One hundred and sixty years ago Garibaldi left Genoa with 1000 volunteers to invade the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In Garibaldi’s defense, the kingdom was an absolute monarchy and its ruler King Francis II, a Bourbon (blech!), wasn’t very well liked as the invaders were often welcomed as liberators. The people were given an opportunity to vote on what they wanted via a plebiscite. They chose to join the larger, newly formed Kingdom of Italy.
Garibaldi’s success as a leader was known throughout the world even before this but after this victory, leading to the inevitable formation of modern Italy by 1870; President Lincoln secretly sent Secretary of State Seward with an offer to have him command the US Army. The Italian firebrand rejected Lincoln’s commission because he felt Lincoln’s stance against slavery wasn’t strong enough. It worked out for the best. Although General Washington had a German officer help him whip the Continental Army into a better fighting force, I’m confident the WASPs in the US officer corps would’ve defected to the Confederacy or resigned before taking orders from a Papist Dago.