In 1819, soon after the Battle of Boyacá, General Bolívar promoted Córdova to the rank of General and commissioned him to expel the Spanish forces from the province of Antioquia. The Spanish army of General Barreiro had been demolished at Boyacá, and Córdova’s mission was to prevent the regrouping of the Spanish forces in northern Colombia. Córdova embarked on his mission with 190 soldiers, arriving in Rionegro on August 25 and in Medellín on August 30.