Page 45 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

THE AMERICAN CAMPAIGNS 1836 - 1848 43

the stronghold stopped suddenly. A few moments later, the same hoarse and
vibrant drum of the Legion sounded the bayonet charge and Garibaldi, at the
head of to attack columns converging to the Tres Cruces, overwhelmed the
enemy, killing 36 men, and taking the position that was the key of the
advance line of the besieger.
«The alarm flag had also been raised in the Cerrito, and all the reserves
run to the attacked area, formed in large columns, dressed in red, which
made them stand out on the green of the field.
“ It was wise to start a retreat, to avoid compromising for no good reasons
the outcome of the battle and Garibaldi, by order of General Paz, gave the
signal personally leading the rearguard. The enemies, with considerable rein-
forcements, tried to attack the columns from the stronghold while they were
going back to their positions, but two pieces of artillery under the command
of lieutenant Emilio Mitre (later general in the Argentinian army), placed in
advance in the Cordobesa little square, broke fire and kept the enemy busy,
so that the retreat took place in perfect order.
“At 6 o’clock in the afternoon, the column of the stronghold, carrying in
triumph at its head the bloody corpse of colonel Neira, escorted by 13 black
men who had rescued him from the hands of the enemy, entered in the
trenches through the main door, with drums beating and flags flying, with
the cheers of the garrison. Garibaldi, serene and modest, marched on his red-
dish-brown horse alongside the corpse”

Another very glorious day for the Italian Legion was the 24 April of ’44 in
the sortie of the Bajada (probably the Pantanoso river near Montevideo), near
Cerrito, a hill slightly north of the Cerro fallen into enemy hands, which was
very important to the besieged for it to be taken back. The battle was hard
and bloody and the Legion had 70 men out of action but with the valour and
the impetus with which Garibaldi led it to a desperate counteroffensive
against the prevalent enemy, it saved from assured defeat a large part of the
Uruguaian forces involved in that action.
About a year later, in March 1845, the Uruguaians had a new and disas-
trous defeat in the open field, where general Rivera was at that moment fight-
ing with mixed fortune with the intent of hindering the total domination of
the campaigns by Rosas’ forces. Rivera, attacked at India Muerta, was com-
pletely defeated and had to seek refuge in Brazil. But the horrors perpetrated