Peyrestortes (; ca, Paretstortes) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. ...

department in southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Geography

Peyrestortes is located in the

canton of Le Ribéral The Canton of Le Ribéral is a French canton of Pyrénées-Orientales department, in Occitanie. At the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015, the canton was created including 5 communes from the canton of Saint-Estèv ...

and in the

arrondissement of Perpignan An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'', ...

History

Battle

On 17 September 1793, French forces of the

Army of the Eastern Pyrenees The Army of the Eastern Pyrenees (''Armée des Pyrénées Orientales'') was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It fought against the Kingdom of Spain in Roussillon, the Cerdanya and Catalonia during the War of the Pyrenees. This army and th ...

defeated two divisions of the Spanish Army of Catalonia at the Battle of Peyrestortes.

General of Division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corp ...

Eustache Charles d'Aoust Eustache Charles Joseph d'Aoust (27 February 1763, Douai – 2 July 1794, Paris) was a general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. He started his military career in the Old Regime army, served on the staffs of three of the early arm ...

led his division to attack

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

(LG) Juan de Courten's Spanish troops at Le Vernet north of

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

. At the same time

General of Brigade Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Antoine Goguet's French division assaulted the camp of LG

Jerónimo Girón-Moctezuma, Marquis de las Amarilas Jerónimo (European Portuguese and Spanish) or Jerônimo (Brazilian Portuguese) may refer to: * Jerónimo (name), a given or surname, Jerome in English ** Jeronimo (singer) (born 1990), Dutch pop singer and actor * Jeronimo (band), German band of ...

on the hill south of Peyrestortes. The beaten Spanish troops, which were under the overall command of

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Command ...

Antonio Ricardos Antonio Ricardos Carrillo de Albornoz (1727 in Barbastro – 13 March 1794) was a Spanish general. He joined the army of the Kingdom of Spain and fought against Habsburg Austria, the Portugal, and the First French Republic during a long military ...

withdrew south to

Trouillas Trouillas (; ca, Trullars) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Trouillas is located in the canton of Les Aspres and in the arrondissement of Perpignan. Population See also *Communes of th ...

. A monument about one km southeast of the village and adjacent to the Perpignan-Rivesaltes International Airport commemorates the victory.

''A la mémoire de l'armée des Pyrénées-Orientales qui combattirent à Peyrestortes sous la conduite des conventionnels Cassanyes, Fabre, des généraux Daoust et Goguet.''Prats, ''Detruire Tout, Pour Oublier''

An English translation is as follows.

To the memory of the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees who fought at Peyrestortes under the command of deputies Cassanyes, Fabre, of generals Daoust and Goguet.

Population

References

External links

''Detruire Tout, Pour Oublier'' by Bernard Prats
Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales {{PyrénéesOrientales-geo-stub