DEFEAT OF THE GARIBALDIANS AT SAN ANTONIO.

West Coast Times, Issue 309, 19 September 1866, Page 2 (Supplement)

DEFEAT OF THE GARIBALDIANS AT SAN ANTONIO.

A correspondent of tho " Daily News writes on the 4th from Brescia :—: —

" Leaving- Sale at 3 a.m. yesterday, in a light carriage drawn by one harse, and escorted by five guides,' Garibaldi in a few hours overtook Brigadier (Jorte, and during the remainder of the morning concerted with him the plan of attack. In determining to strike the blow the same afternoon — instead of allowing the men, or rather boys, most of whom had no more idea than I had, till the hist moment, that we were going into action, to take food and rest that night — Garibaldi much overrated the powers of endurance of his volunteers. Partly to his error of judgment, partly to the inferior stuff of which at least two-thirds of the present volunteer force is composed, partly to the strong position taken up by the enemy, and^partly to the non-arrival of the'Dersaglieri, who were in-t -acted to proceed over the mountains .lid take the enemy in the rear, the check of yesterday must be ascribed. TrTat they did not arrive in time, I must add, in justice to the Bersaglieri and their gallant cotnnander Mosto, was no fault of theirs, for very insufficient time was allowed them-for their difficult march.

" The field of }'esterday's battle was the steep side of a mountain, about 1500 feet high, sloping rapidly down to th'e 'shore of the Lake of Idro, and bisected by an exrposed under road, carried along its face, leading to the village of Bagolino, whence the Bersagljori were expected to fall ou the enemy's rear, while lower down," and near the shore, runs the high road to Caffaro. The entire facc> of the slopes of the mountain, which is called the Doiso Alto, is overgrown by underwood, which, while it afforded perfect shelter to the Tyrolese Kaiscr-Jagers, much impeded the progress of 'the volunteers. As we advanced along the upper road to the scene of action it was the prettiest sight in -the world to see the three Hues of red shirts conspicuously showing through the green bushes, and stretching like a red cord, from the top' to the bottom of the mountain. In front of the red shirts, and forming the front line of skirmishers, one could make put with some difficulty the grey uniforms of the Bersaglieri, who, at a signal given by the firing of a gun from a boat on the lake, which was answered by the enemy from the shore, commenced a veryjjbrisk fire. From 3.30 p.m., when the first shot was fired, till 5.40, when the Garibaldini were in full retreat towards San Antonio, the fire of the enemy was terribly lively and* well directed, while that of the Garibaldini was in general, exceedingly wild, and mostly except in the case of -the Bersasjlieri, not directed at .nil. Although the order to charge with the bayonet,' which is supposed to be the peculiar weapon of the Garihaldini, was repeatedly given, only in a single instance was it responded to. As that bayonet charge was, amidst many disgraceful episodes, the only brilliant incident of the day, I may mention that it was ordered and headed by Captain de Verneda, of the sth company of the 3nl Regiment, who had his left elbowfractured by a ball. At the most critical period of the engagement I observed thy strong grey cob which Garibaldi uses in the mountains, being led riderless to the front, and a few minutes later saw Garibaldi himself suddenly appear fifty yards a-head of those on foot, as if he had risen up from the road. Mounting his cob, tho general rode quietly towards a small body of his

men, who we're crouching fearfully by the side of the road, and calling them ' Ragazzi ' in a gentle voice, tried in vain to encourage them to advance. That Garibaldi's appearance should* have been so strangely inefficacious in restoring their i their courage was to me, indeed, a marvel, and, perhaps a greater marvel still, to see the general, having failed in his first attempt, give the matter up as a bad job, and ride gently back along the road. The explanation probably is that Garibaldi was faint from loss of blood, having already received a flesh wound^ inj his left thigh, which compelled him later to leave Ihe iield. | Not once, wlien the fire was hot and enj couragement needed, did I hear any volunteer raise thatfery of ' Evviva Garibaldi' which is so dinned into one's ears on peaceful occasions. By 5.30 the upper road, which was continually exposed to a most galling fire, and, but for its sinuosity, would have been raked by the enemy from end to end, presented a horrid spectacle, from being completply lined with dead and dying. Over the prostrate bodies of their comrades,, the Garibaldini, retreating before the now advancing Kai-ser-Jager, stumbled in wild confusion, and had not the artillery succeeded in bringing up their field pieces, and pouring in a fire, which is said to have swept the KaiserJager clean off the road, a fearful panic among the Garibaldini must have ensued. That thosd cannon-shots must have carried 1 great slaughter into the ranks of • the enemy is^ not 'to be doubted, for shortly before I saw a dense body of them sweeping dow.n upon us not more than 200 or 300 yards distant ; while, when I looked for them next, and was expecting them to appear round a corner of the road, I was profoundly thankful that they seemed to have thought better of it, and retreated. At 6 p.m., our men were completely done up j no more could be induced to go to the front, and the fight was virtually over, for the enemy, happily for us, made no second attempt to advance. From 6to 8 o'clock, by way of keeping the pot boiling, as it seemed to me, our artillery kept up a dropping fire in the direction from which the enemy was supposed \o be coming. All this time a knot of idlers and stragglers was collected about the guns, watching where each shot or shell fell, as if had been prattice firing. Not being provided with field-glasses, or having lost his own, Brigadier Corte bqrrowed mine, which was handed freely round the company. The only tangible result of the firing was the destruction of the church of the village of San Giacomo. " At nightfall the Garibaldini abandoned their position in advance of Rocca d'Anfo, and retired behind the drawbridges of the fortress to the village of Anfo, where the regiments, battalions and companies were reformed. Feeling desperately tired after the day's work, I made my way into the first cottage I came to, and clambering up into the garret, threw myself' on the floor to get some rest. Before I had been there many -seconds I was horribly startled at hearing firing in the streets below, and looking out of the window, saw the Garibaldini flying for their lives, and one or two fall as if wounded. The universal belief was that the enemy were upon us, but. it turned out that the panic had been occasioned by the accidental discharge of three pieces by fugitive Garibaldini. " Leaving Anfo at Jan early hour this morning, I reached Brescia at 2 p.m., in the company^ of a wounded captain and a non-commissioned officer, who received one of the five bayonet wounds we counted among our wounded yesterday. Of the number of killed and wounded I ca,nnot speak Avith any certainty. By some it is put as high as 500, by none lower than 300. To get his wouud' better attended to, Garibaldi lef^ Anfo, the same evening, for Salo or Brescia. That he will be able for work again in a few days is generally hoped, though I much fear that the flesh wound in his thigh was the least wound Garibaldi receive yesterday." On Tuesday morning the Austrians made a reconnaissance in strong force, with artillery ,_ in the direction of Londone. They were driven back with the bayonet by the Garabaldian? as far as De la Azzo, which place was occupied by the volunteers. Garibaldi was present, but had to remain in a carriage in consequence of his wound. • / In Saturday's sitting of the Nassau Chamber of Deputies the Government proposal for the mobilisation of the Nassau contingent was aq;ain brought forward and again rejected almost unanimously, only two dissentients voting in favor of the motion. The immediate dissolution of the Chamber is expected. , Kossuth has issued an address to the Hungarian soldiers in which he says that they owe no fidelity to Austria, and that if they .remain unde# her flag they are deserters from the national cause. The address is issued from the headquarters of the -Italian army, and bears the date of June 24,

— ■» i The "South Australian Advertiser" .publishes the flowing particulars relative to the copper mino at the Thomson River :—": — " Gipps Land has already become celebrated for its golden quartz reefs, "with some eighty-four companies working their claims ; and now a new industry has been added, in the discovery of an extensive coppor mine on the Thomson River, which has beeu -leased to the Gipps Land Copper-mining Tributors' Company. It is situated on the River Thomson, thirty-five miles from the rising town of Sale, and seventy miles from Port Albert.. The lode, (which is eighteen feet wide, with well-defined walls) commences on a spur of the range. No machinery is required to work it, as it is opened from' the bottom of the hill. They* have already raised about l(>0 tons of ore, notwithstanding much time had to be spent in opening, out the lode, making ore floors, &,.-. the- hill being very steep. The ores raised consist of oxides, carbonates, su phurets, and grey ores, and further on a shaft has boon sunk seven fathoms deep, and cross-cuts made on the lode, rich yellow and black ores being struck. Seventy fathom j from the present workings, blue carbonitcs have been discovered on the back of the lode." Samples assayed in Adelaido gave 15, 20, 27, 30, and 33 per cent, of copper^ Some of these were taken from the surface. , At present they are compelled to feend away their ores without any dressing, but arrangements aro in progress for dressing them, which will considerably increase the produce. An unlimited supply of wood for smelting purposes can be hail on the ground. The company are shipping their ore to tho English and Australian Copper Company, Port Adelaide, and can quarry upwards of 1000 tons per month, which can be sent to the seaboard as soon as the summer sets in. The Government are now preparing to make the roads/