Arrived
within firing distance, they opened with carbines and cannon while
advancing on us.
The order given to the Thousand was to wait without firing for the enemy
to come up, though the gallant Ligurians already had one man killed and
several wounded. The blare of the bugles, sounding an American
_reveille_, brought the enemy to a halt as if by magic. They understood
that it was not the Picciotti alone they had to deal with, and their
lines, with the artillery, gave the signal for a retrograde movement.
This was the first time that the soldiers of despotism had quailed
before the filibusters--for such was the title with which our enemies
honored us.
The Thousand then sounded a charge--the Genoese carbineers in the van,
followed by a chosen band of youths impatient to come to close quarters.
The intention of the charge was to put to flight the enemy's vanguard
and get possession of the two guns--a manoeuvre that was executed with a
spirit worthy of the champions of Italian liberty; but I had no
intention of a front attack on a formidable position occupied by a
strong force of Bourbon troops.
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