The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1851-04-09
,.rho Bridge of 7.ot,i.

ftVsttS &Uat utStuSuISiteu tth UttlttuTy
career. Hs was at that period In his
oyshyear, and had but recently received
iiis cotRmission as commander in.c i,ief
Of the army Of italy. Within tho brief
space Of thirty days from tho opening
OF this, hio first campaign, ho had
def6n'ed the Austrions at Montenotte,
Milicsimo and Mondov, and compelled
them 10 evacua,o Piedmont, and retire
to the opposite bank Of the AIDA. The
Addu is rapid and deep river, ahd il
crossed at the town Of Lodi by wooden
bridge called the "Bridgo Of Lodi" On
the left bank Of this river the Aus,rians,
under tho command Of Bcaulieu, vet.
eran Of '78, halted and posted them.
selves in their strength to nrrcs, the
progress Of the victorious Napoleon.
They planted thirty piece ,r artillery
upon tho bridge, ard stationed $4,000
infantry and 1000 cava ry upon the
ground to &C, in effective cooperation.
With such formidable mcans OF defence,
nothing bot instant death appeared 10
await any demonstration on the part Of
"athe French 10 force the passage Of the
bridge. Napoleon reached Lodi in the
afternoon Of The 10th Of May, 1896, ut.
tended by his best generals and choices,
troops, and without hesitation imme.
diately resolved to assail tho Aust, ian
position. A fow moments antecedcn,
be delivered the following laconic
address to his soldiers: "Frenchmcn!
here.is starvation, there is the enemy
beyond him plenty, March," His
cavalry were ordered 10 cross at place
where The AIDA was said 10 be fordab'e,
and fall upon the Austrian flank, mean.
while BonrParte, OF the hend Of 5000
chosen greDaders under ihc shelter OF
the walls Of the town, waited, until the
appearance Of the cavalry, who had
crossed the ford, mad disquie,cd the
Austrian flank; at this critical momen,
o word OF command from Bonaparle
brought the ,grenadiers upon the bridge;
they rushed forward with loud shouts Of
Vice Ia RepubHque, but their appearance
was the signal Tor the opening Of the
Austrian artillery upon their ranks
The vollies which issued from these
field pieces were most terrific. AT one
time, the French grenadiers, unable TO
resist the dreadful storm, appeared for
m instant 10 hcsi,nte, but Lannes,
Ronaparte and Ber,hier hurried 10 The
bead Of tho column. and by their
presence, gallantly renewed the re-
solution Of the soldiers, and carried the
bridge. The artillerymen were quickly
bayonettel and the Austrian army
put to flight, losing in their re,rea,
upwards oflwen,y guns, and thousand
prisoners, and perhaps two thousand
more wounded and slain. II has been
said that no praise was more grateful to
the ear Of Napoleon than that which
chnraclerized him as "hero Of Lodi's
sBridge. ,s,.
4 his lsasebrniatlras,idqe nres.8l E9.,l
Town ot Lodi; il is five hundred fee, il
length, tnd built entirely Of oak, and il
supported by forty-two sets Of iressels
The railing which tanks its sides il
rather low, being only .wo rails high
The bridge has no curve or arch, an,
is level enough for the passage OF ,
railroad. With the exception Of ,ht
middle portion oft, which was DESTROYED
in the Italian revolution Of 1913, the
brigde remains in its original condition
entire. 1t is let by contract to Signo
. Giuseppe Pogliani, who pays sixtcer
hundred dollars per annum for it, ant
he collects from every pedestrian one
cent, and from every carriage or othc
vehicle sixteen cents, toll.
The bridge Of Lodi is well regulated
and gravelled, and forms very pleasant
promenade. On holidays j, constitutes
The favorile resort Of the people
The country along the banks of the
river is very beautiful, and the air is
xalways moved by fresh winds
The AIDA is very swirl river
and runs with strong current; after
rain storm it swells and becomes
quite deep; on such occasions
us depth would average twenty feet.
a large stone statue Of "Sainl Giovanni
Nepomices now stands upon The Lodi
side of the bridge. This saint was, and
is still, the protector Of The river Adda.
On the day Of the battle The cannonadc
was so furious that the saint could no,
protect even his own statue from
destruction. 1t was knocked down,
had lis head knocked of, one arm badly
fractured, both legs broken, besides
sustaining several severe commissions on
the face. When the connic, was over
sonle pious persons collected the limbs,
.urYitef tfom 10 the body, and restored
the statue to its old place.
sst Upon the opposite bank ofthc bridge,
ssgfero the Ausirians were engaged,
/ resides the toll gnlherer, Sig. Pogliani.
Here stand five or six small low stone
houses an old stone tower in the middle,
with tall lightning rod rising above
It's top. These old buildings still bear
the marks Of the terrible scenes through
which they passed. Even the sacred
! eiiigy ofthe Virgin Mary d,d not escape
she fire;it was pierced in two places by
5rauske, balls.
= In passing over the bridge counted
tie number Of steps, and found them to
be (from embankment 10 embankmen,)
Two hundred md s.x.v. nc | ,l;i .o i