He was commissioned into the Connaught Rangers, in which he served for fifteen years; after leaving the Regular Army he joined the Territorial Army and went on to command the 6th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment.
A sixth son, Pedro de Alcântara Travassos Valdez (1827–1887), settled in the English village of Dalwood in Devon and is buried in the graveyard of St Peter's Church there, with an elaborate headstone summarizing his father's career.