Juan José Latorre Benavente (

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, whos ...

; March 24, 1846 – July 9, 1912) Chilean Vice Admiral, one of the principal actors of 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 ...

, and hero of the

Battle of Angamos The Battle of Angamos ( es, Combate de Angamos) was a naval encounter of the War of the Pacific fought between the navies of Chile and Perú at Punta Angamos, on 8 October 1879. The battle was the culminating point of a naval campaign that las ...

Early life

Son of Elías Latorre and of Nicomedia Benavente, the oldest of eight brothers. After the early death of his father, three of his younger brothers were taken by the paternal family in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, where they were raised. Later on, one of the brothers participated also in the

, but on the Peruvian side. At the age of nine, in 1855, he won a scholarship to the Naval Academy. Appointed midshipman on July 15, 1861. He served on the ''Esmeralda'' during the

Chincha Islands War The Chincha Islands War, also known as Spanish–South American War ( es, Guerra hispano-sudamericana), was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia from 1865 to 1879. The ...

and participated in the

Battle of Papudo The Naval Battle of Papudo was a naval engagement fought between Spanish and Chilean forces on November 26, 1865, during the Chincha Islands War. It was fought 55 miles north of Valparaiso, Chile, near the coastal town of Papudo. Background U ...

, where the Spanish schooner ''Covadonga'' was captured, and in the

Battle of Abtao The Battle of Abtao was a naval battle fought on February 7, 1866, during the Chincha Islands War, between a Spanish squadron and a combined Peruvian-Chilean fleet, at the island of Abtao in the Gulf of Ancud near Chiloé Archipelago in south- ...

. On February 12, 1873 was promoted to first lieutenant, and given command of the ''Toltén'' first, and the ''Magallanes'' later. It was in this later ship that he was going to make his name as one of the ablest naval commanders of the coming war. During his patrols of the extreme southern region of Chile, he was involved in a diplomatic incident with

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and Britain, when he captured several foreign ships that were operating in the Chilean area with an Argentinian licence, chief among them the ''Jeanne Amelie'' and the ''Devonshire''. He was also faced with the mutiny of the city of

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (; historically Sandy Point in English) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. The city was officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to "Punta Are ...

, where he was able to rescue his old friend, governor Diego Dublé Almeida.

War of the Pacific years

Naval Battle de Chipana

While in command of the ''Magallanes'', he was the first to come face to face with the Peruvian navy at the

Battle of Chipana The Battle of Chipana took place on 12 April 1879, during the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru. It was the first naval engagement between both navies and took place in front of Huanillos, off the (then) Bolivian coast, as the Peruvian c ...

. On April 12, 1879, he crossed paths with the Peruvian warships ''Unión'' and ''Pilcomayo'' that tried to capture his vessel. Outgunned, Latorre decided to escape. During the ensuing pursuit, he noticed that the speed of the two Peruvian ships was greatly different, and that the ''Pilcomayo'' was falling considerably behind. Once the Peruvian ''Unión'' was alone, he turned his ship around, and opened fire. The battle thus ensued. The Peruvian aim was very poor, due to their lack of training, but the Chilean aim was only marginally better. At one point, the ''Unión'' started spewing white smoke from one of its sides. This led the Peruvian captain to think his ship had been seriously hit, and gave up the pursuit, allowing the weaker ''Magallanes'' to escape unharmed. In fact the whole incident was caused by the overheating of one of the boilers.

Second Naval Battle of Iquique

After the disastrous reduction of the Peruvian navy at the First

Naval Battle of Iquique The Battle of Iquique was a naval engagement that occurred between a Chilean corvette under the command of Arturo Prat Chacón and a Peruvian ironclad under Miguel Grau Seminario on 21 May 1879, during the naval stage of the War of the Pacif ...

, presidente

Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

of Peru ordered Admiral Grau to harass the Chilean shipping lines and to try to disrupt their commerce. The Admiral, on the ''

Huáscar Huáscar Inca (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka''; 1503–1532) also Guazcar was Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. He succeeded his father, Huayna Capac and his brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox while campaigning near Q ...

'', decided to go on a night raid to the port of

Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...

, to try and destroy the ''Abtao''. He arrived on the night of July 9, and not finding his prey decided to go after the transport ship ''Matías Cousiño.'' Latorre, who was commanding the ''Magallanes'' decided to fend off the attack, in spite of the difference in strength of both ships (260 tons versus 1130). Admiral Grau tried to sink the smaller ship thrice, using his ram, but in spite of his ability the ''Magallanes'' was able to keep him at bay long enough for the ironclad ''Cochrane'' to show up, after which the ''Huascar'' decided to retreat back to

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capita ...

Naval Battle of Angamos

On September 6, 1879 Latorre was promoted to commander of the ironclad '' Cochrane'', the strongest unit of the Chilean fleet. His fame was such that he brought his entire crew with him. His first mission was to eliminate the threat of the ''

'', which was the sole impediment to an invasion of the Peruvian coastline. On the night of October 7 he was informed that the ''Huáscar'' had been seen near the port of

Huasco Huasco () is a Chilean city and commune, in the Huasco Province, Atacama Region. The port city of Huasco is located 50 km west of Vallenar and close to the town of ''Huasco Bajo'', which lies on the southern bank of the Huasco River and o ...

and was moving north. A trap was then set. The Chilean fleet was divided into two groups. The first division was in charge of Commander

Galvarino Riveros Galvarino (died c. November 30, 1557) was a famous Mapuche warrior during the majority of the early part of the Arauco War. He fought and was taken prisoner along with one hundred and fifty other Mapuche, in the Battle of Lagunillas against gove ...

and made up of the '' Blanco Encalada'', ''

Covadonga Covadonga ( Asturian: ''Cuadonga'', from ''cova domnica'' "Cave of Our Lady"Juan Gil Fernández, José L. Moralejo, Juan Ignacio Ruiz de la Peña, ''Crónicas asturianas'', Universidad de Oviedo, 1985, p. 203.) is one of 11 parishes in Ca ...

'' and the collier ''Matías Cousiño''. The first division would try to push Admiral Grau toward the second division that would be waiting further north. In the early hours of October 8 the plan went into effect. When the ''Huáscar'' and the ''Unión'' saw the Chilean ships blocking their way south they decided to turn back north. A few hours later they met the ''Cochrane'' which was waiting according to plan. Admiral Grau was forced to fight in the

while the ''Unión'' got away. The ''Cochrane'' continued advancing on the ''Huáscar'' without answering its fire until it was very close to its adversary, in order not to lose speed. When it finally attacked, the onslaught was ferocious. The second shot destroyed the command tower of the ''Huascar'', killing Admiral Grau and leaving the monitor without a rudder. The fight continued for another hour, but the arrival of the ''Blanco Encalada'' with the rest of the Chilean fleet made any resistance totally hopeless. The ''Huáscar'' was captured and became a part of the Chilean fleet.

Later years

After returning to Chile, in 1882 he married Julia Moreno Zuleta, whom he met on one of the many parties given in his honor after the war. They had three children. On June 5, 1884 he is promoted to Rear-Admiral. In 1886, he was appointed Commander General of the Navy. Presidente

José Manuel Balmaceda José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández (; July 19, 1840 – September 19, 1891) served as the 10th President of Chile from September 18, 1886, to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile. While he was ...

sent him on an official mission to Europe to supervise the construction of new ships for the Chilean navy. While in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the 1891 Chilean Civil War broke out. He chose to remain loyal to president Balmaceda and was dismissed after the Congressional triumph. He remained in exile in Europe until 1894. After his return, he was twice elected senator for the Balmacedista party (1894-1900, 1900-1906), and was reinstated in the navy. He was appointed member of the Council of State by president

Federico Errázuriz Echaurren Federico Errázuriz Echaurren (Santiago, November 16, 1850 – Valparaíso, July 12, 1901) was a Chilean politician who served as the 12th President of Chile. Early life He was son of the president Federico Errázuriz Zañartu and of Eulogia ...