Guillermo García y García, hero of Punta Gruesa

The Scotsman Thomas Carlyle (1795 – 1881), a man of multiple learnings, wrote: “He who triumphs can be a hero as well as he who succumbs; but he is never the one who gives up the fight.” These words can be fully applied to the frigate lieutenant Guillermo García y García, fighting gallantly on the deck of the frigate Independencia, stranded in Punta Gruesa, while the shrapnel and rifle fire of the men of Covadonga unloaded relentlessly on the Peruvian crew members who, at no point did they stop responding despite their desperate situation.

Among those who succumbed in these circumstances was Guillermo García y García (1847–1879). He was the brother of José Antonio, a prominent politician, and of Aurelio and Narciso, naval officers like him. Between 1862 and 1863 he studied at the Naval Military College, where he graduated as a midshipman. He served aboard the Amazonas and the Loa, being promoted to frigate lieutenant on September 25, 1865. He traveled to London to take care of choosing the crew of the frigate Independencia, whose construction was supervised by his brother Aurelio. On May 21, 1868, Guillermo submitted a request to the Commander General of the Navy, Rear Admiral Antonio de la Haza, where he asked to be allowed to continue serving as pilot of the frigate Aurora.

In the merchant marine he made trips to China, Japan, the Philippines and Australia, commanding various ships. With the brig Florencia he sailed from England to the Suez Canal, this being the first Peruvian ship to cross it. The declaration of war with Chile surprised him in Lima where precisely one day later, on April 6, 1879, he married Cenobia García Maldonado. Three days later he rejoined the Navy. Guillermo and his brother, Lieutenant Narciso, were assigned to the frigate Independencia.

The episode of May 21, 1879 is widely known. While the monitor Huáscar, commanded by Grau, after a long battle, sank the Esmeralda with its spur and in an exemplary humanitarian gesture saved the lives of the shipwrecked enemies, the Independencia, at command of Juan Guillermo More, began the pursuit of Covadonga, which was fleeing at full speed. The hunt for the Chilean ship had already lasted more than three hours due to the lack of practice of our artillerymen who did not hit the target. Thanks to its shallow draft, the Covadonga passed the existing underwater rocks in Punta Gruesa, ten miles from Iquique, without any problems, while the Independencia, of much greater tonnage, collided with one “that was not marked on the chart” producing the tragedy . “The ship fell on its starboard side, the water entering through the starboard ports,” says More’s report. The Covadonga immediately turned and opened fire on the damaged ship.

The Chilean fire was heavy and the crew of the Independence responded with rifles and revolvers. It was then that the heroic gesture of William Garcia y Garcia, who, seeing that our pavilion had fallen, decided to replace it. His brother Narciso, a witness to the event, tells Aurelio: “Now, my dear brother, it remains for me to realize the horrible tragedy we have suffered: our dear brother Guillermo no longer exists. He died like a brave man. He fell, as if struck by lightning, under three bullets from the Chilean machine gun, which he received simultaneously at the moment he raised our flag on the main mast to replace the one on the ground, which had just fallen along with half of that flag. stick. This happened after the ship was lost, because, even in these circumstances, we had to continue fighting with the enemy who was trying to take advantage of our situation.” More, in the corresponding part, says that Guillermo “was one of our most intelligent naval officers”. José Luis Torres in his Patriotic Catechism says that the young officer abandoned everything: family, comforts, fortune “to die at the foot of his flag halyard; in the place of honor, to starboard, aft, on the bloody deck of the Independence.

More ordered the boats to be lowered and Narciso was able to bring his brother’s body ashore, which was buried in Iquique. El Comercio, on May 26, 1879, gave abundant information on the combat of Iquique and the tragedy of Punta Gruesa. He also remembered the heroic death of Guillermo García y García.