Site of the Battle of Marfée 1641

The Battle of La Marfée was fought on the heights of Sedan on 6 July 1641 between the Kingdom of France and the Principality of Sedan, which was allied with the Holy Roman Empire and the Spanish Netherlands. It was part of the Thirty Years' War.
In 1640, the principality of Sedan was an independent Protestant principality whose prince, Frédéric-Maurice de la Tour d'Auvergne, welcomed Protestants and factionalists fleeing France and Richelieu. He also took part in the Princes of Peace conspiracy, with the Count of Soissons and Henri II de Guise, aimed at re-establishing the privileges of the great feudal lords. Louis XIII sent an army to put an end to this conspiracy, and the Prince of Sedan asked for and received help from the Emperor, his personal friend. Hampered by bad weather, which made the roads muddy, the French army did not arrive on the plateau until around 11am, awaited by the Sedan army.
The confrontation began and the Sedanese withstood the shock well. The Prince of Sedan, commanding the cavalry, rode around the battlefield in the shelter of the hills and fell on the flank of the royal army. There was a stampede and Marshal de Châtillon's army abandoned its baggage. By midday, the battle was decided. The Comte de Soissons seems to have died by accident, while raising the visor of his helmet with his pistol.3,000 men and 300 officers of Châtillon's army were taken prisoner. Another 1,000 were wounded and 300 killed, including 2 generals.
The Prince of Sedan seized the French artillery, three cannons, 4 24-pounders and 2 12-pounders. Two of these cannons were allegedly taken by the burghers of Remilly: one was taken by the Prussians in 1814, the other was used for national celebrations until 1880! All the flags (12) were brought back to Sedan as war trophies. This victory was short-lived for the people of Sedan, as they were defeated at Donchery on 31 July 1641 and because France annexed Sedan - until then an independent principality - on 29 September 1642, following the failure of the plot by Cinq-Mars and De Thou. A toponymic imprint remains from this battle of La Marfée: the Horn of Soissons, in memory of the unfortunate count killed in the fighting.