These elder statesmen were of the same generation as the late Carneiro Leão and had taken the leadership of the Conservative Party after his death. Although conservative in name, they had repeatedly proven more progressive in many areas than their rivals, the Liberals.[64] The Viscount of Uruguai had been Paranhos's protector since the 1851 diplomatic mission and greatly influenced his protégé,[52] who stood by the ultraconservatives. Paranhos managed to persuade Luis Alves de Lima e Silva (who had been commander-in-chief during the Platine War, his colleague as War Minister in the Conciliation Cabinet, and later the Duke of Caxias) to stay on the side of the Conservative Party's old guard.[65]