XIV. ish, German, and Italian, which the Castilian min- CHAPTER ister, Francisco de Roxas, had levied in Rome; and he was in daily hopes of a more important accession from the same quarter, through the good offices of the Venetian ambassador. Lastly, he had obtained some additional recruits, and a remittance of a considerable sum of money, in a fleet of Catalan ships lately arrived from Spain. With all this, however, a heavy amount of arrears remained due to his troops. In point of numbers he was still far inferior to the enemy; no computation swelling them higher than three thousand horse, two of them light cavalry, and nine thousand foot. The strength of his army lay in his Spanish infantry, on whose thorough discipline, steady nerve, and strong attachment to his person, he felt he might confidently rely. In cavalry, and still more in artillery, he was far below the French, which, together with his great numerical inferiority, made it impossible for him to keep the open country. His only resource was to get possession of some pass or strong position, which lay in their route, where he might detain them, till the arrival of further reinforcements should enable him to face them on more equal terms. The deep stream of the Garigliano presented such a line of defence as he wanted. 15 15 Zurita, Hist. del Rey Hernando, tom. i. lib. 5, cap. 38, 43, 44, 48, 57. Giovio, Vite Illust. Virorum, fol. 258, 259.- Sismondi, Hist. des Français, tom. xv. p. 417. - Garibay, Compendio, tom. ii. VOL. III. 16 lib. 19, cap. 16. Ferreras, Hist. The Castilian writers do not state PART II. Occupies San Ger mano. On the 6th of Ootober, therefore, the Great Captain broke up his camp at Castellone, and, abandoning the whole region north of the Garigliano to the enemy, struck into the interior of the country, and took post at San Germano, a strong place on the other side of the river, covered by the two fortresses of Monte Casino16 and Rocca Secca. Into this last he threw a body of determined men under Villalba, and waited calmly the approach of the enemy. It was not long before the columns of the latter were descried in full march on Ponte Corvo, at a few miles' distance only on the opposite side of the Garigliano. After a brief halt there, they traversed the bridge before that place, and advanced confidently forward in the expectation of encountering little resistance from a foe so much their inferior. In this they were mistaken; the garrison of Rocca Secca, against which they directed their arms, handled them so roughly, that, after in vain endeavouring to carry the place in two desperate assaults, the Marquis of Mantua resolved to abandon the attempt altogether, and, recrossing the river, to seek a more practicable point for his purpose lower down. 17 which is to be inferred only from martyrs, and other saintly relics; a division of spoil probably not entirely satisfactory to its reverend inmates. Giovio, Vita Magni Gonsalvi, fol. 262. 17 Chrónica del Gran Capitan, lib. 2, cap. 102.-Ulloa, Vita di Carlo V., fol. 21.-Guicciardini, Istoria, tom. i. lib. 6, pp. 326, 327. Peter Martyr, Opus Epist., epist. XIV. The French encamp on the Garigli ano. Keeping along the right bank, therefore, to the CHAPTER southeast of the mountains of Fondi, he descended nearly to the mouth of the Garigliano, the site, as commonly supposed, of the ancient Minturnæ. 18 The place was covered by a fortress called the Tower of the Garigliano, occupied by a small Spanish garrison, who made some resistance, but surrendered on being permitted to march out with the honors of war. On rejoining their countrymen under Gonsalvo, the latter were so much incensed that the garrison should have yielded on any terms, instead of dying on their posts, that, falling on them with their pikes, they massacred them all to a man. Gonsalvo did not think proper to punish this outrage, which, however shocking to his own feelings, indicated a desperate tone of resolution, which he felt he should have occasion to tax to the utmost in the present exigency. 19 The ground now occupied by the armies was low and swampy, a character which it possessed in ancient times; the marshes on the southern side being supposed to be the same in which Marius concealed himself from his enemies during his proscription.20 267.- Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 188. 18 The remains of this city, which stood about four miles above the mouth of the Liris, are still to be seen on the right of the road. In ancient days it was of sufficient magnitude to cover both sides of the river. See Strabo, Geographia, lib. 5, p. 233, (Paris, 1629, with Casaubon's notes,) p. 110. 19 Chrónica del Gran Capitan, lib. 2, cap. 107. Giovio, Vita Magni Gonsalvi, fol. 263. 20 The marshes of Minturnæ lay between the city and the mouth of the Liris. (Cluverius, Ital. Antiq. lib. 3, cap. 10, sec. 9.) The Spanish army encamped, says Guicciardini, in a place called by Livy from its vicinity to Sessa, aquæ Sinuessane, being perhaps the marshes in which Marius hid himself." (Istoria, lib. 6.) The historian makes two blunders in a breath. 1st. Aqua Sinuessane was a name derived not from Sessa, the ancient Suessa Aurunca, but from the ad PART II. Passage of the bridge. Its natural humidity was greatly increased, at this time, by the excessive rains, which began earlier and with much more violence than usual. The French position was neither so low, nor so wet as that of the Spaniards. It had the advantage, moreover, of being supported by a well-peopled and friendly country in the rear, where lay the large towns of Fondi, Itri, and Gaeta; while their fleet, under the admiral Préjan, which rode at anchor in the mouth of the Garigliano, might be of essential service in the passage of the river. In order to effect this, the marquis of Mantua prepared to throw a bridge across, at a point not far from Trajetto. He succeeded in it, notwithstanding the swollen and troubled condition of the waters, in a few days, under cover of the artillery, which he had planted on the bank of the river, and which from its greater elevation entirely commanded the opposite shore. 21 The bridge was constructed of boats belonging to the fleet, strongly secured together and covered with planks. The work being completed, on the XIV. 6th of November the army advanced upon the CHAPTER bridge, supported by such a lively cannonade from the batteries along the shore, as made all resistance on the part of the Spaniards ineffectual. The impetuosity with which the French rushed forward was such, as to drive back the advanced guard of their enemy, which, giving way in disorder, retreated on the main body. Before the confusion could extend further, Gonsalvo, mounted à la ginete, in the manner of the light cavalry, rode through the broken ranks, and rallying the fugitives, quickly brought them to order. Navarro and Andrada, at the same time, led up the Spanish infantry, and the whole column charging furiously against the French, compelled them to falter, and at length to fall back on the bridge. resistance The struggle now became desperate, officers and Desperate soldiers, horse and foot, mingling together, and fighting hand to hand, with all the ferocity kindled by close personal combat. Some were trodden under the feet of the cavalry, many more were forced from the bridge, and the waters of the Garigliano were covered with men and horses, borne down by the current, and struggling in vain to gain the shore. It was a contest of mere bodily strength and courage, in which skill and superior tactics were of little avail. Among those who most distinguished themselves, the name of the noble Italian, Fabrizio Colonna, is particularly mentioned. An heroic action is recorded also of a person of inferior rank, a Spanish alferez, or standard-bearer, named Illescas. The right hand of this man was shot away by a cannon |