Battle of Islay

After the Treaty of Paucarpata had been repudiated, the Chilean government again dispatched its fleet, composed of 5 battleships (Aquiles and Arequipeño, the corvettes Libertad and Valparaíso and the Monteagudo) under the command of Robert Simpson, to disrupt Peruvian commerce. On January 12, 1838 they met a Confederate squadron near the Peruvian port of Islay, on what is known as the Naval Battle of Islay. The Confederate squadron was conformed by the Socabaya, Junín and Fundador under the command of commander Juan José Panizo. Simpson attacked but Panizo managed to head him off for several hours until able to escape under the cover of darkness. Both sides claimed victory, but the result was mostly a stalemate that did not affect the course of the war.[1]

Marshal Andres de Santa Cruz had distributed his ships, the corvette Socabaya and the brig Founder in Islay, commanded by the frigate Captain Juan José Panizo and the brig Junín in Arica commanded by Commander Miguel Saldívar.

On January 3, 1838, the commander Miguel Saldivar learned that Chile had disapproved the treaty and that his squadron was heading to Peru, so he sailed to Islay to concentrate the Confederate naval forces, anchoring in that port on January 8.

On January 12, 1838, the Chilean squadron surprised the confederate in Islay, which largely surpassed in tonnage and fire hydrants fled to the north being persecuted by Simpson. The persecution lasted all night, turning the Confederate ships to shoot the corvette Libertad, which due to its greater speed had overtaken the rest of its squad, to continue the flight, meanwhile the slowest of the Confederate ships brig Junín had lagged behind, which would continue to force the other two Confederate ships to engage in unfavorable combat or abandon it and continue north.

Before this situation Panizo used a clever stratagem, turning round with the "Socabaya" and the "Founder" broke fire on the Chilean ships delaying them and allowing the "Junin" to gain distance, to then turn again towards the north. Three times he performed the same maneuver until the "Junín" was out of danger, before the darkness of the night Simpson ordered to stop the pursuit and continued to Callao, where he arrived on January 17.[2]

The controversy over the outcome of this combat is very similar to that which occurred during the Battle of Chipana during the War of the Pacific. While the Peruvian historiography[3] maintains that it was a Confederate victory - because Commander Panizo managed to prevent his ships from being captured or sunk by a materially superior enemy, even saving the slowest of his ships and successfully responding to enemy fire. in its retreat, Chilean historiography considers this combat as a minor action of the war - where the Confederate fleet only limited to successfully fleeing thanks to Panizo's expertise - in which Simpson did not continue the fight because the Confederate ships were owners from the windward, that is, from the favorable side of the wind.

• del Busto Duthurburu, José Antonio (1983). Compendio de la historia del Perú II.
• de la Puente Brunke, José. Los hombres del mar: la Marina de Guerra en la historia del Perú.