Battle of Salta The Battle of Salta took place on February 20 , 1813 on the plains of Castañares , north of the present - day Argentina city of Salta , during the Argentine War of Independence . The Army of the North , under the command of general Manuel Belgrano , defeated for the second time the royalist troops of general Pío de Tristán , after their victory in the previous September at the Battle of Tucumán . The unconditional surrender of the royalist troops ensured Argentine control over most of the northern territories of the former Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata . Background . Belgrano had taken advantage of the victory at Tucumán to reinforce his army . In four months he improved the discipline of his troops , improved training and recruited sufficient men so as to duplicate their numbers . The artillery abandoned by Tristán in the previous battle helped Belgrano to fill his lack of equipment . At the beginning of January , he started a slow march towards Salta . On February 11 , on the banks of the Juramento river , the army swore an oath of loyalty to the Asamblea del Año XIII which had started sessions in Buenos Aires a few days before , and to the national flag . Tristán , in the meantime , had taken the time to fortify Portezuelo pass , the only access to the city through the hills from the southeast , a tactical advantage that supposedly would make the attempt impossible , except for the local area knowledge that the new conscripts brought to the rebels . Captain Apolinario Saravia , a local from Salta , offered to guide the army through a high path that led to Chachapoyas , which would allow them to connect with the north road that went to Jujuy , in an area where there were no similar fortifications . Under cover of rain the rebel army did a slow march through the rough terrain , hindered by the difficulty off moving equipment and artillery . On the 18th they reached a field where they encamped , while the captain , disguised as a native wrangler guided a mule train loaded with firewood to the city , with the intention of reconnoitering the positions taken by Tristán ' s army . Battle . On the 19th thanks to the intelligence from Saravia , the army marched on the morning with the intention of attacking the enemy troops the next morning at dawn . Tristán received news of the advance , and placed his troops to resist , placing a column of fusilier s on the side of San Bernardo hill , reinforced his left flank , and placed the 10 artillery pieces he had . On the morning of the 20th ordered a march in formation , with the infantry on the center , one column of cavalry on each flank and a strong reserve led by Martín Dorrego . The first encounter went for the defenders , as the left - flank cavalry had difficulties reaching the enemy shooters due to the high - steeped terrain . Before noon Belgrano ordered an attack by the reserves on those positions , while the artillery used grapeshot on the enemy . Dorrego , at the head of the cavalry led an advance towards the fence that surrounded the city . The tactic was successful ; columns of infantry under the command of Carlos Forest , Francisco Pico and José Superí broke the enemy lines and entered the city streets , closing the royalist retreat on the center . The retreat was hindered by the same fence they had erected as part of their fortifications . Finally they congregated on the main square , where Tristán decided to surrender , ordering the ringing of the church ' s bells . An envoy negotiated with general Belgrano that the next day the royalists would abandon the city on formation , with war honors , after relinquishing their weapons . Belgrano guaranteed their integrity and freedom in exchange for swearing not to raise arms against the rebels . Tristán later on would change sides and fight for the independentists in Bolivia . The prisoners captured before the surrender were later freed in exchange for the men that Goyeneche had captured in Upper Peru . The 2 , 786 men remaining with Tristán surrendered the next day , giving up more than 2 , 000 musket s , sword s , pistol s , carbine s , 10 cannon s and their supplies . The generosity of Belgrano , who embraced Tristán and allowed him to keep his command symbols — they were personal friends , having been classmates at the University of Salamanca , been roommates in Madrid and loved the same woman — , would cause surprise in Buenos Aires , but the decisive victory silenced the critics and earned him a prize of 40 , 000 pesos granted by the Assembly . Belgrano declined , asking that the money be used instead to build schools in Tucumán , Salta , Jujuy and Tarija . Governor Feliciano Chiclana placed a wooden cross on the common grave where the 480 royalist and 13 independentist troops were buried with the inscription " A los vencedores y vencidos " ( " To the victors and the vanquished " ) . Today the place is marked by the February 20th monument , designed by Torcuato Tasso and made of stone from a local quarry . The reliefs on the sides were designed by the famous sculptor and local " salteña " Lola Mora . Belgrano ' s army would continue to the North , to fight the forces of Joaquín de la Pezuela . Two major defeats at Vilcapugio and Ayohuma , would end the first campaign of the Army of the North .