A Box of Sand

by Charles Stephenson

  15 A Correspondent of the New York Times, ‘Battle of Solferino,’ in The Advocate of Peace, March, 1860 p. 48. The British diplomat Sir Edward Charles Blount visited the battlefield on 1 July, and left a description in his memoirs: ‘[I] shall never forget the sight. The carnage had been frightful. […] Even at a distance of seven miles, the stench was horrible, and imagination at its best, or worst, could scarcely exaggerate the horror of the scene.’ Sir Edward Blount, Memoirs of Sir Edward Blount (London; Longman Green, 1902) pp. 140-1. Others agreed, and one of them, the Swiss, Henry Dunant, who assisted with the care of the wounded, later published an account of what he had seen. In this book, A Memory of Solferino, he proposed the creation of national relief societies of trained volunteers to provide neutral and impartial help to wounded soldiers. This later segued into the International Committee of the Red Cross. Henry Dunant, A Memory of Solferino (Geneva; International Committee of the Red Cross, 1986).

  16 Gary P. Cox, The Halt in the Mud: French Strategic Planning from Waterloo to Sedan (Boulder, CO; Westview, 1994) pp. 164-5.

  17 Robert Sencourt, Napoleon III: The Modern Emperor (London; Ernest Benn, 1933) p. 220. Christopher Duggan, The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796 (London; Allen Lane, 2007) p. 205.

  18 Erik Goldstein, Wars and Peace Treaties, 1816-1991 (London; Routledge, 1992) p. 16.

  19 The ‘foolish, kind, old Grand-Duke Leopold of Tuscany’ had been deposed in April 1859, and, following the victory of Magenta, the ‘fiercer despots of Modena and Parma fled from their territories with the Austrian garrisons, and the simultaneous [Austrian] withdrawal […] from Bologna was the signal for the rising of the Pope’s [Romagnol] subjects.’ George Macaulay Trevelyan, Garibaldi and the Thousand (London; Longmans Green, 1912) p. 111.

  20 Christopher Duggan, The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796 (London; Allen Lane, 2007) p. 206. Perhaps Pius IX particularly; following the rising in the Umbrian city of Perugia in early June 1859, a 2000 strong contingent of the Swiss Guard (guardia svizzera) under the command of Colonel Antonio Schmid was sent to restore Papal authority. These troops succeeded in gaining entry to the city on 20 June 1859, but then ran amok, looting and killing the citizenry in what became known as the ‘Massacre of Perugia.’ In an astonishingly insensitive move Pius IX promoted Schmid to the rank of brigadier-general for re-establishing ‘the legitimate Government to the satisfaction of all good men.’ Further, he ‘ordered due encomiums to be given to the troops who took part in the action, and so highly distinguished themselves.’ [Giornale di Roma, 21 June 1860]. The Holy See, and Catholic opinion generally, denied of course that the Papal Troops had misbehaved. Unfortunately for such apologists an American family had been non-fatal victims of the Swiss Guard. This led to an intervention by the US Government. [James Buchanan, Message of the President of the United States, communicating […] papers in relation to an alleged outrage on an American family at Perugia, in the Pontifical States (36th Congress, 1st Session. Ex. Doc. No. 4) (US Government; Government Printing Office, 1860)]. The British Prime Minister, Gladstone, ‘crushed’ the Papal apologist Sir George Bowyer in the House of Commons on 4 March 1861 by quoting to him the report of what occurred at Perugia sent to Brigadier Giuseppe Agostini of the Papal Army. ‘The soldiers […] took by assault the houses and the convent, where they killed and wounded all they could, not excepting some women and, proceeding forward, they did the same thing at the inn in the Borgo San Pietro.’ [The Spectator, 9 March 1861]. Agostini was involved in the Edgardo Mortara case. See: David Kertzer, The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (London; Picador, 1997).

  21 Johannes Mattern, The Employment of the Plebiscite in the Determination of Sovereignty: A dissertation Submitted to the Board of University Studies of The Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Baltimore, MD; John Hopkins University. 1922) pp. 94-5.

  22 Johannes Mattern, The Employment of the Plebiscite in the Determination of Sovereignty: A dissertation Submitted to the Board of University Studies of The Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Baltimore, MD; John Hopkins University. 1922) p. 89.

  23 At least some of those who cast doubt on them were fervent partisans of the status quo. The English Sir George Bowyer MP, for example, was a passionate defender of the temporal power of the Popes. He is recorded as shouting ‘hear, hear’ to the notion that to ‘take the Romagna from the Pope is not an aggression, is not a robbery, but is a sacrilege.’[Hansard, House of Commons Debates, 04 May 1860. Vol. 158. Columns 685-9.] The French Félix Dupanloup was a Catholic bishop, so perhaps is is not surprising that he wrote an often-quoted book denouncing the means whereby the Pope was shorn of his territories: F A P Dupanloup, La souveraineté pontificale selon le droit catholique et le droit européen, par Mgr. l’évêque d’Orléans (Paris; Lecoffre, 1860). For a more detailed discussion of the issue see: George Martin, The Red Shirt and the Cross of Savoy (London; Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1969) p. 616.

  24 Christopher Duggan, The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796 (London; Allen Lane, 2007) p. 206.

  25 Alfonso Scirocco (Trans. Allan Cameron) Garibaldi: Citizen of the World (Princeton, NJ; Princeton University Press, 2007) pp. 236-7.

  26 There is a vast literature devoted to Garibaldi. Personal favourites include those works by Alfonso Scirocco and George Macaulay Trevelyan.

  27 Lieut. Colonel Chambers [Osborne William Samuel Chambers], Garibaldi and Italian Unity (London; Smith Elder, 1864) pp. 32-3.

  28 George Macaulay Trevelyan, Garibaldi and the Thousand (London; Longmans Green, 1912) p. 175. The Mincio is a river in northern Italy. In 1860 its course delineated the border between (Italian) Lombardy and (Austrian) Venetia.

  29 D Mack Smith (Ed.), Plombieres: Secret Diplomacy and the Rebirth of Italy (New York; Oxford University Press, 1968) p. 248. J A R Marriott, The Makers of Modern Italy (London; Macmillan, 1901) p. 49.

  30 George Macaulay Trevelyan, Garibaldi and the Thousand (London; Longmans Green, 1912) pp. 175-6. Some sources say the ballot boxes were to be smashed before the vote: William Roscoe Thayer, The Life and Times of Cavour (Boston, MA; Houghton Mifflin, 1911) Vol. II. p.252.

  31 Laurence Oliphant, Episodes in a Life of Adventure: Or, Moss from a Rolling Stone (Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1887) pp. 177-8. Oliphant goes on to state: ‘I will not vouch for these being the very words he used, but this was their exact sense.’ Certainly the mention of ‘Bomba’ seems strange, as Ferdinand II, aka Re Bomba (King of Bombs), had died on 22 May 1859 and was succeeded by Francis II (Francesco II). See: Harold Acton, The Last Bourbons of Naples (1825-1861) (London; Methuen, 1961). For information on Oliphant see: Philip Henderson, The Life of Laurence Oliphant: Traveller, Diplomat, Mystic, (London; Robert Hale, 1956).

  32 Nice: For 25,743 – Against 160. Savoy: For 130,533 - Against 235. William Roscoe Thayer, The Life and Times of Cavour (Boston, MA; Houghton Mifflin, 1911) Vol. II. p. 222.

  33 Lucy Riall, Sicily and the Unification of Italy: Liberal Policy and Local Power, 1859-1866 (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2002) p. 80.

  34 Lucy Riall, Sicily and the Unification of Italy: Liberal Policy and Local Power, 1859-1866 (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2002) p. 68.

  35 Lucy Riall, Garibaldi: Invention of a Hero (New Haven, CT; Yale University Press, 2007) p. 184. F Britten Austin, The Red Flag (London; Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1932) p. 255

  36 Whilst the Marsala landings took place, two Royal Navy warships, the Intrepid and Argus were in the vicinity. It has been claimed that the presence of these two vessels inhibited the Neopolitan navy who came upon the scene during the landing from engaging the invaders’ ships. This does seem to have been the case, but there seems little evidence to suggest that the Royal Navy ‘protected’ Garibaldi’s enterprise. See, for example: [Rear-Admiral Sir] Rodney Mundy, HMS Hannibal at Palermo and Naples During The Italian Revolution, 1859-1861, With Notices of Gariba
ldi, Francis II, and Victor Emanuel (London; John Murray, 1863) pp. 23, 85.

  37 The body of literature on Garibaldi and ‘the Thousand’ is vast. Personal favourites include the following, upon which this section is primarily based: Giuseppe Cesare Abba (Trans. ER Vincent) The Diary of One of Garibaldi’s Thousand (Westport, CT; Greenwood Press, 1981);Thomas de Angelo, Garibaldi’s Ghosts: Essays on the Mezzogiorno and the Risorgimento (Park Ridge, NJ; First Line Publishing, 2006); Alexandre Dumas (Trans. Richard Garnett), On Board the Emma: Adventures with Garibaldi’s ‘Thousand’ in Sicily (New York; D Appleton and Company, 1929); Alexandre Dumas, Viva Garibaldi! Une Odyssée en 1860 (Paris; Fayard, 2002); Christopher Hibbert, Garibaldi: Hero of Italian Unification (London; Palgrave Macmillan, 2008); Alfonso Scirocco (Trans. Allan Cameron), Garibaldi: Citizen of the World: A Biography (Princeton NJ; Princeton University Press, 2007); George Macaulay Trevelyan, Garibaldi and the Thousand, May 1860 (London; Phoenix Press, 2002).

  38 A fine, if no doubt embroidered, account of this episode can be found in Conder: ‘It had been known for some time, that the convention with the Swiss Cantons, by virtue of which the fine Swiss regiments that formed the Corps de Elite of the Neapolitan army and the real guard of the king was about to terminate. The Swiss authorities were unwilling to incur the odium thrown upon them as the main supporters of an effete tyranny. But there was an attempt made to reconstitute these regiments, not as under the direction of the Swiss Government, but as individual volunteers in the Neapolitan service. Brand new flags were therefore substituted for the torn and tattered rags which were the pride and glory of the martial Swiss. This they would not stand. The matter was conducted with the usual official clumsiness, and the Swiss broke into mutiny. Word came to Queen Marie Therese that there was a mutiny among the troops. “Send for the Swiss,” cried her Majesty, “send instantly for the Swiss.” “Majesty it is the Swiss that are in mutiny.” The Queen fell in a faint General Nunziante promptly brought up his chasseurs, his artillery loaded with grapeshot There was no public account given of the bloodshed of that day, but the brilliant red coats of the Swiss, disappeared from the forts and barracks of Naples. There was perhaps not another man in the service of the king, of promptitude, pluck, and military capacity able to deal with such an emergency.’ An English Civilian (Frances Roubiliac Conder), The Trinity of Italy, or, the Pope, the Bourbon, and the Victor; Being Historical Revelations of the Past, Present, and Future of Italy (London; Edward Moxon, 1867) pp. 209-10. See also: Genova Thaon Di Revel, Il 1859 E L’Italia Centrale: Miei Ricordi (Charleston, SC; BiblioLife, 2009) p. 81.

  39 Clara Tschudi (Trans. Ethel Harriet Hearn), Maria Sophia, Queen of Naples: A Continuation of The Empress Elizabeth (London; Swan Sonnenschein, 1905) p. 132.

  40 D Mack Smith, Cavour and Garibaldi, 1860: A Study in Political Conflict (Cambridge; Cambridge University Press, 1986) p. 436.

  41 Paul Bew, Ireland: The Politics of Enmity 1789-2006 (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2007) p. 253. C. T. McIntire, England Against the Papacy 1858–1861: Tories, Liberals and the Overthrow of Papal Temporal Power during the Italian Risorgimento (Cambridge; Cambridge University Press, 1983) p. 202.

  42 R de Cesare (Trans. Helen Zimmern) The Last Days of Papal Rome 1850-1870 (London; Constable, 1909) p. 247.

  43 John Whittam, The Politics of the Italian Army 1861-1918 (London; Croon Helm, 1977) pp. 97-99.

  44 Maggior Generale Alberto Pollio, Custoza 1866 (Torino; Roux e Viarengo, 1903) p. 419.

  45 For the Battle of Custoza see: G B Malleson, The Refounding of the German Empire 1848 – 1871 [Facsimile reprint of the 1898 edition] (London; R J Leach, 1992) pp. 175-82; Geoffrey Wawro, The Austro-Prussian War (Cambridge; University Press, 1998) pp. 100-24. For accounts of the Battle of Lissa see: E B Potter (Ed.) Sea Power: A Naval History (Annapolis MD; Naval Institute Press, 1982) pp. 156-7; Geoffrey Regan, The Brassey’s Book of Naval Blunders (Dulles, VA; Brassey’s, 2000) pp. 154-64. For a potted history of the Italian Navy, see: Conway’s All the world’s fighting ships, 1860-1905, pp. 344-36.

  46 For details of the battle and the strategy behind it see: Julian Corbett, Principles of Maritime Strategy [Reprint of 1911 edition] (London; Dover Publications, 2004) pp. 298-9; John Richard Hale, Famous Sea Fights from Salamis to Tsu-shima (London, Methuen, 1911) pp. 231-51; Lawrence Sondhaus, Naval Warfare, 1815-1914 (London; Routledge, 2001) pp. 94-6.

  47 Aldo Fraccaroli, ‘Italy’ in Robert Gardiner, Roger Chesneau and Eugene M Kolesnik (Eds), Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1860-1905 (London; Conway Maritime Press, 1979) p. 336.

  48 Victor Emmanuel II to Pius IX, 8 September 1870. Karl Samwer and Jules Hoff (Eds), Nouveau recueil général de traités, conventions et autres transactions remarquables, servant à la connaissance des relations étrangères des puissances et états dans leurs rapports mutuels. 20 Vols. (Göttingen; J C Dietrich, 1843-75) Vol. V. p. 33.

  49 Antonio Di Pierro, L’ultimo giorno del papa re: 20 settembre 1870, la breccia di Porta Pia (Milan; Mondadori, 2007) p. 6.

  50 Kanzler was born at Weingarten, Baden, in 1822. See: Francis X. Blouin (Ed.), Vatican Archives: an Inventory and Guide to Historical Documents of the Holy See (New York; Oxford University Press USA, 1998) p. 369.

  51 Antonio Di Pierro, L’ultimo giorno del papa re: 20 settembre 1870, la breccia di Porta Pia (Milan; Mondadori, 2007) p. 167.

  52 See: Michael Howard, The Franco Prussian War (St Albans; Granada, 1979) p. 275.

  53 A. E. J. Morris, History of Urban Form: Before the Industrial Revolutions (Harlow; Pearson, 1994) p. 44.

  54 Quoted in Charles Stephenson (Charles Blackwood Ed.) ‘Servant to The King for His Fortifications:’ Paul Ive and The Practise of Fortification (Doncaster; DP&G, 2008) p. 2.

  55 Edmondo de Amicis, ‘L’entrata dell’esercito italiano in Roma’ in R De Mattei (Ed.), XX settembre 1870: Tre testimonianze. G Guerzoni, A M Bonetti, E De Amicis (Roma; Istuto di Studi Romani, 1972) pp. 132-8.

  56 Roberto De Mattei, Pius IX (Leominster; Gracewing, 2004) p. 74.

  57 Antonio Di Pierro, L’ultimo giorno del papa re: 20 settembre 1870, la breccia di Porta Pia (Milan; Mondadori, 2007)

  58 Philippe Levillain (Ed.), Dictionnaire historique de la papauté (Paris; Librairie Arthème Fayard, 2003) Vol. II. p. 1107. Joseph McCabe, Crises in the History of the Papacy: A Study of Twenty Famous Popes whose Careers and whose Influence were Important in the History of the World (New York; G P Putnam, 1916) p. 408 n. 1. Christopher Duggan, Francesco Crispi, 1818-1901: From Nation to Nationalism (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2002) p. 326. Antony Alcock, A History of the Protection of Regional Cultural Minorities in Europe: From the Edict of Nantes to the Present Day (Basingstoke; Macmillan, 2000) p. 35.

  59 David Kertzer, Prisoner of the Vatican:The Popes’ Secret Plot to Capture Rome from the New Italian State (Boston; Houghton Mifflin, 2004).

  60 Dennis Mack Smith, Italy: A Modern History. (Ann Arbor MI; University of Michigan Press, 1969) pp. 25, 66-7. Raphael Zariski, Italy: the Politics of Uneven Development (Hinsdale, Ill; Dryden, 1972) p. 19. Tim Chapman, The Risorgimento: Italy 1815-1871 (Penrith; Humanities-Ebooks, 2008) pp. 80-1. Alan Cassels, Ideology and International Relations in the Modern World (London; Routledge, 1996.) p. 73.

  61 Sondra Z Koff and Stephen P Koff, Italy: from the First to the Second Republic (London; Routledge, 2000) pp. 10-11.

  62 Susan A Ashley, Making Liberalism Work: The Italian Experience, 1860-1914 (Westport CT; Praeger, 2003) p. 14.

  63 Cardinal Manning, The Independence of the Holy See (London; Henry S King, 1877) p. xiii.

  64 Robert C Fried, The Italian Prefects. A Study in Administrative Politics (New Haven CT; Yale University Press, 1963).

  65 Christopher Seton-Watson, Italy From Liberalism to Fascism, 1870-1925 (London; Methuen, 1967) p. 319.

  66 Christopher Seton-Watson, Italy From Liberalism to Fascism, 1870-1925 (London; Methuen, 1967) p. 24. See also: Max Henninger, ‘Italy, peasant movements, 19th-20th centuries,’
in Immanuel Ness (Ed.) The International Encyclopaedia of Revolution and Protest available from: http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9781405184649_chunk_g9781405184649807#citation

  67 Daniela Del Boca and Alessandra Venturini, Italian Migration: Discussion Paper No. 938 (Bonn; Institut zur Zukunft der Arbeit, 2003) pp. 4-5. This work is available at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp938.pdf

  68 See Chapter 9, ‘The Italian Exodus,’ in Maldwin A Jones, Destination America (London; Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1976) pp. 192-219.

  69 Adrian Lyttelton, ‘Politics and Society 1870-1915’ in George Holmes (Ed.) The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy. (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 1997) pp.238-240.

  70 Vera Zamagni, The Economic History of Italy, 1860-1990: Recovery After Decline (Oxford; Clarendon Press, 1997) p. 188.

  71 Susan A Ashley, Making Liberalism Work: The Italian Experience, 1860-1914 (Westport CT; Praeger, 2003) p. 13.

  72 Kevin G Kinsella, ‘Changes in life expectancy 1900-1990’ in The American Journal for Clinical Nutrition Vol 55 June 1992. p. 1197S. Ralph Spence, ‘Italy’ in Ann Wall (Ed.), Health Care Systems in Liberal Democracies (London; Routledge, 1996) p. 49.

  73 The Carabinieri were a gendarmerie under the jurisdiction of the War Ministry in terms of recruitment, training, discipline and administration but were theoretically responsible to the Interior Ministry for policing matters. Founded in pre-unification Italy in Turin on 13 July, 1814, the force had a dual function; national defence, and policing. On 24 January 1861 the Carabinieri became, in effect, the nucleus of the military forces of the Kingdom of Italy and were dubbed the ‘First Force’ of the newly founded national army. They were also entrusted with the policing of rural areas, where the mainly urbanised Interior Ministry civilian police, had little influence. Their presence was, and still is ubiquitous, extending to the smallest rural villages. See: http://www.carabinieri.it/Internet/Multilingua/EN/HistoricalReferences/01_EN.htm. Also see: http://www.history.ac.uk/resources/e-seminars/dunnage-paper