Garibaldi Giuseppe
The Life of General Garibaldi
In the middle of October Victor Emanuel entered from the north the kingdom of Naples, which Garibaldi had now won for him, though by expressly disobeying him, as we have before seen. The Piedmontese army, approaching by two columns, was now drawing, as a writer remarked, "the iron circle, out of which there is no outlet. One column has already passed Foggia on its way to Benevento and the Upper Volturno; it has landed at Manfredonia, and is making its way through the plains of the Capitanata. The other, under the personal command of the king himself, has landed at Giulia, and has pushed forward to Pescara, whence a branch leads into the main road from the north through the Abruzzi into the rear of Capua.
"As for the Piedmontese troops landed at Naples, they have already taken up their position in line. It was high time, for the fatiguing service, in the heavy autumnal rains, with the cold winds, the heavy dews, and chilly mornings, was fast thinning the ranks. For the most part in the open air, or with but indifferent huts, constructed of branches and straw, without camp fires at night, and with continual alarms, it was a wonder that these young volunteers could resist as they did."
CHAPTER XX
"Our Tricolor, not as in days that are gone,
Shows Italia disjoin'd, but united in one;
The White is the Alps, our volcanos the Red,
And the Green the rich fields over Lombardy spread,".
Dall' Ongaro. T. D.
THE PRESENT POSITION OF THINGS – DOUBTS RESPECTING GARIBALDI – DESCRIPTIONS OF THE CAMP AT CAPUA – ENGLAND DECLARES FOR VICTOR EMANUEL – GARIBALDI'S PROCLAMATIONS – MEETING OF GARIBALDI AND VICTOR EMANUEL
And now the short but momentous drama of the year was drawing rapidly toward its close. Whatever opinions may be entertained respecting the original intentions of Louis Napoleon, Victor Emanuel, or their counsellors, or the period when they were expected to come to their accomplishment, it seems certain that the steps taken by them not only hastened the epoch, but secured its success. The world may perhaps never know what part was performed by individuals in plans and councils, nor be able to judge of their comparative merits or abilities. But of Garibaldi we have much better opportunity to form our opinion, and on most points there is little room for doubt or misapprehension. One question still remained to be solved to those who had not attentively observed his career in former times; and some, probably, expected to see him ultimately break the promise which he had made, to resign his power and possessions to Victor Emanuel; while more, it is natural to believe, expected to see him claim a high reward, or at least to accept such splendid honors and permanent powers as the King of Sardinia would, of course, be ready to bestow. Anxious fears were expressed, and eager inquiries were made, by many well-wishers of Italy and admirers of her hero, especially about the epoch at which we have arrived.
The siege of Capua was pressed. A Scotch gentleman, who had visited Garibaldi's camp and hospitals, thus wrote on the 6th of October:
"Let any man go to the hospital – what cruel wounds, what horrific sights! and how cheerfully some of the sufferers bear their troubles. We have heard much of the noble way in which our English heroes in the Crimea conducted themselves. Truly many of the common soldiers of this patriot army might take rank beside them. Again, as to the officers. If Garibaldi has thought it advisable to break some of their swords, how many instances can be cited of a heroism in others which cannot be surpassed. There is a young Sicilian nobleman, Baron de Cozzo, commonly termed 'The Flower of Sicily,' and beloved by Garibaldi as a son, now lying cruelly wounded and suffering in the hospital of Caserta. He had fought untouched all through the campaign, from Palermo to Capua. He was in the thick of the battle of the 12th at Capua, and was still unhurt, but he observed a private of his company in the front struck down wounded; he returned, put the man on his back, and was carrying him off, when he received his own wound, and such a one as will most probably render him a painful cripple the rest of his days, if, indeed, he survives it. Hundreds of wounded men, and many others mere boys, came into Naples yesterday, after the battle; and we must reflect how many more must have fought bravely to render such an account.
"Yesterday morning, Captains Smelt and Davidson started early for the batteries situate on the hills of St. Angelo. On arriving at the camp at the base of the hill, they joined Lieutenant Cowper, of Major Pietuni's brigade, and proceeded to the batteries where the guns had been put into position in order to prevent the royalist army from getting round to Caserta, as they had previously succeeded in doing. On gaining the summit of the hill they perceived a body of artillery with a couple of guns advancing from the right of Cajazzo, with some cavalry on the left. The officers having been granted the use of the guns, opened fire upon the enemy as they gradually approached. Although the first trial shots fell somewhat short, they had the effect of checking the artillery. The cavalry, however, advanced notwithstanding, when another shell fell in amongst them, and sent them flying. Captains Davidson, Smith, and Cowper, finding that they were now making tolerably good practice, and seeing a house on the other side of the river where there appeared to be something stirring, they dropped a shell right into the centre of the said mansion, and out came the contents like so many bees disturbed in their hive.
"We started this morning for Santa Maria. The havoc amongst the avenues of trees on the roads shows how severe the contest must have been.
"The view of the field of operations from the top of Mount St. Angelo toward Capua, is most commanding. Garibaldi, in a round black hat turned up at the rim, and in a light brown cloak, lined with Rob Roy tartan, was coming down the hill with his staff, and we joined in. He held a sort of standing council at the bottom of the hill with one or two officers who met him, but he spoke so low, that only those quite close to him could hear a word. We then returned to Caserta with Colonel Peard, Major Wortley, Captains Sarsfield and Davidson."
An American gentleman who visited the camp before Capua, and the Palace of Caserta in October, thus spoke of them in a letter:
"In company with two English gentlemen and Madame S., of Naples, I visited the camp before Capua. As we drove down the road leading to the River Volturno, we reached the extreme point where the road turned round the base of St. Angelo, when a sentinel stopped us, saying, 'You are in great danger from the batteries from the other side, which command the entire road you have just come down, and they have been firing upon us this morning.' We at once halted, and sent our carriage back, and under the conduct of one of Garibaldi's men, ascended the mountain till we reached the summit of the rising ground, and had a good view of Capua and its defences. While thus standing at gaze, aided by glasses, a gun was fired from a small battery we had not before observed on the side of the opposite mountain. In an instant the ball flew over our heads, and chanced to fall in the camp beyond, near a group of officers, and killed a horse. With this notice to quit, we descended and reached the road of St. Angelo, just as Garibaldi and his staff were ascending, and soon saw him standing alone on the highest point, scanning the enemy's position with his glass. One of his aids who had joined us, and who was known to Madame S., said it was the general's custom to remain for hours upon the mountain; so we were compelled to give up all hope of seeing him. As we were walking toward the place where our carriage was, we were addressed by an English gentleman, such a one as we have in our minds when we hear the song sung of 'The fine old English gentleman, all of the olden time.' His dress and bearing were alike the type of a landed gentleman out of the agricultural counties. He begged us to avoid the road, as we were within the range of the enemy's guns. Thanking him for his kindness we left him, and among our guesses we thought he must be no other than Colonel Praed, who is to command the English contingent – a regiment of men just arrived, and who had been that day sent forward as far as the king's palace at Caserta.
"When we reached the palace, whose magnificent courts and rooms we found filled with English, we there met this gentleman (Col. Praed), and asked Lieutenant Campbell, whom we knew, if that was his colonel. 'Oh no! that gentleman came down with us, and has offered his services as a private. He has declined a commission, and will act only with us as a common soldier.' We mixed with the soldiers, who told us that they were to be sent to the front that night, and expected to be in action the next day. They were as joyous as they would have been going out to a May party. While thus occupied, Lieutenant Campbell called our attention to a lady in a military costume, just entering the court, attended by a gentleman. Her dress was a velvet cap, with a feather, a grey suit, the full skirt of which hung in many folds to her knees. She wore military boots with spurs, and a sword hung by a waist belt. Her face was handsome – a dark brunette, with fine flashing eyes. The English clustered around her, and she addressed them a few words of welcome, whereupon the cheers of the soldiers made the walls of the palace vocal with strange music for such a place. The lady was the Countess de la Torre, who commands a company, and has greatly distinguished herself by her courage and coolness. In the battle of the 1st instant a shell fell near her, and those near by, thinking as most persons do at such times, that 'discretion is the better part of valor,' fell upon their faces awaiting the bursting, but the countess, following the example of the great Frederick under similar circumstances, stood with her arms folded, and when it exploded, she uttered the most fierce reproaches on those who cowered."
On the 11th of October, Lord John Russell, in an official dispatch to the British minister at Turin, declared that although the Emperor of the French had expressed his displeasure at the invasion of the Roman territory, the Emperor of Russia that of Naples, and the Prince of Prussia had also objected, the British government could see no cause sufficient for those objections. He closed with these words:
"Her majesty's government will turn their eyes rather to the gratifying prospect of a people building up the edifice of their liberties, and consolidating the work of their independence, amid the sympathies and good wishes of Europe. I have, etc.,
(Signed) "J. Russell.
"P. S. – You are at liberty to give a copy of this dispatch to Count Cavour. "To Sir James Hudson, etc., etc."
Garibaldi, on the 15th of October, issued the following proclamation:
"Italy and Victor Emanuel!
"To satisfy a wish cherished by the whole nation, I, the dictator, decree as follows:
"The Two Sicilies, which have been redeemed by Italian blood, and which have freely elected me their dictator, form an integral part of one and indivisible Italy under her constitutional king, Victor Emanuel, and his descendants.
"On the arrival of the king, I will depose in his hands the dictatorship conferred upon me by the nation.
"The pro-dictators are charged with the execution of the present decree.
"G. Garibaldi.
"Caserta, Oct. 15."
After this decree, both parties which had been vying with each other to destroy Garibaldi, saw that there was an end to their calculations. His enemies felt that, in spite of all intrigues and ingratitude, he rose higher than ever at the moment they thought of crushing him, and his false friends understood that his noble nature will always find out the right way, in spite of the abuse which is made of the sacred name of friendship, to lead him where their interest might wish him to go. Indeed, this time they fell into their own snare, for this announcement was accelerated by their last effort to divert Garibaldi from the right path.
The day was now at hand, when an end was to be put to doubts and fears, and the mouths of calumniators were to be stopped forever. How can the enemies of Garibaldi look upon their aspersions without mortification; or even the greater part of the first journalists of Europe as well as of America, reperuse their evil prognostications, without a desire to recall or to make some amends for their unworthy suspicions? How must the character of Garibaldi rise in the view of those who were unacquainted with his previous life, and allowed themselves to attribute to him the weakness of judgment, the selfish aims, or the uncontrolled passions of common men, since they have found him exalted far above the ordinary level of soldiers and statesmen! How must his willful calumniators turn, not only in bitter disappointment, after the defeat of their criminal efforts, but with self-loathing, from the contemplation of a character which makes their perfidy appear doubly hideous by contrast.
Can we not imagine, in some just degree, what must have been the feelings of his own heart, even through the periods of his greatest darkness, when, independently of the opinions or fears of friends, and the aspersions and intrigues of foes, he proceeded on his gigantic task with unshaken resolution, undeviating step, and unfailing success, from the beginning to the end? The difficulties, dangers, delays, obstacles and opponents continually around him, far from overpowering, impeding or disheartening him, never seemed to agitate or excite him. Self-possessed, as if in tranquil scenes, he appears never to have lost, even for a moment, the full exercise of his judgment or the perfect control of his passions. He entered every new scene with a consciousness of these extraordinary faculties, and came out of it confirmed, by new experience, in his ability to do everything necessary in future. With such conscious integrity and powers, how lofty must have been his feelings during every stage of his career; and how exalted and delightful when he arrived at its close!
The contemplation of such a character cannot fail to be useful as well as delightful to every virtuous mind and heart; and the new model which he has bequeathed to the world by his pure and splendid example, must be extensively and long appreciated, and have great and blessed effects. And one way in which it must most naturally act, will be by encouraging men possessing traits like his own, in different spheres of life, duly to estimate those humble virtues, which have been so much underrated in our country in late years, because thrust aside or trampled down by the empty vanity of wealth, or the impudence of corrupt party power. Indeed, we may hope that the example of the pure and noble Garibaldi, since it has been so displayed as to strike all eyes, and to engage all minds, will impress upon good citizens a sense of the duty which they have so long neglected, of combining to cast bad rulers from the seats designed for better men.
A letter from Naples, dated the 29th of October, gave the following affecting account of the interview between Victor Emanuel and Garibaldi:
"I was on my way to the head-quarters of Victor Emanuel, at Teano, and took a cut through the mountains. While waiting for a conveyance, I met Major Cattabene, commandant of Garibaldi's head-quarters. He was coming from Teano, and to him I am indebted for the following account of the interview between Victor Emanuel and Garibaldi. Garibaldi had taken up his quarters at a small inn, about four miles and a half between Teano and Speranzano, on the 25th. He ordered his column to advance and take up positions, and sent Count Trecchi to see the king. On the following morning, Count Trecchi and Missori came to inform him that Cialdini was within an hour's march, and the king not far behind. Garibaldi left immediately with his staff, and three-quarters of an hour afterward he came in sight of the head of the Piedmontese column. He put spurs to his horse. The Piedmontese advanced as follows: the 23d and 24th regiments of the Como Brigade; the 26th and 27th of Pinerolo's Brigade; and then a battery of rifle cannon. The columns presented arms to Garibaldi, and opened to allow him to pass through. Cialdini rushed forward, and Garibaldi, jumping from his horse, embraced him affectionately. After exchanging a few words, Garibaldi remounted to meet the king. Victor Emanuel was not far behind, leading on his own division. Seeing the red shirts, the king took his telescope, and, recognizing Garibaldi, put spurs to his horse and galloped toward him. Garibaldi did the same. When they were within ten paces of each other, the officers of the king and of Garibaldi shouted, 'Long live Victor Emanuel!' Garibaldi advanced, took off his hat, and in a voice somewhat hoarse with emotion, said, 'King of Italy!' Victor Emanuel put his hand to his kepi, then held it out to Garibaldi, and equally moved, replied, 'Thank you.' They stood thus, hand in hand, nearly a minute, without uttering another word.
"Garibaldi and the king, still holding each other's hand, followed the troops for about a quarter of an hour. Their suites had mingled together, and followed at a short distance behind them. Passing a group of officers, Garibaldi saluted them. Among them were Farini, minister of war, in the foraging cap of a staff officer, and General Fanti. The king and Garibaldi were conversing. After the king followed the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th regiments of the line, then sixty guns, and four regiments of cavalry. His majesty was at the head of 30,000 men.
"Before reaching Teano, King Victor Emanuel halted, and ordered a portion of his army to file off in presence of Garibaldi, that every one might observe the good feeling which prevailed between him and the chieftain. He then reviewed Bixio's Brigade, which was posted a little beyond Calvi. He was received with the enthusiastic and unanimous shout of 'Long live the King of Italy!' Garibaldi has 7,000 men divided between different positions. The king remained at Teano; Garibaldi returned to Calvi to give orders."
CHAPTER XXI
"Rest in thy shadowy cave, O sun!
But soon return with joy,
For Crona's bloody strife is done:
Let songs the night employ,
For Fingal there, on Crona's banks,
His foes had triumph'd o'er,
And backward turn'd their foreign ranks,
Like surges from the shore."
"Now spread the sail! said Morven's king,
And catch the winds for home.
We rose upon the wave with joy,
And rush'd through Ocean's foam."
Ossian Versified. T. D.
GARIBALDI'S ANNOUNCEMENT OF VICTOR EMANUEL'S APPROACH TO NAPLES – THEY ENTER TOGETHER – GARIBALDI RESIGNS HIS DICTATORSHIP – CAPITULATION AND SURRENDER OF CAPUA – HIS ADDRESS TO THE HUNGARIAN HUZZARS – HIS FAREWELL TO HIS TROOPS – HE SAILS FOR CAPRERA – UNEXPECTED CHANGES – LETTERS DESCRIBING THEM
The siege of Capua was now pressed; and, during its continuance, the besiegers were joined by the Sardinian army, which had already, after its victorious career through the territories of the Pope, approached Naples.
Garibaldi announced the approach of Victor Emanuel in the following terms:
PROCLAMATION OF GARIBALDI TO THE INHABITANTS OF NAPLES.
"To-morrow, Victor Emanuel, the king of Italy, the elect of the nation, will cross the line which has divided us from the rest of our country for so many centuries; and, listening to the unanimous voice of this brave population, will appear here among us. Let us receive, in a becoming manner, him who is sent by Providence, and scatter in his path, as a pledge of our rescue and of our affection, the flower of concord, so grateful to him, so necessary to Italy.
"No more political distinctions! no more parties! no more discords! Italy one, as the people of this metropolis have expressed it, and the gallant king, be the perennial symbols of our regeneration and of the greatness and prosperity of the country.
"G. Garibaldi."
Victor Emanuel and Garibaldi entered Naples together, on the 7th of October. The following animated description of the scene is from a letter of that date.
"King Victor Emanuel and Garibaldi entered Naples together, for it would have been a grievous thing if, as had been feared, the apostle of Italian liberty, the man of a century, had not been united with the sovereign on this great occasion. When they left the railway en route for the cathedral, there were Victor Emanuel and Garibaldi on his left hand, and the pro-dictators of Sicily and Naples sitting opposite them in the same carriage. The suite followed, and all along the railway to the Duomo there was a perfect ovation. The streets, which are very narrow, and scarcely wide enough to admit of more than two fat persons abreast, were festooned with flowers and evergreens, hung from window to window; pictures, tapestry, banners, and all the adjuncts of a great fête in Naples were there, but looking as triste and downcast as heavy rains could make them. On arriving at the Duomo, or the cathedral, the piazza of which was beautifully decorated, his majesty was received by the authorities, and conducted to the high altar, amidst such a storm of shouts and applause as could only be compared to the storm which was raging outside. 'Viva Victor Emanuel!' 'Viva Garibaldi!' 'Viva Italia Unita!' Such were the cries which rose, not from one, but from a united body of many thousands, who waved their hats, and handkerchiefs, and flags, as the royal party advanced to the high altar; and this in the cathedral church of San Januarius, the special protector of the Bourbons, whose favor (the saint's) Baron Brenier not long since requested as an honor for M. Thouvenel.
"The king did not take his seat on the throne, but stood a little below it, and wiped his hands, and then his face, with his pocket-handkerchief, and then looked round with that bold, undaunted aspect which indicated an iron nerve. Shortly after, the ceremony began, and his majesty knelt at the prie-Dieu (a stool for kneeling), whilst Garibaldi, the pro-dictators, Farini, and others, stood behind him. The Te Deum was sung in magnificent style.
"As soon as the ceremony was over, they came down the aisle, and I had an admirable view of the king and the Liberator face to face, and as a gleam of sun shone out on the monarch, every line was visible. 'Humanity' came first, and 'Divinity' after. The difference in the two expressions could not fail to strike the most insensible. I looked at Victor Emanuel's unvarying face and bold glance, and said, he is the Re Galantuomo, true to his word, and ready to maintain it with his sword; but I looked on Garibaldi, and felt all the moral grandeur of his character – not a statesman, because he is something much higher – he carries in his face his character: an amiability which wins all hearts, and an energy which overcomes all difficulties. The crowd around each was immense, though the soldiers round the church on either side did all they could to keep the path open, but it was all of no use; one of the poorest of the poor laid hold of his sovereign's hand and walked with him; and the people clung to Garibaldi and kissed and embraced him as a father. He was the greater idol in a temple of idols; and so the royal party walked down the church, and entered their carriage in the midst of the bursts, and long-continued storms of applause, as heretofore. The king was dressed, let me say, as a general of division, and Garibaldi in the same simple dress in which he had conquered the Two Sicilies and given away a kingdom.
"As the cathedral clergy refused to officiate on this occasion, the clergy of the palace offered their services."
On the 8th of November, the day after his entry into Naples with the king, at eleven o'clock, Garibaldi, followed by the ministry, presented to his majesty, in the throne-hall, and in the prescribed form, the Plebiscitum, or Vote of the People. The Minister of the Interior and Police thus addressed the king:
"Sire: The Neapolitan people, assembled in Comitia, by an immense majority, have proclaimed you their king. Nine millions of Italians unite themselves to the other provinces governed by your majesty with so much wisdom, and verify your solemn promise that Italy must belong to Italians."
The king answered in a few noble words. The act of union was performed. The ministry then offered their resignation, the dictatorship having expired from which they had received their powers. The enthusiasm of the people of Naples continued to be expressed in the highest degree.
The Capitulation of Capua was signed November 2, and, abridged, was in these terms:
"Convention on the capitulation of Capua, arranged by mutual agreement, by order of his excellency, Gen. Della Rocca (commander of the corps of the Sardinian army), commanding the besieging corps, and by order of Field Marshal De Cornet, commanding the place, by the undersigned commissaries, and afterward ratified by the respective generals in command.
"1. The place to be given up in twenty-four hours to the troops of
Victor, with the entire armament, arms, clothes, provisions, bridge
equipage, horses, carts, and all else, civil and military, belonging to
the government.
2. The gates and fortifications to be immediately given up.
3. The garrison to march out with the honors of war.
4. The forces to go with banners, arms and baggage, 2,000 men hourly, laying down their arms outside (officers retaining their swords), and proceeding to Naples on foot, embark for a Sardinian port. The generals to go to Naples by railroad. The families of soldiers not to follow the column. The sick and wounded to remain in Capua.
5. A mixed commission to superintend affairs, and an inventory to be made," etc.
The scene presented at the surrender is thus described by an American who was in Garibaldi's army.
"At 7 A.M. we took up the line of march for Capua. The sun rose in all his glory, after having hid his face for three days. The troops were in the finest spirits, and decked their arms and colors with branches and flowers, and as they marched up the road the bands played the opera of 'Don Giovanni,' the troops joining in the chorus, the gay Calabrese dancing with very joy. With such music as this, with glorious mountains, and a beleaguered city lying prostrate before us, you can imagine that we do not sigh for the Academy of Music. At 11 A.M., 12,000 men laid down their arms in the beautiful plain in front of the city. A sadder sight I have not witnessed since the surrender of Vera Cruz to Lieutenant General Scott. The city is now in the quiet possession of our troops, and all the cities in the valley are illuminated. General Avezzana's division marched tonight for Caserta, the palace of the king. Captain Warwick, the young Virginian, is now with Colonel Wyndham, the gallant commander of General Dunn's brigade (General Dunn having been severely wounded). General Jackson, a major general of the English army, has been here for three weeks past, lending his sympathy and his presence, even upon the field of battle, to this glorious cause. "The palace and hunting park at Caserta are said to be the most magnificent in the world."
After the surrender of Capua, the battalions of volunteers were disbanded, to be reorganized in the regular Italian army, if they wished to remain in service. They were to be sent to Northern and Central Italy, and disposed as follows: The Medici division in Parma; the Turr division in Palermo; the Cosenz in Bologna; and the Bixio in Florence.
Garibaldi asked of the king amnesty for all the soldiers who had deserted from the Sardinian army to join his expeditions, and the request was immediately granted to both regulars and volunteers.
Garibaldi decreed as follows on the 15th of October:
"That the Two Sicilies, which owe their rescue to Italian blood, and who have freely chosen me as Dictator, form an integral part of Italy, one and indivisible, with her constitutional king, Victor Emanuel, and his descendants."
GARIBALDI'S ADDRESS ON DELIVERING FLAGS TO THE HUNGARIAN HUSSARS IN NAPLES.
"Neapolitans: This is a fine day – a great day! It is fine and great, because it reunites, with a new chain, the brotherhood which binds Italy to Hungary. The peoples are consolidated together. The free Italians cannot, ought not, to forget it – nor will they forget it." (Here the people broke out in overwhelming applause, "Viva Garibaldi!" The general replied:) "Italians free! Yes, they shall be – all, and soon. To a life wholly consecrated to the cause of liberty – to the thought of our nationality – nothing else have I added, nothing else do I wish to add, but the right to speak the truth – to speak it equally to the powerful and the people.
"Hear me, then, generous people of this great and beautiful metropolis, and, if I deserve anything of you, believe my words.
"The canker, the ruin of our Italy, has always been personal ambitions – and they are so still. It is personal ambitions which blind the Pope-king, and urge him to oppose this national movement, so great, so noble, so pure – yes, so pure – that it is unique in the history of the world. It is the Pope-king who retards the moment of the complete liberation of Italy. The only obstacle, the true obstacle, is this.
"I am a Christian, and I speak to Christians – I am a good Christian, and speak to good Christians. I love and venerate the religion of Christ, because Christ came into the world to deliver humanity from slavery, for which God has not created it. But the Pope, who wishes all men to be slaves – who demands, of the powerful of the earth, fetters and chains for Italians – the Pope-king does not know Christ: he lies to his religion.
"Among the Indians, two geniuses are recognized and adored – that of good and that of evil. Well, the Genius of Evil for Italy is the Pope-king. Let no one misunderstand my words – let no one confound Popery with Christianity – the Religion of Liberty with the avaricious and sanguinary Politics of Slavery.
