page_title: István Türr
section_title: Expedition of the Thousand, promotion to general
hierarchical_section_title: István Türr / Expedition of the Thousand, promotion to general
context_page_description: István Türr, was a Hungarian soldier, revolutionary, canal architect and engineer, remembered in Italy for his role in that country's unification and his association with Garibaldi. In the later years of his life became known as a peace activist.
context_section_description: Türr had completely recovered from his wounds by the next year (1860), when he again followed Garibaldi and took a major part in the Expedition of the Thousand.
  The 500 Hungarians led by Türr, helped by fellow exiles Adolf Mogyórody, Nándor Éber and Gusztáv Frigyesy, were the largest contingent of foreign volunteers fighting with Garibaldi, alongside French, Poles, Swiss, German and other nationalities. Like the Hungarians, most of the other internationals were fighting with a view to follow up the liberation of Italy with that of their own countries from foreign or domestic tyranny (see International Legion).
  In later parts of the campaign, as Garibaldi's campaign gathered momentum and many local recruits in Sicily and South Italy, Türr was in command also of an increasing number of Italian troops.
  In Talamone, en route to Sicily, Garibaldi promoted Türr to General and included him in the General Staff formed for the expedition. After the capture of Palermo, Türr led the force that went through the rugged Sicilian interior towards Messina, while Garibaldi himself went on along the island's north shore. After crossing to the mainland, Türr led a force of 1,500 men towards Salerno.
  Franco Catalano, analysing the Battle of Volturnus (1860), accuses Turr of "reckleness" that contributed to the initial Garibaldian defeats at Caiazzo and Castel Morrone, but the overall battle ended with Garibaldi's decisive victory, and at the time there were no recriminations.
  In the aftermath of the fighting Türr was appointed by Garibaldi as Governor of Naples. In this role he conducted the plebiscite of 21 October 1860, in which the city's population voted overwhelmingly in favour of incorporation in the new Kingdom of Italy.
  During the famous meeting of Garibaldi with King Victor Emmanuel II at Teano, the king refused Garibaldi's request that the soldiers and officers who took part in the Expedition of the Thousand be taken into the Italian Army, and most of them were in fact dismissed. Garibaldi afterwards went back to his home in Caprera, and his later relations with the King and the royal government were often tense. However, Victor Emmanuel not only confirmed Türr's rank as a general but also made him a royal aide-de-camp, and subsequently entrusted to Türr the handling of some sensitive diplomatic matters. Despite this divergence of political courses, however, Türr remained on highly cordial and friendly relations with Garibaldi until the Italian revolutionary's death in 1882.
  Meanwhile, back in Austrian-ruled Hungary, the city of Debrecen on 6 February 1861, declared Türr and as Kossuth, Klapka and other exiled nationalists, to be its honorary citizen. This was an act of defiance, as at the time Türr stood to be executed out of hand had he attempted to arrive at the city whose honorary citizen he became,
caption: General István Türr in Palermo, during the 1860 Expedition of the Thousand (photo by Gustave Le Gray).
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