Capture of the frigate Esmeralda
| Capture of the frigate Esmeralda | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Peruvian War of Independence | |||||||
Capture of the frigate Esmeralda in the bay of Callao, L, Colet, Club Naval, Valparaíso. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Chile | Spain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Thomas Cochrane (WIA) Thomas Crosbie Martin Guise |
Antonio Vacaro Juan Francisco Sánchez Luis Coig | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
240 sailors & marines 14 boats |
1 frigate 2 brigs 1 pailebot 14-24 gunboats some armed merchants several harbour batteries | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
11 killed 22 wounded |
1 frigate captured 3 gunboats captured | ||||||
The capture of the frigate Esmeralda was a naval operation conducted on the night of 5 November 1820 during the Peruvian War of Independence. A division of boats with sailors and marines of the First Chilean Navy Squadron, commanded by Thomas Cochrane, stealthily advanced towards Callao and captured the 40-gun Spanish frigate Esmeralda in a cutting-out operation. The frigate was the most powerful Spanish warship in the region and the main objective of the operation. She was protected by a strong military defense that the Royalists had organized in the port.
Both Chilean and Spanish historiography considers that as a result of this naval action the importance or maritime influence of the Spanish Navy in the Pacific disappeared completely. British historians Brian Vale and David J. Cubitt follow the same line of opinion when affirming that Spain had unquestionably lost control of the sea against the Chilean Navy.