Under the Chilian Flag: A Tale of War between Chili and Peru

by Harry Collingwood

The two lads were fortunately spared a close view of this harrowing sight, and their attention was speedily diverted from the catastrophe by a further commotion behind the mole, when, looking through their glasses, they saw that the Peruvians, encouraged apparently by the damage wrought by the Marañon, had got a couple of tugs alongside the old monitors Manco Capac and Atahualpa, and were towing them out close to the Huascar; their ironclad sides being more capable of resisting the latter’s shells than the Marañon’s wooden hull.

Directly the Chilians perceived this new move, the Angamos and Pilcomayo stood in to the support of their consort, and in a very few minutes Jim beheld the somewhat rare spectacle of a close fleet action in which the sides were well matched, for the two Peruvian monitors were of about equal strength to the three Chilian warships. The thunder of the cannon now became deafening, and Callao bay was positively flecked with white by the hundreds of ricochetting shells and solid shot; while even at the distance of four miles the boys could see, through their telescopes, the ships’ hulls reel and quiver under the frightful impact of the shot and shell.

But the combat did not last very long, for the merciful darkness came down about an hour after the monitors had been towed out, and put an end to the action. The signal for recall was hoisted aboard the Blanco Encalada, the firing gradually ceased, the Huascar, Angamos, and Pilcomayo got their anchors, and shortly after nightfall the whole Chilian fleet was once more anchored safely under the lee of San Lorenzo island.

These tactics and the bombardment of Callao continued day after day, and the port seemed to be as far from surrendering as it was when they began; but the Chilians found, after the first few days, that it was necessary to lay down permanent moorings under San Lorenzo Island and buoy them, so that the fleet could leave its berth every night at dusk, and return when morning dawned. This was because of the fact that the Peruvians had constructed several fast torpedo-boats which prowled round the fleet after dark and attempted to torpedo the vessels composing it; and also to avoid the peril of the floating mines which the enemy put into the water at the mouth of the harbour and allowed to drift down upon the Chilian vessels with the tide.

The flagship had, in particular, been made the objective of several of these torpedo attacks; and it was this fact which put into the head of the admiral a scheme which he had now been turning over in his mind for some days past.

On the 8th of May a meeting of officers was convened in Admiral Riveros’ cabin on board the flagship; and Jim was one of the officers present. It was about seven o’clock in the evening, and darkness had already closed in, the fleet then steaming, in double column of line abreast, on and off, about two miles to seaward of their anchorage. As soon as all the Chilian officers had come aboard Riveros took his seat at the head of the cabin table, and straightway plunged into business.

“As you are aware, gentlemen,” he began, “we have now been lying before Callao for nearly three weeks; and, despite our best endeavours, the town still remains untaken, and the way to Lima is still closed to us. This cannot be permitted to continue very much longer; for we are running short of provisions and coal, while the ships’ bottoms are getting so foul that, should the need for fast steaming arise, we should find that the vessels are incapable of making their top speed by at least two or three knots. If we are compelled to raise the blockade of the place so that we may put ourselves in order, the Peruvians will naturally avail themselves of the opportunity to throw cargoes of arms, ammunition, and provisions into the place; and thus, upon our return, all our work will need to be done over again. Therefore, it is out of the question for us to think of raising the blockade before Callao has fallen; and it appears to me that the principal obstacle in the way of our bringing that to pass is the presence of those Peruvian ships lying behind the mole. We have proved that it is impossible to reduce the port by gun-fire alone; a general assault, therefore, seems to be the only alternative left us; and a general assault is equally impossible in the face of the hurricane of shot and shell which those ships are, as we have already seen, capable of discharging.

“Therefore, as you will doubtless have gathered from my remarks, gentlemen, it will be necessary for us to destroy those ships, and that soon. The question is, how are we to do it? So long as they remain where they are, they are safe from our guns, for they are all protected by the mole. I have therefore summoned you aboard the flagship with the object of ascertaining whether any of you have any plans or suggestions to offer for the solution of the difficulty. If so, I shall be very glad to hear them.”

For a considerable time there was silence in the cabin, everybody seeming to be busily engaged in the endeavour to evolve a plan whereby the admiral’s difficulty might be overcome; but at length Jim, who had been cogitating profoundly, with his head between his hands, looked up and inquired whether Riveros happened to possess a chart of Callao harbour. As it happened there was one ready to hand; and a few seconds later Douglas was poring over it by the light of the cabin lamp, with a pencil and a pair of compasses in his hand.

Meanwhile several of the Chilian officers now began to propound schemes, each of which was promising enough—up to a certain point, at which somebody was certain to point out an insurmountable difficulty. One suggested a concerted attack by the entire Chilian squadron; but this was manifestly impossible, in face of the enormously powerful guns which the Peruvians could bring to bear. Another put forward the suggestion that an assault could be delivered in the rear of the town, by landing a number of seamen and marines in Chorillos bay. But Chorillos bay was open to the full “run” of the Pacific Ocean, and upon nearly every day throughout the year there was such a terrific surf on the beach that a landing by means of small boats would be impossible.