Matese Legion
| Matese Legion | |
|---|---|
| Disbanded | 1861 |
| Country |
 Italy
|
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Italy
|
| Branch | Redshirts (Italy) |
| Type | militia |
| Role | support the efforts of Garibaldi towards Italian unification |
| Size | 240+ volunteers |
| Engagements |
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Beniamino Caso Salvatore Pizzi Giuliano Iannotta Giuseppe de Blasiis Major Guadagno Guadagni |
Beniamino Caso
Salvatore Pizzi
Giuliano Iannotta
Giuseppe de Blasiis
The Matese Legion was a group of 240 Italian volunteers that joined Giuseppe Garibaldi in the war for Italian unification in 1861. It was formed in Piedimonte D'Alife, now called Piedimonte Matese, in June 1860, and was officially established on 25 August of the same year. Membership in the legion gradually declined, and it broke apart on 3 March 1861...
The Matese Legion was an unconventional legion in that it was created after a number of Garibaldian volunteers joined together with the aim of tearing down the Bourbon power in Piedimonte and supporting the Southern Army of Garibaldi as it proceed in its advance from Sicily to Rome. 1107 Garibaldian volunteers had left Genoa to reach Sicily on 5 May 1860, guided by Garibaldi and Nino Bixio, an Italian general, as second in command. Their aim was to gain the approval of the population in order to take away power from the various insurrectionary movements in the south regions of the country.
After seeing the success that the Garibaldian campaign was having in Sicily, Beniamino Caso realized the value in creating a military troop to rebel against the Bourbon power, and in June 1860 in Piedimonte he assembled a group of liberal volunteers with the aim of overthrowing it. Originally nameless, the group was soon dubbed the Matese Legion by individuals in Turin, and the name was eventually adopted by all.
On 18 August Beniamino Caso and Pasquale Casella travelled to Naples to personally pick up the weapons and the flag of the newly born legion. The two entered Piedimonte Matese the night of 24 August 1860 with the flag, 100 rifles and 12 boxes of amunition, and the following morning the legion was officially constituted. The legion was organised into two different parties based upon the volunteers' area of origin, with the first party including the sections of Alvignano, Dragoni, S. Angelo d'Alife, Raviscanina e Piedimonte; the second one included the sections of S.Maria Capua Vetere, San Lorenzello and Calvi. From Piedimonte the legion, under the command of Major De Blasiis, departed on 31 August for Benevento. He entered the city on 3 September, welcomed by the population after having been liberated from seven centuries of pontifical rule.
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Wikipedia