Between “blood tribute” and “cheap glory”: military performance of the National Guard of the city of Buenos Aires in the military campaigns against the Confederation (1852-1861)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34096/hyg.n6.14209
Keywords: National Guard, Buenos Aires, Military performance, Bartolomé Mitre

Abstract

The National Guard of Buenos Aires city constituted a powerful identity reference for the capital´s political elite and public opinion while the Province remained separated from the Argentine Confederation (1852-1861). Widely celebrated, the urban National Guard attained a symbolic status as a multi-social citizen force deeply committed to the defense of liberty and republican institutions. In this paper, its participation in the main military campaigns of the time (siege of Buenos Aires, Cepeda, Pavón) is analyzed, especially in light of Bartolome Mitre´s -the greatest promoter of the urban militia´s heroic mystique- claims about the moral and political risks its use in combat entailed, as well as about the precautions he supposedly took to protect it in battle.

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Author Biography

Juan Bautista Leoni, CONICET - Universidad Nacional de Rosario
Juan B. Leoni holds a BA's degree in Anthropology from the National University of Rosario; MA and PhD in Anthropology from the State University of New York, Binghamton. He is an Associate Researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and Full Professor in the Anthropology Department at the National University of Rosario. He conducts archaeological research on frontier military sites and battlefields from the 19th century in the provinces of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe, Argentina.
Published
2024-05-28
How to Cite
Leoni, J. B. (2024). Between “blood tribute” and “cheap glory”: military performance of the National Guard of the city of Buenos Aires in the military campaigns against the Confederation (1852-1861). Historia & Guerra, (6), 70-92. https://doi.org/10.34096/hyg.n6.14209
Issue
No 6 (2024): Julio-Diciembre
Section
Articles

Copyright (c) 2024 Juan Bautista Leoni

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