Juan Bautista Bustos
Juan Bautista Bustos (August 29, 1779 - September 18, 1830) was an Argentine politician and military leader who participated in the British invasions of the River Plate and the Argentine Civil Wars. In 1820, he became the first constitutional Governor of Córdoba. Early Military Career In 1806, Juan Bautista Bustos was captain in the militias that marched from Córdoba to liberate Buenos Aires during the first British Invasion. After the city's Reconquista, he joined the Battalion of Arribeños. In 1807, facing the second British Invasion, he led a troop of 30 soldiers against a British fort of the 88th Regiment and achieved their surrender. For his valor, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Arribeños. He participated in the May Revolution of 1810 as one of its principal proponents in the provinces. In April 1811, he was assigned as a member of the Tribunal of Public Security. However, upon the fall of Cornelio Saavedra's sector, he was removed from his military command. He worked as a merchant until 1812, when—with the fall of the First Triumvirate—he rejoined the active service as a colonel in command of the 2nd Infantry Battalion. Army of the North In 1815, the Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, Ignacio Álvarez Thomas, assigned Bustos to the Army of the North. However, Bustos did not participate in the Battle of Sipe-Sipe because the governor of Salta, Martín Miguel de Güemes, prevented him from reaching the army, suspecting Bustos had been sent to depose him. Once in the Army of the North, he became a trusted official of the general Manuel Belgrano and reached the rank of Senior colonel, although he did not participate in any of the campaigns of the Upper Peru. Despite his provincial origins, when internal conflicts broke out between the Director and the provinces seeking greater autonomy, Bustos remained loyal to the former. In 1816, he fought against Juan Francisco Borges, the Caudillo from Santiago del Estero, and in 1818 against Estanislao López, the governor of Santa Fe, who defeated Bustos in Fraile Muerto. In 1819, the governor of Buenos Aires tried once more to break up the Federal League and launched a campaign against López. On the 18th and 19 February, Bustos battled against López in the Battle of La Herradura, which ended without a clear victor. On March 10, fighting broke out in Las Barrancas, Córdoba, as López's forces moved in on those of Juan José Viamonte, the commander from Buenos Aires. On April 12, an armistice was signed in San Lorenzo, although the peace lasted only a few months, and in November hostilities resumed. Governor of Córdoba Bustos returned to Córdoba with 2500 men, where he was proclaimed Governor by the Constituent Assembly of the province and sworn in on March 24. As governor, Bustos sought to strengthen ties with the rest of the country. He kept close relations with José de San Martín and with Güemes, although he did not send the Army