Battle of Abtao

Spanish screw frigates Blanca and Villa de Madrid during battle, by Federico Castellón Martínez. Naval Museum of Madrid

Date	February 7, 1866
Location	Abtao, near Chiloé 41°47′43.35″S 73°17′55.40″W / 41.7953750°S 73.2987222°W / -41.7953750; -73.2987222Coordinates: 41°47′43.35″S 73°17′55.40″W / 41.7953750°S 73.2987222°W / -41.7953750; -73.2987222
Result	Indecisive

Belligerents

Spain

Peru

Chile

Commanders and leaders

Claudio Alvargonzález Sánchez

Manuel Villar

Strength

2 frigates

1 frigate
2 corvettes
1 schooner

Casualties and losses

6 wounded

2 to 12 killed, 1 to about 20 wounded

The Battle of Abtao was a naval battle 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 south-central Chile. It reduced to a long-range exchange of fire between the two squadrons, as the Allied ships, anchored behind the island, were protected by shallow waters impracticable for the Spanish ships, whose gunnery, nevertheless, proved more accurate and inflicted damage to the Chilean and Peruvian ships.

Sent by Peruvian president Mariano Ignacio Prado, who had rallied the South Americans in defense against Spanish aggression, the allies had sailed in convoy from the town of Ancud to the island of Abtao to wait for the arrival of two new corvettes acquired by Peru.

The Spanish commander Casto Méndez Núñez, informed about the location of the Peruvian-Chilean fleet, ordered that the steam frigates Villa de Madrid (Captain Claudio Alvar González) and Reina Blanca (Commander Juan Topete), lift the blockade on Valparaiso and sail towards Abtao to intercept the enemy fleet.

On January 16, 1866, the combined Peruvian-Chilean fleet, composed of the Peruvian frigates Apurímac and Amazonas and the recently captured and refurbished Chilean schooner Covadonga, had convoyed from the port of Ancud towards the shipyards on the little island of Abtao, at the head of the southern Chiloé Archipelago. On Abtao island, the Chileans had also built some military fortifications, which were strategically located at the end of a shallow and treacherous channel.

During the difficult trip, the 36-gun steam frigate Amazonas, suffering from the force of currents, collided with a submerged rock near Punta Quilque and sank. The rest of the allied ships arrived without problems, and remained in Abtao with orders to wait for the arrival of the Peruvian corvettes Unión and América in order to start the offensive against the Spanish force. These ships arrived on February 4, 1866 without being detected by the enemy ships.

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Wikipedia