Argentine Revolution Collection, 1921-1965

The collection is open for research.

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Biographical Note

In November of 1921, when the price of wool dropped drastically, Argentine and Chilean farm workers, compelled by anarchist agitators, attacked various sheep ranchers in the province of Santa Cruz. The "Husares de Pueyrredon" was the name given to the cavalry that led the rescue of the ranches and their owners. The soldiers were brought together by Honorio Pueyrredon, the Minister of Agriculture and of Foreign Affairs and Culture, who staunchly opposed the political ideology of President Yrigoyen. Pueyrredon was also a major landowner and patrician who didn't want the power over the land to fall into the hands of the common people.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

This collection is comprised of diaries, reports, correspondence, news clippings and photographs relating to a workers' revolt in Argentina. Argentina's history in the first quarter of the 1900s was a time of great political and social upheaval. The uprising documented in this collection is a good example of the culmination of conflicting ideals during the years 1921 and 1922. President Hipolito Yrigoyen's Radical party was undermined by the Conservatives. When the Argentine army became supporters of the Conservatives, Yrigoyen was forced to allow this new coalition free reign to quell the activities of unions and workers' revolts.

The collection contains the war diaries of Lieutenant D. Hector B. Varela as well as diaries and reports of other cavalry officials from November 1921 to January 1922. They include military orders and maneuvers; geographical descriptions; personnel lists; and the reports on the continuing development of the situation. Also in the collection are newspaper clippings and political cartoons that reflect the opposing attitudes that existed concerning the outcome of the uprising. There are individual and group portraits of the soldiers as well as photographs of the sites of destruction during the conflict. The correspondence that took place after the repression of the upheaval illuminates the attitudes within the military about the situation and the men involved up until 1965. All of the materials in the collection are photocopied reproductions. The written materials have been transcribed and arranged chronologically.

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Search Terms

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Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into five series:

• Series 1. Diaries from the 10th Regiment, 1921
• Series 2. Diaries and Reports from the 2nd Regiment, 1921-1922
• Series 3. Correspondence, 1922-1965
• Series 4. News Clippings, 1922
• Series 5. Photographs, 1921-1922

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Series 1. Dairies from the 10th Regiment 1921

Contains the chronological diaries of Lieutenant Colonel D. Hector B. Varela, Lieutenant D. Alfredo Anello, and Captains D. Pedro Vinas Ibarra and D. Pedro E. Campos. They discuss notable maneuvers, information received about the development of the situation on the sheep ranches, demographics, and detailed descriptions of the physical terrain. There is also a list of the location and residents of each sheep ranch in Santa Cruz. Transcriptions of telegrams sent among these officials are also included.

Series 2. Diaries and Reports from the 2nd Regiment 1921-1922

Contains an hour-by-hour update of the conflict's development written by Captain E. Carlos Anaya, Lieutenant Emilio Correa Morales, and Sublieutenants Federico Sidders and Rafael A. Loza. The reports of Morales and Anaya include a copy of the notice directed at the revolutionaries that was circulated among the sheep ranches. As the reports were written after the insurrection had been corrected, they also report death figures and proposals for restoring order to the ranches.

Series 3. Correspondence 1922-1965

Contains letters written by various Argentine military officials from January 22, 1922 to September 26, 1965. The earlier letters commend the army's brave acts to combat sedition and include proposals for distributing awards of merit to the leaders. Also included is correspondence between Captain Ibarra and Lieutenant Colonel Varela regarding the opinion of the Senior President of the Nation about their work in Santa Cruz. A few years later, a letter to Captain Anaya discusses the idea of unity among the provinces. At the end of this series there is correspondence between Captain Anaya and Juan Enrique Gugliamelli, Director of the Center of High Studies and of the Superior School of War, in which they discuss the ongoing tribute paid to the uprising in Santa Cruz. Other letters between the two reveal that Gugliamelli produces conferences and lectures that deal with the part of history that Captain Anaya experienced first hand.

Series 4. News Clippings 1922

Contains articles from El Soldado Argentine, a newspaper printed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This publication strongly supports the actions of the army against the insurrections in Patagonia in 1921-1922. The paper refers to the workers as "bandits". There is a reference made to the printing of the war diaries in the Magellan Times. A portrait and other photographs of Lieutenant Colonel. Varela's burial site along with an obituary is also included. The political cartoons are mostly targeted at Yrigoyen's policies. There is also one page from an unidentifiable publication which supports the plight of the workers involved in the uprising, calling it a massacre.

Series 5. Photographs 1921-1922

Contains a variety of group photographs featuring the officials from the 2nd regiment. Also included are photographs of various ranches that had been vandalized and revolutionaries who were captured and held prisoner by the cavalry.

Series 1. Dairies from the 10th Regiment 1921

Series 2. Diaries and Reports from the 2nd Regiment 1921-1922

Series 3. Correspondence 1922-1965

Series 4. News Clippings 1922

Series 5. Photographs 1921-1922