Page 224 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

222 GENERAL GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI

Basilicata, Apulia, the Principates, the Capitanata hoisted the flag of redemption
and, after removing or chasing out the representatives of the King’s authority,
established extraordinary regiments and trusted the affairs of the city into the
hands of local patriots, collected armed bands, among which the famous
Calabria band led by Baron Stocco who had already served with honour in the
undertaking of the Mille, and the famous Basilicata band, under the lead of
Colonel Boldoni: picturesque crowds in their traditional costumes, armed with
blunderbusses, shotguns, old weapons and all sorts of improvised war tools.
Before the fury of the people the small military positions scattered here
and there surrendered and even the larger ones, that, by the number of their
soldiers, could have opposed some resistance, were swept out by their lack of
confidence, or even made common cause with the insurgents, they, too,
enflamed by that love for one’s homeland that was conquering all hearts. The
gendarmes of Potenza surrendered; the Caldarelli brigade – formed by a reg-
iment of Carabinieri, two squadrons of lancers and a battery – capitulated,
and announced its retreat towards Salerno, the soldiers bringing with them
just their packs; also General Flores left the Apulia region taking with him the
few men that had remained loyal.
Finally, also Vial abandoned the Calabria region and left General Ghio to get
out of the situation and take away to safety the troops that were still with him.
In Monteleone (now Vibo Valentia), Mèlito and Pizzo there were still
about 10,000 Bourbon soldiers, now left without any cohesion, who had no
trust in their leaders whose meanness they had realised and whose betrayal
their were afraid of because of the ambiguous behaviour shown by many offi-
cers and especially because of the sad events that occurred to General
Briganti, leading to his tragic death.
In the torment of those days, disciplinary norms were loosened and bro-
ken, yet they were the only thing that still kept together the weak Neapolitan
army, and this justified what the then minister of Francis II, Pianell, wrote
about the vast disintegration of the army, ascribing the responsibility of that
to all those who in the army were of his rank.
When Major De Sauget, sent from Naples, arrived by sea at Pizzo with the
task of gathering information about the recent events and of ordering Vial on
behalf of the war minister to gather those elements still loyal to the King and
lead them to Naples, Bettolini was already negotiating with the same purpose
in mind. It was however logical that Garibaldi wanted to prevent these troops
to go and swell the ranks of the army that he presumed he would meet before