Page 177 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

THE 1860 CAMPAIGN IN SICILY 175

On the right side he put the squads that had fought at Calatafimi; as outposts he
deployed some squads in Misilcandone, the highest and oldest part of the town
of Pioppo; he put the cannons on a cliff dominating the Pioppo road, at the
beginning of the road.
He wrote to La Masa, who was camped to the east, to focus on the road going
from Piana to Paro, or the Marineo-Belmonte road, whichever he liked the most,
provided he could cooperate with him on Palermo and could disturb the enemy
in all possible ways.
Obeying this order, La Masa, at the head of 150-armed men, left Mezzoiuso
and crossed Villafrati and Bolognetta to reach Misilmeri where he established a
provisional government. The big drums used in the processions rolled in several
towns, flags of all sorts and size were hoisted; wherever, the old and the young,
the priests and the women shouted at the top of their voices: long live Italy! Long
live Garibaldi! Long live Victor Emmanuel!
st
May 21 - During the night of the 20 th the main body of Garibaldi’s army
spent the night in Pioppo, with the Sicilian squads as outposts at Buarra, near
Lenzitti and some groups even further away, at the foot of Mount Meta.
In the morning, after supervising the position from the Cassaboli plain,
Garibaldi ordered to resume their advance and march on Monreale high street.
The flanks of the main column were protected, on the left, by the Genoese
Carabinieri, the squads from Buarra and those that from Lenzitti blocked the
way from Valle Corta, on the right, by the squads from Parco.
But also the royal forces had decided to take the offensive that day. They
defeated the insurgents positioned at the southern foot of the Meta, those in
Valle Corta and at Buarra and those positioned on S. Martino hills. On that day,
at the Neviera, Rosalino Pilo died with others while he was writing to Garibaldi
and desperately demanding ammunitions. On the main carriageway, Garibaldi,
having realized that it was impossible to continue his advance on Palermo,
ordered the retreat, protected by the Genoese Carabinieri.
In the night, after ordering to the squads to light many fires in Pioppo and
on the nearby hills, to make the enemy believe that they were always occupying
the Renda position, he rushed to the mountains of the Oreto Valley
(Fiumelato Valley) and appeared in the hills over Parco. The march was
indeed a disaster: «it was the hardest march I have ever had», said Garibaldi.
In fact it rained in torrents, the pathway was unstable and difficult beyond
all description, they sank in the mud up to their calves, and when they had