General Bartolomé Mitre might have been chosen again, but he refused to become a candidate. There was no lack of willing candidates, however, but it brought to the front one of the strongest men that Argentina has yet known, General Julio Roca. General Roca, like his predecessor, was a native of Tucuman. He had distinguished himself in campaigns against turbulent Indians, and also in command of troops in several revolutionary outbreaks. He had shown great skill and tact in organization. One of his campaigns had opened up the vast region of Patagonia to civilization. As a result of his victory, this land, which had hitherto been considered as a barren waste, was added to the national domain and given territorial government in order to avoid state jealousies. This caused General Roca to be called a national benefactor by his friends. Foreseeing that a call to arms would come sooner or later General Roca applied himself to strengthening the army, while his followers fought his political battles. For the first time the nationalists openly and strenuously advocated the confiscation of the city of Buenos Aires as the federal capital. To this Roca gave his adherence, and he became the candidate of the powerful Cordoba “League,” which was a political organization of unusual strength. Each side now began to prepare for the impending conflict, although for months these strained relations continued. The Porteños were hampered by a lack of arms and ammunition. In June, 1880, an open rupture occurred in the capital between the presidential escort and a group of citizens. The incident was reported as an attempt upon the life of President Avellaneda. The President fled the city and joined the main body of federal troops a few miles out. General Roca commanded these troops, which numbered about eight thousand, and some gunboats. The city was unfortified, but the Porteños began to throw up entrenchments and had about fifteen thousand men under arms. These troops, however, lacked military training, while the government forces had seen service in several minor campaigns. Wrangling, vacillation and jealousy all weakened the power of the Porteños. Each side delayed the conflict which all felt to be inevitable. There were minor skirmishes, but it was not until July that a serious encounter took place, on the 20th of that month. Roca decided to make an attack and placed his forces accordingly. Several points of assault were arranged. The battle began very early on the morning of that date with picket skirmishing. The defence stubbornly resisted the advance and made a valorous fight. The losses on both sides were severe; especially was this true of the Porteños, who also began to be distressed because of lack of ammunition. They had no reserve stores on which to fall back. On the second day the fighting was renewed with odds in favour of the government. The national troops finally forced their way over the Barracas Bridge into the city. The total casualties