada to follow him. On the 10th February he was
off Callao.
The bay of Callao is one of the largest on the South Pacific. Near its
centre stands the city of Callao, on the shore at the foot of the coast
range of the Cordillera, three miles from the pass through it, which
gives access to the beautiful valley of Rimac, in which stands the city
of Lima. The port of Callao is a roadstead shut in by two islands. One
of them, named San Lorenzo, is seven miles in length, and shelters the
roadstead from all winds except those which blow from the west. Off its
southern point lies a smaller island called the Fronton. The open water
between the two islands is the main entrance to the inner bay, but
between the Fronton and the land there is a much narrower passage,
called the Boqueron, in which there are only five fathoms of water and
many rocks. To the north of the island of San Lorenzo lies a sandbank,
off the mouth of the river Rimac, which is called the Bocanegra.
The old walls of the city of Callao were destroyed by an earthquake in
1746. In their place three great circular castles were erected, crowned
with lofty towers. Between them stretched the batteries of the arsenal
and of San Joaquin, mounted with 165 heavy guns, which swept the whole
of the roadstead. Under their fire the Spanish squadron lay at anchor,
consisting of the _Esmeralda_ and _Venganza_, 44 gun frigates; the
corvette _Sebastiana_, of 36 guns; the brigs _Pezuela_, _Maipo_, and
_Potrillo_, each of 18 guns; the schooner _Montezuma_, of 7 guns; the
_Aranzazu_ of 5 guns; and twenty-six gunboats, besides six armed
merchant vessels.
The 28th February was the day fixed upon by Cochrane for the attack; the
same Day Pezuela had arranged for a review of the squadron and a sham
fight. At daybreak a thick fog covered the bay, and the Viceroy embarked
on the brig _Maipo_, the better to watch the manœuvres. At eleven
o’clock, as the fog commenced to lift, the sailors of the _Maipo_, then
near to the island of San Lorenzo, saw a fine ship flying the Spanish
flag skirting the sandbank of the Bocanegra. The Viceroy wished to speak
her, but the commander of the brig refused to go nearer as he would
lose the wind. Pezuela was thus saved from falling a prisoner to
Cochrane. The strange ship was the _O’Higgins_, which sailed on into the
bay and captured a gunboat, followed only by the _Lautaro_, the other
two ships being unable to enter the harbour for want of wind.
Favoured by the fog the two ships anchored within range of the
batteries, hoisted the Chilian flag, and opened fire, but at nightfall
slowly retired, with a few killed and wounded, and some damage to spars
and rigging.
The next day the two ships again approached and drove the gunboats under
shelter of the batteries, the Spaniards not daring to do more than
remain on the defensive when they heard who was in command.
Cochrane had hoped to take the enemy by surprise, but having failed to
do so he now tried to repeat his exploit of the Basque Roads, for which
purpose he took possession of the island of San Lorenzo, and set to work
to make two fire-ships. On the night of the 22nd March he engaged the
attention of the batteries with his four ships while one of his
fire-ships drifted down on to the Spanish squadron. But the fire-ship
ran aground and was struck by a shot from the batteries, when the wind
dying away he was forced to leave her to sink.
On the 24th he again attacked, and succeeded in capturing the schooner
_Montezuma_ and some merchant vessels and gunboats. The _O’Higgins_, at
some distance from her consorts, was becalmed in a fog, and the
Spaniards put off from shore in boats with the intention of boarding
her. Fortunately a light wind sprang up before they reached her, and
they were seen in time and beaten off.
Cochrane then retired to the neighbouring port of Huacho in search of
fresh water, and was there joined by Blanco Encalada with the
_Galvarino_ and the _Pueyrredon_. Leaving the Rear-Admiral with four
ships to blockade Callao, Cochrane sailed northwards, distributing
proclamations from O’Higgins and San Martin, and also one from himself,
among the people along the coast. At one place he landed and captured
some brass cannon; then returning to Callao he found that Blanco
Encalada had gone south in search of provisions, and seeing nothing more
was to be done at present, he followed him.
Cochrane had brought with him from England a mechanic who had worked
with Congreve at the Arsenal at Woolwich. He now set him at work to make
rockets, and made trial of them in the bay of Valparaiso, expressing
himself as perfectly satisfied with them. Government also furnished him
with a nine inch mortar which had been sent from Buenos Ayres, and a
28-gun frigate, purchased in the United States and named the
_Independencia_, was added to the squadron. A brigade of 400 marines was
also organized under the command of an English officer of experience
named Charles, with Major Miller as his second.
The _Pueyrredon_ the _Intrepido_, and the _Montezuma_, were sent
southward on a cruise in search of some Spanish ships which were
reported to be on the way from Europe, and, on the 12th September,
Cochrane and Blanco Encalada again sailed from Valparaiso with six ships
of war, and two of the transports which had been captured by Blanco
Encalada on his first cruise, and which were intended for fire-ships.
Cochrane had such faith in the terrible power of his new rockets that he
was confident of success, and wrote to O’Higgins that at eight o’clock
on the night of the 24th, the Spanish squadron at Callao would be in
flames.
On the 28th September he anchored off the island of San Lorenzo, and on
the 30th sent a challenge on shore to the enemy to come out and fight
ship to ship. The Spaniards, who had in the meantime greatly
strengthened their defences, by surrounding their ships with a boom, and
had prepared furnaces to heat shot, returned a laconic refusal.
This time the attack was to be made by four pontoon batteries, one
carrying the mortar, two carrying rocket-tubes, and the other the
ammunition. On the night of the 2nd October, Miller led the van in the
_Galvarino_, with the mortar in tow, the _Pueyrredon_ followed, towing
the ammunition. Then came the other two pontoons towed by the
_Araucano_, Captain Hind, and the _Independencia_, Captain Charles. All
the crews of the pontoons wore life belts.
The action was commenced by the mortar, which opened fire at less than
eight hundred yards distance from the boom, and sunk a gunboat. But
after throwing several shells into the batteries, the mortar bed broke
away from its bearings, and no more could be done. The distance was too
great for the rockets which fell harmlessly into the water, and under
the heavy fire from the batteries it was impossible to run closer in. A
red-hot shot struck the pontoon commanded by Hind, and caused an
explosion by which twelve men were badly burned. The _Galvarino_ was
struck several times, and Lieutenant Bayley was cut in two by a shot. At
dawn the pontoons were recalled. In a subsequent attack an attempt was
made to destroy the boom by a fire-ship, but the wind dying away, she
became a target for the enemy’s guns; she was already sinking when the
match was lighted by Lieutenant Morgall, and she blew up before reaching
the boom.
The rockets were found to be so inefficient, that Cochrane desisted for
the time from any further attempt.[14]
The day after the last attack, a large ship was seen making for the
port, which on sighting the Chilian squadron sheered off again. Cochrane
followed, but taking her for a whaler, he returned to his anchorage and
afterwards sailed to Arica. On his return he again saw the same ship,
which sent a boat on shore. This ship was the 50-gun frigate _Prueba_,
one of the vessels which had been reported to be on the way from Europe.
Three had left Spain in company bound for Callao, but one being found to
be unseaworthy, had put back on reaching the line, and the other had
foundered off Cape Horn.
Cochrane decided upon pursuing the _Prueba_, but as he had many sick he
first sent Blanco Encalada with them to Valparaiso in the _San Martin_
and _Independencia_, and despatched Captain Guise with the _Lautaro_,
the _Galvarino_, and a transport with 350 marines on board, to Pisco,
with orders to land there and procure a supply of fresh provisions. He
then with the other three ships sailed for Guayaquil, where he captured
two transports, each of which mounted twenty guns. From his prisoners he
learned that the _Prueba_ had been there, but after sending her guns on
shore to lighten her, had gone up the river, and was now at anchor in
shallow water under the protection of some shore batteries.
Soon after this he was rejoined by Guise, who had successfully
accomplished the task allotted to him, but with some loss. He had found
Pisco garrisoned by a force of 800 men, who were driven out by the
marines at the point of the bayonet after some hard fighting, in which
Colonel Charles was killed and Miller received three wounds. After
holding the town for four days, he re-embarked the marines and sailed
for Guayaquil.
Cochrane then sent the _Lautaro_ to Valparaiso in charge of the prizes,
and leaving the _Pueyrredon_ and the _Galvarino_ at the island of Puna,
which commands the Gulf of Guayaquil, to keep watch over the _Prueba_,
he sailed for the port of Santa, which lies to the north of Callao. Here
he was soon joined by other ships of the squadron, which he sent back to
Valparaiso, and sailed away south by himself in the _O’Higgins_. He was
sorely disappointed with the ill-success of his attempts on Callao, and
would not return to Valparaiso till he could return in triumph. He was
turning over in his mind a daring scheme, equal to any that he had so
far accomplished.
Pacing to and fro one day on his quarter-deck, as the good ship sailed
steadily on towards the colder regions of the South, he met Miller,
who, in spite of his wounds, had taken command of the marines on the
_O’Higgins_, and asked him--
“What would they say if with this one ship I took Valdivia?”
As Miller made no answer, he added--
“They would call me a lunatic.”
Lunatic or not, this was the exploit he had determined on attempting,
and he further explained himself.
“Operations which the enemy does not expect are almost certain to
succeed if well carried out. Victory is always an answer to a charge of
rashness.”
Valdivia from its fortifications and from its natural strength, was
looked upon as the Gibraltar of America. The bay of Valdivia is an
estuary into which the river Valdivia falls by two channels, forming an
island known as the Isla del Rey. This estuary, which runs nearly due
east and west, is about seven miles long, and its width at the mouth is
about three miles, gradually diminishing until the width is little more
than one mile, when the bay itself opens out in a magnificent sheet of
water. In the centre of this bay and in front of the western point of
the Isla del Rey stands a small island called the Mancera. On this bay
there are several landing-places, but only one port, the Corral, and the
coasts on both sides are fringed with steep or perpendicular rocks, and
covered with dense brushwood. The bay has thus two coasts, one to the
south the other to the north, which are separated by a wide space of
open water, by the river Valdivia, and by the Isla del Rey. The northern
part is inaccessible from the ocean, but at the western extremity of the
southern part there is a landing-place where ships were accustomed to
take in water.
At this time Valdivia was defended by nine forts and batteries,
distributed on both sides of the bay, and armed with 128 guns. Two of
these forts stood on the islands, and commanded both mouths of the
river. On the north the entrance to the bay was guarded by an
impregnable castle, called the Niebla, cut out of the solid rock, and by
a battery, called Fort Piojo. On the south were the English fort, which
commanded the watering-place, the fort of San Carlos, on a small
peninsula, and Fort Amargos, whose fire crossed that of the Niebla. The
entrance was further defended by the Chorocomayo redoubt and by the
Castle of the Corral. Both these forts were masked by a dense forest,
and the ground about them is so broken that their only communication by
land was by a narrow path winding among the rocks and through the
forest, and crossing a gulley which was commanded by the guns of both
forts. Valdivia was ordinarily garrisoned by 800 troops and by as many
militia, but at this time the militia were absent.
On the 18th January, 1820, the _O’Higgins_ sailed into the bay, flying
the Spanish flag. The Spaniards believed her to be the _Prueba_.
Cochrane signalled for a pilot, who was sent off to him with a guard of
honour, whom he made prisoners, and learned from them that the
_Potrillo_ was expected with money to pay the troops. He then proceeded
in his gig to inspect the entrance to the river, under fire of the
forts, for by this time his true character was discovered. Two days
afterwards he captured the _Potrillo_, which had 20,000 dollars on
board, but seeing that he had not men enough for an attack upon the
place, he then went off for Talcahuano in search of more.
On the 22nd the _O’Higgins_ reached Talcahuano, and was fortunate enough
to find there the _Intrepido_ and the _Montezuma_. Colonel Freyre, who
was then in command of the fortress, eagerly entered into Cochrane’s
plans, and gave him 250 men under command of Major Beauchef. With this
reinforcement he sailed again for Valdivia. On leaving the harbour the
_O’Higgins_ struck on a rock and commenced to make water rapidly, but
the leak was patched up, Cochrane infusing his own spirit into his men,
and declaring that she would float as far as Valdivia.
When out of sight of land he transhipped the marines from his flag-ship
to the other two vessels, and went on with them, flying the Spanish flag
till he arrived off the bay of Valdivia on the 3rd February, and
signalled to the English fort for a pilot. But his ruse was discovered
and the fort opened fire on him. Then, in spite of a heavy sea running,
he determined to effect a landing in two long boats and a gig in which
he went himself.
At the sound of the cannonade reinforcements had come up from the other
forts, so that the garrison now numbered 360 men, of whom a detachment
of 65 was thrown forward to protect the landing-place. At sundown Miller
landed with 75 marines and drove in this detachment. He was followed by
Beauchef with his 250 infantry, who pushed on up a narrow path and drew
on himself the fire of the garrison, while Sub-Lieutenant Vidal skirted
the wall of the fort, and finding a side entrance fired a volley in
their rear, which so alarmed the defenders that they fled in panic,
carrying with them the reserve who were drawn up on an open space
behind.
Beauchef vigorously pursued the fugitives from fort to fort along the
narrow path, till at daybreak the English fort, San Carlos, Amargos,
Chorocomayo, and Corral were all in the hands of the Patriots, who had
only nine men killed and 34 wounded. One hundred of the enemy escaped in
boats, as many more were killed, the rest were either prisoners or
dispersed.
At daybreak on the 4th the _Montezuma_ and _Intrepido_ sailed into the
bay under the fire of the northern forts. To dislodge the enemy from
these positions, 200 men were re-embarked, but the _Intrepido_ ran on a
sandbank off the Island of Mancera and sank; thus ended the career of
the only Argentine ship which figured in the celebrated Chilian squadron
of the Pacific.
Soon afterwards the _O’Higgins_ appeared, and the Spaniards, abandoning
the northern forts and the islands, fled to the city. The _O’Higgins_
was leaking so badly that she was run aground in the mud to keep her
from sinking. The next day the city was taken without resistance. Spain
lost her last base of operations in the south of Chile, and Chile was
now in possession of all her own territory except the islands of Chiloe.
Cochrane thought to finish his cruise by the capture of these islands,
but Colonel Quintanilla, who was in command, was better prepared than
was the garrison of Valdivia. A landing was effected on the 17th; a body
of infantry was driven back and a battery was captured, but Miller, who
led the assault on the principal fort, was again wounded, and the attack
was repulsed. But the dominion of the Pacific was secured, and Cochrane
returned in triumph. At Santiago he met San Martin, who, leaving Mendoza
on the 20th January, had again crossed the Andes in pursuit of his great
enterprise, and now found the road to Peru opened for him by the heroism
of the great Admiral.