The Battle of Casma was a confrontation that occurred on 12 January 1839, during the

War of the Confederation The War of the Confederation ( es, Guerra de la Confederación) was a military confrontation waged by Chile, along with Peruvian dissidents, and the Argentine Confederation against the Peru–Bolivian Confederation between 1836 and 1839. As ...

, a conflict between

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and the

Peru–Bolivian Confederation The Peru–Bolivian Confederation was a short-lived state that existed in South America between 1836 and 1839. The country was a loose confederation between the states of Peru, divided into the Republic of North Peru and the Republic of South Pe ...

. The government of the Confederation hired

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s to counter the Chilean navy, offering a bounty of 200,000 pesos for the destruction of the Chilean fleet. When the Chileans lifted the blockade of

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

, four privateer ships sallied to earn that bounty. The ships were ''Mexicana'' (12 guns), ''Peru'' (10 guns), ''Arequipeño'' (6 guns) and ''Edmond'' (5 guns) under the overall command of Juan Blanchet, a former Lieutenant of the French navy. The Chilean squadron, commanded by Robert Simpson, consisted of ''Confederación'' (22 guns), ''Santa Cruz'' (20 guns) and ''Valparaíso'' (20 guns). It was taking on firewood in Casma Bay when it was attacked by the privateers. The more heavily built Chilean ships inflicted heavy casualties on the privateers and captured the ''Arequipeño''. Blanchet was among the killed. The other privateer ships escaped while flying French flags but were intercepted by a French warship; the privateer squadron was subsequently disbanded. Both sides claimed victory. The Chileans gained naval supremacy in the southeastern Pacific. As a reward, Simpson was promoted to the rank of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

in the Chilean navy in May 1839.

References

External links

Combate Naval de Casma
on the website of the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the Wars ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casma, Battle of 1839 in Chile 1839 in Peru Conflicts in 1839 January 1839 events Naval battles involving Chile Naval battles involving Peru Naval battles of the War of the Confederation