CHAPTER VIII
"I saw Garibaldi, and watch'd him nigh;
I saw the lightnings that flash from his eye:
He's not of the dust of which mortals are made,
And what reaches his heart will not be of lead."
Dall'Ongaro. T. D.
PREPARATIONS TO ATTACK PALERMO – NIGHT MARCH – ATTACK – BATTLE – THE BOMBARDMENT
"The first idea was to make the attack in the middle of the night – the Neapolitans don't like to stir at night, and there was every chance of a panic among them; but there was some danger that way likewise for the Sicilian insurgents, and it was thought best to make such arrangements as would bring the force at dawn to the gates of the town. According to the original and better plan of the general himself and his adjutant-general, Colonel Turr, the movement was to have been made along the main road from Misilmeri, broad enough to admit of considerable development of the columns, and commodious in every respect. The native captains, however, suggested the Pass of Mezzagna, which descends from the heights behind Gebel Rosso into the plain of Palermo. According to their statements, it was much shorter and by no means difficult. Their statements were believed, and the whole force received orders to be concentrated by nightfall on the summit of the pass, crowned with a church.
"According to the first disposition, the troops brought by the general himself were to lead the way, and the squadre to follow; but some of the chiefs begged it as a favor for their corps to have the honor of being first in the town – a claim which could not be very well refused. The plan was, therefore, modified. The guides and three men from each company of the Cacciatori delle Alpi, were formed into an avant-garde, confided to Major Tüköri, a Hungarian, an officer who distinguished himself under General Kméty on the 29th of September, at Kars. Behind this avant-garde followed the Sicilians, commanded by La Maga, an emigrant, who had come over with Garibaldi. The second line was led by the riflemen of Genoa – excellent shots, all armed with the Swiss carbine. Behind them came the two battalions of Cacciatori delle Alpi, and in the rear the rest of the Sicilians.
"The order having been distributed, the different bands gradually worked their way toward the summit of the pass. The packing up at headquarters did not take much time; it soon after broke up its camp and followed the troops. I was mounted on a regular Rosinante, with a halter passed round the jaw, and provided with a saddle which seemed to have been formed to fit on the vertebræ of my lean black charger. A blanket was, however, found in due time, and on the whole I cannot complain. The road up to the pass winds along rows of gigantic cactus hedges, which give a thoroughly eastern character to the country. It was just sunset when we arrived on the top, where, through a gap, we could see the bay and town of Palermo and the sea beyond, looking more like a fairy picture than reality. All the mountains, with their rugged points naturally of a reddish tint, seemed to have drunk in the rays of the setting sun, and exhibited that rosy color which I had thought hitherto a special gift of the plain of Attica. While you had this charming scene before you, you looked behind, as it were, into the hearts of the mountains. It was one of the finest spots I ever saw, and all the country was fragrant with spring flowers, the perfume of which came out with redoubled vigor as soon as the sun had set. It proved a bad road for the expedition, that mountain pass, but it was lovely to look upon.
"In order to entertain the Neapolitans with the idea that all was safe on that side, the usual large fires were kindled on the tops of the mountains, and kept up long after our departure by men left behind for that purpose. Garibaldi went up to look at the position underneath, or, perhaps, to indulge in that kind of reverie to which he is subject in such solemn moments, and which ends in a concentration of all his faculties on the sole aim he has before him.
"The evening gun in the fort had been long reëchoed by the mountains, and the moon had risen clear and bright above our heads, giving a new charm to this lovely scenery, before we stirred."
THE NIGHT MARCH
"During this interval the picciotti (youngsters), as the patriots are called, were put into some kind of order, which, you will believe me, was no easy matter in the comparative darkness which prevailed; no chief knowing his men, and the men not recognizing their chief – every one acting for some one else, and no one able to give an answer. With the exception of the troops brought over by Garibaldi, all the rest seemed an entangled mass almost impossible to unravel. However, by degrees, those belonging to the same chief found themselves together, and the march began about ten, P.M. Either the Sicilian chieftains had never looked at the Pass of Mezzagna, or else they have curious ideas of a road; the whole is nothing but a track among big stones, crossing and recrossing the bed of a mountain torrent, following not unfrequently the bed of the torrent, leading over smooth masses of stones and across most awkward gaps – all this at an angle of twenty-five degrees, to be passed on horseback at night! Even the men could only go singly, which made our line a frightful length, and caused continual delays and stoppages. The general vowed never to believe another Sicilian report on the state of a mountain road. However, in the end, we reached the plain and came in among the olive-trees below, with few falls among the sure-footed horses. A halt was made until all the columns had descended, and during this halt an incident occurred which did not promise much for the future behavior of our picciotti. The horses in Sicily are left for the most part entire, hence continual fighting and considerable neighing, which was so inconvenient in a night expedition of this kind that several of the most vicious steeds had to be sent back. One of them still remained, and began its antics; the rider lost patience, which made matters worse. Those nearest threw themselves back in haste, and communicated the movement to those behind. These, many of whom had sat down and began to doze, mistook in their dreams, probably, the trees for Neapolitans, the stars for so many shells, and the moon for a colossal fireball; at any rate, the majority of them were, with one bound, in the thickets on both sides of the road, several fired off their muskets in their fright, and very little was wanting to cause a general panic. Every one did what he could to restore confidence, but the effect was produced and reacted, as you will see by and by. Another incident occurred, which might have led to the failure of the whole expedition. The Sicilian guides who were with the avant-garde missed the road, and instead of taking a by-road which led into the main road we had to pursue, they continued on the road near the hill-side, which would have brought us just where the Neapolitans were in the greatest strength. The mistake was perceived in time and repaired, but not without considerable loss of time. At last the column emerged on to the main road, which is broad and skirted by high garden walls. As we had lost considerable time with all these contretemps, and as dawn was approaching, we had to make haste, but whether from fatigue or the impression of the night panic, the picciotti could not be brought to move very fast. It was just the first glimmer of dawn when we passed the first houses, which extend in this direction a long way out of the town of Palermo. The squadre, who ought to have known the locality better, began shouting and 'evvivaing,' just as if we had been close to the gates. Had it not been for this blunder, the avant-garde might have surprised the post on the bridge of the Ammiragliato, and probably penetrated into the town without the loss of a man. As it was, the shouting not only roused those on guard on the bridge, but likewise gave an opportunity to the Neapolitans to strengthen the force at the gate of Termini, and to make all their dispositions for a defence from the flank.
"Instead, therefore, of surprising the post on the bridge, the avant-garde was received by a well-sustained fire, not only in front, but from the houses in their flanks. At the first sound of the musketry, most of the picciotti were across the garden walls, but not with the view of firing from behind them, leaving thus the 30 or 40 men of the avant-garde all isolated in the large exposed street which leads to the bridge. The first battalion of the Cacciatori was sent up, and as it did not carry the position fast enough, the second was sent after it soon after. While these were driving back the Neapolitans, every one did his best to drive the picciotti forward. It was not so easy, in the beginning especially, when the sound of cannon was heard in front, although its effects were scarcely visible. However, the picciotti, who remind me very much of Arnout Bashibazouks, can be led on after the first unpleasant sensation has passed away, especially when they see that it is not all shots that kill or wound – not even the cannon-shots, which make so formidable a noise. They could see this to perfection this morning, for although the Neapolitan rifles are scarcely inferior to the best fire-arms, I never saw so little damage done by so much shooting. Every one put himself, therefore, to work to lead and urge on the picciotti, driving them out of the sheltered places by all kinds of contrivances, and often by blows and main force. After some trouble, most of them were safely brought through the open space before the bridge, but the general tendency was to go under rather than above the bridge, which is, like all bridges over torrents, high, and was, in this instance, exposed to a heavy cross fire from the Piana di Borazzo, where the Neapolitans had a loopholed wall and some guns mounted, which threw a few ill-aimed shells. While the general himself, and many of his staff, did their best to make them leave this shelter again and proceed, the avant-garde had chased back the Neapolitans to the stradone which runs down to the sea just in front of the Porta di Termini. The Neapolitan fort at the gate, considerably reinforced, opened a hot fire, which swept down the long avenue of houses leading to the bridge, while at the same time the two guns and the troops posted at the Porta Sant' Antonino, brought a cross fire to bear on the attackers. But this was no obstacle to the brave fellows who led the way. They did not lose time with firing, but rushed on with the bayonet. The commander of the avant-garde, who was a Hungarian major, and three of the guides, were the first across the sand-bag barricade in the town, but the leader was wounded by a shot which shattered his left knee. Otherwise the loss had been trifling. While the avant-garde and the Cacciatori chased the Neapolitans from spot to spot, the Palermitans began likewise to stir, but, justice compels me to say, only in the parts which the troops had left.
"The same scene as at the bridge was repeated at the crossing of the stradone by the picciotti, who followed in a straggling movement. And yet it was important to get into the town, in order not to be outflanked or taken in the rear by the Neapolitans holding the Piana di Borazzo. In order to avert this danger, the order was given to some of the bands to get behind the garden walls which line the road by which the Neapolitans might have come down on our left. These diversions, and probably the dislike to fight in open field, were sufficient to parry this danger until the greatest part of the stragglers had passed. At the same time a barricade was thrown up in the rear with anything which could be laid hold of. This work pleased the picciotti so well, that they began throwing up a barricade in front likewise. At any rate, they blocked up a part of the road before they could be prevented.
"But the most critical thing was decidedly the crossing of the stradone, where the cross fire was kept up, and all kinds of dodges were resorted to to make them risk this salto, which they thought mortal. I and one of the followers of Garibaldi held out one of the men by main force exposed to the fire, which soon made him run across. It was here, above all, that the bad firing of the Neapolitans told. I was looking on for some time, and did not see a single man even wounded. In order to encourage the picciotti, one of the Genoese riflemen took four or five chairs, planted the tricolor on one of them, and sat down upon it for some time. The thing took at last decidedly, and you saw the picciotti stopping on the road to fire off their muskets.
"Close to the Porta di Termini is the Vecchia Fiera – the old market-place. One must know these Sicilians to have an idea of the frenzy, screaming, shouting, crying, and hugging: all would kiss Garibaldi's hand and embrace his knees. Every moment brought new masses, which debouched in troops from one of the streets, anxious to have their turn. As the Cacciatori gradually cleared the lower part of the town, most of the inhabitants came to have a look, and give a greeting to the Liberator of Palermo and Sicily. The entrance was effected about half-past 5 A.M., and by noon more than one-half of the town was clear of the troops. But two hours before this was effected, the citadel had opened its fire on the town, at first moderately enough, but soon after with great vigor, firing large 13-inch shell, red-hot shot, and every other projectile calculated to do the greatest possible damage. About noon or so, the ships in the harbor opened their fire, and between the two they contrived to destroy a great number of houses in the lower part of the town, killing and wounding a great number of people of all ages and both sexes. Two of the large shells were sent right into the hospital, and exploded in one of the wards. Everywhere you perceived ruins and conflagrations, dead and wounded, not a few of whom must have perished among the ruins of their houses. It was especially the part of the town near the Piazzi Bologni, and some of the adjoining streets which was ill-treated. If the object of the Neapolitans was to inspire terror, they certainly succeeded. Whoever could, took refuge in whatever he thought the most bomb-proof place, and those who could not, you saw crying, praying, and wringing their hands in the streets. It was a pitiable sight, indeed, and it did more harm to inoffensive people than to those who might have retaliated. Before opening the fire, the commodore sent a polite message to all the men-of-war which were in the way to get out of it, and all the vessels which were moored inside the Mole had to shift their berths and take up positions outside."
THE BOMBARDMENT
"Evening.
"The bombardment is still kept up, with only short intervals, especially from the Castle, where the alter ego of King Bomba II. reigns. There is no doubt that Admiral Mundy made very strong representations to the Neapolitan commodore about the bombardment, but they have not been listened to. Some parts of the town will have to be entirely rebuilt, the large shells having passed right through from top to bottom, shaking those ill-built constructions. Several of the churches have come in for their share; yet all this useless bombardment has not prevented the soldiers from being, by degrees dislodged from all their positions in the town, with the exception of the parts about the royal palace and their line of communication with the Mole. In the lower part of the town they possess only the Castello Amare and the Finanze, which is held by a company or so of soldiers. Most of the foreign subjects have taken refuge on board the men-of-war, and all the consuls, with the exception of Mr. Goodwin, our own, who sticks like a true Briton to his consular flag. According to all accounts, there is no comparison, between the bombardment in 1848 and the present one. Then the Neapolitans were satisfied with sending one or two shells every half hour, while now they take just time enough to let their guns and mortars cool.
"All those who came in this morning with Garibaldi are dead beat, having had no sleep last night, and plenty of work since. The general himself is reposing on the platform which surrounds the large fountain in the Piazza del Pretorio, where the committee is sitting en permanence. This committee, the same which carried on the whole movement from the beginning, has constituted itself as a provisional government, under the dictatorship of Garibaldi. It has appointed several special committees for the different branches of its operations, and provides as well as possible for the many wants which occur every moment. Considering the oppression under which the people have been, very little preparation could be made for the emergency, and everything has to be provided now under the pressure of the moment – arms, as far as possible, ammunition, provisions for the troops, hospital wants and arrangements, besides the great fact of satisfying every one who wants, or thinks he wants, something, and listening to every one who has something to say, or thinks he has. There is a great deal of good-will on the part of the committee, but I must say it is not so energetically seconded by the Palermitans as one could have expected from their enthusiasm. There is a semi-oriental laissez aller about them, which only produces fits of activity scarcely equal to the moment.
"At our first entrance into the town, there was a good deal of haste made about the barricades, but as the extension of the occupation constantly requires new barricades, there is some difficulty in keeping them up to the work; a great many evvivas, but all preferred to run about the streets to laying hand to the work. Even the ringing of the bells, the most demoralizing sound to an army in a populous town, can, in spite of all injunctions, be only kept up in fits and starts. It is the southern indolence, which soon gets the better of all good dispositions.
"The town is illuminated, and presents, during the intervals of the bombardment, an animated appearance; but all the shops are still closed. The illumination, with the antique-shaped glass lamps suspended from the balconies, presents a very pretty effect, rather heightened by the shells flying through the clear sky."
CHAPTER IX
"A nun of Sicily said to me:
'He must brother be to Saint Rosalie:
For there's a wild brilliancy beams in his eyes,
Sent down by his sister from Paradise.'"
Dall'Ongaro's lines on Garibaldi. T. D.
JOURNAL OF AN EYE-WITNESS CONTINUED – PALERMO AFTER THE CAPTURE – GARIBALDI IN A DANGEROUS CRISIS – THE ARCHBISHOP OF PALERMO AND MANY OF THE HEADS OF CONVENTS WITH GARIBALDI – ADDRESS OF THE CORPORATION – INCIDENTS IN PALERMO – GARIBALDI'S DECREE FOR POOR SOLDIERS AND THEIR FAMILIES
"The taking of Palermo has had decidedly its effect on the country around. There is no end of the squadre which are approaching in all directions and hovering about the Regii. As soon as these latter had left Monreale, the insurgents in the neighborhood descended to occupy it as well as San Martino. All about Piana and Corleone they are swarming and skirmishing, so that the column of 1,500 or 1,600 men which has been sent in that direction is rather compromised. They hoped to destroy Garibaldi and his partisans, and the fate they prepared for them may await themselves.
"But while thus the general march of events is decidedly favorable, I must say the Palermitans are scarcely up to the mark. They are all well-intentioned, but they are distressingly indolent, and want that general coöperation which is most calculated to insure success. There is no initiative or activity on their part, and their sole occupation seems to be to invent and spread rumors. Not a quarter of an hour passes without some fellow or other coming in out of breath and announcing the advance of the royal troops; now they are from one, now from the other side. Above all, horses and cavalry seem to be the nightmare of the Palermitans. They see the solitary regiment of Neapolitan cavalry everywhere. It is in vain that their noses are thrust against the barricades with which the whole town is blocked up, they will see the cavalry. But, although they are thus haunted by the royal troops, few seem to think that they ought to do some thing for themselves – making preparations for the defence of their houses and streets, and being always ready to meet an attack. It never occurs to them, as it did to the Lombards last year, that it is their duty to think day and night how to alleviate the sufferings of those who bleed in their cause. It is not the want of will, but a deficiency in acting otherwise than by order. The only thing which they do spontaneously, is to cry "Evviva," and promenade the streets, eager for news and gossip.
"The irregulars are decidedly improving. They are getting a taste for barricade and street fighting; they still blaze away their ammunition in a frantic manner, but they are beginning to keep to their posts and even to advance, if not too much exposed. This is our advantage in these street fights; the longer they last, the more they increase the confidence of the irregulars, and destroy the discipline of the regular troops.
"Every hour brings new proofs of this in the shape of prisoners and deserters from the Neapolitan forces. With those taken in the hospitals, there must be above 1,000. There is an order from the general to treat them well, and there is no animosity prevailing against them, but so much the greater is that against the sbirri and 'compagni d'armi,' a kind of local police, who have committed great horrors. They are picked out everywhere, and brought up in gangs of five and six to the committee, trembling for their lives; but only one of them has been killed hitherto, having been taken in the act of firing at those who wanted to arrest him.
"The ceasing of the bombardment, or rather the diminishing of it, has brought people out into the streets again."
GARIBALDI IN A DANGEROUS CRISIS
"May 29– 6 P.M.
"About 3 P.M. one of those panics suddenly broke out again which occur every moment, and serve more than anything else to demoralize the town and the squadre. The steamers which had gone off yesterday came back, and the rumor was that they were disembarking their troops before the Porta dei Greci; – great running and movement, great confusion, all caused by a column of dust on the road running along the sea-shore. In the afternoon there was some heavy firing, both toward the Piazza Reale and on the left of it, where the Neapolitans have a bastion which flanks the palace and is itself defended from the Castello. All yesterday and to-day the object on that side was to get possession of a cluster of houses, so as to isolate that bastion, and force them out of this, as from that of Sant' Agata. The town is too large, and Garibaldi's immediate followers are too few to be sent everywhere, and too precious to be exposed, except in the greatest necessity. Thus it is the squadre who form the mass in most places.
"The Archbishop of Palermo, and many heads of religious orders, paid a visit to Garibaldi, and returned, delighted with the simplicity and modesty of his bearing. Garibaldi finds himself more at home with the Sicilian clergy than with any other, because it has never made common cause with tyranny, or lost the manly virtues of the citizen. 'It was worth while to come to Sicily,' he said, 'if only to find out that there is still an Italian clergy.' Garibaldi, on the other hand, must contrast favorably in their eyes with the Neapolitan generals who have profaned their churches and plundered them of their sacred vessels, as General Clary did at the sack of Catania, in the confident expectation that the Pope would absolve him as he absolved the Swiss, who, in sacking Perugia, laid ecclesiastical as well as lay property under contribution."
ADDRESS OF THE PALERMO CORPORATION TO GARIBALDI
"A deputation of the municipality of Palermo presented an address to Garibaldi, expressing its thanks to the liberator of Sicily. The address contains the resolution that the Porta Termini, by which the forces of Garibaldi entered, is to be called henceforth Porta Garibaldi, and the Piazza Vecchia the Piazza di Vittorio Emmanuell. A statue has been likewise decreed to Garibaldi. It is to be erected by subscription.
"Garibaldi answered the deputation by one of those heart-stirring speeches that he knows how to make, reminding them that all was not done, and that every effort must be concentrated to complete the work. He gave them good advice about their duty to organize the people; that there was but one choice between the Neapolitans and a general armament; that Sicily could only be free as part of Italy. He told them that they ought to work for this, but that the time for annexation had not come. It would lead to foreign interference, which ought to be avoided. When the time came, he would be the first to lead in this matter, to which he had devoted his life. Cheering and an enthusiastic expression of thorough confidence was the answer."
Thus it was that Garibaldi, after a brief career, marked by wonderful success at every step, entered Palermo by the eastern gates, and between daybreak and ten o'clock in the morning, had possession of the greater part of the city.
The Neapolitans were driven into a number of strong positions round the royal palace, to the southwest of the town, and to the northwest toward the Mole, their line of retreat, and, not being able to do anything more, the ships opened their fire, always the last remedy. Almost all the civilized nations had representatives of their fleets on the spot to witness and approve by their presence this noble proceeding – English, French, American, Sardinian, Austrian – none of them were wanting; nay, they anchored in a way which might not hinder the movements of the brave Neapolitan fleet.
The young King of Naples, though only twenty-three years old, has shown so much of the spirit of his father, recently deceased, that he has been justly named Bomba Junior, or the young Bomb-shell. When the landing of Garibaldi produced the first fit of terror at Naples, the youthful Bourbon sent to his brave fleet concentrated in the Bay of Palermo the order to bombard his faithful Palermitans, and reduce their town to ashes if they should dare to rise against his paternal authority. The Palermitans had been treated once already in this paternal manner by the illustrious father of the present sovereign, who figures in history as King Bomba, for having given these souvenirs of his love to every large town of his kingdom.
During the latter part of the fighting between Garibaldi's troops and those of the king, when the latter were nearly driven from the streets of Palermo, the ammunition of the picciotti (or little boys, as the patriot recruits were called) was exhausted at that point, one party of them fell back in one of the streets, and thus allowed the royalists to shut in a street of houses in which another party of them was still holding out.
Garibaldi was at dinner when the news arrived. There had been so many rumors of an advance of the Neapolitans during the day, that the first impression was that this was merely another of those wild rumors; but Captain Niva, who brought it, was one of the Garibaldians, and there could be no doubt about its truth. Garibaldi jumped up from his chair, saying, "Well, then, I suppose I must go there myself." He saw it was one of those moments when the chief must be at the head of his troops to restore their confidence. He went downstairs, and took with him whatever troops he found on the road to that exposed point, and proceeded to retake the lost ground.
"His presence (wrote a person who was in the city at the time), not only soon checked the advance of the royalists, but made them likewise lose the advantage they had gained a moment before. With that marvellous ascendency which he exercises over those around him, he succeeded in a short time in making the picciotti fight, and even in animating the population which had remained in the houses."
In spite of the urgent entreaties of his followers not to expose himself, he remained in the open street, without any shelter, haranguing and encouraging the men; the enemy seeing this, issued out from the houses and from behind the barricade. One of the picciotti was shot through the head just before Garibaldi, who, seeing him falling, held him up for a moment; and Colonel Turr, at his side, got a ricochet ball against his leg as he took hold of the general and dragged him by main force under shelter. But the effect was produced. One rush brought the party close enough to throw one of Orsini's shells, which prostrated seven or eight men. The bugler, who is always at Garibaldi's side, sounded the charge, and the Neapolitans ran. The sound of this bugle seems to act formidably on the nerves of the Neapolitan troops; they know they have to do with Garibaldi's men, and at Calata Fimi they ran before even the charge took place.
Royal troops were disembarked in the night of the 29th of May, went out of the Castello toward the Mole, and then by a circuit, rejoined the troops on the other side, anxious to hold their ground in and about the royal palace, rather than to make an attack on the town.
The news from the country could not have been better. Everywhere the people were rising and the troops withdrawing. On the evening of the 23d, General Alfan di Heisia abandoned Girgenti. As soon as the troops left, the population hoisted the Italian flag. A committee was formed, and a national guard. The cries were, as everywhere else, "Viva l'Italia," "Viva Vittorio Emmanuele," and "Viva Garibaldi." The civil authorities were respected, and although the prisoners, two hundred in number, were let out, no disturbance occurred. The whole province there, as everywhere else, followed the example, rising, instituting a committee, and arming itself. The province of Catania rose, with the exception of the town, which was still held by the military, as well as that of Trapani. And all this occurred before the taking of Palermo.