Charles James Corbitt, the brother of Bessie and Pollie, and the son of John Nutt Corbitt and Hannah Baster, was born on 24
March 1842 at 12.15 pm at 3 Weston Street St Pancras, London.
In 1859, by which time he was seventeen, Guiseppe Garibaldi (1807-82) had become a popular figure
in England. He was an Italian merchant marine captain and after a failed Italian
insurrection in 1834 in which he was involved he sailed for Brazil where he
took part in rebel activity against the newly independent Brazilian nation.
In
1841 he travelled to Uruguay and adopted the ‘uniform’ by which he and his
followers became known, the red shirt, a
poncho and a sombrero. In 1842 he took command of the Uruguayan fleet and
raised an ‘Italian Legion’ for the Uruguayan Civil
War. By this time he was a
master of guerilla tactics.
In 1848 a revolution in Italy brought
him back home, for a united Italy was the desire of many Italians at the time. From the mid 6th century Italy had been broken down into 8 small states
and by the end of the 18th century Napoleon (and France) dominated Italy. With
the defeat of Napoleon the Austrians took over control of those areas governed
by France. In 1849 Rome was besieged and taken by the French and eventually
Garibaldi was again forced to leave Italy and for two years (1851-53) lived in
a cottage on Staten Island, New York.
In 1854 he sailed for
Britain and arrived at South Shields on the Tyne to discharge cargo and was welcomed
enthusiastically by the working class people. A month later he returned to
Italy to settle down but in 1859 but was called to duty by king Victor Emmanuel as
Major General at the head of a brigade of 3000 in the Second Italian
War of Independence.
His success caused
apprehension in Europe and Victor Emmanuel sent a message to him forbidding him
to pursue his campaign onto mainland Italy but Garibaldi chose to ignore this
command and, with the help of the British Navy, crossed the Straits of Medina
and started to advance north. By September 1860 he had taken Naples and was
ready to cross the Volturno river at the only crossing point available.
By this time Charles James Corbitt was seveneen and he
and a friend decided to join Garibaldi’s army as part of the British Brigade.
At the last moment at the recruiting
office his friend got cold feet by which time Charles James had already signed
on. His name
appears on the Muster Roll of men who boarded the ‘Melazzo’ on Sunday 17th
September 1860: CORBETT C, of 37 Stanmore Street,
Caledonian Road. (No age or height or experience given.) The address was his
mother’s home and was the place she died in 1862.
The ship sailed from Tilbury carrying
about 260 men and these and others who joined Garibaldi became known as
Garibaldi’s Thousand. The ship’s
muster roll gives the names of those who signed on at Salisbury Street, London
as desirous of going out to Italy and Charles name is amongst them. However not
all the persons named on the muster went out and some deserted before the ship
sailed.
By the time Garibaldi reached the Volturno
River, the ranks of "The Thousand" had swelled to over 24,000 by
the addition of local recruits rushing to serve under the Italian tricolour.
The river flows at right angles to the main
roads which connect Rome and Naples giving it considerable military
importance during this event and also in WW2 when the US Army attacked
across the river in 1943.
At the Volturno, from 30 September to 3
October 1860, despite being outnumbered by a Neapolitan army of 50, 000, a
remarkable victory was won which ended with a
complete rout of the enemy.As one of ‘The Thousand’ Charles fought in what
became known, and is so noted on his discharge papers, as the ‘Passage of the Volturno’.
His discharge papers from Garibaldi’s service are dated January 1861 and they give a
physical description of him: Age: 18. Height: 5 foot. Features: regular. Hair:
Light Brown. Colouring: Fair. Eyes: Grey. Mouth: Small.
Escercito Meridionale Division 15 9th Company
British Legion Brigata
IN NONE DE VITTORIA EMMANUELE RE D'ITALIA CONGEDO ASSOLUTO - Si rilascia il Congedo assolute al Private
Charles Corbett figlio di John Corbet & do Emma Corbett nato a London
Provincia di Middlesex domiciliato a London Provincia di England il quale fu
ammesso al survizio Militaire in qualita do voluntcirio addi 15 October 1860.
Charles arrived back in London on 15 January 1861 along with some 250 volunteers, several of whom were fundless and scantily dressed. Instead of being returned via the Euphrates with those from Scotland, Ireland and other parts of Britain being conveyed near their homes as they had been promised, they had arrived at London Bridge having travelled over from France on the Melazzo and Fieramosca. Many were in a destitute state with little clothing to keep them warm and clothes infested with lice. Many had lost their knapsacks, blankets and swords along the way.
London was, of course, familiar to Charles but many of the men had no idea of how to make their way home, including those who were wounded. Some had been paid off (160 francs) at Naples three weeks before, then travelled to Genoa where they received 4 francs for 4 days travel overland, and many had eaten up their wealth by the time they reached Paris. However the French treated them well and everyone they came in contact with treated them kindly and fed them.
Eventually, in London, after appeals to the Sardinian Consul and the Garibaldi Special Fund Committee, various officials came to their aid and they were fed, housed and transported to their homes.
Fortunately for us Charles returned home in time for
the 1861 Census when he appears as a lodger at the home of his future
father-in-law, James Baster, at 30 Primrose Street, Bishopsgate. A street which was demolished for the extension
of Liverpool Street station with the road now acting as a bridge across railway
lines.
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