Paquete de Maule

Paquete de Maule (also spelled Paquette de Maule and Paquete del Maule) was a small merchant sidewheel steamer built in the United States in 1861 for operation along the Chilean coast. Converted into a gunboat for service during the Chincha Islands War, she was captured by Spain and scuttled shortly thereafter.

Paquete de Maule
History
CN JackChile
NamePaquete de Maule
BuilderLawrence & Foulks (NY)
Completed1861
In service1861
Out of service1866
Captured6 March 1866
FateCaptured by Spanish Navy during the Chincha Islands War
PN JackSpain
Commissioned6 March 1866
FateScuttled after the Battle of Callao during the Chincha Islands War, 2 May 1866
General characteristics
TypeSidewheel steamer
Tons burthen407 tons
Length165 ft (50 m)
Beam29 ft (8.8 m)
Draft8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Depth of hold9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion2 × 32 in (81 cm) cylinder, 8 ft (2.4 m) stroke vertical beam steam engines; 2 × flue boilers in hold, no blowers
Sail planBrig
Armament
  • Chile: None
  • Spain:2 cannons

Construction and design

Paquete de Maule, a 400-ton sidewheel steamer, was built by Lawrence & Foulks in 1861 at Williamsburg, New York for G. K. Stevenson & Co., who planned to operate the vessel between Valparaiso and Maule, Chile.[1]

Paquete de Maule was 165 feet long, with a beam of 29 feet, depth of hold 9 feet, and draft of 8 feet 6 inches. She was built of white oak and locust, with square frames fastened with copper and treenails, and strengthened with diagonal and double laid braces. She was powered by a pair of 32-inch cylinder, 8-foot stroke vertical beam steam engines built by the Neptune Iron Works of New York, driving two 24-foot-diameter (7.3 m) wooden sidewheels. Steam was supplied by a pair of flue boilers without blowers, located in the hold. The vessel was also brig-rigged for auxiliary sail power.[1]

Career
Main article: Capture of the Paquete de Maule

During the Chincha Islands War, the Paquete del Maule served as an auxiliary ship to the Chilean fleet and she was not armed. On March 6, 1866, while en route from Lota to Montevideo with a crew of 126 men destined to complete the crews of the ironclads Huáscar and Independencia, she was captured by the Spanish frigates Blanca and Numancia at the Gulf of Arauco.[2]

On 10 May 1866, after the Battle of Callao, the Paquete del Maule was burned and scuttled by the Spanish near the San Lorenzo island since they couldn't take her with them on their retreat towards the Philippines.

See also

References
  1. Frazer, p. 42.
  2. Own, Our (10 April 1866). "SOUTH AMERICA.; High-handed Movements in Bolivia--Miscellaneous. CENTRAL AMERICA. Revolution in Panama--Bogus Canal and Railroad Companies-The Barbacoas Gold Mines-The Mines a Failure-All the Miners Anxious to Return--Over One Hundred already Returned to Panama--Naval Matters". New York Times. Retrieved 2 January 2010.

Bibliography
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