The Life of General Garibaldi: Translated from his private papers; with the history of his splendid exploits in Rome, Lombardy, Sicily and Naples, to the present time.Garibaldi, Giuseppe
History
The Life of General Garibaldi: Translated from his private papers; with the history of his splendid exploits in Rome, Lombardy, Sicily and Naples, to the present time.
Garibaldi, Giuseppe
Garibaldi, Giuseppe, 1807-1882
"The expedition was composed of—ship Charles and Jane,
of Bath (U.S.), left Genoa at midnight, 8th June, in tow
of steamer L'Utile, with 1,200 men, under command of
Major Corti.
"Steamship Franklin, left Genoa at 10, P.M., 9th June,
for Leghorn, to receive on board 800 men, under command
of Colonel Malenchini.
"Steamer Oregon, left Genoa 10th June, 4, P.M., with 200
men, under command of Major Caldesi.
"Steamship Washington, of New York, flag ship, Captain
Wm. De Rohan, of Philadelphia, with 1,400 men, under
command of Lieutenant-Colonel Baldisseratto, an officer
of the Sardinian navy, left Genoa at half-past three,
A.M., 10th June.
"Total effective force of 3,600 men, well equipped and
armed, the whole under the command of Colonel Medici,
accompanied by a full staff.
"There was plenty of food on board, but no getting
at it. No one murmured; indeed the patience and
cheerfulness of the volunteers are beyond all praise.
Some of them, many of them, are from the first Italian
families, who have never known a hardship in their
lives; here they cannot even lie down to sleep, but
huddle together, rolled up like balls; many have to
stand all night. We had a long chat with twenty of the
famous Carabinieri of Genoa, who are going out to
reinforce their company, of whom, out of thirty-five in
one attack, six were killed and fifteen wounded. These
twenty seem to dream of naught save a like fate.
"'Chi per la patria muoja vissuto ha assai,'
("He who dies for his country has lived long enough,")
they sing. One's faith in humanity increases wonderfully
here.
"On the morning of the 11th, we passed Caprera,
Garibaldi's Island, coasted along Sardinia all the day,
and at 6, A.M., on the 12th, anchored off Cagliari.
Medici hired two brigs, and dividing the volunteers into
three portions, gave them breathing room. They looked
extremely well in their simple uniform, white trousers
and grey or blue blouse, faced with red. It is a
pity, considering the heat of Sicily, they have not
retained the regular Garibaldi hat, which would have
sheltered the face somewhat. By the way, we have the
famous Englishman, Captain Peard, on board; he missed
Garibaldi's expedition, and is now going to join him; he
is captain of the 2d Pavia brigade—a handsome man, with
long hair, beard tinged with grey; blue, English eyes,
and an honest English heart, much amused at the absurd
stories that have been told about him—a true military
man, and a worshipper of Garibaldi, intent on doing his
utmost for Italian independence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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