Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian patriot and general in the 19th century. He is well known for personally leading military campaigns that brought about the unification of Italy. He also assisted in military campaigns in South America and was offered a commission by Abraham Lincoln personally. In 1833, Garibaldi joined the Carbonari revolutionary organization in its attempted insurrection in Piedmont, Italy. After the failed attempt he was captured, sentenced to death, and fled to Marseilles, France. Garibaldi then headed to Brazil, and assisted the southern gauchos against Imperial Forces in the War of the Tatters. The Republican Revolution failed and the Italian went on to Uruguay where he founded the Italian Legion. Garibaldi fought on behalf of the Colorados (red-skins) against the Blancos (whites) in the Uruguayan Civil War. There, Garibaldi mastered guerrilla war tactics and won substantial victories in Cerro and San Antonio del Santo.
In 1848 Garibaldi returned to Italy and participated in the unsuccessful First Italian War of Independence and attained some minor military victories. In 1849, Garibaldi was sent to Rome in order to defend the new Republic just begun there. The Papal States, however, urged Napoleon III of France to intervene. In April, 1849, Garibaldi took command of the defense of Rome and defeated a substantially numerically superior French army. In 1860, Garibaldi, with an army of 8000, crossed into and conquered the whole of Sicily, defeating many of Napoleon's strongest garrisons on the island. In September of the same year, he went on to Naples and took the city. Despite his military successes, Garibaldi had not yet faced and withstood the whole of the French Army. On September 30th, with a volunteer army of 24,000, Garibaldi personally led his forces to victory over the French Army in the Battle of Volturno.
On March 17th, 1861 Italy was officially unified.
Giuseppe Garibaldi died on June 2nd, 1882.