1. Alfonso Ugarte
Alfonso Ugarte wasa Peruvian military heroof the PacificWar,gainingprominence inthe
Battle of Arica, the defensive nosethrow the national flag.
Alfonso Ugarte Vernal wasbornon July13, 1847 in the cityof Iquique (Tarapaca). He wasthe
son of NarcisoUgarte and Rosa Vernal. Withthe earlydeathof his father, Ugarte issentby his
motherto Valparaiso,wherehe received agoodeducation.
In 1876, he waselected mayorof the city of Iquique andthe endof his mandate, decidedto
take trip to Europe to take a vacation. However, before shipment, came the newsof the
declarationof warfrom Chile toPeru.
Alfonso Ugarte didnothesitate to suspend the tripanddecidedtoorganize theirown
resources Iquique battalionNo.1,which wasnamed colonel andjoined the fight.He
participatedin the Battle of SanFrancisco on November19, 1879 andthe Battle of Tarapacá
November27,where he receivedaheadwound.
Afterthe defeat of the Altode la Alianza, the May26, 1880, andoccupied Tacna, Aricabecame
the sole bastion insouthern Peru.AlfonsoUgarte commandedthe EighthDivision,composed
of 529 mendistributed inIquique andTarapacabattalions,the lattercommandedby
LieutenantColonel Ramon Zavala, 27-yearandnitrate rich,who,like Ugarte,hadarmed the
troopsunderhis coast. Duringthe days before the battle, the besieged garrisonatmosphere
was tense butdetermined, evenwhen itwasknownthatthe aid wouldnotgo as expected.
Thenhe movedto Arica, where he participatedin the twoBoards of War that made the
Colonel FranciscoBolognesi,where he tookthe agreementdefendthe place''toburnthe last
round.''