Paso de Quinteros: Execution orders for members of the Treinta y Tres Orientales

In February 1858, at Paso de Quinteros, military orders were issued to execute members of the ‘Treinta y Tres Orientales’, a group of historical figures from the Liberating Crusade. Among those targeted for execution was Manuel Florentino Freire, born in Las Piedras in 1792. Freire was a veteran who had fought under the orders of José Artigas since 1814.

The orders required the military to turn their weapons against men who had played foundational roles in the country's history, a decision that caused significant tension between commanding officers and subordinates during the execution process.