Eleuterio Ramírez Molina (18 April 1837 – 27 November 1879) was a

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 ...

an lieutenant colonel. He founded the ''Foro Militar'' military newspaper in 1871.

Battle of Tarapacá

During the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

, Ramírez had obtained the rank of lieutenant colonel and commanded the , who numbered 1,117, at the

Battle of Tarapacá The Battle of Tarapacá occurred on November 27, 1879, during the Tarapacá Campaign of the War of the Pacific. Three Chilean columns of almost 3,900 soldiers attacked a numerically inferior Peruvian contingent of 3,046 troops at Tarapacá - 500 ...

. In accordance to and Luis Arteaga's plan, he led a detachment of his regiment that numbered 880 to engage the forces of Col. Miguel Rios and

Francisco Bolognesi Francisco Bolognesi Cervantes (November 4, 1816 – June 7, 1880) was a Peruvian military general. He is considered a national hero in Peru and was declared patron of the Army of Peru by the government of Peru on January 2 of 1951. Early life a ...

in the Quebrada de Tarapacá. He doubted the plan, saying, "They are sending me into a slaughterhouse." Battle commenced when the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

fired at the exposed Chileans from

Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego d ...

. Ramírez sent two companies to flank while he led an attack into the town. The street fight went into the main plaza and both sides took considerable losses. Due to his men's exhaustion, Ramírez ordered the entire force retreat to Guarasiña, near the entrance of the

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

. The force was half in number and used most of its ammunition. Santa Cruz's force also experience defeat, and once the battlefield was the calm, the Chileans fed their horses and searched for food and water. The Allies, reinforced by

Justo Pastor Dávila Justo Pastor Dávila Herrera was a Peruvian colonel who was a primary commander throughout the Lima campaign as well as the Sierra campaign during the War of the Pacific as well as the Prefect of Tarapacá in 1879. Biography Justo was born on ...

and Alejandro Herrera arriving from Pachica, attacked. Some Chileans only had bayonets and entrenching tools for weapons. By 3:30 P.M., Ramírez was wounded twice and with only his revolver, mustered a third bayonet charge from his men. He was wounded again and died laying on the side of a house; by the time relief sent by

Manuel Baquedano Manuel Jesús Baquedano González (; January 1, 1823 – September 30, 1897) was a Chilean soldier and politician, who served as Commander-in-chief of the Army during the War of the Pacific, and briefly as President of Chile during the civil war ...

got there, 45% of Ramírez's line were casualties. His body was recovered months later. His death was glorified and a dramatized account by correspondent , who got his information from testimonies, published in ''

El Mercurio ''El Mercurio'' (known online as ''El Mercurio On-Line'', ''EMOL'') is a Chilean newspaper with editions in Valparaíso and Santiago. Its Santiago edition is considered the country's newspaper of record and it is considered the oldest daily in t ...

'' on 15 December claimed that in Ramírez's final moments he fired his revolver's last rounds. This process intended to create a narrative of brave Chilean devotion. In order to incentivize his soldiers to kill every enemy, prior to the commencement of the

Battle of Tacna The Battle of Tacna, also known as the ''Battle of the Peak of the Alliance'' (Spanish: ''Batalla del Alto de la Alianza''), effectively destroyed the Peru-Bolivian alliance against Chile, forged by a secret treaty signed in 1873. On May 26, 188 ...

Estanislao del Canto Estanislao del Canto Arteaga (1840 – June 23, 1923) was a Chilean military figure who played a major role in the War of the Pacific (1879-1883) and the 1891 Chilean Civil War, Chilean Civil War (1891). He also participated in the Occupation of ...

claimed Ramírez and his were burned alive by Peruvians.

Tributes

A statue was opened in 1915 in ,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. His ashes lie within the "Infantry Regiment No. 2 Maipo" (former 2nd Line) located in ,

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

. His crypt mausoleum was inaugurated in 1937 by President

Arturo Alessandri Palma Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to 1 ...

, and can be accessed by civilians.

References

Bibliography

* * * * 1837 births 1879 deaths People from Osorno, Chile Chilean military personnel of the War of the Pacific Military personnel killed in the War of the Pacific Chilean colonels Bernardo O'Higgins Military Academy alumni {{Chile-mil-bio-stub