fire. Brown wanted on one side to lure the Third Division into combat, yet at the same time he did not want the Mariath Division to join the Third or attack his rear. Helping him navigate the delicate situation was an excellent intelligence network which gave him daily updates on the movement of the Imperial fleet. Essentially, the emissary carrying Rodrigo Pinto Guedes' orders to Sena Pereira had been co-opted by Argentine patriots in Montevideo and as a result Brown received timely news of the Imperial fleet's intentions. Thus, he took notice when Pinto Guedes informed Sena Pereira of the orders given to Frederico Mariath to advance towards the south. Brown deduced that the Third Division would descend the river on 7 February in order to link up with Mariath. Brown believed that the fortifications and batteries of Martin Garcia would be ready by then, allowing him to block the Mariath Division while forcing the Third Division into battle. The work at the new fort was duly accelerated; Brown himself worked as a master mason in the hold of Santa Barbara. On 5 February, the works were ready and in a solemn ceremony Brown named the fort "Constitución". In his speech to the garrison, he informed them that he expected the Argentine squadron to meet Sena Pereira within the next couple days. At the beginning of February there was word that the Third Division was taking on provisions at Arroyo de la China; by the third it had passed Paysandú and on 6 February it approached Higuerita (today's Nueva Palmira) where it arrived the next day. That same day, Brown outlined his plan and assigned each ship a role in the battle. At 10 pm, the vanguard of the Argentine fleet reached the mouth of the Paraná Guazú river and waited for the rest of the fleet to arrive. The battle Combatants Argentina (Brown) 15 vessels, 73 guns, approximately 750 men Sarandi 7 (Coe) Balcarce 23 (Seguí) Maldonado 8 (Drummond) Pepa 2 (Silva) Guanaco 8 (Granville) Union 10 (Malcolm) Uruguay 7 (Mason) 8 1-gun launches Brazil (Pereira) 17 vessels, about 750 men Oriental 11 (flag) - Captured Januaria 14 - Captured Bertioga 8 - Captured 4 2-gun schooners - Captured 4 2-gun gunboats - Captured ? - Captured 3 vessels - Burnt 2 others The Argentine squadron numbered 15 vessels, including three major ships: the flagship goleta under the direct