Garibaldi Giuseppe
The Life of General Garibaldi
CHAPTER XVII
"Thou, Æneas' nurse, Caieta, gav'st thy name,
In dying, to our shores, with deathless fame;
Thy name the place shall keep, thy bones shall guard,
In great Hesperia, if that be reward."
Virgil's Æneid, Book vii. T. D.
THE GOOD ORDER IN NAPLES – ITS CAUSES – GARIBALDI VISITS PALERMO – RETURNS – THE KING AND HIS ARMY AT GAETA AND CAPUA – DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY OF GAETA AND CAPUA – PRESENT CONDITION OF GAETA
In what a peculiar, unexpected, and unaccountable condition must the minds of the citizens of Naples have been before and after the arrival of Garibaldi! Whoever has visited that city, as thousands of our countrymen have done, and, while admiring the celebrated climate and scenery, observed the poverty, ignorance, superstition, and idleness of the mass of the people, especially the Lazzaroni – seventy thousand of whom, it has often been asserted, have no home or shelter, or certain means of subsistence – must have been ready to believe that scenes of lawless violence might be excited there with great facility, and that riots might occur if the government were weakened even for a moment. How strong and general, then, must have been the salutary influences at work to preserve peace and order in that population of nearly a million, under the circumstances which have been reviewed! What could possibly have secured such results but the faithful care of wise and good men? The patriotic committee must have been successful in their efforts to enlighten people of all classes, and to instill patriotic sentiments into the hearts even of the Lazzaroni themselves; and they and the rulers must have been well acquainted with the effects which had thus been produced, or they would never have suffered, much less invited, Garibaldi to enter Naples as he did, with only a few unarmed friends, and meet with so peaceful and kind a reception.
On the 17th of September, Garibaldi made a flying visit to Palermo, in the Neapolitan steamer Electrica. His arrival was entirely unexpected; but, on his way from the landing to the palace, he was recognized by the crowd, who followed and assembled beneath the palace windows. He made his appearance on the balcony, and addressed them in these words:
"People of Palermo, with whom I have shared fatigues, perils and glory, I am once more among you. Your memory is dear to me, and whatever part of the world I may be in, I will always think of you.
"Those who wished to urge you to a speedy annexation, were putting you in the wrong path. If I had followed their advice, I should not have crossed the Straits and restored seven millions of men to Italy.
"They would have prostrated us at the feet of diplomacy, which would have bound us hand and foot. There would have been brothers beyond the Vulturnus, with chains on their ankles. People of Palermo, I thank you in the name of Italy for your resistance. I love Italy and Victor Emanuel; no one is a greater friend than myself of Victor Emanuel, the representative of Italy. You despised their counsels, and I thank you for it, you invincible people of the barricades."
The following proclamation was issued by Garibaldi to the inhabitants of Palermo:
"The people of Palermo, who showed no fear in face of those who bombarded their city, have shown themselves recently equally regardless of fear in face of corrupt men, who want to lead them astray.
"They have spoken to you of annexation, as if any one was more fervent than myself for the regeneration of Italy; but their object was to serve personal interests, and you replied like a people who felt its own dignity, and placed confidence in the sacred and unviolated programme which I proclaimed – 'Italy and Victor Emanuel.'
"At Rome, people of Palermo, we will proclaim the kingdom of Italy, and there only will be sanctified the great family-bond between free men and those who are still slaves of the same country.
"At Palermo annexation was demanded, that I might not pass the Straits; at Naples it is demanded that I may not cross the Volturno. But as long as there are chains to be broken in Italy, I will follow my course or bury my bones there.
"I leave you Mordini, as pro-Dictator, and certainly he will show himself worthy of you and of Italy. I have yet to thank you, as well as the brave national militia, for the faith you have placed in me and in the destinies of our country.
"Garibaldi.
"Palermo, Sept. 17, 1860."
The following proclamation was addressed to the Palermitans a few days before:
"Near to you, or far from you, brave people of Palermo, I am with you, and with you for all my life!
"Bonds of affection, community of fatigue, of danger, of glory, bind me to you with indissoluble ties; moved from the very depths of my soul, with my conscience as Italian, I know that you will not doubt my words. I separated myself from you for the common cause, and I left you another self – Depretis! Depretis is confided by me to the good people of the capital of Sicily; and, more than my representative, he is the representative of the holy national idea, 'Italy and Victor Emanuel.' Depretis will announce to the dear people of Sicily the day of the annexation of the island to the rest of free Italy. But it is Depretis who must determine – faithful to my mission and to the interest of Italy – the fortunate epoch. The miserable beings who talk to you of annexation to-day, people of Sicily, are the same who a month ago spoke to you and stirred you up; I ask them, people, if I had condescended to their individual littlenesses, could I have continued to fight for Italy – could I have sent you this day my salutation of love from the beautiful capital of the Southern Italian continent? Well, then, noble people, to the cowards who hid themselves when you fought in the barricades of Palermo for the liberties of Italy, you will say, from your Garibaldi, that the annexation and the kingdom of King Victor Emanuel we will proclaim quickly; but there, on the heights of the Quirinal, when Italy shall count her sons in one family, and receive all as free men in her illustrious bosom, and bless them.
"G. Garibaldi."
Garibaldi has always been humane and sympathizing, and especially with his own suffering soldiers. Of this there are proofs in the preceding pages. Few men ever knew as well as he how to make the unfortunate feel that they were compassionated. The following is an account of one of his visits to the hospitals of Palermo, from the letter of one of our own countrymen, who had offered his services as a surgeon early in the Sicilian war:
"One of the most moving sights it has been my lot to witness, was Garibaldi's visit here the other morning. As he entered the different wards, it seemed as though an electric shock had been communicated to all the inmates; after the first joyful cry: 'E lui! E Garibaldi! E il Generale!" a dead silence prevailed; all eyes were fixed upon him as he passed from bed to bed, taking the thin, wasted hands in his, or pressing his own upon many a feverish brow, making each patient feel that he was his general's favorite son, and that from him he might expect all that a father's tenderness could give. All his own men were known to him; he called them by their names, remembered where and how they were wounded, promoted this one, promised honorable employment to others disabled for military service, granting permission to others to go home, and providing them with ample means. When he came to the Sicilians, he inquired kindly into their wants and condition; ordered that the pay of one should be doubled, that another should be pensioned, and so on. But perhaps the most interesting scene of all was his visit to the Neapolitan ward, where we have eleven wounded prisoners, who have petitioned to enter our ranks. After being told that they were wounded at Calata Fimi, he said, 'Then you are brave men, truly! You have been misled; taught to look on us as enemies. I am fortunate to have you for my soldiers and for brothers.' Those men, strong and stalwart as they were, wept like little children, and in Garibaldi's eyes were tears; none could help weeping, and one felt why it is that he is so loved, so idolized by all. When the emotion had a little passed, they tried to kiss his hands; he snatched them away. 'No, no!' he said, 'no more Eccellenza; no more kissing of hands; that is servile. We are Italians – brothers – we are equals!'"
On Garibaldi's return to Naples, he had soon to turn his attention from the city toward the strongholds to which the poor king had retired, in the northwestern extremity of his late kingdom. The only territory now remaining to him of "the Two Sicilies," was the remarkable promontory of Gaeta and the adjacent range of mountainous and hilly country, extending southwesterly a few miles, near the frontier of the Pope's dominions, and along the courses of the rivers Volturno and Garigliano, to the heights of Capua. Gaeta and Capua have long been strong fortresses, and have known, at different periods, the hard fate of war. In Gaeta the present pope found a refuge, when he fled from Rome in 1848; thence were sent the calls to his spiritual subjects in all countries, to make contributions of "Peter's pence," and the demands on "Catholic powers," to reinstate the "Gentle Shepherd" in his sheepfold – by force of arms. That call was answered by four monarchs; one of whom, the savage father of the now fugitive King of Naples, had his armies, too, routed by the now victorious Garibaldi; and another, Louis Napoleon, after having his advance of 8,000 men driven back by the same hero, at the point of the bayonet, afterward, by false faith and overwhelming numbers, took the city by fraud and bombshells, and, on one pretext and another, has held it to the present time. He, however, has recently done so much for Italy, and seems resolved to do so much more, that her friends gladly indulge the hope, that he will continue a course quite the opposite of that which history was compelled to record nearly twelve years ago, and which posterity will ever be compelled emphatically to condemn.
A description of Gaeta, Capua, and Caserta will be necessary to many readers, before a connected account is given of the important military events which took place in that remarkable vicinity in October and November, 1860.
The traveller who leaves Naples for Rome, soon joins the route taken by the Apostle Paul from Puteoli. He first crosses the Campagna di Lavoro (country of labor), formerly called by the Romans, the Campania Felix (happy country), and now covered with countless fields, pastures, gardens and forests of vineyards. At the distance of about twenty miles, he reaches the foot of the bare mountain range above mentioned, where are seen the ruins of ancient Capua; and after winding among eminences – among scenes desolate compared with those he has seen – and crossing the Volturno and the Garigliano, he stops at Castello or Mola di Gaeta. From the windows or terrace of the post-house he looks out through a garden of flowers and orange-trees, upon a fine bay, several miles across, the shores of which, low and curving round on the right, extend to a high, round mountain opposite, where a city is seen at its foot, and the zigzag walls and batteries of a mighty fortress on its sides and summit. That is Gaeta.
When seen and sketched by the writer, not a ship or boat lay on the noble bay, and there was scarcely a sign of life on the land. Cicero's tomb (if tradition may be trusted) is one of the large square masses of brick-work, overgrown with ivy, which stand near the road beyond the hotel; for on his way to Gaeta was the great Roman orator assassinated, by command of the treacherous Octavius.
An old Latin itinerary of Italy gives several pages to the history and description of Gaeta, which was considered an almost impregnable fortress two centuries ago, being a peninsula connected with the mainland only by a fortified bridge, and having many forts and batteries.
We translate the following account of Gaeta with abridgments, from a celebrated work, "The History of Naples from 1734 to 1835," by General Pietro Colleta:
The first walls of this city were raised by the Trojans, according to ancient tradition; and Æneas named it after his nurse, Caieta, who was buried there. It soon increased and was extended. Alfonzo, of Aragon, erected a castle; Charles V. inclosed the city with fortified walls, and succeeding kings added new defensive works. In 1734, it was besieged by the Spaniards, and was then almost as it is now. It is situated on a promontory, at the end of a low isthmus of the Tirrenian sea, the descent to which is very abrupt. The isthmus extends, in a narrow plain, to the mountains of Castellona and Itri.
On the summit of Gaeta is the very ancient tower of Orlando. The walls of the fortress follow the declivities of the ground, and present bastions, curtains and angles defending every point, modern science being brought into use, as far as the nature of the ground would permit. On the land side is a second inclosure within the first, with two fosses, two covered ways, and several parade grounds. The citadel is called the Castle of Alfonzo.
The Duke of Liria besieged the place with 16,000 Spaniards, well provided with ships of war, arms, machines and supplies, when it was defended by 1,000 Germans and 500 Neapolitans of the battalion formed by the Duke of Montaleone. Trenches were soon opened, and approaches made, by covered ways, toward the wall, while several cannon and mortar batteries were raised, to batter the citadel, and reply to the guns of the fortress. The Duke of Montemar and Charles V. joined the besiegers, pressed the siege, and, after some delay, the place was surrendered, after small loss on both sides. Only Capua then remained bearing the standard of Cæsar; the Count de Traun commanding the Germans, and Count Marsillac the Spaniards, who had been, as on previous occasions, friends, enemies, and prisoners to one another, often disappointed by ill-fortune, but always with benevolent hearts. The preceding facts we have abridged from the first volume of Colleta's history.
Between the time of the surrender in 1734 and the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, and during the fears of war in the reign of Ferdinand, the old walls and bulwarks were restored, and the place surrounded by two walls, and in front were formed a fosse and two covered ways. The siege was commenced in February, by about 14,000 men against 7,000, in the form of a blockade, as the besiegers were destitute of heavy artillery and besieging apparatus. By the end of May, cannon being obtained, and batteries having been constructed at Montesecco, the trench was opened, and branches extended toward the two sides of the isthmus, and formed the first parallel. But, the soil being bare and composed of hard calcareous rock, earth was brought from a distance, and fascines and gabions from the woods of Fondi, twelve miles distant. Much wood, however, was obtained by destroying the houses in the vicinity, which had been inhabited by nine thousand sailors and other industrious people, who had fled from the scene of war. Batteries were raised to fire upon ships approaching, and Sicilian and English vessels were several times driven off with loss. The fortress kept up firing day and night, and 2,000 shots were made in twenty-four hours without doing any injury or receiving any reply from the besiegers. By the beginning of July, preparations were made to open breaches in the citadel and the Bastion della Breccia; and on the 7th, after the long silence on the part of the besiegers, a tremendous fire was opened with eighty heavy cannon and mortars, to which the besieged promptly replied. After ten days of continued firing, the citadel was breached, but the bastion held out until the 19th. On the morning of the 20th, when the French had shown themselves ready to assault, the garrison demanded terms and surrendered. They took an oath not to fight France or her confederates, and 3,400 were transported to Sicily, some hundreds remained in the hospital, some escaped, and others deserted to the conquerors. About 900 Bourbonists were killed and wounded, and 1,100 Frenchmen. Among the former was Prince Phillipstadt, and among the latter, General Vallongue.
In 1798, Gaeta was surrendered to General Rey. While the left wing of the French army was proceeding slowly through the Abruzzi, the right wing reached the Garigliano, and summoned the Swiss commander of Gaeta, Marshal Tschiudi, to surrender. The latter being a Swiss mercenary, who had risen to rank by marriage and promotion without merit, urged by the bishop and intimidated by the first missile thrown by the French, gave up the fortress without conditions. Four thousand men, and a formidable fortress well prepared for resistance, were thus given up, with 60 brass cannon, 12 mortars, 20,000 arquebuses, a year's provisions, machines, ships in the harbor, and innumerable materials for defence. The soldiers were sent into prison, but the commander secured himself and officers the shameful distinction of liberty on parole.
General Mack still held out in Capua, and Gen. Macdonald hoped to find him also a coward or a traitor; but his assault was resisted with vigor, after the outposts had been driven in, and the attempt was fruitless. Capua was given up to Gen. Championet by the treaty of Jan. 13, 1799.
The present condition of Gaeta is thus described by recent Turin papers:
"Gaeta is a second Gibraltar. It is armed with seven hundred pieces of artillery. All the sovereigns, from Charles V. downward, have added to its defences. Ferdinand II. fortified its most vulnerable points. Our army will find great difficulties in taking it; but this siege will not hinder the political and military reorganization of southern Italy, a task to which the government is devoting its utmost efforts. Gaeta has provisions for six months, and during the siege, the representatives of foreign powers will remain on board ships of war belonging to their nations at anchor in the port.
"The front of attack on the land side does not exceed 700 metres in extent. It is defended by works cut in the rock, and armed with three rows of faced batteries, one of which has rifled cannon. These batteries together mount about 300 guns, and their line of fire converges on the points from which the attack must necessarily be made. The ditch at the foot of the escarpment is cut in the rock, and the bottom of the escarpment itself is completely covered. The other fortified points are protected by masses of rocks, which render them unapproachable. The ground in front of the place of attack is so rocky that any approaches must be most difficult, and occupy a considerable time. Independently of those defences, Gaeta possesses a certain number of works established on the heights, among which may be mentioned the Castle, the Tower of St. Francis, and the Monte Orlando, a strong fort, which commands both the land side and the sea. As to the port, it is defended by considerable works, which would cause great damage to vessels of war built of wood. In the situation in which Gaeta now is, and with the sea side remaining free in consequence of the non-recognition of the blockade by European powers, it may, with a garrison of from 6,000 to 7,000 men, with supplies of all kinds, defend itself for an almost indefinite period. The struggle will be confined on both sides to a combat of artillery. The besiegers may establish mortar batteries and bombard the place, but that means will only occasion the destruction of the churches, public buildings and private houses, but will not make the defenders of it surrender, for the batteries and forts are all bomb-proof. The king had put one wing of his palace into strong defence, and to it retired with his family."
Francis II. had issued the following order of the day:
"Soldiers: When, after two months of generous efforts, perfect self-devotion, labor and fatigue, we thought we had completed the work of crushing the revolutionary invasion of our country, there arrived the regular army of a friendly sovereign, which, by threatening our line of retreat, has obliged us to abandon our position. Happen what may from these events, the whole of Europe, in estimating and judging them, will not be able to do less than admit the valor and fidelity of a handful of brave men, who, resisting the perfidious seduction, as well as the strength of two armies, have not only made resistance, but have once more rendered illustrious the history of the Neapolitan army by the names of Santa Maria, Cajazzo, Trifisco, Sant' Angelo, etc. These facts will remain indelibly graven on my heart. To perpetuate the remembrance of them, a bronze medal will be struck, bearing the legend, 'Campaign of September and October, 1860,' and these words on the reverse, 'Santa Maria, Cajazzo, Trifisco, Sant' Angelo,' etc. The medal will be suspended by a blue and red ribbon. While ornamenting your noble breasts, it will remind every one of your fidelity and your valor, which will always be a claim to glory for those who shall bear your name.
"Francis II."
