Joaquim José Pinto (1826-1884) was a Brazilian Division Chief and was notable for his participation at the

Siege of Salto The siege of Salto occurred during the Uruguayan War, from 22 until 28 November 1864, when Brazilian forces (under Marquis of Tamandaré) and Colorado forces (under Venancio Flores) attempted to capture the city of Salto in Uruguay Urugua ...

and his command of the ''

Jequitinhonha Jequitinhonha is a Brazilian municipality located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais. Location The population was estimated to be 25,474 people living in a total area of 3,518 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Jequitinh ...

'' during the

Battle of the Riachuelo The Battle of Riachuelo was a large and decisive naval battle of the Paraguayan War between Paraguay and the Empire of Brazil. By late 1864, Paraguay had scored a series of victories in the war, but on 11 June 1865, its naval defeat by the Brazi ...

Early life

He was born in the village of

São João da Barra São João da Barra () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 36,423 (2020) and its area is 459 km². It is home to the Superporto do Açu. History Until the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazi ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in October 1826. He was the son of Francisco José Pinto and Maria Máxima das Neves. Pinto became an aspirant to ''guarda-marinha'' (

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

) on 17 February 1842 after enrolling at the Navy Academy on the 21st of that same month and was promoted to midshipman on 22 November 1844.

Paraguayan War

With the rank of lieutenant captain, he took part in the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadlies ...

, especially in the Corrientes campaign and in the

Battle of Riachuelo The Battle of Riachuelo was a large and decisive naval battle of the Paraguayan War between Paraguay and the Empire of Brazil. By late 1864, Paraguay had scored a series of victories in the war, but on 11 June 1865, its naval defeat by the Brazi ...

, when he commanded the corvette ''

''. In the latter clash, as a result of a maneuver ordered by Division Chief José Segundino de Gomensoro, the ''Jequitinhonha'' ran aground on a sandbar of the Riachuelo stream, coming under heavy enemy fire from the nearby ravines. Even so, he was able to open fire on the enemy steamer ''Paraguarí'', causing severe damage that put the ship out of action, almost sinking it. He even repelled the boarding from the Paraguayan steamers ''Taquarí'', ''Salto'' and ''Marques de Olinda''. After the battle, despite all the efforts to lift the ship, it was not possible to do so and, under these conditions, admiral Francisco Manuel Barroso ordered that the vessel be abandoned and set on fire on June 13 though the ship's guns were seized by the Paraguayans. Pinto died on 25 December 1884 in the city of

Ranks

*Aspirant to Midshipman: 17 February 1842 *

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

: 22 November 1844 *

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

: 2 December 1846 *

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

: 2 December 1854 *

Captain Lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Finl ...

: 10 November 1864 *

Frigate Captain Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries. Corvette captain lies one level below frigate captain. It is usually equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander. Countries using this rank include Argentina ...

: 29 December 1867 *

Captain of Sea and War Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

: 30 December 1878 * Division Chief: 23 December 1884

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto, Joaquim José 1826 births 1884 deaths Brazilian military personnel of the Paraguayan War People from São João da Barra