Caxias had made a short trip to Rio Grande do Sul in 1839 to inspect the troops fighting the Ragamuffins. Upon his return to the province in November 1842, he found that the rebels, severely weakened after years of struggle, had been forced to resort to guerrilla warfare. When threatened, the rebels escaped to safety in nearby Uruguay (formerly Cisplatina). As in Maranhão, São Paulo and Minas Gerais, Caxias planted spies within the enemy's ranks to gather information and to foment dissension. Historian Roderick J. Barman said that he "displayed military, organizational, and political talents essential to what is now termed 'counterinsurgency'."