following day. Some historians say that Alvear misled Barbacena to believe that he was pursuing only the rear of the Republican Army. That is why he was anxious to take care of that part of the Republican Army and to fight Alvear's main force in a later battle. Believing so, Barbacena took the offensive and sent his cavalry and infantry toward the 1st Corps of the Republican Army, which was under the command of Oriental leader Juan Antonio Lavalleja. However, in a report of the battle sent to the Minister of War, the Count of Lajes, Barbacena explains that the local men he had recruited were deserting at a rate of twenty a day because Alvear was carrying out raids against the local populace, attacking their property and burning the fields. The soldiers were eager to fight, but because of Barbacena's caution, which the soldiers thought was excessive, they decided to go back to their homes and families to defend it themselves. After seeing the forces he had so hardly managed to recruit diminishing more and more and in order to avoid further desertions, Barbacena decided to get closer to the enemy and attack. The Imperial Forces crossed the stream as if to encircle Lavalleja's men. At first, the Oriental cavalry tried to block the passage of the 1st Imperial Army Division. Soon, they were pushed back by the enemy, which managed to take control of the artillery pieces under Colonel Felix Olazabal. Alvear then counterattacked with his cavalry. While he would take care of the 2nd Division on the center of the Imperial Army, Colonel Julian Laguna would attack the extreme left of the Brazilian forces, which were formed by only volunteers. Colonel Soler would lead his men onto the 1st Division. As Alvear planned, the open fields proved to be more suitable for cavalry units than for infantry. Only the center of the Imperial Army kept its position. The infantry there formed squares to repel any attempt made by 2nd Corps of the enemy cavalry to subdue them. Only when it was clear that the Republican Army could encircle the 2nd Division did it withdraw from the battlefield. The Republican Army could not pursue the enemy. The lack of proper means made Alvear order his men to put fire to the battlefield and to leave the scene. The battle ended with a tactical victory for the Republicans since