Expedition of the Thousand 1860-1861

The government of Sardinia, led by Prime Minister Camillo Cavour, had for some time hoped to annex the island of Sicily (part of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies) by means of supporting a nominally independent military expedition of volunteers to be led by the nationalist icon, Giuseppe Garibaldi; his condition for do so was that a revolt had to already be underway. News of a minor revolt in Palermo on the island of Sicily (the Gancia Revolt on April 3, 1860) provided Garibaldi with just enough of a justification to proceed with an expedition. In the following month, Garibaldi raised a force of about 1,000 volunteers; Sardinia provided covert support for the military expedition. On the night of May 5-6th, the “Thousand Red Shirts” embarked from Genoa. The Expedition of the Thousand landed at the western Sicilian port of Marsala on May 11th.

There were more than 20,000 Neapolitan (the Kingdom of Two Sicilies) troops in Sicily and Garibaldi only small, untrained and poorly equipped force to oppose them. After proclaiming himself dictator of Sicily in the name of “king of Italy” Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia, the “Thousand Red Shirts” marched across the island toward Palermo. The Expedition of the Thousand defeated a larger Neapolitan force at Calatafimi on May 15th and this victory encouraged many Sicilians to join them in overthrowing Neapolitan rule. The incompetence of the Neapolitan military leadership in Sicily helped the expedition too. Palermo was captured on June 6th and the Battle of Milazzo on July 20th secured control of all of Sicily except Messina.

Garibaldi now hoped to take Naples and possibly even to complete Italian unification by a march on Rome (the Papal States). On August 20th the expeditionary forces crossed the strait of Messina and landed in Calabria. The advance to Naples became a triumphal march as the monarchical rule of King Francis II totally collapsed; Garibaldi was welcomed as a hero upon entering Naples on September 7th. Neapolitan resistance did not end, however. General Afan de Riva attempted to stop the Thousand (who now numbered about 20,000) on the Volturno River on October 1st and 2nd. Garibaldi and the Thousand gained the victory. King Francis II and the Neapolitans retreated to Gaeta to make a last stand.

The Sardinian army and navy joined the war against the Neapolitans on October 15th, shedding the pretense of noninvolvement. By this time, Cavour became concerned about maintaining Sardinian leadership over the Italian unification movement (and preventing it becoming led by radical followers of Garibaldi). Garibaldi agreed to hold a plebiscite in the south of Italy under his control; it resulted in an overwhelming victory for annexation by the Kingdom of Sardinia on October 21. Then, on October 26th, Garibaldi met with King Victor Emmanuel II and relinquished his dictatorship and retired to Caprera. Sardinian military forces besieged Gaeta from November 3rd until the Neapolitan surrender on February 13, 1861. An all-Italian parliament was then formed at Turin and Victor Emmanuel II was declared the constitutional King of Italy.

References

Clodfelter, 303-4; COW37; EB - Expedition of the Thousand; Kohn, 235-6.

Category

Inter-State War

Region

Western Europe

Belligerents

Thousand Red Shirts, Sardinia, Two Sicilies

Dispute

Territory, Governance

Initiation Date

May 11, 1860

Termination Date

February 13, 1861

Duration

279 days

Outcome

Negotiated Settlement
(Sardian victory)

Fatalities

Total: 1,500
Thousand: 500
Two Sicilies: 400
Sardinia: 600

Magnitude

3.2