The congressional fleet included Almirante Cochrane, Blanco Encalada, O’Higgins, Esmeralda, Huáscar, and Magallanes. Esmeralda later entered Japanese service and fought at Tsushima, giving this civil-war inventory a transnational afterlife. Balmaceda’s immediately available naval strength was largely confined to torpedo boats protected in their sheds. Other potentially useful ships, including Presidente Pinto and Capitán Prat, were still under construction in Europe, while additional vessels were away on long voyages. Procurement timing and the physical location of ships determined what each side could use when the crisis began.
Notable Point · 1:11:48-1:13:03
Which ships each side could use in the civil war
Congress controlled Chile’s principal operational warships, while Balmaceda retained a few torpedo boats and had larger vessels unavailable because they were building or returning from overseas.