Pringles was born in San Luis, Argentina on May 17, 1795. From 1811 until 1814 he worked in Mendoza before joining a militia in 1815. In 1820 he joined the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers and departed for Peru as part of an expeditionary force of liberators and on arrival fought in many major battles, including the Battle of Junín and the Battle of Ayacucho. In 1829 he returned to Buenos Aires, and was soon drawn into the civil wars between the Unitarian Party and the Federalists.