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 in which the Chilean Navy had the sole mission of eliminating its Peruvian counterpart. In the struggle, two armored frigates, led by Commodore Galvarino Riveros Cárdenas and Navy Captain Juan José Latorre battered and later captured the Peruvian monitor Huáscar, under Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario.

After the loss of the frigate Independencia at Punta Gruesa, Grau sought to challenge the outnumbering Chilean fleet adopting a harassing strategy, focused in inflicting as much damage as possible while avoiding a full scale engagement. As Grau evolved along the Pacific coast, he was chased by Admiral John Williams Rebolledo, who had been ordered to catch Grau no matter what. His failure cost him his commission, and was replaced by Riveros.