Juan Domingo Pignatelli de Aragón y de Gonzaga, 6th Duke of Solferino, 19th Count of Fuentes. Gómez de Olea y Bustinza, Javier; Pedro Moreno Meyerhoff (2007)
''Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía''. Vol. X., pp. 223 (footnote 45), 226.
Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía. Retrieved 1 May 2023. (27 January 1757 – 9 November 1819) was a

Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

officer and nobleman.

Early career

After studying at the Real Seminario de Nobles de Madrid, Pignatelli enlisted in 1773 as a cadet in the

Spanish Royal Guard The Royal Guard () is an independent regiment of the Spanish Armed Forces that is dedicated to the protection of the King of Spain and members of the Spanish royal family. It is currently composed of 1,500 troops. While the Guard participates in ...

(Guardias de Corps). In 1779 he was attached as colonel to the Montesa Cavalry Regiment, seeing action at Gibraltar. Gil Novales, Alberto (2010)
''Diccionario biográfico de España (1808-1833)'': P/Z, p. 2418.

Fundación Mapfre Fundación is a town and municipality of the Colombian Department of Magdalena. Its people are known as Fundanenses. The primary economic activity is livestock-raising, for production of both meat and milk. Other crops are: corn, yuca, o ...

. Retrieved 1 May 2023. during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. In 1793, during the

War of the Pyrenees The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenees, Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of History ...

, he was promoted to field marshal and in 1795 appointed commander-in-chief of the coast of Santander (Comandante General de Toda la Costa de Santander). Pignatelli was appointed military governor of Zamora in 1801. He was promoted, in October 1802, to lieutenant general in the same promotion as other notable Spanish military commanders of the Spanish armies during the Peninsular War, including the

Duke of the Infantado Duke of the Infantado () is a Spanish peerage title that was granted to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Figueroa, son of Íñigo López de Mendoza, 1st Marquis of Santillana, by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile ...

Manuel Lapeña Manuel de Lapeña y Ruiz del SotilloSome authors, such as Oman (1902), write the surname La Peña. (11 April 1762 – 14 October 1820) was a Spanish Army officer. Having a reputation for incompetence—he had the nickname ''Doña Manuela'' (La ...

, Juan Carrafa, Francisco Castaños, Francisco Taranco, Francisco Eguía, and

Arturo O'Neill Arturo O'Neill de Tyrone y O'Kelly (January 8, 1736 – December 9, 1814) was a Spanish Army officer and colonial administrator. He came from a lineage that occupied prominent European positions and titles, since at least the 12th century. ...

, among others.
''Gaceta de Barcelona'', no. 1750, p. 14. 6 October 1802.
''Hemeroteca Digital''.

Biblioteca Nacional de España The (National Library of Spain) is the national library of Spain. It is the largest public library in the country, and one of the largest in the world. Founded in 1711, it is an autonomous agency attached to the Ministry of Culture since 1 ...

. Retrieved 30 April 2023.

Peninsular War

1808

In May, Lieutenant general Pignatelli was still governor of Zamora. Gras y Esteva, Rafael

913 __NOTOC__ Year 913 ( CMXIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 6 – Emperor Alexander III dies of exhaustion while playing the game '' tzykanion'' (Byzantine n ...

(2006)
''Zamora en Tiempo de la Guerra de la Independencia'', pp. 36, 82, 92, 114–115, 133 171–172.
''Google Books''. Retrieved 29 April 2023. and on 30 September, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Spanish forces in Old Castile. By mid-October, Pignatelli, based at

Logroño Logroño ( , , ) is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja (Spain), La Rioja, Spain. Located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, primarily in the right (South) bank of the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of pa ...

, commanded the army of Castile, having substituted Eguia, who was ill. This was, by far, the largest division of Spain's Army of the centre, with 10,000 infantry, 1,500 cavalry, and 14 guns. Napier (1844)
''History of the War in the Peninsula'', Vol. 1, p. 91, 93, 98.
''Google Books''. Retrieved 29 April 2023.The other divisions were as follows: Grimarest: the second division of Andalusia, with 5,000; La Peña's 4th Division, with 5,000 infantry; the artillery, plus a division of infantry, at

Cintruénigo Cintruénigo is a Spanish town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. Situated in the Merindad de Tudela in the Ribera de Navarra, in the comarca of Tudela in the lower reaches of the Alhama ...

; and the remainder at Tudela and neighbouring villages. (Napier, 1844: p. 91.) Later that month,

Castaños Castaños is a city in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is ...

dismissed Pignatelli for having retreated from Logroño before

Ney The ney ( ; ) is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in traditional Persian, Turkish, Jewish, Arab, and Egyptian music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played for over 4,500 ye ...

's troops and abandoning all his guns at the foot of the mountains around

Nalda Nalda is a municipality of the autonomous community of La Rioja (Spain). It is located near the capital, Logroño. Its population in January 2006 was 1,074 inhabitants over a 24.6 square kilometre area. History The town was the scene of the ...

. His troops were redistributed among the divisions of Grimarest, La Peña, and

Llamas The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is so ...

, Oman, Charles (1902)
''A History of the Peninsular War'', Vol. I, pp. 385, 392–294.
''Project Gutenberg''. Retrieved 30 April 2023. and a brigade of six battalions under Cartaojal, which was then sent back and managed to recover the abandoned guns. In December, the Junta Suprema ordered Marquis de La Romana to dismiss Pignatelli from the post of captain general of Old Castile and to court-martial him for the "scandalous and cowardly abandonment of Valladolid and Avila". As it was not clear if La Romana received the order or if he decided not to act on it, the Junta would repeat the order the following February.

1809

By the end of January Pignatelli, still captain general of Old Castile, had raised a new regiment, the Volunteers of Avila, which he sent to supplement the under-manned garrison at

Ciudad Rodrigo Ciudad Rodrigo () is a small cathedral city in the province of Salamanca (province), Salamanca, in western Spain, with a population in 2016 of 12,896. It is also the seat of a judicial district. The site of Ciudad Rodrigo, perched atop a rocky r ...

. Oman, Charles (1903)
''A History of the Peninsular War'', Vol. II, p. 258, footnote 306.
''Project Gutenberg''. Retrieved 30 April 2023.

1810

In November, the Regency absolved Pignatelli, by then no longer governor of Zamora, of having abandoned Valladolid and Avila to their fate before the enemy.
''Gazeta de la Regencia de España e Indias del jeuves 22 de noviembre de 1810'', p. 933.
''

Boletín Oficial del Estado The (''BOE''; "", from 1661 to 1936 known as the ''Gaceta de Madrid'', "") is the official gazette of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain and may be published on any day of the week. The content of the ''BOE'' is authorized and published by Royal Asse ...

''. Retrieved 29 April 2023.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pignatelli, Juan 1757 births 1819 deaths People from the Kingdom of Sardinia Immigrants to Spain Spanish captain generals Spanish generals Spanish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars