The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-04 00:00:00

THE INVASION OF CALABRIA.

(From;the Sperrial Correspondent of the Times.)
REGGIO, AUG. 24.

Our position in Calabria may be said to be estab-
lished. The cannonading and musketry fire which
We watched with such interest during the day of the
21st are now fully explained. On both sides opera-
tions have been successful. Reggio is in our hands,
and the descent of Cosenz has been effected with
little loss. As usual in well-combined operations,
the one considerably facilitated the other. When
Garibaldi decided to march on Reggio he gave orders
to make a diversion towards the Faro, in order to at-
tract the steamers which had collected there at the
notice of his approach. The disembarkation took
place under such favourable circumstances that it
was thought possible to tow off the Torino from the
bank where she had struck. While this operation
was going on (from 6 a.m. till about 11 a.m.) the
troops, who had been landed on one of the dry
fiumare in the vicinity of Melito, made themselves
as comfortable as they could on that arid and inhos-
pitable shore. They piled their arms, took off their
capotes and haversacks, and partly lay down to rest
after a sleepless night, while some went in search
of water, of which that part of Calabria is at this
season almost destitute. It was under these circum-
stances that the Neapolitan steamers arrived. Before
even their approach was perceived the Franklin,
which was the other steamer of the expedition, see-
ing her efforts fruitless, had taken her course for
Messina, and passed the Neapolitan steamers shortly
after entering the Straits. When, therefore, the
latter arrived, they found merely the stranded ship
and the encampment close by on the beach. They
opened fire on both, and created some excitement
among the troops peacefully reposing on shore. In
order not to expose them to a useless fire, the order
was given to move higher up into the mountains
which are close by, which was done. The two
steamers now concentrated their fire on the stranded
ship, and soon set her on fire The troops were
concentrated again towards evening, and Garibaldi
passed the night at Melito.
Here, by one of those favourable accidents which
go by the name of " luck" in the operations of a
general, a detachment of those who first embarked
from the Faro came down in search of provisions
from San Lorenzo, and fell in with the troops
brought over by Garibaldi.

It was on this occasion that the first detailed news
could be collected as to their fate and wanderings.
The whole plan of their first descent had been ar-
ranged according to information given by a Cala-
brian gentleman, the Barone di Mussolino. He had
promised to get an officer of engineers and three
artillerymen into the fort of Alta Fiumara ; the
descent was to take place at the fiumara at the
foot of the fort. Three native guides were to be in
readiness to conduct the expedition by a circuitous
road on to the plateau where the Fort di Fiumara
lies. The fort is only guarded on that side by a high
wall, loopholed, but with no guns; those who had
been introduced into the fort were to open one of the
postern gates, and then a rush was to be made to
seize the fort. For unforeseen contingencies ladders
Were to be taken over to be used for scaling the
walls. The military part of the expedition was con-
fided to Major Missori ; but, as Baron Mussolino
had planned the whole expedition, this engendered
a division in the command, to which probably the
failure of the attack on the fort is due.

The first contretemps which occurred was that,

instead of landing at the fiumara close to the fort,
they landed at the next, lower down. In the dark
night it was difficult to distinguish one from the
other, and to calculate the force of the current ; be-
sides this, there was probably a tendency in the Si-
cilian boatmen to make a mistake on the safe side ;
at any rate, the guides who were to have been there
could not be found. In order to look for them five

men were sent to the right and as many to the left.
Whether the Neapolitans had discovered a descent
had taken place, or whether they had posts outside
the fort on the slopes, certain it is that one of these
detachments sent out to look for the guides fell in
with a Neapolitan patrol, exchanged a few shots with
it, took two prisoners, but at the same time tho-
roughly alarmed the garrison of the fortress. Some
cannon-shot were fired, which we saw and heard at
the Faro, followed by a wild fire of musketry in
the dark. Major Missori was for waiting to see,
but a part of the men, rather shaken by the effects
of this alarm, followed a cry which was raised to
be off to the mountains, and scaled the heights im-
mediately behind them. The rest, seeing that it
was useless to wait any longer, went up the course
of the fiumara, and arrived after a fatiguing march
next day at the Cascina de Forestani, an isolated
farmhouse on one of the spurs of the Monte Alto,
between Santa Eufemia and San Stefano, where

they were joined by degrees by those who had gone

the other way, minus five, who were lost in the
dark, and fell into the hands of the Neapolitans.
The failure of the enterprise, and the consequent
precipitous retreat, were not exactly calculated to
animate the spirits of this forlorn hope. All those
who were under the immediate command of Mus-
solino attributed the ill success to his bad disposi-
tions ; and most of the officers, who held a kind of
improvised council of war, were for giving the un-
divided command to Major Missori. But in order
not to cause a schism with the Calabrians, it was
at last arranged to continue as hitherto.
Although thus shut in among the wilds of Cala-
bria, with the road to the sea-shore cut off by the

Neapolitans, who immediately sent reinforcements
to the threatened point, the position was not des-
perate. All the villages in the neighbourhood vied
with each other in providing the little band with
everything which they required. The Neapolitans,
although so superior in numbers, seemed to have no
intention in the first days to molest them ; and
then there were the Woods and mountains behind,
a tolerably safo line of retreat. After a few days
spent at the Cascina, there arose a general desire to
do something. In the direction of the Forte di
Fiumara there seemed little chance of success, for
it was known that the garrison had been reinforced,
and had taken possession of the plateau above it,
which commands the fort ; it was therefore agreed
to attempt something towards Bagnara, a little
town on the beach above Scylla. Being on the crest
of the high mountains, the descent was open in
every direction to a troop of lightly-accoutred men
without baggage. On the evening of the fourth
day the little band started, and marched all night.
The guide proved but indifferent, and the road was
missed repeatedly. Still, in the morning our volun-
teers were on the heights which overlook Bagnara,
and the fort with which this, like almost all places
on the sea-shore, is provided. - A score of riflemen
were sent forward, who kept up skirmishing for
some time, but it required little time to see that a
band of 200 could do very little against several
battalions, who had a fort well provided with guns
as their point d'cippui. It was work for Garibaldi,
but not for others. After some skirmishing there-
fore the 200 retired, and after another fatiguing
march fell back to the ceecina de Forestani.

If the :failure of the first attempt to take the
Forte di Fiumara rather disconcerted the small band
of volunteers, their landing, the preparations of
Garibaldi on all sides, and the reconnaissance to-
wards Bagnara seem to have had a similar effect on
the Neapolitans. They saw, as appears from their
telegrams sent to Naples, Garibaldian volunteers
isembarking everywhere—at Cann itello, to the left
Reggio, at Bianchi, Gerace Bovelina, on the east
coast, long before Garibaldi did land at Mclito, and
yet when the landing did take place they were not
there to impede it.
Nevertheless, after the reconnaisance towards
Bagnara, a moving column of 1,800 men, under
General Briganti, was organised at Bagnara, and
started in pursuit of Major Missori's men, and ac-
tually arrived at the Cascina de l'orestani without
being perceived. Seeing that the force sent out
"was so numerous, the order was given to retreat
into the woods which cover the crest of the moun-
tain. To protect this retreat, 45 of the Guides
remained in position at the Cascina. But although
so much superior in numbers, the Neapolitans did
not attack, but took up a position to observe.
When, therefore, sufficient time had been given to
the mass of the column to retire, the 45 Guides fol-
lowed without being molested by the Neapolitans. ,
Following always the very crest of the Aspro-
monte, the Volunteers had a hard march of 22 I