This article examines the process of hero-creation in connection with Chile's two most significant international wars in the 19th century: the War of the Confederation against Peru and Bolivia (1836-1839) and the Pacific War (1879-1884). It analyses the circulation of various different models of hero-creation throughout the 19th century (such as the "conquering hero", the "collective hero" and the "hero martyr"). It also looks at the various means of socialisation of their cults up to the beginning of 328 the 20th century, when their figures were used to achieve symbolic cohesion of a society fractured by the resurgence of the social question and the upsurge of revolutionary ideologies.