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| King Francis II |
By Giovanni di Napoli
"I do not know what the independence of Italy means. I only know the independence of Naples!" – Francis II on the idea of Italian unification
November 13th, 1860 marks the beginning of the Siege of Gaeta. Under the command of General Enrico Cialdini the Piedmontese forces sought to finish off the conquest of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies begun by Giuseppe Garibaldi on May 11th, 1860. The resistance was the heroic last stand of the one hundred twenty six year old Bourbon dynasty in Southern Italy against the House of Savoy.
Without a formal declaration of war Garibaldi’s redshirts disembarked at Marsala, Sicily, under the guard of British warships. Thus began their improbable subjugation of the independent and sovereign Kingdom. Capitalizing on a recent revolt, Garibaldi stoked the flames of rebellion with false promises of wide-ranging social reforms that, of course, were never to materialize. By the time the discontented masses of Sicily realized the true nature of the invasion, the course of events could not be stopped. It should also be noted that without the help of corrupt traitors, massive bribery, treacherous revolutionaries and Masonic elements the so-called "Thousand" could never have defeated the largest standing army on the Italic peninsula.
Wishing to spare the city of Naples the devastation of war the Royal family decided to make their stand against the advancing invaders at Capua and Gaeta. On September 5th, 1860, King Francis II issued his farewell proclamation to the capital. With dignity and resignation he proclaimed: "We are Neapolitan. Filled with bitter sorrow we address these words of farewell to our greatly beloved subjects. Whatever may be our fate we shall ever keep them in warm and affectionate remembrance." Leaving behind their precious heirlooms (including the dowry of Queen Maria Christina said to be worth eleven million ducats), which Garibaldi later pilfered for the usurpers, the King and Queen Maria Sophia set sail for Gaeta.
The remaining forces of the Two Sicilies took positions behind the banks of the Garigliano and Volturno. They were joined by many loyal detachments from the provinces still willing to defend their nation. The Royal army amounted to fifty thousand well-armed men. From Gaeta the King appealed to his men's honor:
"Soldiers: It is time that the voice of your King should be heard in your ranks: the voice of the King who grew up with you; who has lavished all care upon you; and who comes now to share your lot. Those who, by allowing themselves to be deceived and seduced, have plunged the Kingdom in mourning are no longer amongst us. Nevertheless, I appeal to your honor and your fidelity, in order that by glorious deeds we may efface the disgrace of cowardice and treachery. We are still sufficiently numerous to annihilate an enemy which employs the weapons of deceit and corruption. Up to the present I have desired to spare many towns, but now that we are relegated to the banks of the Volturno and Garigliano, shall we allow ourselves to still further humiliate our fame as soldiers? Will you permit your Sovereign to abandon the Throne, and leave you to eternal infamy? No! At this supreme moment let us rally round the flag to defend our rights, our honor, and the fair fame of Neapolitans; already sufficiently discredited."
At dawn, on October 1st, the Loyalists attacked the Garabaldini whose ranks swelled with Northern volunteers and Southern traitors. The Neapolitans seemed to have taken their King's words to heart and fought valiantly. Raging for two days, they were only repulsed after the arrival of the Piedmontese Bersaglieri. During the retreat along the shore Admiral Persano’s fleet harried the Neapolitan columns.
To compound matters the small town of Mola was abandoned and an army corps of 17,000 men under General Ruggiero inexplicably disbanded without a fight. Despite the desertions of several Generals and officers, many of the soldiers fled to the hills and the neighboring Papal States to continue fighting as guerrillas. Maligned as "brigands" by the Piedmontese these partisans kept up their resistance for many years in the vain hope of reinstating the deposed Bourbons.
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| The King and Queen visit an artillery battery during the siege |
On November 2nd the garrison at Capua surrendered. Seven thousand Neapolitan prisoners of war were transported to the concentration camps of Genoa and Fenestrelle. Many were to die of starvation and disease due to the harsh conditions. The remnants of the King's forces withdrew to the fortress of Gaeta. With the exception of the citadel of Messina in Sicily and the impregnable fortress of Civitella del Tronto in the Abruzzo, Gaeta was the King's final stronghold.
The command of Gaeta's garrison of 21,000 men and 15,000 inhabitants was eventually handed over to the gallant General Bosco. The General was highly respected for his stalwart defense at Milazzo, Sicily, but after it's fall a stipulation for his parole was an oath of nonintervention for six months. While men of lesser character were jumping ship, Bosco, with his ban lifted, raced to Gaeta and on November 19th he offered his services to his King.
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| Queen Maria Sophia, the Heroine of Gaeta by Franz Xaver Winterhalter |
Through diplomacy, the Piedmontese finally succeeded in getting the French fleet to leave Gaeta. They had to agree to an eight day armistice in which time the Emperor would convince Francis to abandon any hope of victory and take up his offer to sail them to Rome. During the ceasefire, foreign dignitaries visited the Bourbons, offering encouragement and persuading them to continue their resistance. When the armistice concluded the ministers of Saxony and Austria stayed behind and joined the Spanish Marquis of Lerma, Bermudez di Castro, in the defense.
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| HM Maria Sophia offers encouragement to the defenders |
“...I promised Your majesty that when I had adopted a definite resolution my first care, an obligation dictated by loyal gratitude, would be to inform you of it. I now fulfill my promise. After the declaration of the French Admiral I hesitated long, I confess: on every side I recognized serious objections, and the opinion of those I felt bound to consult were divided concerning this supreme alternative.“If, on the one hand, by remaining here, abandoned by the whole world, I expose myself to falling in the hands of a disloyal foe, and run the risk of compromising my liberty, perhaps my dignity and my life; on the other hand, I should by withstanding surrender a fortress still intact, thus tarnishing my military honor, and renounce, by an excess of prudence, all eventualities, all hope of the future.“And how could I yield when in all the provinces of my Kingdom, my subjects rise with one accord against the domination of Piedmont? How can I surrender, when on all sides I am encouraged to resist; when from all parts of Europe private individuals or Governments incite me to persevere in the defense of my Cause, which is also the Cause of Sovereigns; of the rights of Nations; of the independence of Peoples? If political considerations give the appearance of temerity to my resolution, Your Majesty’s great and noble heart will distinguish and appreciate my motives.“I am the victim of my inexperience; of the cunning, of the injustice and audacity of an ambitious Power. I have lost my Kingdom; but I have not my faith in the protection of God, and in the justice of man. My rights are today my only inheritance, and it is necessary in their defense to bury myself, if needs be, beneath the smoking ruins of Gaeta.“It is not this prospect which caused me to hesitate for a moment. My only fear was that in becoming a prisoner I might witness the royal dignity debased in my person. But should this last trial be in store for me; should Europe consent to this final outrage, be assured, Sire, that I will utter no complaint, and that I will meet my fate with resignation and firmness..."
With the departure of the French fleet the fortress of Gaeta was now exposed to navel bombardment by Admiral Persano's squadron. More importantly, the Piedmontese blockaded the harbor, cutting off the provision ships. This eventually led to famine and a grievous typhus epidemic. However, the Neapolitans remained steadfast in their defense. In a touching display of fealty the officers renewed their oath of loyalty to the King:
“Whether our fate is about to be decided, or whether a long period of struggle and suffering still awaits us, we will face our destiny resignedly and fearlessly: we will go to meet either the joys of triumph or the death of the brave with the proud and dignified serenity befitting soldiers.”
Bombs continued to rain down on the beleaguered defenders. No house was spared. Even the churches and hospitals were destroyed. Their hopeless position was spelled out for them in a letter from Empress Eugénie to the Queen. No relief was to be expected from the rest of Europe.
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| Magazine explosion at Gaeta |
Realizing the futility of further resistance, and unwilling to sacrifice any more lives, Francis requested a truce to hammer out the conditions for surrender. However, during the negotiations Cialdini refused to stop the bombardment, causing much bloodshed and the unnecessary lose of life. Just prior to surrender over fifty Bourbon soldiers were killed when a powder magazine exploded.
On February 13th, three months after the siege began, Gaeta capitulated. The next day, the deposed royal family set off on the French corvette La Mouette to the Papal States as guests of Pius IX. Upon their departure, the Neapolitan garrison was drawn up into a column to send-off their monarch. The remaining townspeople gathered as well, and all mourned the departure of their beloved King and Queen. Francis II graciously thanked his faithful followers and said his goodbyes:
“Thanks to you, the honor of the army of the Two Sicilies is intact: thanks to you, your Sovereign is intact: thanks to you, your Sovereign can still lift his head with pride; while in the exile where he will await the justice of Heaven the remembrance of the heroic fidelity of his soldiers will forever afford the sweetest consolidation in his misfortune.”
As the ship rounded the point towards Rome a final, "Evviva il re!" and a salute from the battery was heard thundering from the devastated fortress. Faint echoes of the parting salutation still whisper to us.
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| The King and Queen depart Gaeta |
(1) It is suspected that French Admiral de Tinan was sympathetic to the Bourbons and purposely misinterpreted his orders for as long as possible in order to assist them.
Further reading:
• The Collapse of the Kingdom of Naples by H. Remsen Whitehouse (1899)
• Maria Sophia, Queen of Naples by Clara Tschudi (1905)
