Battle of Salta Battle of Salta The Battle of Salta took place on February 20, 1813 on the plains of Castañares, north of the present-day Argentina city of Salta, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, under the command of general Manuel Belgrano, defeated for the second time the royalist troops of general Pío de Tristán, after their victory in the previous September at the Battle of Tucumán. The unconditional surrender of the royalist troops ensured Argentine control over most of the northern territories of the former Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Belgrano had taken advantage of
Salta Province in 1826. In 1834, Jujuy withdrew from Salta and became a separate province. The borders of Salta were further reduced in 1900, with the loss of Yacuiba to Bolivia. The National Government of Los Andes, constituted from the province in 1902 with a capital at San Antonio de los Cobres, was returned to Salta Province in 1943 as the Department of Los Andes. Antonio Alice's painting, "La muerte de Güemes", which received a Gold Medal at the Centenary Exposition, is on display at the offices of the Salta Provincial Government. The total land area of the province is , making