Within the abundant literature on Caudillo rule in Latin America, the problem of the spatial logic of political and military mobilization during the first half of the 19th century has remained in the background. In the light of the historic-genetic theory of culture, this article examines the means of geographical orientation that were available to Juan Manuel de Rosas during his “expedición al desierto”. The analysis of the representation and cognition of space could provide new insights to account for the territorial fragmentation that followed the wars of independence.Keywords: audillo, cognition of space, historic-genetic theory, military expeditions to “the desert”.