Warfare and Armed Mobilization in the Unitarian-Federalist Civil War: Salta, 1828–1831

Authors

  • Paul Richart Barboza Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades- CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Salta

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53351/azmqzn26

Keywords:

Unitarians, Federalists, war, Salta

Abstract

This article examines the mobilization and role of the Auxiliary Division of Salta in the 1829 campaign. This military force was deployed in Catamarca, La Rioja, and Córdoba during the Unitarian–Federalist Civil War (1828–1831) in what is now Argentina. Composed of more than one thousand combatants, it was assembled to join the Unitarian army led by General José María Paz in the confrontation with the Federalist troops commanded by General Facundo Quiroga. For the provincial state, mobilizing this division represented a considerable effort not only in economic terms but also in a political contextmarked by attempts to restore order through the demobilization of militias active since the War of Independence (1810–1818).

This study explores the challenges faced by the fragile Salta state inmobilizing and disciplining forces who were composed mainly of militiamen. Militias were leading actors thanks to the various rights and privileges they hadconsolidated after their participation in the War of Independence, and given thevirtual absence of regular troops, they reproduced corporative principles andtraditional and local structures inherited from theancien régime. Thus, the Saltastate organized the units mobilized for aconflict beyond provincial borders aroundthese militias.

The article seeks to answer how the troops of predominantly militia-based forceswere mobilized for a campaign outside the province, whether the provincial statewas able to sustain the war effort economically, whether discipline was maintainedduring thecampaign, how combatants responded under these circumstances, andwhat implications these factors had for the competing political projects. Toaddress these questions, the article analyzes the division’s organizationalstructure, recruitment methods, weaponry, and the resources allocated to pay andsupplies. Then it explores the experiences of soldiers and officers, andmanifestations of resistance such as desertions, mutinies, and uprisings. Finally, itexamines the impact of these events on provincial politics and the confrontationbetween the Unitarian and Federalist factions.

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Author Biography

  • Paul Richart Barboza, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades- CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Salta

    Profesor en Historia por la Universidad Nacional de Salta, Argentina (2017). Se encuentra especializándose sobre historia social de la guerra e historia política en el siglo XIX. Desde el año 2023 es becario doctoral por el Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) con lugar de trabajo en el Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades. Su proyecto de investigación se titula «Las fuerzas de guerra en el proceso de conformación del Estado provincial salteño (1821-1852)». 

    Actualmente se encuentra cursando la Maestría en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades en la Universidad Nacional de Quilmes y el Doctorado en Historia en la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. En docencia se desempeña como auxiliar docente en Historia Argentina II en la Facultad de Humanidades de la UNSa y como profesor de Historia Argentina y Latinoamericana en el Instituto de Educación Superior N.° 6040 de Salta.

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Published

2025-12-17

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 29 (2025): Xauen 2024: A Hidden Annual or a Success of the Dictator?

Section

Estudios

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Copyright (c) 2025 Paul Richart Barboza

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How to Cite

Warfare and Armed Mobilization in the Unitarian-Federalist Civil War: Salta, 1828–1831. (2025). Revista Universitaria De Historia Militar, 14(29), 153-183. https://doi.org/10.53351/azmqzn26

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