José Galvarino Riveros Cárdenas (December 2, 1829 – January 11, 1892) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an naval officer,

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the Chilean Squadron during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

. He was born in

Curaco de Vélez Curaco de Vélez is a Chilean Communes of Chile, commune in Chiloé Archipelago which is part of Chiloé Province and Los Lagos Region. The commune is located in western Quinchao Island while the eastern part is administered by the commune of Quin ...

, Sector Changüitad, Isla de Quinchao, Chiloé, Chile on December 2, 1829. He was son of Captain Juan Antonio Riveros of the Independencia and of Mercedes Cárdenas, daughter of Lorenzo Cárdenas Díaz, a royalist officer. He lived his childhood in Changüitad, his mother's homeland, near

( Quinchao Island). The move occurred shortly after his birth and this has led to various sources being consigned to Changüitad or to Curaco de Vélez as the site of his birth. Nevertheless, this is contradicted by his baptismal certificate, which was filed in

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder, Pedro de Valdivia, and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and ...

. In 1843, the general

Jose Santiago Aldunate Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean *Jose ben Halafta *J ...

placed him in the military academy after having lost his father. In 1848 he entered the squadron, and embarked aboard the steamer ''Chile'' as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

. Among his companions were the sailors Simpson, Bynnon and Munoz Gamero, later superior heads of the

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

. In 1848 he made a study trip to

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

aboard the French frigate ''Poursuivante'', under the command of Admiral Legoumet. One of the first hydrographic expeditions was to the

Toltén River Toltén River is a river located in the La Araucanía Region of Chile. It rises at Villarrica Lake, close to the city of the same name. Its major tributary is the Allipén River. From its confluence with the Allipén, the river follows a brai ...

, in a period in which the Araucanía had not yet been conquered. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1851, and, under orders of the commander Bynnon, made a trip to Europe in 1857 to bring to Chile the warship ''Maria Isabel''. He was second chief of that ship when he was shipwrecked in Misericordia Bay. In 1859 he was promoted to the rank of

Corvette Captain Corvette captain is a rank in many European and Latin American navies which theoretically corresponds to command of a corvette (small warship). The equivalent rank is lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy and other Commonwealth navies, the U ...

, and

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 Argenti ...

in 1866. In 1863 he was sent to patrol the north coast, from Atacama to

Mejillones Mejillones is a Chilean port city and commune in Antofagasta Province in the Antofagasta Region. Its name is the plural form of the Spanish meaning "mussel", referring to a particularly abundant species and preferred staple food of its indigen ...

, with the mission to monitor the border. He had control of the warships "Emeralda", "Independencia", and "Corbeta Abtao". In 1872 he was appointed maritime governor of Valparaiso and in 1876, he obtained the rank of

Ship-of-the-line Captain 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 ...

War of the Pacífic

At the outbreak of war, he was appointed commander of the

Chilean ironclad Blanco Encalada ''Blanco Encalada'' was a central battery ship built by Earle's Shipbuilding Co. in England for the Chilean Navy in 1875. She was nicknamed ''El Blanco''. She participated actively in the War of the Pacific, her most important action being th ...

and chief of a naval division that comprised the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

''O'Higgins'', the ''

Magallanes Magallanes may refer to: * Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521), Portuguese explorer who led part of the first expedition around the world * Strait of Magellan, the strait between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, located in Chile Places * Magallanes ...

'', and the transport ''Amazonas''. After the failure of

Juan Williams Rebolledo Juan Williams Rebolledo (c. 182524June 1910) was a Chilean rear admiral who was the organizer and commander-in-chief of the Chilean navy in 1879 at the beginning of the War of the Pacific. As a politician, he was elected from Valparaiso to the n ...

, he was given the control of the squadron. He captured the ''Huáscar'' in the

Battle of Angamos The Battle of 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 lasted about five months i ...

on October 8, 1879, by which he virtually annihilated the naval power of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Promoted to the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

of the squadron, he participated in the war using the navy in support of ground forces. When the conflict was over, he returned to Chile with part of the expeditionary army, leaving the command of the squadron to the captain of navy

Juan Jose Latorre ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philip ...

. He retired from the navy on August 20, 1881. He died in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

on January 11, 1892.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riveros Cárdenas, Galvarino 1829 births 1892 deaths Chilean Navy personnel of the War of the Pacific People from Valdivia