In the state of Bolivar, the liberal insurrectionists triumphed, while in Santander the conservatives themselves started a revolution which Ospina only succeeded in suppressing by the bloody battle of Oratorio. Meanwhile Mosquera had become governor of Cauca, and when the conservatives of that state tried to expel him, he beat them and took advantage of his victory to declare himself independent of Ospina. The latter advanced, but Mosquera defeated him, and invaded the upper Magdalena, gaining the battle of Segovia. In every state there was an insurrection against Ospina, and three ex-presidents accompanied the insurgent armies. On the surface the civil war appeared to be a mere contest for personal power between Mosquera and Ospina, but the former had ensured a large support by raising the banner of federalism, and the latter's triumph would probably have meant a strengthening of the national government and certainly a reaction from the radicalism which had gained ground year by year since the fall of Bolivar. Supported by the clericals, conservatives, and reactionists, Ospina fought tenaciously and with a fair prospect of success. But the federalist armies advanced relentlessly from both north and south, and one after another the provinces of the eastern plateaux were wrested from him by bloody and well-contested battles. Bogota was finally taken and the president imprisoned, but Mosquera's opponents kept up the conflict for some time in the states of Panama, Santander, and Antioquia, and it was near the end of 1861 before the federalists were everywhere triumphant.