Giuseppe Avezzana was an Italian soldier who fought in Europe and America.

Biography

Avezzana served under

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

from 1813 until the fall of the empire. Afterwards, he joined the

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

n army. In 1815, he arrayed against his old leader, who had made his escape from

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

. His American journey began soon after the restoration of

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

to the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

throne in September 1823. Avezzana fought against the restoration, but was captured and held as a prisoner for several weeks before sailing for America upon being set free. He was barely established on American soil when he found himself called upon to defend the state of

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

against his old enemies the Spaniards, who invaded the territory under General Barradas in June 1827. He was obliged to retire at first before superior numbers, but he soon rallied a force sufficient to overthrow the invaders and afterward resumed his peaceful vocations. In 1832, a revolution was organized by

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...

against the government of

Anastasio Bustamante Anastasio Bustamante y Oseguera (; 27 July 1780 – 6 February 1853) was a Mexican physician, general, and politician who served as president of Mexico three times. He participated in the Mexican War of Independence initially as a royalist befo ...

, and Avezzana was, as always, ready to lead the revolt. Left in command at

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

by General Montezuma, who went to stir up the revolutionists elsewhere, he maneuvered so successfully with a small force that they captured three times their number of government troops at

Ciudad Victoria Ciudad Victoria () is the seat of the Municipality of Victoria, and the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located in the northeast of Mexico at the foot of the Sierra Madre Oriental. It borders the municipality of Güémez to t ...

, with artillery and supplies. From this time, he gave the enemy no rest, but retrieved the disasters that had befallen

Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to: * Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States * Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas * Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...

and Montezuma, and mainly through his able military leadership the liberal cause triumphed. After resigning his command, in 1834 Avezzana went into business in New York City. He married an Irish lady and led a quiet mercantile life until the

revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

, when he promptly responded to the call of Italy. He was absent just a year, and he only returned to America after he had fought the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

ns and Sardinians at

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, and with a few thousand followers had defended

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

for two months against the allied armies, 100,000 strong. Once he sought refuge on board an American and once on board a British man-of-war, and at last, when the cause of freedom was hopelessly crushed, escaped with his usual good luck to America and resumed his mercantile life in New York.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Avezzana, Giuseppe 1797 births 1879 deaths People of the Revolutions of 1848 Italian soldiers People from Chieri Italian expatriates in the United States