Luis Uribe
| Luis Uribe | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
August 13, 1847 Copiapó, Chile |
| Died | July 17, 1914 (aged 66) Valparaíso, Chile |
Luis Uribe Orrego (August 13, 1847 – July 17, 1914) was a Vice-Admiral of the Chilean Navy and a hero of the War of the Pacific.
Luis Uribe was born in Copiapó, the son of Juan José Uribe and of Rosario Orrego. He joined the navy on August 20, 1858, at the age of 9 years old, and graduated from the naval academy on July 16, 1861 as an midshipman. His first post was on the "Esmeralda", where he travelled to the extreme south of Chile, to the Juan Fernández Islands and to Peru. Uribe was promoted to ensign (equivalent of army's Second Lieutenant) on 1869, and the next year participated on a scientific expedition to Easter Island, where they prepared a topographic study.
On 1872, he was sent as part of a naval mission to England, under command of Admiral José Anacleto Goñi, who was in charge of contracting the construction of 3 new ships. While there he met a Mrs. Newlove, a widow, of whom he fell in love. Admiral Goñi denied him permission to marry her, but he ignored the command and still went ahead with the wedding in 1874. As a result he was relieved of his duties and court-martialled. He was finally clear of all charges after being defended by his classmate and lawyer Arturo Prat. In 1875 he was in charge of a hydrographic expedition to the coasts of Aconcagua, work for which he received a prize at the International Exposition of Santiago of 1875. He also wrote a Treatise on Hydrography that became the study text for the naval academy.
At the beginning of the War of the Pacific, Uribe was the second commander of the Esmeralda, and their first mission was to blockade the Peruvian port of Iquique. On May 21, 1879 their ship faced the Huascar during the Naval Battle of Iquique. His commander and friend Arturo Prat, together with most of the crew died that day, but Uribe continued fighting until the "Esmeralda" went under. He was captured while floating on the bay after the sinking together with only 62 survivors out of a complement of 197.
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