Los Andes vs Prueba

On April 25, 1819, Los Andes sailed from Valparaiso with the purpose of harassing the royalists in the Pacific.[4] The ship was commanded by Captain Juan Illingworth, a British sailor in the service of Chile.[4] Between May and September he ventured to navigate the coasts that extend from Peru to Panama. He won some prizes, attacked coastal populations and successfully rejected warships that wanted to catch him.[5][6]

From October of that year until March 1820, he harassed the Pacific coast of New Granada to support General Simón Bolívar to gain control of the territory.[7] Their attacks were concentrated in the towns of the coast of Popayán and in the valley of Cauca. He defeated the royalist detachments and left the territory under revolutionary authority.[7]

Realistic naval power in the Pacific was located in Callao, in the Viceroyalty of Peru. For those moments, the Chilean Navy had the preponderance of the sea, which complicated the realistic defense that was prepared in the viceroyalty due to the imminent invasion of the organized military force in Chile.[8]

In the midst of these circumstances, on April 22, 1820, a convoy commanded by Commodore Antonio Vacaro sailed from Callao to Guayaquil, bringing a battalion to reinforce the place.[9] This naval force was formed by the frigate Prueba (flagship), the brig Maypú and the transport Javiera. On May 1, the convoy arrived at the site and Vacaro had news of the Chilean ship on those coasts.[9]

When leaving Valparaíso, the corvette was manned by approximately 270 men,[11] but had declined during the naval campaign, having at the time of the battle only 151 men, of whom 35 were sick.[1] In addition, of the 36 guns that it had at the beginning, there were 30, of which only 24 were in operation due to the lack of crew.[1]

In addition to the personnel of the frigate, he had as reinforcement a company of the Numancia battalion that embarked on his departure from Guayaquil.[9]

(Chilean Historiography):[13] on May 12, Los Andes was sailing at the height of Esmeraldas River, when it suddenly saw the Prueba to the northwest. Soon after, Illingworth learned that it was the Spanish frigate and approached her with the intention of carrying out an attack by boarding. Nevertheless, the Spanish ship, taking advantage of the speed and the greater scope of the artillery that it owned, dodged the closed fight during two hours to stay out of reach. Faced with this dangerous situation for the corvette, decided to retire to the coast of New Granada dominated by revolutionaries, aware that the frigate would pursue him.

(Spanish historiography):[14] at noon[9] on May 14, at the height of Cape Manglares, the Prueba spotted the Chilean corvette towards the windward. Both approached with the intention of recognizing themselves, until at three in the afternoon, a league away, the Chilean ship turned around and changed the British flag that had until then, raising the Chilean flag. This allowed Vacaro to know who his rival was. He chased him until nightfall, when he lost sight of him because of the darkness.

(Chilean historiography):[15] the Spanish frigate followed the waters of the Chilean corvette during the night, and on May 13, at the end of the afternoon, they met again. The Spanish ship continued the attack from a distance, but a bad maneuver brought it too close to the Chilean ship, which increased the chances of success of the latter. After two hours of sustained struggle, Illingworth is able to position himself to carry out a boarding attack, as he wished. However, he receives a wound that forces him to leave the command post. Due to this accident, the privateer loses its advantageous attack situation and the Spaniard takes advantage of the setback to escape the place, but not before having received two discharge of the Chilean battery, taking it in line. This would have caused serious damage to the frigate on the deck, ending the battle.

(Spanish historiography):[14] at dawn on May 15, the Spanish frigate found the Chilean corvette five leagues to the leeward, pursuing it until nightfall, when the battle was resumed near the Gorgona Island.[16] The frigate came close enough to shoot him with double ammunition. The naval action would extend for more than an hour. The corvette had the suspicion that the Spaniard was stranded and sought his stern to prevent it from sinking and capture him in good condition. There was no such varadura, and ready the artillery of the frigate, received the fire directly given the proximity. The corvette suffered so much damage that it retreated without even firing a shot. His commander was also considered dead. Vacaro could not chase him because he had the reefs of Gorgona under the prow of the ship, to which the darkness of the night and the rain is added.