Page 55 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

GIULIO DEL BONO *

THE 1848 CAMPAIGN

The feats of arms fought by Garibaldi in Italy in 1848, the last of which was
the battle of Morazzone, were of no great military importance and their mem-
ory would not give rise to any interest were it not for the fact that these were
the first battles he fought in his homeland and the circumstances that gave rise
to them and determined their development helped to highlight some of his
moods, attitudes and states of mind, that, even at that early stage, defined the
most outstanding features of his human, political and military character.
In October 1847, the news and letters sent from Italy to Plata announced
popular uprisings in the peninsula; they reported that Pius IX had granted
liberal reforms and advocated divine blessing on the Country. Excited by this
news, Garibaldi and Anziani, his companion in ideals and glory in the hectic
events occurred in Montevideo, wrote to the Papal Nuncio in Rio de Janeiro
and offered their services to the Pontiff. The latter did not reply, but gradu-
ally letters from patriots arrived from Italy informing that the revolution was
unavoidable and on the verge of breaking out. The war fever of the legionar-
ies grew, the idea of going back to their homeland and the hope of partici-
pating in the great undertaking for its redemption stirred the souls of those
men, and Garibaldi, after receiving the news of the riots in Palermo and
Messina, that took place in January 1848, took action without delay and
issued orders to leave.

* Giulio Del Bono (Florence, 1872 - Rome, 1945) was appointed Second Lieutenant of the Military Engineers in
1890 and therefore, after attending the war college, moved to the infantry. From 1908 to 1912 was assigned to the
Historical Office of the General Staff Headquarters and taught history in the officer-training school of the Guardia
di Finanza. He participated in the Great War, during which he was wounded many times and achieved the rank of
Colonel. Assigned to auxiliary positions in 1920. Five years later he was promoted Brigadier General and conclud-
ed his military career as Lieutenant General. He successfully devoted himself to the study of military history and of
the Risorgimento and published several essays and some books, among which La spedizione Zambianchi (The
Zambianchi Expedition), Città di Castello, 1936; Italia e Ungheria nel 1848-1849 (Italy and Hungary in 1848-
1849), Rome, 1937; I Servizi logistici nella Guerra d'Etiopia (Logistic Services in the War of Ethiopia), Rome, 1937;
Cavour e Napoleone III (Cavour and Napoleon III) Turin, 1941.