The Life of great hero Giuseppe Garibaldi

14th Part) With France (from 1870 to February 1871)


Two days after the defeat of Sedan during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 which signs the fall of Napoleon III, Paris protests and the Third Republic was proclaimed. Garibaldi following events closely. At the proclamation of the Republic, it sends a message to the Government of National Defence that remains unanswered "What's left of me is at your disposal, have." Fringe conservative Catholic and sees him as a revolutionary opponent of 1849 and 1867. Finally, some support of the Popular Committees and government figures, Garibaldi, although weakened by arthritis, sailed to Marseilles, where the reception was enthusiastic. He reiterated his support for Republican France: "I come to give France the rest of me. France is a country that I love, "" I was too unhappy when I thought the Republicans fought without me. "

After joining Tours, serving as its capital, and Léon Gambetta, Minister of War and defender of the resistance against the Prussians, it is offered by a small one commandment, no French officer agreeing not be under his command. Because of the fear of starting Garibaldi, Gambetta gave him the command of all the corps area Vosges, Paris to Strasbourg and a brigade of mobile guards as he is accustomed, are poorly armed and ill-equipped to deal with a particularly cold winter.

Garibaldi up his staff to Dole (October 14), and on 11 November, he organized the army into four brigades under the commandment of his two son, Ricciotti and Menotti, Delpech will be replaced by Cristiano Lobbia and Polish Jozef Bossak-Hauke. Bordone is meanwhile Chief of Staff and the son of Garibaldi, Stefano Canzio, chief of headquarters before becoming commander of the 5th Brigade.

November 19, Ricciotti inflicts defeat to the Prussians General Werder Châtillon-sur-Saône, but the theater remains Dijon. On 26 November, the city has been occupied since October 31 can not be reversed to the Prussians. They are repulsed at a cons-offensive on December 1st. It was not until 21 January 1871 for Garibaldi moved to Dijon, evacuated by the Prussians December 17, the latter being informed of the arrival from the north of the French regular troops led by General Bourbaki.

21, 22 and 23 January 1871, Dijon is attacked by the Prussians 4000: Garibaldi emerges victorious while Ricciotti grabs a flag of the 61st regiment Pomeranian. An armistice enter into force 28 January 1871 terminating the participation of Garibaldi.

Military operations by Garibaldi heavily criticized by the military authorities. In 1903, Foch publishes principles of war. He points out that Garibaldi, when he could use a single brigade, stopped his 000 men from 20 to 30 deal with the Prussian brigade of 4,000 men instead of to the aid of the army of the East Bourbaki, as he had ordered. Foch then makes the pride of Garibaldi responsible for the disaster of the Army of the East.

In February 1871, Garibaldi was elected on the lists of the Republican Union without being a candidate, the French National Assembly as a member of the Côte-d'Or, Paris, Algiers and Nice. In Paris, he came in fourth place behind Louis Blanc and Victor Hugo Gambetta. Because of his Italian nationality invalidating the election against libel and the new monarchist majority in the House who are accused of not having fought, he accepts his terms to appear before the National Assembly from which he went to defend the cause of the men he commanded. Right violently opposed to any intervention, as Garibaldi retired.

Garibaldi was re-elected in Algerian suppletive elections, that the Assembly invalids, in March, because he does not have French nationality.

Victor Hugo démissionnede its own mandate as a sign of support.
On March Garibaldi dissolves the volunteers and returns to Caprera.

... to be continued...

The life of great hero G. Garibaldi - 12th Part

4) The Epic of the Red Shirts (1859-1861)

If Garibaldi is the leon, brave and combative, Cavour is the fox, wily and wait!

Cavour, President of the Council of the Kingdom of Sardiniaand Piedmont,  decides to engage his army in the Crimean War to be closer to the France of Napoleon III. Following the maintenance of   the Treaty of Franco-Sardinian,  Cavour gets an assistance agreement with France in the event of aggression Austria.
Thus Cavour develops a series of provocations, and Austria fell into the trap.

On april 26, 1859, Austria opened hostilities against the Piedmont, which triggers the execution of the terms of the Franco-Sardinian alliance. On April 27, 1859, the Austrians crossed the border near Ticino, and the same day, the French crossed the Alps.

Cavour and  Garibaldi met for the first time in 1856. In 1858-1859 Cavour  plans to use in the war actively preparing, placing Garibaldi at the head of volunteers. He recruited 3200 men who become, March 17, the body of hunters in the Alps under the authority of General Cialdini, Garibaldi was appointed major-general. He meets for the first time Victor Emmanuel II.

The relationship between Garibaldi and Cavour meet the requirements of the situation until the end of the second war of independence (1859). Garibaldi supports government action and the preparation of the conflict to expel Austria while Cavour  says the support is for the insurgency the Lombards in order  to provoke war.

 The first disagreements arise shortly after and especially when Cavour gives the birthplace of Garibaldi, Nice, to France, in 1860. And still later, before the death of Cavour, Garibaldi strongly criticized the Italian government, because Cavour wanted to disband the army who participated in Sicily to the victorieuse conquest of the Borbonic reign.

But back to 1859, ladies and gentlemen. Garibaldi,  assumes the defense of Turin from Lake Maggiore with permission to recruit new volunteers. On May 23, he began a brilliant campaign in northern Lombardy. On May 26, he rejects the Austrian general Karl von Urban at Varese and after defeating the Austrian army at the Battle of San Fermo, he served the city of Como. For his actions, he was awarded the gold medal for military valor. Journal of the debates, The Century, The Times and the New York Daily Tribune with  Marx and Engels ' relates, speak regularly of Garibaldi's enterprises.

He continues operations with12 000 volunteers until June,  when he 8 of July 1859, Napoleon III asked an armistice was signed on 20, ending the Second Italian War of Independence.

 Lombardy joined the Kingdom of Sardinia, while Venice is Austrian. Small duchies (Florence, Parma, Bologna, Modena) say their annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia, and on 10 August, a military league was formed and entrusted to Garibaldi, who accepts after resigning from the Sardinian army.

This position of organizer, which is nothing operational is not suitable Garibaldi Turin sends Manfredo Fanti to replace, he was appointed chief of all the troops and Garibaldi second. Under the authority of Franti, it is then unable to bring the action for which he covets Mazzini supports: attempt an invasion of the Marches and Umbria pontifical. A succession of contradictory decisions leads to resign, November 15, at the request of Victor Emmanuel II.

In April 1860, Garibaldi was asked to take charge of an expedition to support the revolt that began in Palermo, Sicily. After some hesitation, he decided to participate in the invasion of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the number of volunteers reached a thousand men, who gave his name to the business legend. Garibaldi is supported with caution by the Government of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

The embarkation of the troops takes place on the night of May 5 to 6 in the port of Quarto, near Genoa, and the journey begins in the disorder due to a departure without ammunition or coal. On May 11, the two vessels, Piemonte and Lombardo arrive in Sicily and landed at Marsala, enjoying the protection of two British ships in the harbor entrance. Néanmoin ships bourbons, as told in his Memoirs Garibaldi, Garibaldi draw on already landed, but without success.

Fighting turn to the advantage of Garibaldi helped by the Sicilians: they won victory  over the troops of Francis II's at  Calatafimi May 15, 1860, seized Palermo May 27 and come to the end of a cons-offensive Neapolitan near the Strait of Messina, Milazzo, July 20.

Since May, Garibaldi proclaimed himself dictator (in the Roman sense of the term) in the name of Victor Emmanuel II, and in June, he formed a government. Therefore, Garibaldi continues its conquest of the continent and walking on Naples it takes 7 September 1860.

Cavour organized an expedition to prevent the consolidation of power Garibaldi, fearing that he would form a republic. The Piedmontese troops fight the papal army at Castelfidardo. Garibaldi confronts and defeats the 20,000 soldiers of the Bourbons Volturno.

The plebiscites in Sicily and Naples ratify the annexation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in Piedmont. October 26, near Teano, Garibaldi Victor Emmanuel II meets and greets him as the King of Italy.

On 9 November 1860, Garibaldi retired to Caprera after refusing all rewards, which fascinates his contemporaries almost as much as his business.

Garibaldi is the real architect of the unification of the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed March 17, 1861. Between the day when inside the Italian parliament after being elected the first Italian parliament, MPs welcomed the standing applauding. This is an opportunity for him to stand, he expressed his disagreement with the refusal of the authorities and particularly Fanti, Minister of War, to integrate southern army volunteers in the regular army.

 Cavour reacts violently demanding, in vain, to House Speaker Rattazzi to recall  Garibaldi order. The meeting was adjourned. Nino Bixio tent in the days following a reconciliation while Cialdini attack violently. Garibaldi, who returned to Caprera, gets partially successful. After a few days, many of its officers and part of the southern army are integrated.

A 'this point, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to inform you that I wrote a novel about the true story of a Sicilian Garibaldi's red shirt.  His name is  Gaspare Nicolosi, who was integrated into the regular army on which he  advanced on career until the degree of colonel!

The granddaughter of the Garibaldian's red shirt Gaspare NIcolosi, who counted me the story, is called Silvia Nicolosi.  She lives in Cagliari and was born in Pavia on 1912! The novel was published with the title "From Sicily to Piedmont with Giuseppe Garibaldi" and is going to see now, its second edition, by another publisher, changing the title to "A  Garibaldian's love," after the title of the musical I have already written with a  Calaritan musician, who will be represented very soon (if we find the financiers for the expenses)!

Cavour died June 6 without relationships with our heroes have improved.
Sad his destiny: he saw the unified Italy and after he died. That's life, as you say, my friends!

...to be continued...

The life of great hero Giuseppe Garibaldi - 11th Part

It is impossible for these men to remain in the Republic, the Austrians also impose strict conditions to their exit; for Garibaldi they are unacceptable. His wife Anita, who joined him in Rome on June 26 and has chosen to follow in his fight, dressed as a man, falls ill. Nevertheless, with 200 men, he decided to join Venice still resisting the Austrian army.

On August 2, 1849, Garibaldi seizes, in Cesenatico, 13 fishing boats to reach with his men, who fell Venice on July 22. On August 3, during the attack of an Austrian brigantine, eight boats fell to the Austrians, 162 legionnaires were captured, a number is executed. Garibaldi docks in one of the islands in the lagoon of Comacchio. The health status of Anita worsened, they join a fisherman's cottage, where she died on August 4 and is buried there.

 The same night he hit the road to reach the Kingdom of Sardinia. After a long journey, September 5, he reached Chiavari, Liguria.

La Marmora, special commissioner in Genoa in the kingdom of Sardinia, anxious to make politically harmless Garibaldi, had him arrested. Authorities inform him that they want him to leave the territory, which he accepts after realizing in Nice with his family. On 16 September he sailed for Tunis who refuses, then Cagliari, the archipelago of La Maddalena, before reaching Gibraltar, November 14, at Tangier. He resumed writing his memoirs, begun at La Maddalena and after a few months, June 27, 1850, he moved to New York hoping to resume his duties as a seaman. Until March 1851, he worked in the factory of candles of Antonio Meucci, known for inventing the telephone before Alexander Graham Bell. He leaves for Peru to engage as a captain in the Navy and traveling the world. In January 1852, he obtained citizenship and the Peruvian vessel command Carmen, with whom he went to China and then sell the guano he went to Manila and Australia. In January 1853 he is in Lima and back in Boston on September 6 and then to New York where he is stepping down as captain because of a financial disagreement with the owner. His mother died March 20, 1852.

January 16, 1854, Garibaldi,  sailed from Baltimore. He arrived in London on February 11 where he met Mazzini. Mazzini has in mind to send Garibaldi in Sicily he feels ready for insurrection. However Garibaldi does not intend to get involved in an adventure compromised from the outset, and wishes to endorse his action by recognized authorities. In February 1854 he told the Russian revolutionary Alexander Herzen, exiled in London, as against an organized army and equipped like that of France or Austria,  an army well equipped is  required, as he gives his support Kingdom of Sardinia.On May 6, Garibaldi sails  from Newcastle to Genoa. The disagreement between Mazzini and Garibaldi is made public by the press and it ends up taking his distance.

Back to Italy, he moved to Nice before buying, in December 1855, half of the island of Caprera (Sardinia island in the archipelago of Maddalena) for the price of 35,000 lire from the inheritance he received after the death of his brother Felice. He began building a house with friends, then he resumed his seafaring. He commanded a ship Sardinian, Salvatore. In 1857 he moved to Caprera, where he is a farmer, blacksmith and farmer, with olive trees and vineyards.


 In 1865, his admirers will buy the rest of the island.

... to be continued...

The life of Giuseppe Garibaldi - 10th Part

On December 12th, 1848, Giuseppe Garibaldi enters in Rome while his legion of volunteers came to be stationed at Rieti. Garibaldi was politically active: on the  21st of   January 1849, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly of the future Republic which is organized around a triumvirate with Carlo Armellini, Giuseppe Mazzini and Aurelio Saffi, who arrives in Rome on March 6.On February 8, 1849, the Roman Republic was proclaimed.

The other major event of March is the resumption of fighting against the Austrians by Charles Albert and the Austrian victory at Novara (22-23 March 1849) that seals the final defeat of the Piedmontese, the return to those borders of before the conflict started and the abandonment of Milan.

Pope Pius IX called for international help: Austria, France, Spain and Naples give an answer to his call. Louis Napoleon, anxious to gain the support of French Catholics, reserves to himself the honor of restoring the Pope and, on April 25, 7000 men commanded by General Oudinot landed at Civitavecchia. Garibaldi, who was appointed brigadier general of the Roman Republic shows to be the most brilliant general of the Roman army. He defeats the French on April 30 but he does not use his victory, by order of Mazzini and for political reasons, what he strongly criticized after the landing of new French troops. This is the first confrontation between the two men and from  then Garibaldi will start keeping his distance against the man he calls his "master."

On May 9, Garibaldi triumphantly confronts the Neapolitans before returning to Rome because of Oudinot's movements . French forces are increased to 30,000 men, he can then animate the resistance due to the disproportion of forces. He faces the well trained and equipped French troops but  resists only a month, from June 3 to July 2, in fierce fighting in which many of his friends fall: Emilio Morosini, Luciano Manara, Andrea Aguyar. He becomes fiercely anticlerical because of the position of the clergy, mostly loyal to the pope that support the French and Austrians.

The Italian and international press follow the actions of Garibaldi:   the British newspaper The Times, sends a special envoy who does not hide his admiration for Garibaldi.

With the end of the Roman Republic, Garibaldi refuses the proposal of the Ambassador of the United States to board an American ship and left the city, with 4,700 men he harangued with shouts of "Who Loves Italy follow me! "With the intention of bringing the war in Umbria, Marche and Tuscany. A number of supporters went into exile in Uruguay, where the war is still, with the complicity of the Uruguayan consul in Genoa. Surrounded by the armies of different nations, Garibaldi crossed the Apennines and must show trick to avoid a direct confrontation. Pursued by the troops of Field Marshal of Aspre Constantine, with only 1,500 men, he takes refuge in the Republic of San Marino, July 31, after having laid down their arms, and declared himself a refugee. He acknowledges that "the Roman war for Italian independence is over."

...to be continued...

The life of great hero Giuseppe Garibaldi - 9th Part

3) The Roman republic and the death of Anita with his second exile (1849-1858)

On 23 June 1848, after 14 years of absence, Garibaldi lands in Nice with his companions war has already begun.
 On 29th of the same month he leaves Nice for Genoa with 150 volunteers. Garibaldi, whose reputation has preceded his coming, offers his sword to the King of Sardinia, while repeating that he is a Republican, anxious at first to fight against the Austrians. Charles Albert was challenged by Democrats who suspect him of wanting to annex the Milanese State, and have not committed when the Austrians were driven out.



When Garibaldi, which has always kept in touch with the Italian patriots, learns the changes taking place in Italy, inauguration of liberal Pope Pius IX, insurgency in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, he is so anxious to get back to Italy, especially as peace seems imminent in Montevideo. He leaves the Italian legion in the hands of Antonio Susin.

In January 1848, Anita returned to Nice with his children followed by Garibaldi in April along with 63 companions while initially 150 men were to follow.

In the late nineteenth century, Montevideo has six streets in the name of the hero and the country has at least five monuments. July 4, 1907, the centenary of the birth of Garibaldi, President José Batlle y Ordóñez decreed a national holiday commemoration in front of 40,000 people. On June 2, 1882, five days before the death of the hero, the Círculo Legionarios Garibaldinos  is created which still exists as an association.

Europe experienced during the year 1848, a series of revolutions by which the people demand more freedom, and is known as the springtime of the peoples. It begins in France and gave birth to the Second Republic, extends to Germany, Romania, Hungary, Poland and Austria. States of the Italian peninsula, the Papal States, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Sardinia Kingdom of Piedmont are engaged in constitutional reforms. Milan at the "Five Days of Milan", known to turn his insurgent movement against the Austrian Empire which then directs the Lombard-Venetian kingdom created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. King Charles Albert of Sardinia, were initially supported by some states of the peninsula, taking up the cause of the Milanese state and declares war on Austria.

On 5th of July  our hero goes to  Roverbella  near Mantua, to offer himself as a volunteer with the King Charles Albert, who receives him without enthusiasm and refuses to see him fight alongside the regular army. Garibaldi goes to the provisional government of Milan that made him a General and where  he finds Mazzini. Although there have been exchanges of mail, the atmosphere of the game is cold, the two men are on divergent paths; Mazzini aims unitary republican revolution, Garibaldi wishing to free themselves from Austrian has chosen to put aside, temporarily, the Republican ideas.

Garibaldi must join Brescia with the legion which he organized and which he calls "Battaglione Italiano della Morte" (Italian Battalion of Death) when takes place theCustoza's defeat of Piedmont,   on 25 July. On 9 August 1848, an armistice was concluded between Austria and Piedmont, that Garibaldi violently reproached Charles Albert.

Garibaldi refuses to stop fighting despite the king's order and called on the youth: "Italy needs you ... Hasten, concentrate around me." It gets a little success over the Austrians who decide to destroy them, he must also renounce to face of Austrian power. On August 27, Garibaldi goes to Switzerland and then to France to join Nice. On Harsh, commander of the second Austrian army composed of 20,000 men, is impressed enough to praise him during a meeting with an Italian magistrate, "the man who would powerfully served your cause, you did not recognize: He's Garibaldi. "

In September, Garibaldi was elected Member of Parliament for the college of Cicagna, near Chiavari, he joined Genoa on 26 after passing through various locations throughout the reception was enthusiastic. It follows a period of uncertainty: where to intervene? He decides to join Sicily, changes his mind, and thinks to resist returning to Venice  but when he is on his way, he is informed of  the departure of Pope Pius IX to Gaeta,  and decided to join Rome. Indeed, after having supported the Milanese's, Pius IX turns around and points his troops, causing anger among Italian patriots.

 He appoints prime minister Pellegrino Rossi but he's assassinated on November 15, paving the way for the riot, the flight of the Pope and the proclamation of the Roman Republic.

... to be continued...

The life of the great hero Giuseppe Garibaldi - Third Part

And Giuseppe Garibaldi will become himself an hero: twice hero, as hero of two worlds!

The vashel gets off  the french people in Constantinople,  prosecuting up to  Taganrog. In a Hotel, Garibaldi meets a marin named il Credente (« the Believer ») who exposes to him  the mazzinian  Young's Italy (Giovine Italia) ideas, about républic,   national unity, and  also  Young Europe's ones,  reknowing all  the indépendent status to all people still not free.

Nobody knows the real name of the Believer but what is sure the he will be very important in the  future life of our héro.

... to be continued...