As a lieutenant general, he led an infantry division during the War of the Pyrenees against the First French Republic in several actions including Perpignan, Peyrestortes, Truillas, Boulou, and the Black Mountain.

Born on 10 October 1730,[1] in Tortosa, Courten hailed from a family that migrated to Spain from the Valais, in present-day Switzerland.

[2][3] In 1692, his grandfather Amand de Courten had married Anne Judith Herreford, the daughter of a rich English merchant, and the couple had three sons.

He married Ana Antonio Gonzales in 1726 and was killed in the siege of Tortona on 3 September 1745, during the War of the Austrian Succession.

[1][2] Juan Antonio de Courten joined the Spanish army at the age of 12 and served in the Walloon Guards Regiment.

Courten followed royal orders to evacuate Oran, removing all Spanish property accumulated during the long occupation.

[3] Promoted to teniente general, Courten played a prominent role in the War of the Pyrenees against the First French Republic which began in 1793.

The French attacked his division in its camp at Le Vernet and forced it to retreat with a loss of 1,200 soldiers, 26 guns, and seven colors.

Don Juan Courten and the Count de la Union led an infantry counterattack that helped win the battle.

[6] After directing his troops in an action at the Col de Banyuls on 14 December, the 63-year-old general became ill.[3] He fought in the Battle of Boulou in late April and early May 1794.

The climax of the battle came on 20 November when the French overran the Roure redoubt in the center and put the Spanish army to flight.

Both army commanders were killed in the hard-fought action, Conde de la Unión and Jacques François Dugommier.

The family was important enough that they raised a regiment of mercenary Swiss soldiers to serve in the French royal army.