command of Brown, the goleta Maldonado under the command of the young Francisco Drummond—fiance of Brown's daughter—and Bergantín Balcarce, with 14 cannon and under the command of Francisco José Seguí. Rounding out the squadron were the schooners La Pepa, under Calixto Silva, Guanaco (Guillermo Enrique Granville), Unión (Shannon Malcolm), the smack Uruguay (Guillermo Mason), and eight gunboats. In total, 69 cannon and a crew of approximately 750 men. The Brazilian squadron included 17 vessels: the flagship goleta Oriental under the command of Jacinto Roque de Sena Pereira, Bergantín Dona Januária under Pedro Antonio Carvalho, the goleta Bertioga under Lieutenant George Broom, Liberdade do Sul under Lieutenant Augusto Venceslau da Silva Lisboa, 12 de Outubro, the goleta Fortuna (a hospital ship), Goleta Vitoria de Colonia, the goleta Itapoã under the command of lieutenant Germano Máximo de Souza Aranha, the goleta 7 de Março, the goleta Brocoió under Francisco de Paula Osório, the goleta 9 de Janeiro, the goleta 7 de Setembro, two gun schooners (Atrevida and Paraty) and the cañoneras Cananéia, Paranaguá, and Iguapé. In total, 65 guns and approximately 750 men. For the first and only time during the war, there was relative parity between the forces, or at least, the Brazilian advantage was not so great. Approach of the fleets The Argentine squadron spent the night of 7 February anchored between Juncal Island and the west bank of the river. At dawn on 8 February the sails of the Brazilians were spotted descending the river, taking advantage of a gentle north wind. Brown gave the order to weigh anchor and placed his ships in a line of battle arrayed obliquely to the southeast from Juncal Island. The goleta Sarandi formed the center of the line, with Maldonando in the vanguard and Balcarce in the rear. The Brazilian fleet continued its advance until the wind died down around 11:30 am, at which point it anchored some from the Argentine line, with the flagship Oriental in the center. Beginning of the battle The weather on 8 February was stormy, hot and humid, with light and variable winds; typical for that time of year in the litoral regions. Sena Pereira anchored his ships and unleashed a fire ship toward the enemy fleet. However, this was promptly sunk by Argentine gunfire. At noon Brown ordered forward a detachment of six of his gunboats, which could fire at a longer range than his other