The regiment was formed as the "Legión Patricia" ("Patricians' Legion) from inhabitants of Buenos Aires in 1806 to fight against the British invasions of the Río de la Plata. Among some of its first members, it included a woman, the "Alférez" (approximately, second lieutenant) Manuela Pedraza, one of the heroes of the Defense of Buenos Aires in 1806. The regiment, therefore, existed prior to Argentine independence. Their first commander was Cornelio Saavedra. The regiment also fought in the May Revolution, the Cisplatine War, the Platine War, the Paraguayan War, the Dirty War, and the Falklands War.