Pedro Sarsfield (died 1837) was a Spanish general of Irish descent who commanded an infantry division during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. He is considered one of the best Spanish tacticians among his generation. Sarsfield was a descendant of

Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, ga, Pádraig Sáirseál, circa 1655 to 21 August 1693, was an Irish soldier, and leading figure in the Jacobite army during the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland. Born into a wealthy Catholic famil ...

, a celebrated Jacobite general. He is one of the Spanish generals who were second- or third generation descendants of those came from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

after the Battle of Boyne (1690). He was particularly noted for his involvement in the operations surrounding the Siege of Tortosa in 1810–1811. In a well-conducted action, he defeated two Italian brigades at the Battle of Pla on 15 January 1811. After failing to break the Siege of Figueras, his troops participated in the Siege of Tarragona in May and June 1811. He escaped the disaster, but his division was largely destroyed. Remnants of his division later joined Marques de Campoverde's operation against the French forces led by

Louis-Gabriel Suchet Louis-Gabriel Suchet (2 March 1770 – 3 January 1826), Duke of Albufera (french: Duc d'Albuféra), was a French Marshal of the Empire and one of the most successful commanders of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is regarded ...

, who were occupying the Tarragona fortress. After the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, Sarsfield remained loyal to King

Ferdinand VII of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

. He and Henry O'Donnell, 1st Count of la Bisbal foiled a liberal plot in 1819. That year he was rewarded with promotion to

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 ...

. But when the liberals took power the next year in the Trienio Liberal, he was banished to the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

. He opposed the French intervention to restore Ferdinand, known as the

Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis "The Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis" was the popular name for a French army mobilized in 1823 by the Bourbon King of France, Louis XVIII, to help the Spanish Royalists restore King Ferdinand VII of Spain to the absolute power of which he ...

. The 1830s found him leading the liberal army of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

during the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...

. He was killed by mutineers at

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

in 1837, the same year he led his troops at the

Battle of Oriamendi The Battle of Oriamendi (Basque: ''Oriamendiko Gudua'') was a battle fought on 16 March 1837 during the First Carlist War. The battle was an overwhelming victory for the Carlists. Prelude The battle was part of a campaign in spring 1837 when ...

References

* * * * * Spanish soldiers Spanish generals Spanish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Military personnel of the First Carlist War Spanish people of Irish descent 1837 deaths Year of birth missing Assassinated Spanish people {{mil-hist-stub