Juan José Latorre Benavente (

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 ...

; 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 (), 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 ...

, and hero of 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 ...

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 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 ...

, 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 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 ...

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 (), 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 conflict began with Spain's seiz ...

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 north of Valparaiso, Chile, near the coastal town of Papudo. Background Until Nov ...

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

Battle of Abtao The Battle of Abtao was a naval action 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 sout ...

. 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, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

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 known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...

, 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. 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, presidente

Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on ...

of Peru ordered Admiral

Grau The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the Chief of ...

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

Huáscar Huáscar (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka'') also Guazcar (before 15271532) 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 during the same year ...

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

Iquique Iquique () is a port List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, 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 At ...

, 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 ca ...

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. It is the central town of a mining district dominated by medium-scale mining. The port city of Huasco is located 50 km west of Vallenar and close to the tow ...

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

Covadonga Covadonga ( Asturian: ''Cuadonga'', from ''cova domnica'' "Cave of Our Lady") is one of 11 parishes in Cangas de Onís, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in Northwestern Spain. It is situated in the Picos de ...

'' and the collier ''Matías Cousiño''. The first division would try to push Admiral

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 h ...

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

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, the

1891 Chilean Civil War The Chilean Civil War of 1891 (also known as Revolution of 1891) was a civil war in Chile fought between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the President, José Manuel Balmaceda from 16 January 1891 to 18 September 1891. The ...

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 ...

in 1897 and minister of foreign affairs in 1898. A few years before his death he was promoted to vice admiral and was made a Commander of the French