Colonel Robert Souper Howard (September 9, 1818 – January 13, 1881) was a Chilean soldier, although born in England, who served in the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade. In recent years, and ...

during most 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 ...

Early life

He was born in Harwich, England, the son of William Henry Souper, an army officer on half pay; Philip Dottin Souper was an elder brother. Souper had married Amelia Ann Reinagle (born 1777), daughter of

Philip Reinagle Philip Reinagle (1749 – 27 November 1833) was an English painter of animals, landscapes, and botanical scenes. The son of a Hungarian musician living in Edinburgh, Reinagle came to London in 1763 and after serving an apprenticeship, later bec ...

the painter, in 1797. The family later moved across the English Channel, for financial reasons, establishing themselves in

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audoma ...

, and then

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

Role in the War of the Pacific

Souper moved to Chile in 1843, to work on a hacienda. Subsequently he purchased a place of his own, in

Talca Province Talca Province ( es, Provincia de Talca) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Talca. Administration As a province, Talca is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed b ...

. During the

, Souper joined the Chilean Army a few days before the official declaration of war, on April 3, 1879 as a Captain. He was then selected by Minister Rafael Sotomayor, and was present in the Naval Battle of Angamos. He became a member of the Army General Staff, and participated in the

Battle of Pisagua The Battle of Pisagua ("Desembarco y combate de Pisagua"), was a landing operation of the War of the Pacific, fought on November 2, 1879, between Chile and the combined forces of Bolivia and Peru. The Chilean army commanded by Erasmo Escala, suppo ...

(November 2, 1879) and the Battle of Dolores (November 19, 1879); helping capture the Peruvian province of

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 ...

, which was effectively separated from the rest of the country. During the Chilean offensive against Tarapacá, he served under General

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 ...

as his Aide de Camp. Under his command, he fought on the

Battle of Los Ángeles The Battle of Los Ángeles was a military action fought on 22 March 1880 between the Chilean and Peruvian armies during the Tacna and Arica Campaign of the War of the Pacific. The Chilean forces under Commander in chief Manuel Baquedano assaul ...

, the Battle of Alto de la Alianza and the assault of

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 ...

He was killed during the aftermath of the

Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos The Battle of San Juan, also known as the Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos, was the first of two battles in the Lima Campaign during the War of the Pacific, and was fought on 13 January 1881. This battle is really a group of smaller, yet fierce ...

in 1881.

Early life

Role in the War of the Pacific

References

Further reading