Batallón de Voluntarios Rebajados de Buenos Aires was a 19th-century Argentine military unit formed mainly with veterans of the
Brazilian War and the expeditionaries to the Desert of 1833 and 1834 (
Desert Campaign (1833–34)). It was a special unit of the
Federal Party of active participation during the civil war between federales and
unitarios
Unitarianists or Unitarians (in Spanish, ''Unitarios'') were the proponents of the concept of a unitary state (centralized government) in Buenos Aires during the civil wars that shortly followed the Declaration of Independence of Argentina in ...
.
It was one of the military units sent from Buenos Aires to serve during the
Siege of Montevideo. Some 360 members of 3rd Escuedrón of the Batallón de Rebajados took part in the
Battle of Quebracho Herrado against the Unitarian troops of
Juan Lavalle
Juan Galo Lavalle (17 October 1797 – 9 October 1841) was an Argentine military and political figure.
Biography
Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José Lavalle, general accountant of rents and t ...
.
History
It was an infantry unit created in 1840 during the government of
Juan Manuel de Rosas, who appointed Colonel
Joaquín Ramiro as commander of the Battalion. This military unit had militia companies of cazadores,
granaderos and
artilleros. It was one of the military units in which Rosas counted, to protect the city of Buenos Aires when occurred the
Invasion of Lavalle.
This unit took an active part in the
Batalla de Costa Brava, occurred on August 15 and 16, 1842 in the
Province of Corrientes against the troops of
Giuseppe Garibaldi. In 1843, the Batallón of Rebajados of Buenos Aires traveled to the
Banda Oriental
Banda Oriental, or more fully Banda Oriental del Uruguay (Eastern Bank), was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay; the modern state of Rio Gra ...
to support the forces of
Manuel Oribe, having an active participation during the
Guerra Grande.
Messengers of this battalion were entrusted to deliver the correspondence of Manuel Oribe to the consuls of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
during the armistice of 1847. The Rebajados de Buenos Aires served throughout the siege of Montevideo until the fall of Manuel Oribe in 1851. This Battalion also took part in the
Battle of Vuelta de Obligado
The naval Battle of Vuelta de Obligado took place on the waters of the Paraná River on 20 November 1845, between the Argentine Confederation, under the leadership of Juan Manuel de Rosas, and a combined Anglo-French fleet. The action was part o ...
, against the Anglo-French squads that invaded the waters of the
Parana River on November 20, 1845.
Several officers belonging to the battalion corps of Rebajados participated in the persecution of political opponents of Juan Manuel de Rosas, and in the compliance with the laws decreed by his government. A veteran officer of this unit, Lieutenant
Sinforoso Canaveris is registered in the files of the Central Police Department, concerning an incident that he had with a citizen for the no use of the
divisa federal, during the celebrations for the anniversary of the
Revolution of the Restorers
The Revolution of the Restorers ( es, Revolución de los Restauradores) was a rebellion that took place in Buenos Aires in 1833. The governor Juan Ramón Balcarce was ousted from office and replaced by Juan José Viamonte. The rebellion was motiv ...
(October 1840).
The uniform of this unit was red, similar to other military corps of the Argentine Confederation, and had an armament composed of
spears and
facon, with some soldiers equipped with
single-shot
Single-shot firearms are firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded manually after every shot. The history of firearms began with single-shot designs, then multi-barreled designs appeared, and eventually many cent ...
carbines. The officers of this unit were armed with saber and
flintlock pistols, and wore red jacket uniform with its respective divisa federal. According to the
British Packett, this Battalion wore an arrogant appearance during its entry into the
battlefield
A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...
, and according to the same newspaper the officers uniform was similar to that used by the English army.
This battalion had an excellent
military band
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the ti ...
, which had great acceptance from the public of Buenos Aires during the patriotic and government parades held in honor of Juan Manuel de Rosas.
Great Siege of Montevideo
List of the Plana Mayor of the 1st Battalion of Voluntarios Rebajados of Buenos Aires during the Siege of Montevideo.
* Joaquín Ramiro, colonel
* Pedro M. Brizuela, lieutenant colonel
* Bernabé Galeano, major
* Cosme Pader, captain
* Sinforoso Canaveris, 1st lieutenant
* Manuel Esmilar, 2nd lieutenant
* Martín José Sosa, second lieutenant
* Floro Leonetti, second lieutenant
* José Hernandez, 1st sergeant
* Pedro Miranda, 1st sergeant
These officers and sub officers took part during the entire Siege of Manuel Oribe to Montevideo (1843-1851).
Gallery
File:Soldado Federal.jpg, ''Federal soldier uniform similar to the Rebajados Battalion''
File:Sinforoso Canaveri.png, ''Lieutenant of Rebajados Sinforoso Canaveris October 16, 1840''
File:Bernardo French - María Ramírez, matrimonio1.jpg, ''Marriage of Bernardo French ( French family) 2nd lieutenant of Batallón of Rebajados (December 11, 1841)''
File:Batallón Rebajados news.jpg, ''Cover of the British Packett with news about the military bands of the army of Rosas''
File:Batallón de Rebajados, notice.jpg, ''News concerning the Musical Band of Rebajados (July 30, 1842)''
File:Batallón Rebajados, sueldos 3 (2).jpg, ''Salaries of the 1st Battalion in 1841''
File:Fuerzas de Rosas contra Lavalle.jpg, ''Record about the armies of Rosas during the invasion of Juan Lavalle in 1840''
File:Batalla de Costa Brava.jpg, ''news regarding the Battle of Costa Brava''
File:Sinforoso Canaveris Rodríguez.jpg, ''record referring to Lieutenant Canaveris''
File:Joaquín Ramiro - Manuel Oribe.jpg, ''Transcription of correspondence of Joaquín Ramiro to Manuel Oribe in 1847''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batallon de Voluntarios Rebajados de Buenos Aires
Regiments of Argentina
Military history of Argentina
Río de la Plata