he was born in Piura but grew up in Paita On July 27, 1834, Don Miguel Grau Seminario was born in the city of Piura, father was Don Juan Manuel Grau and Berrío, born in Cartagena de Indias, in Colombia, of Catalan descent, who reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Liberation of the North Expedition, led by Simón Bolívar, and who, after the independence struggle, stayed in Peru and obtained the Peruvian nacionality. His mother was Doña Luisa Seminario del Castillo. He lived the first days of his childhood in the sixth block of Calle de los Mercaderes and was baptized in the main church of San Miguel. The military retiree Juan Manuel Grau y Berrío was employed in customs and settled in Paita when Miguel Grau had eight years. He did not have a school education, but his father put him under the care of Manuel Francisco Herrera, captain of the Colombian brig "Tescua". There, then, Grau lived between the sand and the water and fell in love with the sea. The truth is that at a very young age, at the age of 10, in 1843, Miguel Grau made his first sea voyage on said merchant ship, heading for Panama. He lived an indescribable adventure, because, after several trips, the ship was shipwrecked and Miguel Grau was miraculously saved. The sea definitely attracted him
On May 14, 1854, Miguel Grau entered the Navy. Still as a student of the general body of the navy, that is, as a midshipman, he made his first trips aboard the steamer "Rímac", the best ship of the Peruvian navy of its time. Later he went to the “Apurímac”, reaching the rank of frigate lieutenant in 1856. What was Grau like?
In 1867, Grau requested a discharge from the navy and married Doña Dolores Cavero y Núñez on April 12, 1867 in the Cathedral of Lima. The couple had ten children. “He was Grau – says Francisco Alayza Paz Soldán – of medium height, thick, with dark skin and a thick black beard...”. González Prada says that he was:“Simple, rooted in religious traditions, oblivious to the doubts of the philosopher, he made a show of being a Christian and demanded the absolution of the priest before leaving with the blessing of all hearts. Being sincerely religious, he did not know greed –that vitality of stiff men–, nor violent anger –that momentary courage of cowards–, nor pride –that accursed heat that is only generated by vipers in the chest–. The humility of his character reached such a point that, harassed one day by the praises of the fools who besieged men of merit, he exclaimed:'Come on, I'm nothing more than a poor sailor who tries to serve his country'”. Grau shortly before the Pacific War In 1868 he rejoined the Navy, was promoted to the rank of frigate captain and took command of the "Huáscar" monitor. In the year 1872 (July 22-26), Grau opposed the legitimacy of the Gutiérrez brothers (Tomás, Silvestre, Marceliano and Marcelino) and defended the democratic process and the civil government of Manuel Pardo. In 1873 he was promoted to ship captain, but in 1876 he had to leave the command of the "Huáscar" because, proposed by the Civil Party, he was elected deputy for the province of Paita. He participated in Parliament until 1878. In 1877 he had been appointed by President Mariano Ignacio Prado as General Commander of the Navy, a position he held until 1878.The Navy war between Chile and Peru in 1879 The War of the Pacific was declared by Chile, against Peru and Bolivia, on April 5, 1879. At sea, the "alliance" only relied on the Peruvian navy, because Bolivia had no ships. But, the difference between the armed squads of Peru and Chile was notorious. The Chilean was made up of:a) 2 battleships ("Almirante Cochrane" and "Blanco Encalada", twins manufactured in 1874; 2,900 horsepower, equipped with 6 cannons each); b) 2 corvettes (“Chacabuco” and “O´Higgins”; 800 horsepower, 3 cannons each); and c) 4 wooden ships (“Esmeralda”, “Covadonga”, “Magallanes” and “Abtao”). The Peruvian squad was made up of:a) The monitor "Huáscar" (manufactured in 1866, 1,300 tons, 300 horsepower, 2 cannons of 300, 2 of 40, armor from 4.5 to 5 inches); b) The frigate “Independencia” (built in 1865, 2,004 tons, 550 horsepower, 12 cannons of 70, 2 of 150, 4 of 32, and 4 of 9); and c) 4 wooden boats (“Unión”, “Pilcomayo”, “Atahualpa” and “Manco Cápac”). Grau assumed command of the “Huáscar” monitor.
The Battle of Iquique:misfortunes, greatness and cowardice of him On May 21, 1879, the Chilean ships "Esmeralda" and "Covadonga" clashed in the Battle of Iquique. Miguel Grau Seminario, commander of the "Huáscar", defeated Arturo Prat, chief of the "Esmeralda", a ship that was shipwrecked as a result of three spurs from the "Huáscar", one kilometer north of the city of Iquique. On the other hand, the "Independencia", commanded by Juan G. More, which was chasing the "Covadonga" (of shallow draft), ran aground and was shipwrecked 18 kilometers south of Iquique, in the sector called Punta Gruesa, where its remains They are 270 meters from the coast and 12 meters deep. Chile lost an 850-ton ship, Peru a 2,004-ton ship, the largest and best-equipped of their ships. For this reason, the Battle of Iquique had adverse results for Peru. The "Independence" was superior to the old ship "Esmeralda". But the greatest greatness in that combat was the exemplary behavior of the Peruvian sailors who helped the Prat sailors who were in danger of drowning. Meanwhile, the Chilean sailors of the "Covadonga" cowardly killed the Peruvians of the stranded "Independencia”. The exploits of the "Huáscar" and her exemplary seamanship After the events of Iquique, the glory of Grau and the “Huáscar” rose. For five months (May-October) he spent time in the Pacific, showing his seamanship his skill in all the military and supply maneuvers entrusted to him. A summary of his exploits is as follows:
1. At Mejillones, he destroyed the Chilean schooner “Clorinda.”
2. Bombarded Antofagasta.3. The schooner "Coquimbo" and the boat "Emilia" were seized.4. He fought and outwitted the ships "Covadonga", "Cochrane", "Magallanes" "Abtao". with the "Unión", seized the "Rímac" transport, which was taking the "Carabineros de Yungay" squadron, plus arms and ammunition, to Antofagasta. It was the "Rímac" a new steamer. complete equipment and the corresponding mounts.In addition, 300 Comblain rifles, with 200 thousand bullets, Remington carbines and other weapons, as well as 400 tons of good English coal and a supply of food in good condition.
The battle of Angamos defines maritime superiority On October 8, 1879, between Antofagasta and Mejillones, one of the Chilean patrols sighted the "Huáscar" and the "Unión". That Chilean patrol was formed by the "Blanco Encalada", the "Covadonga" and the "Matías Cousiño". Grau manages to evade it; but, a short distance to windward, the Peruvian ships saw the smoke of three other Chilean ships that stood in their way. They were the "Cochrane", the "O'Higgins" and the "Loa". Thus, the "Huáscar" was surrounded by all the ships of the enemy fleet. The "Unión" managed to escape. The "Huáscar", at 9:20 a.m., began to engage alone and heroically against 6 Chilean ships. One hour and ten minutes the contest lasted. The Chileans first made sure to kill Grau by blowing up his ship's conning tower. Elías Aguirre, José Melitón Rodríguez and others followed him in command and in the immolation. “Dead and wounded, some of them mutilated, were scattered in the 'Huáscar'; the conning tower was undone; the cannons, silent at the top and dismounted below. At last the Chileans took possession of their enemy, at a time when the water was flooding it by order of the surviving chiefs.”Testimony of a Chilean correspondent on the “Huáscar” A Chilean sailor who waited for the combat from the "Loa" wrote an article for the newspaper "El Mercurio" of Santiago, which was published in a special supplement on October 18, 1879. After the description of the combat, he makes a narration of how they had found the "Huáscar" when boarding it. His terrifying description says that “the main damages suffered by the ‘Huáscar’ were the following:In the castle:two shots that destroyed the anchor davits, the bowsprit bollards and destroyed the upper part. In the tower:one that, after breaking through the armor plating, hit the right-hand stump of the cannon on the same side, destroying the guardrail and killing ten men. Another that also pierced the tower, breaking its beams and unhinging three armor plates. This grenade completely wiped out the new cannon servants. Another that penetrated 1 1/2 inches and unhinged a plate, and a large number of hoof scratches. Port side. Opposite the tower, one on the edge of the armor, which exploded there, killing several men on deck. Commander's combat tower.
Two bullets that completely destroyed it. Falcas. Destroyed and twisted in large part. Helmsman's lockers aft. Completely missing. boats. There were none left. The davits of a boat severed. Astern. Four bullets that destroyed the rudder guards as many times. These same completely destroyed the cameras of the Commander and officers. Six bathrooms in the Commander's Chamber broken. Starboard side. One that entered the engine department without causing damage to it, but destroying the engineers' cabins. On the deck. One in front of the funnel, to starboard, at the bow of the tower, which caused great damage inside the ship. Another one forward of the mainmast did not penetrate. As can be seen, the effects caused by the projectiles of our armored vehicles were terrible, and some prisoners confess that they were far from imagining the size of the damage. The Pallisier grenade, which was exclusively used by our ships, has thus confirmed its already terrible reputation. The most notable shots for the effect produced were one that cut like a chisel, in the stem, a 12 Armstrong cannon on the port side; the first one that hit the Comandante's redoubt and that, perforating it on the port side in all its thickness of three inches of armor, five of wood and an inner lining in the shape of a pillow to muffle the noise of the shots, still had enough force to start from I completed the canvas of the wall on the opposite side and threw it on the deck a few meters away; and, finally, one of the two pierced the tower of the guns, the one that had even power to break the guard of the gun and to have gone to to explode on the opposite side of the tower [...] The 'Huáscar' was able to fire 40 to 45 shots with its 300-gauge cannons, and about 5 or 6 with those on deck; apart from the machine gun and rifle shots, the number of which has not been calculated[...] The breakdowns suffered by the 'Cochrane', which was the one that sustained the strongest and most of the combat, were very far from reaching nor relatively to the height of those suffered by the 'Huáscar'”.

Grau did not want to abandon the course of combat At the time of his glorious death, the commander of the monitor "Huáscar" had the rank of rear admiral, a rank that, as we have already said, had been granted by Congress. But on August 31, upon disembarking in Arica, Grau found out about his promotion and decided not to wear the insignia corresponding to rear admiral because doing so meant moving away from the monitor's command, which he disliked. For him, the best services to the country I made them from the "Huáscar". And so, in the uniform of a commander, he went to the place of heroes. This detail is corroborated by Pedro Garezon, one of the survivors of the combat of Angamos, in a memorandum that he addressed to the magazine Perú Ilustrado in 1890, when he says:“When entering combat, the Rear Admiral wore blue pants without braid, a frock coat of Castro cloth from the same color, with three buttons on the cuffs; he wore the insignia of a ship's captain, his cap with a badge was pulled low, and he wore leather ankle boots with elastics. The Rear Admiral did not wear his class uniform on board nor did he display his Rear Admiral insignia.” Garezon was a first lieutenant and his position on the "Huáscar" was that of Track and Signals Officer.
Posthumous tributes to the Knight of the Seas On July 15, 1890, Grau's remains were repatriated from Chile (Santiago de Chile cemetery) to Peru ("Presbítero Maestro" cemetery, Lima). On July 28, 1906, a commemorative plaque was placed in the house where Grau was born, in Piura, now converted into a museum. On September 8, 1908, the remains of the great admiral were deposited in the "Crypt of the Heroes" (Parque Universitario, Lima). On October 8, 1943, a monument to Grau was unveiled at the beginning of the avenue that bears his name, in the Cercado de Lima. In the year of the Combat of Angamos, the Spanish artist Pedro Muñiz painted Grau in his rear admiral's uniform, which he never wore. In 1949, when Dr. Luis Bustamante y Rivero was President of the Republic, Congress passed Law No. 10689, which determined the promotion of Grau to the Admiral class "which the national will has granted to the Navy Rear Admiral Don Miguel Grau ...". Law No. 16689, of October 25, 1967, when the architect Fernando Belaunde Terry was President of the Republic, created the honorary title of Grand Admiral of Peru for Grau, "the same title that will be conferred posthumously on the maximum and glorious hero of our Navy, Don Miguel Grau Seminario”.