The Battle of Pavón, a key battle of the
Argentine Civil Wars, was fought in
Pavón, Santa Fé Province, Argentina on 17 September 1861 between the Army of the
State of Buenos Aires (commanded by
Bartolomé Mitre) and the Army of Republic of the
Argentine Confederation (commanded by
Justo José de Urquiza). The withdrawal of Urquiza left the field to Mitre.
The victory led to the dissolution of the national government and the reincorporation of
Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...
into the Argentine Republic as a dominant member of the nation. Governor Bartolomé Mitre would act as interim president, ratified by the National Congress, and then as the first president of a unified
Argentine Republic.
Background
Political postures
During most of the 19th Century, Argentine history was defined by the theoretical, political and military confrontation between two postures:
* On one side, the province of Buenos Aires wanted to decentralize the nation, giving state
autonomy
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...
to the
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
s, aiming mainly to avoid the establishment of a federal government in his province because it would take most of its resources.
* On the other, the remaining provinces wanted to centralize the country around Buenos Aires, establishing the capital in that province.
One difference between the ''
porteños'' from Buenos Aires and people from the provinces was that the former did not align directly with the two political parties of the time.
Unitarians and
Federalists existed both in the capital and in the provinces. Even though they were against each other politically, when it came to defending their own local interests, they joined to confront their common enemy (be it the capital or the provinces, whatever the case may be).
Since the secession of Buenos Aires Province on 11 September 1852, on the aftermath of the
Battle of Caseros, Argentina was divided between two competing states, the
Argentine Confederation and the
State of Buenos Aires. The
Battle of Cepeda (1859) and the subsequent
Pact of San José de Flores of 1860 set the conditions for Buenos Aires to rejoin the confederation (which came to be called Argentine Republic since the 1860 reform of the Constitution on Buenos Aires request). However, both sides would clash again soon after.
Conflicts in the interior
During president
Urquiza's government, the provinces had been at peace, with the notable exception of
San Juan Province, where a political crime served as the catalyst for the
Battle of Cepeda between Buenos Aires Province and the confederation. This changed when president
Santiago Derqui took office.
* Several local
caudillo
A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...
s, generically
unitarians, had been at peace with the government of the Argentine Confederation. When Derqui assumed office, they publicly became part of the opposition. Such were the cases of
Manuel Taboada, from
Santiago del Estero Province, and
José María del Campo of
Tucumán Province
Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina.
Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neighb ...
.
*
Córdoba's governor Mariano Fragueiro maneuvered poorly in his relations with the opposition. When the situation became violent, President Derqui intervened the provincial government (Derqui was from Córdoba).
* The most serious situation developed once again in San Juan Province, where governor José Antonio Virasoro was deposed and assassinated with the apparent support of some politicians acting in Buenos Aires, among them the future President
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, who was born in San Juan. President Derqui again sent the national army to intervene that province, but the new governor, Antonino Aberastain, attempted to resist the intervention with the local militia. Aberastain was defeated and assassinated, which allowed the Buenos Aires government to accuse President Derqui of having committed a crime.
Elections in Buenos Aires
As a part of the process leading to the reincorporation of the State of Buenos Aires into the Argentine Confederation, established in the
Pact of San José de Flores, after the
1859 Battle of Cepeda, Buenos Aires elected provincial deputies to the National Congress. However, the elections were carried out following the electoral laws of the State of Buenos Aires instead of those of the confederation. The elected deputies were rejected by the National Congress and the Buenos Aires Senators also staged a walkout, in solidarity.
President Santiago Derqui issued a decree invalidating the elections in Buenos Aires and established a new date for a rerun. But the Buenos Aires authorities rebelled against the national government and declared the Pact of San José de Flores null.
Civil war
The National Congress considered this as an act of
sedition
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...
, so President Derqui named
Entre Ríos's general and former president
Justo José de Urquiza as the commander in chief of the national army with the task of returning the rebel province to the fold. In Buenos Aires, Governor
Bartolomé Mitre took the post of commander in chief of the provincial army.
There were several attempts at mediation, from individuals, and foreign governments. All of them failed due to Mitre's and Derqui's intransigence. Urquiza tried, until the last moment, to preserve the peace and declined to take the initiative against the porteño army as it was the request of his colonels
Ricardo López Jordán and Prudencio Arnold.
President Derqui organized an army in
Córdoba, gathering an heterogeneous group of
infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
units. These forces were augmented by Urquiza's, with people from
Entre Ríos,
Corrientes and
Santa Fé provinces, plus some ''porteño'' defectors; the majority of these forces being cavalry units. In sum, the federalist army had about 17,000 men, where 8,000 came from the center region and 9,000 from Entre Ríos, Corrientes, Buenos Aires and Santa Fé.
Mitre's army was made of 22,000 men and 35
artillery
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
pieces, plus a considerable numeric superiority of arms and artillery and infantry training. The British had supplied the artillery pieces and the trained British artillery crews to operate them. Derqui advanced up to
Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...
, where he left the command of the troops in the hands of general Urquiza, while Mitre advanced to the north of Buenos Aires and advanced into Santa Fé province.
The battle
The armies clashed by the Pavón creek, ( south of the city of
Rosario, Santa Fe Province, about northwest of Buenos Aires. Urquiza formed his troops in a defensive position, forming an extended line due east of the Domingo Palacios ranch. On the wings he formed his cavalry.
Arriving at from the ranch, Mitre deployed his infantry, preparing for an assault on the enemy's center. But Urquiza's artillery started combat, opening great gaps in the porteño infantry, easy targets due to their colorful uniforms.
Combat lasted only two hours, during which the federalist left wing under colonel major
Juan Saá, with the Santa Fé and renegade porteño troops of
Ricardo López Jordán, completely vanquished the porteño First Cavalry, under general and former
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
an president
Venancio Flores, chasing them past
Arroyo del Medio (a creek forming the border between Buenos Aires and Santa Fe provinces). The porteño Second Cavalry, under the command of veteran general
Manuel Hornos, offered more resistance; but it had to retreat, leaving behind most of their heavier weapons and supplies plus many prisoners. The right wing, under General Miguel Galarza, steamrolled the small left-wing cavalry of Buenos Aires.
The federalist center, instead, composed by untrained militia from the central regions of the country, was forced to retreat by the better trained and equipped porteño infantry battalions.
Seeing the center's collapse, Urquiza abandoned the field of battle without adding the 4,000 men from Entre Ríos that he had maintained in reserve, and marched to Rosario, then followed to
San Lorenzo and Las Barrancas. At that point he received information of his cavalry's victory but he did not return to the battlefield. Urquiza's unexpected decision left the field open to the porteño army, which had retreated to
San Nicolás de los Arroyos. Mitre decided then to consolidate his position before marching later on Santa Fe.
Consequences
The battles of
Cepeda,
Caseros and Pavón were possibly some of the armed conflicts with the most significance in Argentine history, by its institutional consequences, as by the realignment of almost every other political actor after each of the battles.
After seeing Urquiza's inaction, Mitre gathered his troops. Part of the federalist cavalry advanced to
Pergamino, occupying the town. After a reaction from the porteño cavalry, the federalists retreated back to Santa Fé, and Mitre started his advance into that province. Several months had passed from the date of the battle. In the following months, the porteño advance was unstoppable. The only federalist army capable of opposing them was Urquiza's, but he did not act and almost dismantled it.
Seeing the interior being invaded, Derqui resigned and took refuge in
Montevideo
Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
. A few weeks later vice-president
Juan Esteban Pedernera declared the national government dissolved. Starting on that moment, Mitre projected his influence in the whole country: all the federal governors – with the notable exception of Urquiza – were deposed in the final weeks of the year and the first few weeks of 1862. Some were deposed by local
unitarians, counting on the vicinity of the Buenos Aires army, others directly by the invading porteño army. The ones that avoided that fate, came together to accept that the national government was over, and left to Buenos Aires governor Bartolomé Mitre the task of the national reorganization.
Mitre was elected president of the nation by means of new elections -organized by the new provincial governors- from where
federalist
The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''.
History Europe federation
In Europe, proponents of deep ...
candidates were forbidden. Porteños also took the national government ministries and a good deal of the seats in Congress.
The country's capital, which had been relocated to
Paraná by Urquiza, was again moved to Buenos Aires city, so the national government had to accept being a guest of the Buenos Aires city government. In the following years, Argentina maintained a nominal federal organization, but the strength and preponderance of Buenos Aires was unbroken.
Bibliography
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External links
IWGIA on Argentina's history
The battle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavon, Batalla de
Battles involving Argentina
Battles of the Argentine Civil War
History of Argentina (1852–1880)
Conflicts in 1861
September 1861
History of Santa Fe Province