Antonio Ricardos Antonio Ricardos Carrillo de Albornoz ( 1727 , 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 career . By embracing the Spanish Enlightenment , he earned the displeasure of conservative elements of society . He played an active role in reforming the Spanish military . Upon the outbreak of the War of the Pyrenees in 1793 , the king sent him to command in Catalonia . He invaded Rousillon where he won several victories over the French . After his death in early 1794 , the war went badly for Spain . Early career . In 1727 , Ricardos was born in the same house as the dramatist and poet Lupercio Leonardo de Argensola in the city of Barbastro , part of Aragon . He joined his father ' s regiment , the Cavalry of Malta , while still in his teens . Being of noble blood , he served as a captain , and at the age of 16 briefly commanded the regiment in place of his father . In the War of the Austrian Succession , he fought in the Battle of Piacenza on 16 June 1746 and in another action on the Tidone River on 10 August of that year . Enlightened reformer . Nearly twenty years later , Ricardos fought in the Spanish - Portuguese War , 1761 - 1763 , which was part of the Seven Years ' War . Afterward he seriously studied the military organization of the Kingdom of Prussia . King Charles III of Spain then sent him on a mission to reorganize the military system of New Spain . In 1768 he was a member of the commission to establish the border between Spain and France and , for this meritorious service , he received the " Encomienda de Santiago " . Ricardos accepted the Age of Enlightenment and its reforms . He co - founded the Royal Economic Society of Madrid . Promoted to Lieutenant General ( LG ) and appointed Inspector of Cavalry , he established the Ocaña Military College where he taught the techniques of modern warfare . As an enlightened reformer , Ricardos was opposed by the conservative forces of society , epitomised by the Spanish Inquisition , which remained in existence until 1834 . Thanks to the " Encomienda de Santiago " , he was able to escape the worst attentions of the Inquisition and its political allies . However , his enemies forced him to leave Ocaña and take up a lesser position in Guipuzcoa in the north . War with France . When King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette were executed in the French Revolution , Spain prepared to join the First Coalition . King Charles IV of Spain promoted Ricardos to Captain General ( CG ) and sent him take command of the army in Catalonia . When the War of the Pyrenees broke out , Ricardos invaded France on 17 April 1793 with 4 , 500 soldiers , capturing Saint - Laurent - de - Cerdans . He then routed 1 , 800 Frenchmen at Céret on the 20th , thus isolating the imposing Fort de Bellegarde at the Pass of Le Perthus . After beating Louis - Charles de Flers and the French Army of the Eastern Pyrenees at the Battle of Mas Deu on 19 May , he turned back to invest Bellegarde . The Siege of Bellegarde ended on 24 June when the French garrison surrendered . Ricardos faced de Flers again in the Battle of Perpignan on 17 July . On his occasion , Ricardos was defeated , but only after inflicting 800 killed and wounded on his enemies . On 28 August , French General Luc Siméon Auguste Dagobert defeated Manuel la Peña , at Puigcerdà in the central Pyrenees . In early September , Ricardos tried to isolate and capture Perpignan by swinging two divisions around its western side while bombarding it in front . However , his subordinates lacked his tactical skill . On 17 September , French Eustache Charles d ' Aoust repulsed Juan de Courten and Jerónimo Girón - Moctezuma , Marquis de las Amarillas at the Battle of Peyrestortes . This costly setback marked the high tide of the Spanish invasion . Ricardos quickly rallied his army and confronted the victorious French . He inflicted a sharp defeat on Dagobert at the Battle of Truillas on 22 September . In this major action , the Spanish suffered 2 , 000 casualties out of 17 , 000 engaged , while French losses numbered 4 , 500 out of a total of 22 , 000 . After his victory , Ricardos fell back to defend the Tech River valley . He repulsed d ' Aoust in an action at Le Boulou on 3 October , where the 1 , 200 French casualties were four times greater than Spanish losses . He won another victory over Louis Marie Turreau at the Battle of the Tech ( Pla del Rey ) in mid - October . While leading a mixed force of 3 , 000 Spanish and 5 , 000 Portuguese , Ricardos defeated d ' Aoust again on 7 December at Villelongue - dels - Monts in the Pyrenees foothills . This was his last victory . Two weeks later his subordinate Gregorio García de la Cuesta routed the French defenders of Collioure , capturing that port . Ricardos returned to Madrid to plead for reinforcements and died there of pneumonia on 13 March 1794 . His successor , Alejandro O ' Reilly died on 23 March 1794 , leaving Luis Firmín de Carvajal , Conde de la Unión in command of the Spanish army . De la Unión proved unable to stop the French from recovering Bellegarde and Collioure in 1794 , and died at the Battle of the Black Mountain on Spanish soil in November . In early 1795 , the Siege of Roses ended in a French victory . The Peace of Basel ended the war in July 1795 . Ricardos ' widow became the Countess of Truillas in honor of his victories .