[1] In 1848, with his own schooner, Piedrabuena touched at the Falkland Islands to load groceries and then continued to Cape Horn, reaching the Antarctic continent whaling grounds, and then returned to his hometown Carmen de Patagones.

In 1855, in command of the schooner "Manuelita" provided by Smiley, in Punta Ninfas he rescued the crew of the American whaling boat "Dolphin" from death.

[citation needed] In 1859 he explored the Santa Cruz River and reached an island that he called Isla Pavón, where he was assigned by the government to install a trading post.

He also set up a post in Puerto Cook, Isla de los Estados, offshore from Tierra del Fuego.

[2] In 1860 he armed his own ship, the schooner "Nancy", to defend the territory and the southern coasts of Patagonia, while still saving lives.

On 2 December 1864 the National Government gave him the title of "unpaid honorary captain" to defend Argentine sovereignty in Patagonia.

Over the years Piedrabuena continued his work, sometimes abandoning his business to help castaways, and teaching the Aboriginals that they are children of Argentina whose sovereignty they must defend.

[3] In March 1873, traveling with the schooner "Spore" to Isla de los Estados he was surprised by a terrible storm that drove the ship onto the rocks and wrecked it.

Germany recognized the act of courage and sent a magnificent telescope to Piedrabuena in a case whose plaque read: "We, William, by the Grace of God Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia: We consider this case a memento of gratitude to Captain D. Luis Piedrabuena of the Argentine ship "Luisito", for services rendered in the rescue of the crew of Dr. Hanson wrecked in October 1874."

The journey lasted eight months, and used the isla de los Estados, which the government had granted to Piedrabuena, as the main observation center.

That same year, in October, they both departed on a long voyage to the Patagonian seas, during which they visited Isla de los Estados where they landed in the shelter that the Commander had built in 1862 for those who were shipwrecked in those lonely shores.

Bartolomé Mitre writing in La Nación said: "The passion of his life was to guarantee the country's vast territories of southern Argentina ... for a long time it was defended only by his small ship."

An avenue and a housing complex in the impoverished neighborhood of Villa Lugano in the Capital District of Buenos Aires were also named after him.

The Government of his country prized his meritorious services, awarded him the rank of Captain and later Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the Navy, and put him in command of the Corvette "Cabo de Hornos".