He was the son of a D. Marcelo Cáceres who was Spanish merchant, who shortly after would buy the ranch El Paraíso, a huge estate near Curuzú Cuatiá and D. Francisca Rodríguez who had a modest social position.

[1] Since 1824, he specialized in commanding men and managing estates and was a volunteer soldier of the border militias of southern Corrientes, and made a long career under the orders of General Manuel Vicente Ramírez.

When the conflict between Paz and the governor broke out, which cost the former a new exile, he switched sides and joined the ranks of Urquiza's forces.

His specialty was long and fast marches, with which he surprised his enemies; his appearance, with red hair and beard, added authority into the ranks.

The military chiefs of that area refused to abide by his authority, but Cáceres defeated them in combat at Curuzú Cuatiá in August 1862.

From then on, he achieved the confidence of the Liberal Party, which gave him high military promotions, including that of Colonel Major of the Nation, to later become a general.

At the outbreak of the war against Paraguay, in 1865, he was commander in chief of the Corrientes cavalry, and later head of the vanguard division, participating in the battles of Paso de la Patria, Estero Ballaco, Tuyutí, Boquerón and Itapirú.

[4] When the liberal revolution of 1868 broke out, he kept the southern half of the rebel province under the authority of the revolutionaries for several months, with the support of federal chiefs from Entre Ríos, especially General Ricardo López Jordán.

But President Bartolomé Mitre decided to recognize the revolutionary government of Corrientes, and sent several divisions of the Argentine Army to their aid, separating them from the Paraguayan front.