Page 33 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

THE AMERICAN CAMPAIGNS 1836 - 1848 31

and resounded high in Italy and in the most civilised countries of Europe, we
will still see, deep in his commander’s temperament, the original and irre-
pressible original mark of the pirate and guerrilla fighter (in the sense of a
overwhelming fighting spirit); but the fibre of the man of war became more
robust and complete, until it took on, in some battle actions, the form and
the substance of a the real fibre of experienced general or admiral, possessing
those exceptional qualities of heart, thought and action. All this long and very
turbulent period, lasting six years, can be summarised, for our purpose, by
recalling only three events in which by exercising an independent leadership
and the intrinsic importance of the events taking place, his mature ability as
a commander was revealed at its best, that is:
- The campaign alongside the Paranà River and the Costa Brava or Nueva
Cava battles (May-November 1842);
- The campaign alongside the Uruguay River and the famous battle of San
Antonio (August 1845-February 1846).
This means that we will consider only three pictures of his exploits; but
ones that are so wonderful in terms of drawing and colour that although only
briefly illustrated, they will suffice to present in the right light the noble fig-
ure of this Hero warrior, of which, even then, Italy could be proud.
The beginning of the second period of Garibaldi’s exploits in America
manifested itself in a very different way than that of the first period. In this,
the unknown Italian exile, driven by an unstoppable need for a life of adven-
tures, in order to escape the inertia that kills his great exile and wandering
patriotic heart, accepted as a liberation the offer to participate in a pirate war
in defence of a small Republic (Rio Grande) desiring independence.
In the second period, on the other hand, having become eminent and very
well known in Montevideo where he had come to get some rest and peace,
he was continually sought-after and beseeched by high-ranking local person-
alities to take on an important military command, this time in defence of the
heroic Republic of Uruguay, engaged in a deadly duel with the nearby large
Republic of Argentina, headed by the infamous and cruel tyrant Rosas, one
of the most sinister figures that the tumultuous history of that country
remembers.
This time Garibaldi was reluctant to accept the invitation. Like all those
whose fame rises high for their eminent exploits, he started to feel around
him the hateful grumbling of envy and saw that some of the local powerful