The naval Battle of Quilmes took place between a fleet of the Imperial Brazilian Navy, commanded by British admiral James Norton and a fleet of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata under the command of William Brown. The confrontations began at dawn on July 30, 1826 and lasted for three hours.[4]

Battle of Quilmes
Part of the Cisplatine War
Date29-30 July 1826
Location33°57′15″S 58°23′45″W / 33.95417°S 58.39583°W / -33.95417; -58.39583
Result Brazilian victory
Belligerents
 Empire of Brazil Argentina United Provinces
Commanders and leaders
Empire of Brazil James Norton Argentina William Brown
Strength

Ships:[1][2]
1 frigate
4 corvettes
3 brigs
4 schooners
3 gunboats

Total guns: 208

Ships:[1][3]
1 frigate
5 brigs
3 schooners
9 gunboats

Total guns: 138
Casualties and losses
No ships lost
6 killed
24 wounded[4][3]
1 frigate sunk
30-100 killed
70-100 wounded[4][5][1]

Background

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On the night of July 29, while an Argentine convoy of troops and military equipment carried out a crossing to the Banda Oriental, escorted by the Río de la Plata schooner that was commanded by captain Leonardo Rosales, admiral Brown, with a force integrated by the 25 de Mayo frigate (flagship), the Congreso, Independencia, Republica and General Balcarce brigs, the Sarandí schooner and other small ships in a total of 18, was in his usual base waiting for the convoy's arrival and left the port in an unsuccessful attempt to surprise the Brazilians.[4]

Admirals James Norton and William Brown

The Brazilian fleet, commanded by captain Norton, was composed of the Nichteroy frigate, the corvettes Liberal, Maria da Glória, Maceió and Itaparica, the brigs Pirajá, Caboclo and 29 de Agosto, the schooners Leal Paulistana, Dona Paula, Conceição and 7 de Março and a few gunboats, with a total of more than 200 guns.[1][2] From 8 o'clock onwards, the fleet continued to sail until midnight, when it anchored to the east of the outer channel, near Ensenada waiting for the return of the convoy to attack it, which it finally did near the coast of Quilmes.

Order of Battle

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Empire of Brazil

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Ships[1] Type Guns
Nichteroy Frigate 38
Maria da Glória Corvette 30
Liberal Corvette 22
Maceió Corvette 20
Itaparica Corvette 20
Caboclo Brig 18
29 de Agosto Brig 18
Pirajá Brig 18
Leal Paulistana Schooner 8
Conceição Schooner 4
Dona Paula Schooner 4
7 de Março Schooner 3
9 de Janeiro Gunboat 2
12 de Outubro Gunboat 2
Itaparica Gunboat 1

United Provinces of the Río de la Plata

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Ships[1] Type Guns
25 de Mayo Frigate 36
Independencia Brig 22
Congreso Brig 18
Republica Brig 16
Balcarce Brig 14
Oriental-Argentino Brig 13
Sarandí Schooner 8
Río Schooner 1
Pepa Schooner 1
9 Gunboats Gunboat 1 gun each
 
The Brazilian frigate Nichteroy
 
The Argentine schooner Sarandí

Battle

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As Scheina puts it:

"During the late evening of July 29, Brown, commanding eighteen small warships, once again slipped out of port and unsuccessfully attempted to surprise the Brazilians. The next day, as the Argentine squadron approached the Brazilians at a right angle, Norton split his force, catching the Argentine between two fires. Brown in the 25 de Mayo reversed course. Those ships in the Argentine van came under heavy fire. After three hours of fighting, the Argentine fleet escaped into shallow water. The 25 de Mayo, a floating wreck, was towed into Los Pozos and capsized in a strong southwester. The Brazilian lost six dead and twenty wounded; among this latter group was John Pascoe Grenfell who lost an arm. Argentine losses might have been as high as one hundred dead and one hundred wounded". [4]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Donato 1987, p. 339.
  2. ^ a b Garcia 2012, p. 426.
  3. ^ a b Garcia 2012, p. 427.
  4. ^ a b c d e Scheina 2003, p. 161.
  5. ^ Garcia 2012, p. 428.

Bibliography

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  • Carranza, Angel Justiniano (2018). Campañas Navales de la República Argentina: cuadros históricos (in Spanish). Forgotten Books. ISBN 978-1-332-48169-9.
  • Donato, Hernâni (1987). Dicionário das Batalhas Brasileiras (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Editora Ibrasa.
  • Garcia, Rodolfo (2012). Obras do Barão do Rio Branco VI: efemérides brasileiras (in Portuguese). Brasilia: Fundação Alexandre de Gusmão. ISBN 978-85-7631-357-1.
  • Scheina, Robert L (2003). Latin America's Wars: The Age of the Caudillo, 1791–1899. Dulles: Potomac Books Inc. ISBN 978-1-57488-450-0.
  • Vale, Brian (2000). A War Betwixt Englishmen: Brazil Against Argentina on the River Plate. 1825–1830. London: I. B. Tauris. ISBN 1-86064-456-2.
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