However, Rivadavia was a statesman without a military career. Mitre sought to create a military Father of the Nation, to complement Rivadavia, and wrote "Historia de Belgrano y de la Independencia Argentina", a biography of Manuel Belgrano. This attempt did not prove completely effective, as Belgrano had provided the key victories at the battles of Tucumán and Salta, but was defeated in the Paraguay campaign and the whole second Upper Peru campaign.