In 1851, Juan Manuel de Rosas, dictator of the Argentine Confederation, declared war on Brazil. Caxias was appointed commander-in-chief of the Brazilian land forces. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulino Soares de Sousa (later Viscount of Uruguai), forged an anti-Rosas alliance between Brazil, Uruguay and rebel Argentine provinces. When Paulino Soares asked who should be appointed as Brazil's representative among the allied forces, Caxias suggested Honório Hermeto. Honório Hermeto, who had been ostracized by his peers after his fall in 1844, was the "saquarema" closest to Caxias.