Page 116 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

114 GENERAL GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI

But not all dangers had been avoided. When he finally realized that
Garibaldi had escaped him again, General Stadion, who commanded the
Austrian forces gathered in the Arezzo area, ordered without delay to pursue
him: Martinowski, who was in Città di Castello, had to descend along the hill
of Bocca Semola, to the valley of Biscubio, a sub-affluent of the Burano River,
that in turn was the right tributary of the Metauro River, and then march along
mountain pathways on Sant’Angelo in Vado, trying to arrive there before
Garibaldi; Major Tholdos, on the contrary, had to leave Pieve Santo Stefano
and climb up the hill of Viamaggio, and block the Marecchia Valley to
Garibaldi, where also another battalion (Holzer) was converging from Bagno di
Romagna; finally, Lieutenant Colonel Tuckert had marched from Sansepolcro
to San Giustino, where he was joined by General Stadion and his troops.
Garibaldi’s situation was more and more difficult, perhaps even critical.
His column was reduced to no more than 2000 men, tired, discouraged, in
rags; defections had been many and shameful, among which the most painful
for Garibaldi had been Müller’s defection, who was reported as having gone
over to the enemy, and Cavalry Lieutenant Bueno’s defection, the general’s
comrade in his American adventures. Add to this that Anita, close to giving
birth for the fourth time, though never complaining or grumbling, endured
the heavy toil and that life of hardship.
Garibaldi had however promised to himself to take to Venice at least the
best men among the survivors of Rome’s defence, and he wanted to succeed
in this undertaking at all costs.
th
On the morning of July 29 , the first Austrian patrols had already arrived
very close to Sant’Angelo, when he ordered his men to ascend immediately,
in groups, along the road that from Sant’Angelo led to Val di Foglia; Stadion
probably ignored the existence of that road, and he had ordered to occupy
only the narrow road located one kilometre below the town.
Migliazzo received from Garibaldi the order to remain in town with fifty
Dragoons as long as possible; but, attacked by a large squad of Austrian
Hussars while his men where still scattered throughout the town, he barely
escaped capture with only a few valiant men and was able to reach Garibaldi’s
column. Followed by the echo of the gunshots, the latter went down to Val
di Foglia and directed at first towards Pesaro, and then suddenly turned
northwards, towards Macerata Feltria.
The two ports, Pesaro and Rimini, were not so far away, but Garibaldi
chose the latter, since, although it was more farther away, it offered the advan-