Manuel Villar Olivera | |
---|---|
Born | Lima, Viceroyalty of Peru, Spain | March 30, 1801
Died | October 6, 1889 Callao, Peru | (aged 88)
Allegiance | Peru |
Branch | Peruvian Navy |
Years of service | 1820 — 1881 |
Rank | Rear Admiral |
Commands held | Commander of the Peruvian-Chilean Allied Squad (1866) |
Battles/wars | Peruvian War of Independence
|
Manuel Villar Olivera (March 30, 1801 – October 6, 1889) was a Peruvian Rear-Admiral who had a long service career in the army of his country, from the Peruvian War of Independence to the War of the Pacific. He is best known for having commanded the Peruvian-Chilean allied squad in the Battle of Abtao, facing the Spanish Pacific Squad during the Chincha Islands War.
Manuel Villar Olivera was born in the city of Lima, then capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru. He was the son of Pascual Villar, artillery colonel in the Royal Army of Peru, and Agustina Olivera.[1]
He made his first nautical studies at the Royal Nautical Academy of Lima and was admitted as a midshipman in 1819.
In 1820 he joined the patriotic army of General José de San Martín, when the liberating expedition arrived on Peruvian shores. At Lord Cochrane's orders, he took part in the Capture of the frigate Esmeralda, the most powerful ship the Spanish had in Callao. He then became part of the nascent Peruvian squad under the command of Martín Guisse, a veteran British officer from the Battle of Trafalgar.[2]
At the outbreak of the War of the Pacific, despite being 78 years old, he asked to be given command of Fort Santa Rosa, in Callao. He was appointed Secretary of the Navy by the dictatorial government of Nicolás de Pierola, in January 1880.
He contributed to the preparations for the Lima campaign. On January 5, 1881, he was promoted to Rear Admiral . During the Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos on January 13, 1881, he was in charge of the Morro Solar batteries, where he fought until the last shot was fired.
He retired from public life and died in Callao in 1889.[3]
His remains rested in the San Gavino 11-C barracks of the Presbítero Maestro Cemetery, until, by Supreme Resolution No. 394-2016-DE of October 21, 2016, they were exhumed and transferred to the Crypt of the Heroes of the Cementerio Presbítero Matías Maestro, a ceremony that took place on June 1, 2017, with the presence of Defense Minister Jorge Nieto Montesinos; the Chief of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, Admiral José Luis Paredes Lora ; military, political and ecclesiastical authorities, as well as descendants and relatives of the hero.[4]