Mariz e Barros participated in several battles of the Paraguayan War, such as the attack on the Curupaití fort on February 2, 1867. On August 15, she joined the fleet that successfully forced the passage of the fort, in an action that lasted about two hours. She helped the squadron during the Passage of Humaitá on February 19, 1868, and when the battleships Cabral and Lima Barros were assaulted on March 2. Later that year, the ship participated in the attack and transposition of the Angostura fort.
In 1869, the large battleships such as the Mariz e Barros, were no longer needed in the conflict and they were sent to the various naval districts along the Brazilian coast. The battleship was sent to the 2nd Naval District, which patrolled the coast from the border between the provinces of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo to the city of Mossoró, in Rio Grande do Norte. She was decommissioned on July 23, 1897.
Characteristics
Mariz e Barros was 191ft. (58 m) long, with a beam of 36.1ft. (11 m) and a draught of 8.20ft. (2.5 m). She displaced 1,196 long tons, and had a pair of steam engines with each driving a propeller. The corvette produced a total of 600 hp which allowed her a maximum speed of 9 knots. The ship carried 140 tons of coal, but there is no record of range or endurance. Her crew consisted of 125 officers and enlisted men.[1]
The corvette was equipped with two 150-millimeter Armstrong Whitworth guns and two 68-caliber guns. The belt on the wrought iron waterline ranged from 114mm at midship to 76mm at the ends.[1]
Building
The Paraguayan government ordered five battleships from European shipyards, four British (Meduza, Triton, Bellona, and Minerva) and one French (Nemesis). In 1865, the Brazilian government made credits available to the navy for the purchase of these ships, since Paraguay was no longer able to pay for them due to the Paraguayan War.[2] In the imperial armada, the battleship Triton was baptized Mariz e Barros, in honor of Senior lieutenantAntônio Carlos Mariz e Barros, son of former Navy Minister Joaquim José Inácio. Mariz e Barros died of complications after being wounded by shrapnel caused by a projectile coming from the battery of the Itapirú fortress that hit the battleship Tamandaré, which he commanded, and that also victimized 33 others who garrisoned it.[3]
Mariz e Barros was built at the English shipyard J. and G. Rennie and acquired by Brazil in 1865.[1] She belonged to the same class as the ironclad Herval. The ship arrived in Brazil on July 8, 1866, and was incorporated into the Navy on the 23rd, under the command of Captain lieutenant Silvino José de Carvalho Rocha.[4]
Service
The first contact of the Mariz e Barros with the Paraguayan War took place on February 2, 1867, when the ship, seven other battleships, and four wooden boats, a fleet under command of Vice Admiral Joaquim José Inácio, attacked the fort of Curupaití, with support from allied gunners from the Curuzú fort (seized months earlier), and also from the 48th Corps of Homeland Volunteers. Simultaneously, a fleet of six gunboats and speedboats under the leadership of Chief of Division Elisiário dos Santos, from another position in the fortress, dropped about 300 bombs on the target. There is no record of casualties on the Mariz e Barros, but there were at least 14 in the navy which included the death of the captain of the battleship Silvado. Among the Paraguayans, there were many casualties and the fort commander General Jose E. Diaz was seriously wounded. Curupaití was again attacked by Ignacio's fleet on May 29.[5]
After these operations and some others carried out by other battleships, Mariz e Barros joined the fleet and was ordered to force its way through the fort on August 15. The imperial squadron was organized as follows: the Commander-in-Chief of the operation was Vice Admiral Joaquim José Inácio. At the head of the squadron would be the 3rd Battleship Division, under the command of Frigate Captain Joaquim Rodrigues da Costa, composed of the Brasil, Tamandaré, Colombo, Bahia, and Mariz e Barros. In the rear would be the 1st Battleship Division, under command of Captain Francisco Cordeiro Torres e Alvim, composed of the Cabral, Barroso, Herval, Silvado, and Lima Barros. The division under Chief of Division Elisiário Antônio dos Santos composed of the wooden ships Recife, Beberibe, Parnaíba, Iguatemi, Ypiranga, Magé, Forte de Coimbra and Pedro Afonso supplied suppressive fire. In contrast, the Paraguayan defenders were organized as follows: under the Commander-in-chief Colonel Paulino Alén, in charge of the Curupaiti defense, there were batteries composed of 29 cannons, one of 80 caliber (El Cristiano), 28 of 32 and 68 caliber, a garrison composed of 300 artillerymen supported by the 4th battalion of 800 men, and a squadron of cavalry.[6]
Transposition of Curupaití on August 15, 1867
Under the command of Lieutenant Captain Neto de Mendonça, the Mariz e Barros began the passage at 6:40a.m. on the 15th.[7] To the total surprise of the Paraguayans, the passage of the imperial battleships took place close to their cannons instead of the more distant channel, however, this course was full of obstacles. The proximity of the ships to the cannons allowed the firing to occur at close range, impacting all the projectiles fired by them. Despite this, the imperial squadron managed to pass through without much damage to the ships and with few casualties among the crews. The transposition lasted about two hours and left three dead and 22 wounded Brazilians.[5]
The armored squadron's next obstacle was the Fortress of Humaitá. This passage occurred on February 19, 1868, with Mariz e Barros acting in the protection of the hospitals of Porto Elisiário,[8] which was between the two forts on the right bank of the Paraguay River.[9] A few days later, on March 2, the ironclad was at the mouth of the Rio do Ouro, which flows into Paraguay, together with others that had passed Curupaití, when there was an attempt to board the vessels Cabral and Lima Barros by Paraguayans in canoes. However, this was thwarted by the rapid arrival of the battleships Herval and Silvado, which helped to defeat them. The Mariz e Barros and Brasil arrived soon after, managing to subdue the last enemies. About a month later, the Mariz e Barros contributed to the bombardment of Humaitá in preparation for a major attack by the fleet and allied ground forces on the fortress that would occur in July.[10][11]
A second passage through the fortress was planned to reinforce the fleet that had transported it in February, due to information that the Paraguayans planned to approach this forward division with four steamboats that were left from their squadron and to have a larger naval force to operate in the Tebiquary river where it was known that there was another fortification.[12] The battleships chosen for the passage were the Cabral, Silvado, and Piauí. The crossing took place on July 21, with the Cabral in the lead, but due to the ship's poor steering, it ended up ramming the Lima Barros, which was acting as support and had to stop for repair. Silvado and Piauí managed to pass through, and Cabral did so sometime later. In this operation, the Mariz e Barros contributed by providing suppression fire.[11][13]
In early October, the fleet began an attack on the Angostura fort. On the 1st, some battleships forced their way through and other ships bombarded the fortified line that bordered the Piquissiri stream. Between the 5th and 28th, the stronghold would be heavily attacked by Brazilian ships. The Mariz e Barros participated in the action only on November 19, when she fired several shots against the fort's batteries, with the support of other vessels. The armored corvette returned fire to the defensive position on December 9. On that occasion, the Paraguayans returned heavy bombardment against the Mariz e Barros, which resulted in the death of Captain Augusto Neto de Mendonça and 12 wounded among the crew. Sometime after this action, the Mariz e Barros was ahead of the fort. On the 16th, the corvette retraced her steps, forcing the transposition down the river. Three days later, she again forced Angostura's passage with support from the Silvado, which had also retreated days earlier. Finally, the Paraguayans defending the fort surrendered to Allied forces on the 30th.[14]
After the conquest of Asunción, on January 1, 1869, the already worn-out large battleships, such as the Mariz e Barros, were no longer of much use in the conflict, with naval fighting taking place, from then on, in small, very narrow streams. The ships were called back to Rio de Janeiro, where they underwent major repair work. In the early 1870s, the imperial naval command began to distribute the battleships to the various naval districts to defend Brazil's ports.[15]Mariz e Barros and her sister ship Herval were assigned to the 2nd Naval District, which patrolled the coast from the border between the provinces of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo to the city of Mossoró, in Rio Grande do Norte.[16] There are few records of Mariz e Barros after her last commission. In 1884, she was transformed into a floating battery to defend the Ladário Marine Arsenal in the province of Mato Grosso. Finally, the ship was deactivated on July 23, 1897.[8]
The Brazilian ironclad Tamandaré was an armored gunboat built for the Imperial Brazilian Navy during the Paraguayan War in the mid-1860s. She bombarded the Paraguayan fortifications blocking access up the Paraná and Paraguay Rivers as well as bombarding Paraguayan positions in support of the Imperial Brazilian Army. The ship participated in the Passage of Humaitá in February 1868 and was badly damaged. After Tamandaré was repaired she provided fire support for the army for the rest of the war, aside from bombarding Paraguayan capital of Asunción once. The ship was assigned to the Mato Grosso Flotilla after the war. Tamandaré was decommissioned in 1879 and scrapped afterwards.
The Brazilian monitor Piauí was the fourth ship of the Pará-class river monitors built for the Brazilian Navy during the Paraguayan War in the late 1860s. Piauí passed the fortifications at Humaitá in July 1868 and provided fire support for the army for the rest of the war. The ship was assigned to the Mato Grosso Flotilla after the war. Piauí was scrapped in 1893.
The Battle of Curuzú occurred between September 1 and 3, 1866 during the Paraguayan War. After the first Battle of Tuyutí, won by the Allies on 24 May 1866, an Allied council of war decided to use their navy to bombard and capture the Paraguayan battery at Curupayty.
Joaquim José Inácio, Viscount of Inhaúma, was a naval officer, politician and monarchist of the Empire of Brazil. He was born in the Kingdom of Portugal, and his family moved to Brazil two years later. After Brazilian independence in 1822, Inhaúma enlisted in the Brazilian navy. Early in his career during the latter half of the 1820s, he participated in the subduing of secessionist rebellions: first the Confederation of the Equator, and then the Cisplatine War, which precipitated a long international armed conflict with the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata.
The Imperial Brazilian Navy was the navy created at the time of the independence of the Empire of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. It existed between 1822 and 1889 during the vacancy of the constitutional monarchy.
The steam corvette Jequitinhonha was a warship in the Imperial Brazilian Navy during the Paraguayan War. It took part in the Battle of Riachuelo.
The passage of Curupayty was an allied naval operation carried out on 15 August 1867, in the context of the Paraguayan War, which aimed to force the passage of Brazilian battleships against the defensive fortifications installed in the Curupayty fort on the banks of the Paraguay river. There was a second crossing on 13 February 1868 with a fleet of armored monitors destined to join the fleet that had crossed first to form the squadron responsible for forcing the Passage of Humaitá.
The assault on the battleships Cabral and Lima Barros was a naval action that took place at dawn on 2 March 1868, during the Paraguayan War, when Paraguayan canoes, yoked two by two, disguised with branches and with 50 soldiers each, approached the Brazilian ironclads Lima Barros and Cabral.
Artur Silveira da Mota, Baron of Jaceguai was a Brazilian admiral, noble and writer. Mota fought in the Paraguayan War. He was an immortal of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.
The Manduvirá River Expeditions were the final operations of the Imperial Brazilian Navy carried out on the Paraguayan War. The goal of the imperial fleet was to carry out explorations along the river and its streams, with the aim of capturing or destroying the remaining ships of the Paraguayan armada that had taken refuge. The Brazilian fleet was composed of eighteen ships, including battleships, monitors, gunboats and steamboats while the Paraguayan fleet had about a dozen steamers. A total of three expeditions were carried out, which proved to be extremely dangerous for Brazilian ships due to the sinuosity of the river and the blockades created by the Paraguayans.
The Brazilian ironclad Herval was a Mariz e Barros-class ironclad corvette operated by the Imperial Brazilian Navy from 1866 to 1879. It participated in the battles of the Paraguayan War.
The Brazilian ironclad Cabral was a Cabral-class armored corvette-type warship operated by the Imperial Brazilian Navy from 1866 to 1882. The vessel was built in the shipyard of the British company J. and G. Rennie in Greenwich, England, and was the leader of its class, which also included Colombo. It was launched in 1865 and incorporated into the navy on 15 September 1866. The battleship was entirely made of iron and displaced 858, 1,033 or 1,050 tons, depending on the source. It had two steam engines that developed up to 750 hp, propelling the vessel at about 20 km/h. Its structure comprised a double pillbox with eight gunports. The navy had great difficulties with this ship, which was hard to navigate and, due to the design of its casemate, which left a part of it unprotected, it was vulnerable to diving projectiles.
The assault on the battleship Barroso and the monitor Rio Grande, also known as assault on the battleships at Tagy, was a Paraguayan naval operation carried out during the Paraguayan War. The Imperial Brazilian Navy was present in the main actions of the allied forces. President Francisco Solano López knew of the threat that the navy posed and wanted to capture some of its ships, the ironclads. The seizure was also seen as a form of compensation for the losses incurred as a result of the war. Assault plans were created and executed in 1868.
The second passage of Curupayty was a naval operation carried out by the Imperial Brazilian Navy in the Paraguayan War on 13 February 1868, which aimed to force, once again, the passage of the Curupayty Fort. This time the passage was carried out by the new Brazilian monitors Alagoas, Pará and Rio Grande, in addition to some other wooden ships. The fleet faced thirty artillery pieces for an hour.
The Brazilian ironclad Colombo was a Cabral-class armored corvette-type ironclad operated by the Imperial Brazilian Navy between 1866 and 1875. The vessel was built in the shipyard in Greenwich, England, by the British company J. and G. Rennie, along with her sister ship Cabral. It was launched in 1865 being commissioned on 4 July 1866. The battleship was entirely made of iron, displacing 1,069 tons. It had two steam engines that developed up to 750 HP of power, propelling the vessel at about 20 km/h. Its structure comprised a double casemate with eight gunports. The Brazilian navy had great difficulties with this ship, which was hard to navigate and, due to the casemate's model, had an unprotected section, which was vulnerable to diving projectiles.
Antônio Carlos de Mariz e Barros was a Brazilian soldier, combatant in the Uruguayan Campaign and in the Paraguayan War. Mariz e Barros was the son of chief of squad Joaquim José Inácio, the viscount of Inhaúma, and his wife, Maria José de Mariz Sarmento. He studied at the Brazilian Navy Academy, having reached the rank of first lieutenant.
The Passage of Fortín Island consisted of the transposition carried out by a naval division of the Imperial Brazilian Navy - consisting of the ironclads Bahia and Silvado, and the monitor Alagoas - against a Paraguayan fortified position located near the Fortress of Humaitá called Fortín Island, on the banks of the Paraguay River, on 24 July 1868, during the Paraguayan War. The passage was successfully completed, even under fire from the fortifications. At night, the Paraguayans left Fortín Island to Acayuazá and Isla Poí.
References
1 2 3 Gardiner, Robert (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. New York: Mayflower Books. p.406. ISBN0-8317-0302-4.
↑ Vasconcelos, Alberto; Mendonça, Mário F. (1959). Repositório de Nomes dos Navios da Esquadra Brasileira (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: SGDM. OCLC254052902.
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