Page 360 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

342 GENERAL GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI

quence, the General immediately ordered to resume the march in close col-
umn,, at the point of bayonets, as soon as the units had reorganised, and to
continue to Dijon: at the head, the Genoese Hunters; Tanara’s Italian legion,
the snipers of Menotti’s and Ricciotti’s Brigades as vanguards: about 1500
men; a few hundred metres behind them, the main body of the army, formed
by the mobile Battalions of Maritime Alps, Lower Alps and Lower Pyrenees.
After 13 hours on horseback, Garibaldi found by chance a small peasant
carriage and boarded it. From it, standing, he watched the parading of the
vanguard and gave courage to the soldiers with his voice, and then he fol-
lowed them.
Suddenly, near Hauteville, the column stopped; a few fusillades, then the
march was resumed, and then another stop after about ten minutes, and
again the march was resumed in the thick and frightening darkness.
The Baden outposts had rapidly withdrawn to Daix.
At the arrival in the built-up area of Daix, the vanguard was welcomed by
very violent fusillades; the units at the head rushed to the attack but were
stopped by subsequent charges. It was the Baden battalion of the reserves
that, on 4 lines, supported by the outposts arrived from Hauteville, blocked
the road by firing volleys supported by volleys of grapeshots from the artillery
pieces.
Before the insurmountable resistance of the Baden troops, Ricciotti, in
agreement with the other commanders, decided to withdraw and informed
Garibaldi; but in the meantime and as a consequence of the last volleys of
grapeshots and fusillades, the mobilisés Battalions that, crowded on the street
behind the vanguard had received some shots, in panic disbanded and scat-
tered. Garibaldi and his Staff officers tried to restore calm; but any attempt
was vain: that crowd, deaf to all calls, stepped backwards in full disorder to
Darois and beyond.
It was no use; sick at his heart, Garibaldi confirmed his order of withdraw-
al to the vanguard, and that same night the entire column went back to
Lantenay.
The 2 nd Brigade was ordered to keep Ancey and Pasques; the 42 nd
Regiment of the mobile troops of Aveyron – with 2400 men sent as reinforce-
ments by Lobbia and already in Lantenay – was ordered to take up positions
in front of the town on the right side of the 2 nd Brigade; all other troops were
ordered to continue their withdrawal to Arnay the morning after to get reor-
ganized. The 42 nd of the mobile troops and the 2 nd Brigade had to cover