GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI(July 4, 1807 - June 2, 1882)

General GiuseppeGaribaldi was one of thegreatest Italian patriots ofall time and definitely themost famous soldier of theRisorgimento. Hepersonally led many of thecrucial military campaignsthat brought about theformation of a unified Italy

in 1861. He is called The Hero of the TwoWorlds, a tribute to his military expeditions inSouth America and throughout Europe.

Garibaldi was born in the ItalianProvincial city of Nice in 1807. His family wasinvolved in coastal trade and he was certified asa Merchant Marine captain in 1832.

Garibaldi met Giuseppe Mazzini, animpassioned proponent of Italian unificationthrough political and social reforms, in Genevain 1833, and joined the Young Italy movementas well as the Carbonari revolutionaryassociation. He participated in a failedMazzinian revolt in Piedmont, was sentenced todeath, and consequently fled to Marseilles.

He made his way to Brazil where hemet Anna Maria Ribeiro da Silva, affectionatelyknown as Anita, a woman of Portuguese andAmerican-Indian descent. She became his lover,companion in arms, and eventually his wife.Garibaldi fought alongside other Italian exileson behalf of the Uruguayans who opposed theArgentinean dictator, Juan Manuel de Rosas.

Calling on the Italians of Montevideo,Garibaldi formed the Italian Legion in 1843.Their black flag represented Italy in mourningbut the volcano at its center symbolized thedormant power in their homeland. It was inUruguay that the legion first sported the redshirts that became the famous symbol ofGaribaldi and his men. His strong following,mastery of guerrilla warfare, opposition to

Brazilian and Argentinean imperialism, and hisvictories in the battles of Cerro andSant’Antonio in 1846 not only assured thefreedom of Uruguay but made Garibaldi a herothroughout Italy and Europe.

Garibaldi returned to Italy in 1848 andoffered his assistance to the provisionalgovernment of Milan. Meanwhile, a Frenchforce sent by Louis Napoleon was threatening totopple the Roman Republic that had beenproclaimed in the Papal States. At Mazzini’surging, Garibaldi took command of the defenseof Rome and his wife, Anita, fought alongsidehim. Despite their efforts, the city fell on June30, 1849. Garibaldi was forced to flee as he wasbeing hunted by Austrian, French, Spanish andNeapolitan troops. Sadly Anita, pregnant withtheir fifth child, died during the retreat.

Garibaldieventually managedto escape abroad.He met AntonioMeucci, trueinventor of thetelephone, in 1850and became aresident of NewYork. Both menlived in the Gothic-revival style, 160-year old house that is now theGaribaldi-Meucci Museum, Staten Island,and worked as candlemakers for some time.

G a r i b a l d ireturned to Italyagain in 1854. Hewas appointedMajor General ofthe Austro-Piedmontese Warin 1859 and formeda volunteer unitcalled the Hunters

of the Alps. Together they were victorious overthe Austrians at Varese and Como, among other

places. However, Garibaldi was very displeasedto learn that his home city of Nice wassurrendered to the French in exchange forcrucial military assistance.

In April of 1860, uprisings in Messinaand Palermo, both part of the Kingdom of theTwo Sicilies, provided Garibaldi with anopportunity. He gathered approximately onethousand volunteers onto two ships and landedat Marsala, the western-most point of Sicily, onMay 11, 1860. These volunteers were called I Mille, and are more popularly known as the“Red Shirts.”

Local rebels joined Garibaldi’s army and theywere able to defeat a three thousand-strong,Bourbon French garrison at Calatafimi on May13. Garibaldi then advanced to Palermo,Sicily’s capital, and launched a siege on May 27.He won a signal victory and gained worldwidefame and the respect of many Italians.

Having accomplished the conquest ofSicily, Garibaldi and his men crossed the Straitof Messina, avoiding the Neapolitan fleet, andentered Naples on September 7. After anextensive battle on the Volturno River, BourbonKing, Francis II, retired and Garibaldi capturedNaples, the largest town in Southern Italy. Hethen declared himself the Dictator of the TwoSicilies. However, during his famous meetingwith Victor Emmanuel II at Teano on October26, 1860, Garibaldi greeted him as king of thenewly unified nation of southern Italy. Victor

Emmanuel II played a crucial role in unifyingand freeing the North. Garibaldi then resignedas dictator and retired to the island of Caprera,which would become his permanent home. Herefused to accept any reward for his services.

At the outbreak of the American CivilWar in 1861, Garibaldi volunteered his servicesto President Abraham Lincoln and was invitedto serve as a Major General in the Union Army.Garibaldi said he would serve under twoconditions—first, that slavery would definitelybe abolished and second, that he would be givenfull command of the army. Both of theseconditions were impossible for Lincoln to agreeto and the offer was quietly withdrawn.

In 1862,French Emperor,Napoleon III,guaranteed theindependence ofRome from Italyby stationing aFrench garrison inRome. Victor

Emmanuel II was wary of the internationalrepercussions of attacking the Papal States anddiscouraged his subjects from participating inthis revolutionary venture. However, Garibaldidid not comply with his wishes.

He sailed from Genoa to Palermo inJune of 1862, seeking to gather volunteers underthe slogan, “Roma o Morte,” or “Rome orDeath.” Garibaldi quickly formed anenthusiastic army and left for Messina. Whenhis force of two thousand men arrived, the armyproved loyal to the king’s instructions andbarred their passage onto the mainland.Garibaldi and his men then turned south and setsail from Catania, where Garibaldi declared thathe would enter Rome as a victor or perishbeneath its walls. He landed at Melito onAugust 14 and marched into the CalabrianMountains.

The Italian government was quite

General Giuseppe Garibaldi

Dipping vat used by Meucci andGaribaldi in the 1850’s

Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, Statem Island, circa 1910

Garibaldi’s fighting uniform, or “Red Shirt”

Garibaldi on horseback, circa 1860

The Garibaldi-Meucci

Museum

Garibaldi-Meucci MuseumHistory and Goals

The mission of the Garibaldi-Meucci Museumis to collect, preserve and exhibit material

relating to the lives of Giuseppe Garibaldi andAntonio Meucci and to the role of Italian-

Americans in the United States; to publish anddisseminate information regarding the museumand the Italian-American heritage; to conduct

cultural, artistic and educational programs andclasses to promote the understanding of Italian-

American heritage; to sponsor and conductprograms and activities designed to eliminate

ethnic and racial prejudice and discrimination;to collect, hold, own, maintain, preserve andmake available appropriate historical objects

and artifacts; and to conduct all lawfulactivities which may be useful in accomplishing

the foregoing purposes.

The Museum is administered by the Order Sonsof Italy in America, the oldest organization of

Italian-American men and women in the UnitedStates.

The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum420 Tompkins Ave.

Staten Island, NY 10305TEL: (718) 442-1608FAX: (718) 442-8635

info@garibaldimeuccimuseum.orgwww.garibaldimeuccimuseum.org

GARIBA

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SONS OF ITALY IN A

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Staten IslandNew York

Roman Empire, Italy was unified from the Alps toSicily. Rome became the capital city of theunified country of Italy. However, in light ofrecent hostility shown to him by Napoleon III,Garibaldi turned his support to the French ThirdRepublic, traveled to France, and assumedcommand of an army of volunteers in the VosgesMountains. They were never defeated by theGermans.

Garibaldi spent the rest of his life inCaprera with his third wife, Francesca Armosino,and their children and family members. He diedon June 2, 1882.

There is no question that Garibaldi’spopularity, skill, heroism and military exploitsmade the unification of Italy possible. He servedas a global example of 19th century revolutionarynationalism and liberalism. An active freemason,Garibaldi thought of masonry as a network tounite progressive men as brothers both withinnations and as members of a global community.

Garibaldi wrote at least two novelsduring his lifetime, including Clelia and Cantoni il volontario, 1870. He also wrote twonon-fiction works, Autobiography, published in1889, and The Memoirs of Garibaldi, co-authored by Alexandre Dumas, published in 1861.

Five Italian Navy shipshave been named afterhim, including thecurrent flagship, theaircraft carrierGiuseppe Garibaldi.Cities in Brazil andOregon have beennamed in his honor, aswell. Statuesconstructed to honorthe great Italian herostand in many Italiansquares and in countriesacross the globe.

The Legacy OfGeneral

Giuseppe Garibaldi

disapproving and dispatched a division of thearmy to oppose all volunteer bands. On August28, the two forces met in Aspromonte. Thefighting ended quickly, as Garibaldi forbade hismen to return fire on fellow subjects of theKingdom of Italy, but not before he had beenshot in the foot. He was taken to Varignanowhere he was held in honorable imprisonmentand underwent a painful operation for hiswound. Garibaldi’s venture had failed but hismen never deserted him. He was eventuallyreleased and allowed to return to Caprera.

Garibaldi took up arms again in 1866,this time with the full support of the Italiangovernment. The Austro-Prussian War hadbroken out and Italy allied with Prussia againstAustria-Hungary in hopes of taking Venetia fromAustrian rule (Third Italian War of Independence). Garibaldi gathered hisHunters of the Alps once again, now almost40,000 strong, and led them into the Trentino.They defeated the Austrians at Bezzecca andcontinued towards Trento. However, Italianregular forces were quickly defeated at the Seabattle of Lissa. An armistice was signed, inwhich Austria ceded Venetia to Italy, but this waslargely due to Prussia’s successes on theNorthern Front. Garibaldi was ordered to stophis advance to Trento and he answered with ashort telegram that read, “Obbedisco,” “I obey.”

After the war, Garibaldi led a politicalparty that agitated for the capture of Rome. In1867, he marched on Rome once again but wasmatched with a strong Papal army supported bya French auxiliary force. Garibaldi wasdefeated, taken prisoner and held captive forsome time. He eventually returned to Caprera.

When the Franco-Prussian War brokeout in 1870, many Italians favored the Prussiansand signed up as volunteers at the Prussianembassy in Florence. After the French garrisonwas recalled from Rome, the Italian armycaptured the Papal States without Garibaldi’sassistance. For the first time since the fall of the Cover image: General Giuseppe Garibaldi, 1866

Celebrating TheBicentenary Of

Garibaldi’s Birth:

Statue of Garibaldi in WashingtonSquare Park, Lower Manhattan