The first stage of the war had to be fought in the sea, so under authorization of Congress, Peruvian President Jose La Mar ordered the naval squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Martin Jorge Guise -father of the Peruvian Navy- to begin the maritime campaign against Confederation forces. The Peruvian fleet composed at that time of 16 warships and transports, among them the frigates Presidente and Monteagudo, the corvettes Libertad, and Independencia and the brigantines Congreso, Primero de Febrero, Arequipeña and Peruviana, executed a brilliant naval campaign.
On July 2, 1828, the Peruvian corvette Libertad armed with 24 guns and a crew of 124 men under Captain Carlos Garcia del Postigo, sailed towards Guayaquil with orders to cross the Gulf and guard the entrance to the Guayaquil River. On August 31st, 1828, the Peruvian vessel was intercepted by two Great Colombian warships, the Guayaquileña and the Pichincha, with a combined firepower of 40 guns, commanded by Irish-born Captain Tomas C. Wright. A fight erupted simultaneously against the two enemy warships, during which the Peruvians almost boarded the Guayaquileña. At the peak of the struggle, the Great Colombians suddenly retreated towards Guayaquil and were pursued closely by the Libertad. The pursuit ceased when the victorious Libertad was forced to return to heal the wounded and bury the dead. Peruvians lost 15 men and 28 where injured, while the Great Colombians had 24 dead and 36 injured. The incident would be known as the battle of Malpelo.
On September 19, 1828, the Peruvian Government ordered a naval blockade on the Great Colombian coasts, from Machala (Ecuador) to Panama. Thanks to this action the enemy was unable to use its main ports in the Pacific. Few days later the Peruvian squadron tightened the blockade over Guayaquil, which was defended by the Cruces Castle, two brigantines and five gunboats. In a superb commando raid, a detachment of sailors seized a group of small towns at the ria, with the purpose of attacking disperse Colombian coastal garrisons from the rear. Several enemy soldiers and weapons were captured during the actions.
On November 22, at a short distance from Cruces, Rear Admiral Guise, aboard his flagship Presidente, a frigate with a crew of 259 men and armed with 52 guns, ordered his ships into attack formation. In a short time the Peruvian fleet started bombarding the port. During the first stage of the struggle Peruvian forces occupied the Cruces Castle but the battle lasted two more days. The artillery duel between the squadrons produced the heroic death of Rear Admiral Guise. His Executive Officer, Lieutenant Jose Boterin assumed command of the fleet. It was a costly victory for the Peruvians, for they had lost not only their brave and legendary Commander but also twelve other men (1). Great Colombian casualties were much higher. During the battle, the Peruvian fleet fired a total of 3,231 gunshots. The frigate Presidente alone was mauled with 89 hits from the Great Colombians, while the Libertad received 23 shots. On February the 1st, 1829, after more than two months of blockading, Peruvian forces occupied Guayaquil and seized all the enemy ships.
Marshal Sucre however defeated the Peruvian Army at the battles of Saraguro and Portete de Tarqui. Peace was achieved after the Treaty of Guayaquil was signed on September 22, 1829. Article XIII of the said Treaty established that Peru would return all the warships and vessels captured to the Great Colombians during the maritime campaign.
Few months later, during a constitutional convention held in January 1830, Simon Bolivar resigned as President of the Confederation, naming Jose Domingo Caicedo his successor.
That same year, Venezuelan and Ecuadorian portions of the Confederation seceded and that political entity ceased to exist.
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(1) As an officer of the Royal Navy Mr. Guise took part in one of Britain's greatest naval victories, the Battle of Trafalgar. When he heard of the wars in South America he resigned his commission, bought a ship (the Hecate) and set sail never to return to Britain. After independence was achieved, the new Commander in Chief of Peru’s Navy became a Peruvian citizen, converted to Catholicism and married a distinguished Peruvian lady, Ms. Juana Valle Riestra.
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Peru