Paes Barreto gathered himself troops to quell the revolt but was defeated which made him keep his forces in the countryside waiting for reinforcements. On August 2 the Emperor sent a naval division commanded by the Admiral Thomas Cochrane, composed of a ship of the line, a brig, a corvette and two transports and also 1,200 soldiers led by Brigadier General Francisco de Lima e Silva. The troops disembarked in Maceió, capital of Alagoas, from where they travelled by land towards Pernambuco. The legalist forces soon met with Paes Barreto and his 400 men who joined the march. Throughout the way, the army was strengthened by militants that increased their numbers to 3,500 soldiers. Most of the population of Pernambuco, who lived in the countryside, including partisans of Paes Barreto and the neutral or indifferent to the disputes between both factions, remained faithful to the monarchy.