The enthusiasm which prevailed on Garibaldi's arrival was extreme; and the alarm bells were rung in all the communes of the Varesotto, Tramezzo, Como and Lecco districts. The volunteers were pouring in from every village and hamlet. In this manner the insurrection gained ground in Upper Lombardy. At the first appearance of the braves, all the civil authorities of Como and Lecco recognized the government of King Victor Emanuel, which in those towns was represented by Count Visconti Venosta, a young nobleman from Valtellina of great determination. His spirited proclamations roused the enthusiasm of country folks and citizens, who hastened to the scene of action with an ardor never witnessed in 1848. Money, so much wanted, poured into Garibaldi's military treasury, together with gold necklaces and other valuable trinkets from fair Lombard ladies. The sum thus collected in two days reached 2,000,000 francs.
Garibaldi had been instructed to move in the direction of Varese by slow marches, keeping himself in constant communication with Cialdini's division, which did not follow. By the necessity of strategetical combinations, Gen. Cialdini was obliged to march to and fro from Vercelli and Stroppiana, guarding the right bank of the Upper Sesia, as far as Gattinara. The necessary result of this constant marching and countermarching was that of retarding the projects of Garibaldi. He moved slowly for two days, but he could not stand it any longer; and hastening from Romagnana to the headquarters of the king, he begged him to observe that he did not and could not understand the scientific principles of a regular war, and that he wished to be left to his daring inspiration.
Victor Emanuel saw directly that it was of no use to keep such a bird in the cage of strategic rules, and, letting him loose, said: "Go where you like, do what you like. I have only one regret—that of not being able to follow you."
While occupying the place, amidst the enthusiasm of the inhabitants, he learned that General Urban was approaching with forty thousand Austrians. He immediately retired from the city, leaving two hundred men, with orders to hold the place, with the aid of the inhabitants, to the last extremity. The enemy came on, attacked, and were bravely resisted, but succeeded in taking the town. Supposing that Garibaldi had retreated into Switzerland, without any intention of returning, they appeared to entertain no apprehensions of danger from that quarter. It then became highly important that he should be apprised of the condition of things. Every effort was made to procure a messenger, and high rewards were offered; but the hazards were so great that no one could be found willing to run the desperate risk of his life, or rather to go to certain death, as the Austrians were believed to hold and watch every avenue to the country.
Garibaldi, who was waiting in the mountains for an opportunity to make a sudden descent upon the enemy, but cut off from communication, and in ignorance of their situation, was surprised in his wild retreat by the arrival of a lady, who had come from Como alone, on horseback, by pursuing by-paths, and with great skill and boldness, finding her way between and around the various points which were guarded by the enemy. Although only twenty-four years of age, brought up in refined society, and of aristocratic family—a daughter of Count Raimondi—this fair and youthful stranger appeared before Garibaldi like a vision, and, with an air corresponding with the spirit which had inspired her through her wild and perilous expedition, presented to him the dispatches with which she had been intrusted, at her earnest petition, in Como. Garibaldi learned from them the position of the enemy, and the readiness of the people to receive him again. Without a moment's delay, he set out on his return, and by a forced march, conducted with the greatest skill, suddenly returned to the Lake of Como, with his resolute band.
Como was occupied after a hard fight of two hours at San Fermo and Camerlata. This last-mentioned position is to be considered as the key of the picturesque barrier of Como, for its elevated ground enables a small body of men to oppose a long resistance even to an army of 15,000 strong. The positions were carried at the point of the bayonet, for the Cacciatori delle Alpi could not fire their muskets, so much inferior in range to those of the enemy. It was a hard and bloody fight, which may, without exaggeration, be compared to the struggles of old, when Roman and Carthaginian legions met together.
The news of the organizing of a corps by the celebrated Garibaldi, had induced the Austrians to make their last demand upon Piedmont, which was a very extraordinary one, and indicated the interesting truth that they duly appreciated Garibaldi. It was, that, unless his band was immediately dispersed, they would march forward in three days. This demand was not complied with, but the King of Sardinia prepared to receive the threatened invaders. With excellent judgment, however, he did not attempt to occupy the line of the Mincio; he chose a stronger one within his own territory, and occupied that extending from Alessandria to the Apennines, toward Genoa, leaving the road to Turin open to the enemy. The Austrians moved; but, as soon as they had crossed the Ticino, the engineer who had charge of the canals which irrigate the extensive valley, was ordered to open them and make an inundation. The Austrians soon discovered that the water was rising, and the general sent word to the engineer in terms like these:
"Your brother is a prisoner in my hands; if you do not immediately stop the inundation, I will cut off his head."
The engineer, with the greatest resolution, pressed the work with redoubled vigor that night; and by employing two hundred more men, completed it before morning. The Austrians, finding that they were likely to be caught in a kind of trap, with the inundation rising on their right, and the Piedmontese army on their left, soon retreated, and recrossed the Ticino.