Battle fought in 1827 in the vicinity of the Santa Maria river, southern Brazil
A major engagement of the Cisplatine War, in which Argentine forces clashed with the Imperial Brazilian Army near the Santa Maria River in 1827.
Key Facts
- Date
- 20 February 1827
- Duration
- Approximately six hours
- Start time
- Around 6:00 AM
- Location
- Vicinity of the Santa Maria River, southern Brazil
- Conflict
- Cisplatine War (Argentina vs. Imperial Brazil)
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following roughly two years of continuous skirmishes in the Banda Oriental (present-day Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul) and along the border region with Brazil, tensions between the advancing Argentine Army, which included Oriental fighters, and the Imperial Brazilian Army reached a breaking point, compelling both sides toward a decisive pitched engagement.
On 20 February 1827, the Argentine Army engaged the Imperial Brazilian Army in a pitched battle lasting approximately six hours near the Santa Maria River, fought across a valley of small hills bisected by a stream, in what became known as both the Battle of Ituzaingó and the Battle of Passo do Rosário.
The battle represented a critical moment in the Cisplatine War, a conflict whose broader outcome would ultimately contribute to the eventual creation of Uruguay as an independent state, reshaping the political boundaries of the Río de la Plata region and ending Brazilian control over the Banda Oriental.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent