he collected $8,000 and provided 500 cattle to mine rocks from the Martín García Island for this work. He married his cousin Justa Rufina de Basavilbaso y Garfias on February 6, 1795. He was appointed lieutenant colonel in 1796, leading a local militia from that year to 1802. When he left, he granted all his military wages from that period to the soldiers of his unit. He was appointed colonel on March 24, 1802, and donated $2,435 for the clothing of the soldiers. He further donated $1,000,000 to build a navy, along with Juan Larrea and Domingo Matheu. He fought in the 1806 British invasions of the Río de la Plata, commanding a last stand on the Gálvez bridge. His men manage to hold their position for 20 hours, with only 400 soldiers, against a much larger British force. He eventually was forced with withdraw with only 50 soldiers remaining, and proceeded to join forces with the brigadier Hilarión de la Quintana. Argentine War of Independence The Peninsular War in Spain, along with the capture of the king Ferdinand VII and the fall of the Junta of Seville, escalated political disputes in Buenos Aires that led to the May Revolution. Several criollos thought that the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, appointed by the fallen Junta, did not have legitimacy, and requested an open cabildo to discuss it. Azcuénaga attended it, and voted for the creation of a Junta with deputies from all the provinces, with the Cabildo ruling in the interregnum. However, the majority agreed with the creation of a junta, but with another junta of people from Buenos ruling in the meantime. The viceroy tried to stay in government as president of the Junta, which was resisted by the criollos. Azcuénaga lend his house to their secret meetings. Azcuénaga was appointed as a member of the new Primera Junta, and promoted to brigadier. The reasons of Azcuénaga's inclusion in the Junta are unclear, as with all its members. A common accepted theory considers it to be a balance between Carlotists, Alzaguists, the military and the clergy; besides being from the armed forces, Azcuénaga had close ties with the rich people of the city. The Junta suffered from internal conflicts between the conservatives (led by Cornelio Saavedra) and the liberals (led by Mariano Moreno). Azcuénaga was aligned with Moreno. Although he opposed the expansion of the Junta into the Junta