Page 27 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

THE AMERICAN CAMPAIGNS 1836 - 1848 25

of the figure of Garibaldi as commander were clearly manifested. To start
with that of his quick and steadfast eye appreciating with precision and in a
tangible way the real situation created on the battlefield, without doubts, loss
of heart, or even worst, dangerous illusions.
He immediately understood the usefulness of trying to confront even a
desperate situation; and with no hesitation, adopted the decision that his tac-
tical intuition suggested as the best. If this decision (as in the day of
Curitibanos) suggested, as it seemed to here, a defensive stance, he, the
impetuous warrior, the man born to solve questions with a sweep of bold
aggressiveness, did not hesitate to temporarily root himself to the ground to
act as a dam to the arrogant enemy and gain time to decide the next step.
However, the temporary defence of Garibaldi was never a timorous accept-
ance of the enemy’s will; it was always an act of will of the commander who
intended to gain time to attack again or pick the right moment to disengage.
And in carrying out this temporary defensive stand, he was as usual master in
exploiting all material and moral means that the real and concrete situation
offered him: a natural hold of the ground, a skilful use of the forces available
to him, the highest care to imprint on his action, even when defensive, the
element of surprise. And when the opportune moment arose to escape the
enemy stronghold, he became again the gaucho guerrilla fighter; he immedi-
ately seized the fleeting moment and with surprising skill avoided the action,
not shunning from confronting difficulties that to anybody else would have
seemed insurmountable just to cheat the enemy thus ensuring that the enemy
lost track of the retreating forces and in this way avoiding a dangerous chase.
In Lajes, the Texeira and Garibaldi’s expeditions had a long stop necessary
to rest and reorganise. But the fighters had been subjected to severe hardship
and deprivation by the long campaign. The enemy also was reorganising for
a more powerful offensive. In the Rio Grande camp, numerous desertions
started to take place among those soldiers recruited at random and also in the
files of volunteer citizens. The incipient cold prompted the return to one’s
home in the lower region of the Republic that had a milder climate. It was
absolutely necessary to decide to come down from the Serra and return to the
territories near the sea.
The pages of the hero’s «Memoirs» are at this point particularly interest-
ing and admonitory, as a vivid expression of his thought on to what extend
it is possible to count on irregular troops and the particular way in which they