[1] He enlisted in the Imperial Brazilian Army on 1884 in the cavalry course at the Praia Vermelha Military School [pt] and became an ensign in 1890.

Afterwards, under the command of Major Marciano de Magalhães, he marched on foot to the neighborhood from Botafogo and, from there in donkey-drawn trams, to Campo de Santana, along with other companions to overthrow the Cabinet of the Viscount of Ouro Preto, following the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889.

[2] He was then given command of the 4th Cavalry Regiment and stationed at Rio Grande do Sul and Rio de Janeiro before the Tenente revolts broke out while he was at Três Corações and help quell the revolts and later took residence there.

[2] He was then made Minister of War and Brigadier General by Getúlio Vargas, in the midst of the crisis that preceded the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932, remaining in office until 1934.

[3][4] Cardoso retired on July 1 1938, with about 44 years of service before dying at Rio de Janeiro on September 23, 1947.