Battle of Casma 1839
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 12 January 1839 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1839 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Peru | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | South America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the Confederation | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Chile, Peru–Bolivian Confederation | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | -9.4519, -78.3877 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Casma was a naval confrontation that occurred on 12 January 1839 during the War of the Confederation between Chile and the Peru–Bolivian Confederation. The battle took place in the bay of Casma, located off the Peruvian coast, 370 kilometers north of Callao. Although both sides claimed victory, in reality the three Chilean Navy ships, commanded by Roberto Simpson, defeated the four privateer vessels fighting on behalf of the Confederation.
The government of the Confederation had offered a bounty of 200,000 pesos for the destruction of the Chilean fleet. When the Chileans lifted the blockade of Callao, four privateer ships sallied to earn that bounty. The ships were crewed by Peruvian infantrymen and foreign, mostly French, sailors under the overall command of Juan Blanchet, a former Lieutenant of the French navy. These ships were called: Mexicana (12 guns), Peru (10 guns), Arequipeño (6 guns) and Edmond (5 guns).
The more heavily built Chilean squadron consisted of three ships: Confederación (22 guns), Santa Cruz (20 guns) and Valparaíso (20 guns). It was taking on firewood in Casma Bay when it was attacked by the privateers. They inflicted heavy casualties on the privateers and captured the Arequipeño. The commander Blanchet was among the killed.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Casma (revision 1370436457), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Cajamarca 1532 · 256 km
- Third siege of Callao 1838 · 318 km
- First siege of Callao 1821 · 318 km
- Second siege of Callao 1824 · 318 km
- Battle of Callao 1866 · 319 km
- Battle of Portada de Guías 1838 · 325 km
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