On December 7, 1829 the conservative troops under General José Joaquín Prieto, commander of the southern army, approached Santiago from the South.
On December 14, 1829 General Prieto and his troops met the liberal army under Francisco de la Lastra and defeated them at the Battle of Ochagavía.
Chile was without a leader for a few weeks (from December 7 to 24, 1829) until a Government Junta was organized and took control, under a neutral José Tomás Ovalle (the only one who was acceptable to both sides), in order to avoid the continuance of hostilities.
Real power was still retained by Ramón Freire who organized a liberal convention with the intention of calling for new general elections and the formation of a new Congress.
At the same time, the conservatives who were in control of Santiago also called for their own convention, where an agreement was reached between Ramón Freire and José Antonio Rodríguez Aldea, head of the O'Higgins party, which nominated Francisco Ruiz-Tagle as acting president.