The Importance and Outstanding Issues of the Battle of La Concepción

It is time for Chile to honor the 77 from La Concepción. Unfortunately, our history is filled with examples where we have not been sufficiently grateful to our soldiers, sailors, aviators, and police officers.

On July 9 and 10, 2026, we will commemorate 144 years since the sacrifice of the 4th Company of the 6th Line Chacabuco. This, perhaps the most glorious military action of the Chilean Army, is equivalent to the sacrifice of Prat and a significant part of the crew of the Esmeralda in the naval battle of Iquique. Its importance is such that July 9 is when the new members of our beloved Chilean Army, always victorious and never defeated, swear allegiance to the flag, an oath that for those who have not had the opportunity to take it, states:

I, [rank and name of the oath-taker], swear,

by God and by this flag,

to serve my country faithfully,

whether at sea, on land, or anywhere,

even to the point of giving my life if necessary,

to fulfill my military duties and obligations

in accordance with the laws and regulations in force,

to obey promptly and punctually

the orders of my superiors,

and to strive to be

a brave, honorable soldier who loves my country.

The words of the famous then Colonel Estanislao del Canto, commander of the central division of the Chilean Army in 1882, reflect the sentiment of the Army to which the Chacabuco soldiers belonged just days after they died in combat:

“Soldiers of the Central Army! As you pass through the town of La Concepción, you have witnessed the grim scene of smoking ruins, whose fuel was the beloved remains of four officers and seventy-three soldiers of the 6th Line Chacabuco Battalion. Thousands of savage hands were the authors of such a crime; but it is necessary for you to understand that those who defended the position entrusted to them were Chileans who, faithful to the love of their country and driven by the enthusiasm to defend their flag, preferred to perish rather than surrender! A cheer for the eternal memory of the heroes of La Concepción!”

In its more than 200 years of history, the Chilean Army can abundantly demonstrate heroic combat conduct and military victories that merit the recognition of always victorious and never defeated,, but nothing surpasses the sacrifice of the Captain Ignacio Carrera Pinto and his 4th Company. Nothing surpasses them, and that is why they established the minimum conduct expected in combat from our Chilean Army. When one swears allegiance to the flag, it is done with them in mind. Nothing less is accepted after that.

An army may be short on personnel and material capabilities, but when it has examples like this, its leverage is almost infinite. Facing soldiers who are willing to give everything and die in combat makes one think twice about whether to confront them. There are many examples of surrenders or undignified conduct in combat, but glorious ones like those of the 4th Company are few. There is the example of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, there is the example of Prat and the crew of the immortal Esmeralda, there are the examples of many individual warriors from countries with great military traditions, but examples of entire military units sacrificing themselves in combat are rare. Chile has the great honor of having one of the few that gave everything for Chile. This marks and empowers an Army, transforming it into an extremely lethal weapon and granting capabilities far beyond the material it operates. In war, it often happens that technology cannot stand against will.

Chile has been stingy in recognizing the soldiers of the Pacific War, with few medals and initially low pensions, which were only addressed by Ibáñez in his first government. In the end, the last survivors were promoted to general officers, something that occurred in the 1950s.

If we were stingy with the veterans of that war, we were even more so with those who fought in the Sierra campaign, the campaign where the 77 from La Concepción died. For that campaign, there were no medals unlike the two that recognize the Chilean victories that took us to Lima, but once there, nothing… and I mean nothing.

The 77 have a monument located in the Alameda, but it is not one that receives much attention. The hearts of the four officers are kept in the Cathedral of Santiago, but the remains of the immortals of the 4th Company are in one or more mass graves in the local cemetery, likely having lost traceability. We know who they are, but there has been no recognition from the State of Chile to them as individuals or their families. They did not receive posthumous medals for valor, nor a medal for their actions in the town of La Concepción. We have a significant debt to these soldiers, which is incomprehensible considering that today we regularly recognize acts of valor, or worse, we recognize and reward with grace pensions and pardon criminals who assaulted Chile on October 18, 2019, and in the months that followed.

Not long ago, I recommended or suggested that the President of the Republic of Chile and his ministers of National Defense and Public Security take the oath to the flag, now, I come to request that three additional actions be taken, which are not costly but highly symbolic:

1. Posthumously award the decoration for valor and military merit to each of the 77 heroes of La Concepción. Regulations need to be modified, but it can be done. They would be presented to the families of each of them. Along with this, posthumous promotions to the highest rank within their ranks. This last measure should be enacted by an act of the National Congress to have strength.
2. Improve the conditions of the current monument, and if necessary, move it to a more prominent location in front of La Moneda or the Ministry of National Defense.
3. Locate and transfer their remains to Chile to be buried at the Altar of the Fatherland. In Peru, they were never a matter of care. It is understandable why, but for that reason, we should do it even more. Such heroes should be cared for and guarded in Chile. All of them, not just the hearts of Carrera Pinto, Pérez Canto, Montt Salamanca, and Cruz Martínez.

It is time for Chile to honor the 77 from La Concepción. Unfortunately, our history is filled with examples where we have not been sufficiently grateful to our soldiers, sailors, aviators, and police officers. It is time to make amends. I trust that this government, which has shown particular sensitivity and care for the military and police community, will address what is requested here, which, along with what we owe to the military and police from more recent times regarding pardons and commutations, will help us say that we are just and caring towards those who once gave their lives for Chile, who swore to do so, or those who are about to do so.

“In memory of the 77 immortals who gave their lives for Chile in La Concepción and of those who will take their oath to the flag tomorrow”.