Admiral Manuel de la Cámara y Livermoore (or Libermoore) (7 May 1836 – 4 January 1920) was a Spanish naval officer. He saw service in many of Spain′s wars of the second half of the nineteenth century and is most notable for commanding a large naval squadron that made an abortive attempt to relieve Spanish forces in the Philippine Islands during the Spanish–American War.
Early life Cámara was born at Málaga, Spain, on 7 May 1836Real Academia de la Historia: Manuel de la Cámara y Livermoore (in Spanish) Retrieved 8 May 2020Some sources claim Cámara was born a year earlier, on 7 May 1835; see, for example, The Encyclopedia of the Spanish–American and Philippine–American Wars, Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO LLC, 2009, , p. 85. One source places his birth on 30 May 1835 and his baptism on that day as well (see geneatnet.org Manuel de la Cámara Livermore Family Tree by Fernando Francisco). into a family of merchants. He was the son of José de la Cámara y Moreno (1793–1869) and Dolores Livermore Salas (1803–1875).geneatnet.org Manuel de la Cámara Livermore Family Tree by Fernando Francisco His father was a Spanish merchant mariner and sea captain,Anonymous, "Upon This Man Spain′s Fading Hopes Depend," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 19, 1898, p. 9. and his mother was English. He had five brothers and six sisters.
Having an English mother, Cámara learned English in childhood. After schooling in Málaga, he entered the Spanish naval academy in San Fernando in July 1850. He completed his course of study there in 1852.
Tragedy struck the Cámara family on 28 March 1856 when one of Cámara′s sisters, Matilde de la Cámara Livermore, who had boarded the Spanish steamship Miño in Liverpool, England, for a voyage to Barcelona, Spain, was among 94 people who drowned when Miño sank in the Strait of Gibraltar off Tarifa, Spain, after colliding with the British transport ship Minden.Only 21 of the 115 people aboard Miño survived the sinking.
Naval career
Early career
After graduation from the naval academy, Cámara entered the Spanish Navy as a midshipman at Cádiz in 1852 and made a cruise aboard a training ship with his fellow midshipmen before he was commissioned as an officer in the Spanish Navy with the rank of alférez de fragata or "frigate ensign," the lower of the Spanish Navy′s two ensign ranks. During the years between 1852 and 1858, he had duty in the waters of the Iberian Peninsula and the Antilles. In July 1858, he was promoted to alférez de navío or "ship-of-the-line ensign," the higher of the Spanish Navy′s two ensign ranks, and was assigned to the Maritime Department of Havana. In subsequent years he saw duty aboard the paddle steamers and , the screw frigate , the vessel Valdés, and the paddle steamers and served as interim commanding officer of the schooners and , and took part in the Hispano-Moroccan War of 1859–1860, in which his superiors noted that he displayed fine qualities as an officer.
In 1861, Spain concluded the Convention of London with France and the United Kingdom, in which the three powers agreed to set up a naval blockade of Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico and occupy Veracruz to force Mexico to repay its loans. Cámara went to the Gulf of Mexico in 1862 for service in the blockade, during which he served on the general staff of French Navy Vice Admiral Edmond Jurien de La Gravière. Cámara returned to Spain in 1863 and was assigned to duty aboard the paddle steamer Piles, based at Cádiz.
Chincha Islands War
In 1864, Cámara became sailing master aboard the screw corvette in the Pacific Squadron.The Encyclopedia Americana, New York: The Americana Corporation, 1925, p. 243 Retrieved 6 May 2020 In that year, the Chincha Islands War with Peru — joined later by Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador — broke out in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Transferring to the more modern screw frigate to serve as her sailing master and navigator and promoted to teniente de navío (ship-of-the-line lieutenant) in 1865 while aboard Villa de Madrid, he saw action in many of the war′s major operations. During his tour aboard Villa de Madrid, the frigate took part in a blockade of Chile′s ports in 1866 and in the Battle of Abtao on 7 February 1866 at Abtao Island in Chile′s Chiloé Archipelago, in which Villa de Madrid and the Spanish frigate displayed good marksmanship in what was otherwise an indecisive engagement with the Peruvian Navy frigate Apurímac and corvettes América and Unión and the Chilean Navy schooner Covadonga. Villa de Madrid also participated in the bombardment of Valparaíso, Chile, on 31 March 1866 and the blockade of the Chorrillos squadron in April 1866.
Aboard Villa de Madrid, Cámara took part in the lone major naval action of the Chincha Islands War, the Battle of Callao, in which the Spanish Navy squadron of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez bombarded coastal fortifications at Callao, Peru, on 2 May 1866. After a projectile hit Villa de Madrid, inflicting 35 casualties and destroying her boilers, Vencedora towed her out of danger, but Villa de Madrid fired over 200 rounds at the Peruvian fortifications during the maneuver., p. 453., p. 95. In command of a battery of guns on Villa de Madrid′s main deck, Cámara played an active and conspicuous role in the battle, the guns under his command firing until they ran out of ammunition. For his actions during the war, Cámara received the Cross of Naval Merit First Class and was appointed to the post of commander of the Spanish Marine Corps.
Misfortune again struck Cámara's family when Cámara's younger brother Ricardo de la Cámara Livermore, born in 1839, who also participated in the Chincha Islands War with the rank of alférez de navío, developed a psychological trauma diagnosed as "war neurosis" as a result of the conflict. It eventually developed into what was diagnosed as "senile dementia," leading to Ricardo′s admittance to a mental sanatorium.
After the Chincha Islands War ended in 1866, Cámara received rapid promotion. On 18 July 1867, he was appointed to the Spanish Navy commission to the United Kingdom in London, performing duty at the Spanish Embassy there. He then served successively aboard the ironclad armored frigates Vitoria and Arapiles. In 1868 he was promoted to teniente de navío de 1.ª clase (ship-of-the-line lieutenant 1st class) and began a tour in the Department of the Philippines in command of the gunboat . During his tour in command, Prueba supported the Hydrographic Commission of the Archipelago in conducting hydrographic surveys in the Philippines. In 1870, he relinquished command of Prueba and returned to Spain.
Ten Years' War
In 1872, Cámara was assigned to the Maritime Department of Havana in Cuba, where the Ten Years' War had broken out in 1868. In Cuban waters, he took command of the gunboat , patrolling the Cuban coast aboard her and assisting in the defense of Guantánamo against the Cuban rebel forces of Antonio Maceo Grajales, an action for which he received both the Cross of Military Merit and a second award of the Cross of Naval Merit. He also commanded the paddle steamer and the sloop-of-war during the war.
After the Spanish steam corvette captured the American sidewheel paddle steamer Virginius — which was transporting men, munitions, and supplies to Cuban rebels — off Cuba on 30 October 1873 and Spanish authorities subsequently executed many of her passengers and crew, the resulting crisis with the United States, known as the Virginius Affair, almost led to war. Spain eventually agreed to return Virginius to the United States. Cámara, in command of Favorita at the time, played a role in the final resolution of the affair, boarding the United States Navy steamer off Bahia Honda, Cuba, on 16 December 1873 and making arrangements with U.S. Navy Captain W. D. Whiting for Virginius′s return, which took place without incident the next day under Cámara′s supervision from aboard Favorita.Bradford, Richard H., The Virginius Affair Boulder, Colorado: Colorado Associate University Press, 1980, , pp. 109–111.The Spanish–American War Centennial Website: "The Virginius Affair" by Jonathan Ault Retrieved 7 May 2020
Promoted to capitán de fragata (frigate captain) in 1876, Cámara took command of the corvette , but he was relieved of command because of complaints by Africa′s officers and was reprimanded by the captain general of the Department of Cartagena. When he relinquished command of Africa, however, the admiral commanding his squadron congratulated him on his tour in command of Africa. He then became the commanding officer of Tornado. Under his command, Tornado made several voyages between Spain and Morocco, transferring the minister plenipotentiary of Spain in Morocco and the staff of the Moroccan embassy in Spain.
In 1885, Cámara was appointed head of the Spanish Navy commission in the United States at Washington, D.C., serving as naval attaché at the Spanish embassy there.Tucker, Spencer C., ed., The Encyclopedia of the Spanish–American and Philippine–American Wars, Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO LLC, 2009, , p. 85. He held that position until January 1888. He then returned to Spain, and was promoted to capitán de navío (ship-of-the-line captain) in 1888. In his next assignments, he successively commanded the unprotected cruisers and .
1890s
On 7 March 1890, Cámara took command of the Philippine Division, a naval force composed of Castilla and the unprotected cruisers and designated to reinforce the Spanish Navy′s squadron in the Philippines.Anonymous, "Three Spanish War Vessels at Singapore," Straits Times, 3 June 1890 Retrieved 7 May 2020 The division departed Cádiz on 9 April 1890. Transiting the Mediterranean Sea, Suez Canal, and Indian Ocean, the division encountered heavy weather in the Gulf of Lyons, but otherwise enjoyed good weather during its voyage. It called at Barcelona, Port Said, Suez, Aden, and Colombo before arriving at Singapore on 2 June 1890. The three cruisers resumed their voyage the next day and arrived at Manila on 17 June 1890. In the Philippines, the division became known as the "Black Squadron" because its ships were painted black instead of white, as other Asiatic Squadron ships were. Although a ship-of-the-line captain, Cámara commanded the division with the title of "commodore" of the division until December 1890, when illness forced him to relinquish command.
Cámara returned to Spain in 1891. After regaining his health, he was assigned that year to the post of major general of the Maritime Department of Havana, serving concurrently as commander of the Antilles Squadron. He returned to Cádiz in 1892, where he took command of the unprotected cruiser Navarra. In 1893, he became port captain at Málaga, a position in his home town in which he hoped to have greater rest than he had found possible in his deployments over the previous years. However, the First Rif War broke out in Melilla in 1893, and the conflict made it necessary to send a large number of Spanish Army troops to Morocco. The Spanish Navy did not have enough ships to transport them all, so it ordered Cámara to organize their transportation. Cámara showed great skill in finding and hiring suitable ships in various Spanish ports, and received numerous commendations for his work during the war.
In April 1894, the month the First Rif War War ended, Cámara was promoted to capitán de navío de 1.ª clase (ship-of-the-line captain first class). In 1895 he was appointed head of the Spanish Navy commission to the United Kingdom in London, serving as naval attaché at the Spanish embassy there. In April 1897, he was promoted to contralmirante (counter admiral) and returned to Spain, where he became commander of the Reserve Squadron. He represented the Spanish Navy at the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom in June 1897.
Spanish–American War