The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-29 00:00:00

THE SIEGE OF THE CITADEL OF AfESSIWA

The citadel of Messina having been the last bulwark o 1
the Bourbons in Italy, a few details of its fall may, perhaps;
be not without interest.

Ever since the battle of Melazzo in July last placed tiles.

sina in the hands of Garibaldi, there had been a truce be-
tween the town and the citadel, held by a Neapolitan gar-
rison, and it was confidently expected that on the fall of
Gaeta Marshal Fergola and his soldiers would be only too
glad to accept the honourable terms offered to them in the
name of King Victor Emmanuel. Gaeta fell on the 13th
of last month, and the citadel was immediately summoned
by Gen, Chiabrera, commanding the Ttalian brigade Pis-
toja, but instead of conforming to his repeatedly declared in-
tentions, Marshal Fergola first alleged himself to be obliged
to await an official announcement of his Sovereign's depar-
ture from his own superiors ; and finally, after the arrival
of one Colonel Villamatta, replied that he should defend
himself to all extremity. The Italian Government could
only reply in one way, and accordingly Admiral Persano
and General Cialdini were ordered to repair to Messina
without delay. The latter arrived on the 26th February,
and operations would have begun at once had not bad
weather delayed the landing of the siege train for some
days.

The citadel is in reality of no great strength, according
to modern ideas of fortification, but its position at the bot-
tom of the port is such that the town is at its mercy, and
when Fergola ordered all merchant vessels to leave the
harbour with threats of laying Messina in ashes great ap-
prehension was felt from the remembrance of the fearful
bombardment of 1849. The citizens, nevertheless, bravely
declared themselves ready to submit to any sacrifices so that
the citadel were taken, but General Cialdini resolved, if
possible, to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, replied to the
threats of the Neapolitan by an intimation that if he fired
upon the town an officer should be shot for every civilian
killed, the Marshal himself and the garrison given up to
the vengeance of the populace, and the property of the
garrison confiscated in compensation of damages. This ener-
getic reply soon brought forth a promise to respect-the town,
and up to the 9th of March all remained quiet. On that
day the Neapolitans began to fire upon the works of the be-
siegers, and continued to do so throughout that and the two
following days. Their fire was irregular, being extremely
violent on the 10th, and dying away in the course of the
11th, ceasing almost entirely at night. On this latter day
the state of siege was proclaimed in the town, and every
cart and carriage laid under requisition for the transport of
powder and munitions from the landing-place below the
city to the batteries.

At dawn on the 12th the garrison resumed firing, not
only from the citadel, but also from the detached forts—Don
Blasco on the right looking from Messina towards the Cala-
brian coast), and San Salvatore on the left at the mouth of
the harbour. This cannonade continued without intermis-
sion till noon, when a more distant shot announced that
the attack had begun. A few of the first balls fell into the
sea, but this slight deviation was soon corrected, and from
that moment rifled shot, grenades, and bombs continued to
pour upon the citadel with unerring accuracy. In about 10
minutes the Neapolitans might be seen scampering out of
Don Blasco and taking refuge in the covered way, where
they remained until the cessation of the fire. The nearness
of the besieging batteries, within musket range, made every
shot tell, each successive explosion caused a quantity of
earth and stones to be flung high into the air, and about 4
o'clock the barracks burst into flames, just as part of the
Italian fleet steamed up to Cale part in the attack. Shcjrtly
after a small powder magazine blew up, and the Neapoli-
tans, who from the beginning of the attack had not fired a
single gun, then displayed a white flag, but on a point so
low as to render it all but invisible. This not having the
desired effect of stopping the cannonade, the garrison, in
their terror and impatience, actually displayed seven white
flags on different points, which being observed from the
fleet, first the ships and then the batteries ceased firing.
At half-past 5 o'clock some Neapolitan officers came out to
parley, and at 6 the flagship of Admiral Persano, the Maria
Adelaide, steamed into the port, her band playing the Royal
March amidst the enthusiastic vives of the population, who
crowded the Marina.

The parleys lasted great part of the evening, the Nea-
politans demanding an armistice and terms, while General
Cialdini insisted on an unconditional surrender, and finally
declared he should re-open fire unless the garrison submit
ted without further delay. To back up this reply the
Maria Adelaide left the port, and fired one or two shots,
upon cchich Marshal Fergola sent to say he was ready to
surrender at discretion. Early on the morning of the 13th
the 36th Italian Regiment marched into the citadel to take
possession, and at noon, precisely 24 hours after the com-
mencement of the attack, the tricolour banner, with the
white cross of Savoy, was hoisted on tke highest point of
the citadel, amid the salutes of the Italian fleet, and even
of the batteries of the fallen fortress.

Thus did the Bourbons lose their hold upon Southern
Italy without a shot being fired in reply to the besieging
batteries—a silence the more striking after the violent fire
kept up so long as there was no attack. But this supine-
ness of the defence by no means diminishes the merit of
the Italian army and its general. The artillery of the
former deserves all credit for the rapidity and accuracy of
their fire, which in so few hours inflicted great damage on
the fortress, and the latter for the admirable arrangements
which would have made any prolonged defence impossible.

A VOLUNTEER FINED AND DIS-

DfIS,SED.

A duly constituted court of inquiry was held in
Bingley-hall, Birmingham, a day or two ago, to
investigate a charge made by Captain Hebbert,
commanding No. 10 Company of the Birmingham
Battalion of Rifle Volunteers, against Private
Daniel Joseph Clarke, a member of that company,
for having, on Saturday evening last, " been drunk
when on parade for,battalion drill in Bingley-hall,
and behaved in a disrespectfulemanner towards his
superior officers, such conduct being subversive of
good order and military discipline." The proceed-
ings were conducted openly, and were attended by
a large number of volunteers, who behaved with
the most becoming propriety, and seemed to take
great interest in the matter. The court and the
witnesses appeared in full-dress uniform. On Sun-
day Captain Hebbert addressed a letter to Private
Clarke, expressing his sorrow that he should have
added to his first offence of disrespectful conduct on
the previous evening on the parade ground to
Lieutenant-Colonel Mason, by coming into the
orderly room,. when in a state of intoxication, and
conducting himself there in a very reprehensible
manner. The captain added, " I shall be compelled
to report you for trial before the battalion commit-
tee, unless you take the opportunity, which I shall
afford you in the course of Monday, of sending a
written and ample apology." Instead of sending
an apology, however, Clarke tendered his resig-
nation, which, under the circumstances, was re-
fused. Clarke, on being asked whether he had
any objection to the members of the court, re-
plied that he had not. The order for the assembly
of the court was produced and read, and the
court then proceeded to the examination of the
witnesses, on the charge as above-mentioned.
The evidence, which it is needless to particularise,
was taken down in writing, but, according to the
rules of the service, no oath was administered.
After a careful and patient investigation, which
occupied three hours, the court was cleared for de-
liberation, and it was afterwards announced that
the court had found as proven that Private Clarke
was not absolutely drunk, but excited by drink ;
that his behaviour was disrespectful and insubordi-
nate towards his officers ; and they recommended
that he be fined 30s. and dismissed the corps. The
evidence and the finding having been duly sub-
mitted to Lieut.-Colonel Mason, commanding the
battalion, that officer took occasion to read the fol-
lowing confirmation and remarks to the volunteers
present at drill on Tuesday evening:—" The com-
manding officer is pleased to approve and confirm
the finding of the court of inquiry on the following
grounds,—lst. An opportunity was afforded Pri-
vate Clarke by his captain of apologising for his
misconduct as a member of the corps, of which he
did not choose to avail himself, thereby rendering
an investigation into the charges preferred against
him, pursuant to the rules, imperative. 2d. Drunk-
enness is an offence at all times disgraceful and
reprehensible ; but when a volunteer so far forgets
himself as to publicly present himself on parade,
clothed in the uniform of the corps, in a state of
intoxication, it is absolutely necessary that such
conduct should be visited with the punishment it
deserves. 3d. Obedience to orders is a first prin-
ciple of military law; without it, discipline is im-
possible. A laxity in this respect can only lead, as
in this case, to insubordination and disrespect of
authority. So strongly does the commanding officer
feel it to be his duty to enforce its observance, that
he is prepared to use all the means vested in him
by act of Parliament and the rules of the corps to
carry out; as on this occasion, the important and
responsible duties with which he is entrusted."