Luis Fermín de Carvajal | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Luis Fermín de Carvajal y Vargas, intaglio print. | |
| Born | 1752 (1752) |
| Died | 20 November 1794 (1794-11-21) (aged 42) |
| Allegiance |  Spain |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Battles / wars | |
Luis Fermín de Carvajal, 1st Count of la Unión (1752 – 20 November 1794) became ageneral officer in the army of theKingdom of Spain. In 1794 during theFrench Revolutionary Wars, he commanded theSpanish Army in a mostly unsuccessful effort to hold back the army of theFirst French Republic. He died in battle fighting the French.
The son ofFermín Francisco de Carvajal-Vargas, 1st Duke of San Carlos, Luis Fermín De Carvajal was born in 1752 inLima. KingCharles III of Spain conferred upon him the title Conde de la Unión on 2 August 1778. At the outbreak of theWar of the Pyrenees in 1793, he commanded thefortress of San Fernando atFigueres. Under the command ofAntonio Ricardos the Spanish army was generally successful in 1793, capturing and holding part of FrenchRoussillon. As alieutenant general, De la Unión led a division under Ricardos in a victory at theBattle of Truillas on 22 September 1793.[1] When Ricardos died inMadrid in early 1794, and his successor,Alejandro O'Reilly, soon after, KingCharles IV of Spain appointed de la Unión to command the army.
In April 1794, the newly organized and reinforced FrenchArmy of the eastern Pyrenees underJacques François Dugommier launched a powerful offensive against the Spanish foothold in France. On 30 April and 1 May, the French defeated de la Unión at theBattle of Boulou, forcing the Spanish army south of the Pyrenees.[2] The Frenchrecaptured the port of Collioure at the end of May,[3] and blockaded the Spanish garrison of theFort de Bellegarde at the Pass ofLe Perthus. De la Unión made two attempts to break through the blockade. The first try was repulsed atLa Junquera on 7 June.[4] The second attempt ended in failure at theBattle of San Lorenzo de la Muga on 13 August[5] and Bellegarde fell on 17 September.[6]
De la Unión built a chain of 90 redoubts running fromSant Llorenç de la Muga to the coast. The lines were designed to protect theAlt Emporda from French invasion, but were manned by troops of uneven quality. The best units were the Spanish Guard andWalloon Guards, with three battalions each. Regular line infantry and provincialmilitia also manned the defenses.
The French blow fell in the early hours of 17 November and theBattle of the Black Mountain ensued. On the first day, the French gained ground on the western flank, but were repulsed in the center and on the eastern flank. A Spanish artillery shell killed Dugommier on the 18th and his successorDominique Catherine de Pérignon ordered a temporary halt in the fighting. On 20 November, Pérignon resumed the attack and the French rapidly broke through the first and second Spanish lines. The French assaulted the 25-gun Notre-Dame-del-Roure redoubt for three hours, finally seizing the key position at 3:00 PM.[7] Arriving atPont de Molins, de la Unión led a counterattack by 1,300 cavalry against two brigades of French infantry. During the subsequent struggle, he fell, fatally hit by two bullets.[8]
The battle ended in a rout of the Spanish army. The French inflicted 10,000 casualties on the Spanish, while suffering only 3,000 losses.[9]Jerónimo Girón-Moctezuma, Marquis de las Amarillas succeeded to the army command and retreated south of the RioFluvià where he was unable to save the fortress of San Fernando from capture. Girón was soon replaced in command byJosé de Urrutia y de las Casas. Pérignon andPierre Sauret successfully concluded theSiege of Roses in early February.[10] ThePeace of Basel ended the conflict in July 1795.
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