During the
Third Carlist War, he had frenetic activity at the head of a guerrilla unit, becoming a legendary figure among the other Catalan Carlist groups. A keen expert on the territory where he moved his troops, he primarily used
La Garrotxa as his hideout and counted on the support of many rural landowners and numerous informants who permanently warned him of the movements of government troops. Soon, he managed to oust his superior
Josep Estartús, and faced Infante
Alfonso Carlos, the representative in
Catalonia and brother of the claimant
Carlos VII, who brought him before a
court-martial in Navarre, accused, among other charges, of having executed 60 liberal volunteers captured during the capture of
Berga who had received guarantees from Infante Alfonso Carlos, of refusing to take his troops outside the Girona counties, and of appropriating a large sum from the loot of the Battle of Alpens; however, Savalls came out unscathed and managed to maintain his position. Savalls was the trusted man of the rural landowners of the Girona counties, supporters of Carlism, and he compensated for his indiscipline with his intelligence. He also surrounded himself with good and loyal aides who were often the main responsible for some victories, especially
Huguet and
Miret. By 1874, he was a
field marshal and was confirmed, in that year's Carlist reorganization, as head of the Girona-Barcelona Division under the orders of
Rafael Tristany i Parera. When Tristany was replaced by
Antonio Lizárraga (December 1874), Savalls effectively exercised command of the Carlist army in Catalonia. In 1875,
Carlos VII appointed him captain general of Catalonia. After the defection of
Ramon Cabrera, he was one of the signatories of the following declaration of support for the dynastic rights of
Carlos VII:
Main Military Actions His military record in the
Third Carlist War is dense and clearly marks the stages that the uprising followed in Catalonia:
Year 1873 • Victory at
Mata and
Borgonyà. • Capture of
Ripoll and siege of
Berga (March
1873). • Failed
siege of
Puigcerdà (April
1873). •
Action of Alpens (9 - 10 July
1873) — in which Brigadier
Cabrinetty was defeated and killed. • Capture of
Igualada (17 - 18 July 1873). •
Assault on Cardedeu (6 November 1873), with the summary execution of 25 captured defenders. • Capture of
Banyoles (November 1873). • Beginning of the
Siege of Olot (December 1873).
Year 1874 • Fall of
Olot, where he defeated the famous General Nouvilas. As a consequence, the executions at Creu del Candell, in
Besalú, took place on 19 March. • Loss of Olot and clash at
Sant Julià del Mont (July), with Savalls' decision to execute 63 men of the Nouvilas column at
Llaés (17 July). • Surprise at
Vidrà (July). Savalls and
Francesc Huguet had gone to lunch at the
masia del Cavaller de Vidrà on Saint Joachim's day, the name day of its owner. There they were caught and surrounded by Isabeline troops and fortified inside. At dawn, Savalls orchestrated an escape by opening the doors and causing the cattle and horses in the courtyard to stampede. Huguet and Savalls fled on horseback, while the trabucaires of their bodyguard fled on foot. •
Burning of Tortellà and
Battle of Argelaguer (August) — led by
Huguet and described by
Marià Vayreda, who participated. • Capture of
Castelló d'Empúries in the battle known as the
Fire of Castelló on 3 November
1874, where he decisively defeated Brigadier Antonio Moya. • Victorious expedition through
La Selva and
Baix Empordà (spring
1874). • Failed assault on Puigcerdà (August
1874). •
Fire of Prats de Lluçanès (September
1874). • Failed attempt to recapture
Vic (October
1874).
Year 1875 • Loss of
Olot in March 1875, in the face of the assault by General
Martínez de Campos, after which the
meeting at Hostal de la Corda took place. • In July, another failed attack on
Puigcerdà and in August fruitless relief operations at besieged
La Seu d'Urgell. == Exile in France and death ==