Battle of Ituzaingó The Battle of Ituzaingó ( Passo do Rosário for Brazilians ) was fought in vicinity of Santa Maria river , in a valley of small hills where a stream divided the valley in two . Following a continuous two years of sundry skirmishes inside the Banda Oriental ( present - day Uruguay and southern Rio Grande do Sul ) and along the border of this country with Brazil , the advancing Argentine Army ( including Orientals ) engaged in combat with the Brazilian Army . Background . The Banda Oriental was incorporated as a Brazilian Province in 1822 when Brazil became independent from Portugal . The centralized government under Brazilian emperor Pedro I led to many revolts inside Brazil . Seeing a chance to break the rule of a foreign nation over their country , some Orientals raised the flag of rebellion against the Brazilian government in 1825 . At first , the fight did not attract great attention from the Brazilian government , which was dealing with revolts even in Rio de Janeiro by that time . Nevertheless , as the rebellion spread fast , D . Pedro I had to gather an army any way he could to send to " Cisplatina " ( the province ' s name under Brazilian control ) . The Army was , at first , led by D . Pedro I , himself . Due to political problems , he had to return to the capital without getting close to the battlefield . By December 1826 , the command was given to General Felisberto Caldeira Brant , Marquis of Barbacena . By this time , the appeal the Orientals sent to Buenos Aires brought Argentina into the conflict . The Buenos Aires leadership saw a chance to bring back the Banda Oriental into the Argentine Confederation as a province . General Carlos María de Alvear was appointed as commander of the Republican Army . On January 20 , 1827 , Alvear moved to the border with Brazil . He attacked some small towns and villages in order to bring Barbacena onto him . He succeeded in his plan . The battle . By February 18 , the Republican Army reached a stream of Santa Maria river . Alvear had previously chosen this position in order to maximize his advantage in cavalry . The Brazilian Imperial Army arrived in the battlefield the following day . Refusing some objections over the exhaustion of the army , Barbacena prepared his forces for action as soon as possible the next day . Some historians say that Alvear misled Barbacena to believe that he was pursuing only the rear of the Republican Army . That is why he was anxious to take care of this part of Republican Army and then fight Alvear ' s main force in another battle . Believing so , Barbacena took the offensive and sent his cavalry and infantry toward the 1st Corps of the Republican Army under command of Oriental leader Juan Antonio Lavalleja . The Imperial Forces crossed the stream as if to encircle Lavalleja ' s men . At first , the Oriental cavalry tried to block the passage of the 1st Imperial Army Division . Soon they were pushed back by the enemy , which managed to take control of the artillery pieces under colonel Felix Olazabal . Alvear counterattacked with his cavalry at this moment . While he would take care of the 2nd Division on the center of the Imperial Army , Colonel Julian Laguna would attack the extreme left of the Brazilian forces ( which were formed only by volunteers ) . Colonel Soler would lead his men onto the 1st Division . As Alvear planned , the open fields proved to be more suitable for cavalry units than for infantry . Only the center of the Imperial Army kept its position . The infantry here formed squares to repel any attempt made by 2nd Corps of the enemy cavalry to subdue them . Only when it was clear that the Republican Army could encircle the 2nd Division , did it withdraw from the battlefield . The Republican Army could not pursue the enemy . The lack of proper means made Alvear order his men to put fire to the battlefield and leave the scene . The battle ended with a tactical victory for the Republicans since Barbacena could not move to Buenos Aires as he had planned , but with no strategic gain for either side . Aftermath . The war went on for one year more with inconclusive frays between small groups of men on each side . Nevertheless , it seems that only the disputed province gained something . In 1828 , a treaty was signed between Brazil and Argentina which granted its independence as present - day Uruguay . Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges referenced this battle in his 1942 short story Funes the Memorious .