These figures by Irregular I chose as I like their slender style and they do have some stoic determination about them.
I opted for two units one in blue reflecting the fact that although Garibaldini fought in red shirts while in South America, they had to use blue shirts initally when defending Rome in 1848.
The second unit is a “red shirts” unit although I think uniforms were probably very un-uniform during the hiatus of declaring the Roman Republic. So they have some mixed shirt colours too.
I mounted the figures on washers to match them better with other 1/72 and 25mm figures, sort of 20-25mm ish.
They are based for Piquet units of 4 x 40mm square bases using the Peter Pig 3 up style which Piquet also seems to favour. I used my wars of Italian unification base style – 3 colours and some grass: I have written about this in previous posts.
Irregular supplied me with these 24 figures including the bugler and flag captain as a pack. The Kepis are reckoned to be 1859 plus era so technically these chaps are not right for 1848. A major problem is many illustrations for 1848 show the Kepi probably because by the time of publication it was a common sight.
After securing Sicily Garibaldi reorganised his mass of volunteer units into a series of Divisiones.
Divisione Turr
Divisione Cosenz
Divisione Medici
Divisione Bixio
The soldiers shown here are from the Divisione Bixio which comprised two brigades.
classic “redshirts”, one soldier has obtained some piedmont/sardinian trousers, one has summer dress whites with small white gaiters while the third appears to have some liberated Neapolitan dark blue trousers on!
An officer is in the illustration (G) shown in the Osprey Men at Arms book 520. I have already mentioned what an excellent book this is, with a wealth of detail in black white alongside text overflowing with wargamers ideas for painting units.
The Officer on the Osprey 520 cover – centre figure – is from Divisione Bixio. Credit to Lucky Toys for animating their sculpts. Compare with the Hat Bologna Volunteers in this background shot of them.
Back in 2008 Richard Clarke of Too Fat Lardies published Sharp Practice. I had always considered this black powder ruleset very Napoleonic. Yet it is for black powder wars and these ran well into the 19th Century.
Take Two books – published in 1907 and 2008 but connected in just the right way
Enter George Macaulay Trevelyan (GMT) who a mere 100 years before Sharp Practice wrote a trilogy on Guiseppe Garibaldi hero of the Wars of Italian Unification (WotIU).
This little post is not about my current interest in WotIU. We must travel back to the 1830’s and sail to South America. Uruguay to be more accurate.
If I was not up to my armpits in Bersaglieri and Kittel dressed Austrians I might just be tempted south……………
The War for Rio Grande do Sol was fought out between Uruguay and Brazil. Later Uruguay fought Argentina along the rivers that fed the Rio de la Plata.
Garibaldi fled Piedmontese execution in 1836, having failed to cause rebellion in its navy, served in both these wars and became a local hero by 1848.
Garibaldi on his return to the Papal States and revolution
In the process he developed his expertise in warfare, leading bands of highly motivated and very mobile forces. This experience would serve him well on his return to Italy.
Warfare in and around Uruguay was fast, furious and often mounted
I am not sure how you might acquire the GMT trilogy – I got mine from Paul Meekins Military books. There are a few other more modern Garibaldi biographies.
In the introduction to Richard Clarkes Sharp Practice the author makes it clear the rules aim to relive the exploits of 19th century literary heroes. GMT hero worships Garibaldi not least because of his political leanings – a true revolutionary of the people. GMT adds a lot of praise and enrichment to the story shall we say.
Contemporary accounts and later biographies recount small naval actions with Garibaldi being shot on deck and his wife Anita Riberas also being shot as she fought with him. Lagoons, amphibious assaults, cattle rustling (the key cash crop), sieges, river gorges, forests, upland ridgeways, prairie, pampas, arroyas (wooded streams) and canadas (ground dips deep enough to hide your forces in!), not to mention lancer cavalry fighting musket armed soldiers.
If your desperate for figures maybe you could try the Carlists, while at least some of the regular enemies kitted out in napoleonic kit with british style shakoes.
In fact the Risorgimento continues to be fought over as a literary subject in itself. I have enjoyed Lucy Riall’s book which injects some 21st century objectivity into it all. Lucy has also authored a book about Garibaldi, that might be a good starting point for using Sharp Practice in a different way.
Those pesky Bersaglieri cannot be left alone…………..postings to follow
So my offering today is to the jaded “Richard Sharpe” player – cast way those green jackets and take on the slaughterhouse cloth of Monte Video* and march or should I say ride with Garibaldi across the uplands of the Rio Grande do Sol, grossly outnumbered yet most often victorious: And he lived to tell his tales.
*the famous italian red shirts apparently started life as a very cheap industrial clothing for Garibaldis Italian Legion in Monte Video.
The Wargaming Erratic 