Pedro Ignacio Meza (1813-15 June 1865) was a Paraguayan Navy commodore who fought in the Paraguayan War.
Biography[]
Pedro Ignacio Meza was born in Asuncion, Paraguay in 1813, and he joined the Paraguayan Army and rose to the rank of sergeant before transferring to the newly created Paraguayan Navy in 1845. By 1858, he was a frigate captain, and he escorted Justo Jose de Urquiza from Asuncion to Parana, Argentina in 1859. In 1864, he commanded the Paraguayan fleet during the Mato Grosso Campaign in Brazil, and he captured two Argentine steamships on 13 April 1865. On 11 June 1865, he was defeated at the Battle of Riachuelo and wounded during the boarding of the steamship Parnahyba, dying four days later and receiving a posthumous promotion to Commodore.