The Spaniards, shaken by the violence of the assault, seemed for a moment to hesitate; but Gonsalvo had now time to bring up his men-at-arms, who sustained the faltering columns, and renewed the combat on more equal terms. He himself was in the hottest of the mêlée, and at one time was exposed to imminent hazard by his horse's losing his footing on the slippery soil and coming with him to the ground. The general fortunately experienced no injury, and, quickly recovering himself, continued to animate his followers by his voice and intrepid bearing, as before. The fight had now lasted two hours. The Spaniards, although still in excellent heart, were faint with fatigue and want of food, having travelled six leagues, without breaking their fast since the preceding evening. It was, therefore, with no little anxiety that Gonsalvo looked for the coming up of his rear-guard, left, as the reader will remember, under Andrada at the lower bridge, to decide the fortune of the day. The welcome spectacle at length presented itself. The dark columns of the Spaniards were seen, at first faint in the distance, by degrees growing more and more distinct to the eye. Andrada had easily carried the French redoubt on his side of the Garigliano; but it was not without difficulty and delay that he recovered the scattered boats which the French had set adrift down the stream, and finally succeeded in re-establishing his communications with the opposite bank. Having accomplished this, he rapidly advanced by a more direct road, to the east of that lately trav ersed by Gonsalvo along the sea-side, in pursuit of the French. The latter beheld with dismay the arrival of this fresh body of troops, who seemed to have dropped from the clouds on the field of battle. They scarcely waited for the shock before they broke, and gave way in all directions. The disabled carriages of the artillery, which clogged up the avenues in the rear, increased the confusion among the fugitives; and the foot were trampled down without mercy under the heels of their own cavalry, in the eagerness of the latter to extricate themselves from their perilous situation. The Spanish light horse followed up their advantage with the alacrity of vengeance long delayed, inflicting bloody retribution for all they had so long suffered in the marshes of Sessa. At no great distance from the bridge the road takes two directions, the one towards Itri, the other to Gaeta. The bewildered fugitives here separated; by far the greater part keeping the latter route. Gonsalvo sent forward a body of horse under Navarro and Pedro de la Paz, by a short cut across the country, to intercept their flight. A large number fell into his hands in consequence of this manœuvre; but the greater part of those who escaped the sword succeeded in throwing themselves into Gaeta." The Great Captain took up his quarters that night in the neighboring village of Castellone. His brave followers had great need of refreshment, having fasted and fought through the whole day, and that under a 7 Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 190.-Garnier, Hist. de France, tom. v. pp. 452, 453.-Ulloa, Vita di Carlo V., fol. 23.— Guicciardini, Istoria, lib. 6, p. 331.-Garibay, Compendio, tom. ii. lib. 19, cap. 16.—Chrónica del Gran Capitan, ubi supra.—Buonaccorsi, Diario, pp. 84, 85.-Ammirato, Istorie Fiorentine, ubi supra.— Varillas, Hist. de Louis XII., tom. i. pp. 416–418. driving storin of rain which had not ceased for a moment. Thus terminated the battle-or rout, as it is commonly called-of the Garigliano, the most important in its results of all Gonsalvo's victories, and furnishing a suitable close to his brilliant military career. The loss of the French is computed at from three to four thousand men, left dead on the field, together with all their baggage, colors, and splendid train of artillery. The Spaniards must have suffered severely during the sharp conflict on the bridge; but no estimate of their loss is to be met with, in any native or foreign writer. It was observed that the 29th of December, on which this battle was won, came on Friday, Soon after the rout of the Garigliano, Bembo produced the following sonnet, which most critics agree was intended, although no name appears in it, for Gonsalvo de Cordova: "Ben devria farvi onor d' eterno esempio Napoli vostra, e 'n mezzo al suo bel monte Gir trionfando, e dar i voti al tempio: Or ch' avea più la voglia e le man pronte E foste tal, ch' ancora esser vorebbe The Curate of Los Palacios sums up the loss of the French, from the time of Gonsalvo's occupation of Barleta to the surrender of Gaeta, in the following manner: 6000 prisoners, 14,000 killed in battle, a still greater number by exposure and fatigue, besides a considerable body cut off by the peasantry. To balance this bloody roll, he computes the Spanish loss at two hundred slain in the field! Reyes Católicos MS., cap. 191. the same ominous day of the week which had so often proved auspicious to the Spaniards under the present reign." The disparity of the forces actually engaged was probably not great, since the extent of country over which the French were quartered prevented many of them from coming up in time for action. Several corps, who succeeded in reaching the field at the close of the fight, were seized with such a panic as to throw down their arms without attempting resistance." The admirable artillery, on which the French placed their chief reliance, was not only of no service, but of infinite mischief to them, as we have seen. The brunt of the battle fell on their chivalry, which bore itself throughout the day with a spirit and gallantry worthy of its ancient renown; never flinching, till the arrival of the Spanish rear-guard fresh in the field, at so critical a juncture, turned the scale in their adversaries' favor. Early on the following morning, Gonsalvo made preparations for storming the heights of Mount Orlando, which overlooked the city of Gaeta. Such was the despondency of its garrison, however, that this strong position, which bade defiance a few months before to the most desperate efforts of Spanish valor, was now surrendered without a struggle. The same feeling of despondency had communicated itself to the garrison 10 Chrónica del Gran Capitan, lib. 2, cap. 110.-Zurita, Anales, ubi supra.-Garibay, Compendio, lib. 19, cap. 16.-Quintana, Españoles célebres, tom. i. pp. 296, 297.-Guicciardini, who has been followed in this by the French writers, fixes the date of the rout as the 28th of December. If, however, it occurred on Friday, as he, and every authority, indeed, asserts, it must have been on the 29th, as stated by the Spanish historians. Istoria, lib. 6, p. 330. II Giovio, Vita Magni Gonsalvi, fol. 268. of Gaeta; and, before Navarro could bring the batteries of Mount Orlando to bear upon the city, a flag of truce arrived from the marquis of Saluzzo with proposals for capitulation. This was more than the Great Captain could have ventured to promise himself. The French were in great force; the fortifications of the place in excellent repair; it was well provided with artillery and ammunition, and with provisions for ten days at least; while their fleet, riding in the harbor, afforded the means of obtaining supplies from Leghorn, Genoa, and other friendly ports. But the French had lost all heart; they were sorely wasted by disease; their buoyant selfconfidence was gone, and their spirits were broken by the series of reverses which had followed without interruption from the first hour of the campaign to the last disastrous affair of the Garigliano. The very elements seemed to have leagued against them. Further efforts they deemed a fruitless struggle against destiny; and they now looked with melancholy longing to their native land, eager only to quit these ill-omened shores forever. The Great Captain made no difficulty in granting such terms as, while they had a show of liberality, secured him the most important fruits of victory. This suited his cautious temper far better than pressing a desperate foe to extremity. He was, moreover, with all his successes, in no condition to do so; he was without funds, and, as usual, deeply in arrears to his army; while there was scarcely a ration of bread, says an Italian historian, in his whole camp." 12 Giovio, Vita Magni Gonsalvi, fol. 268, 269.—Chrónica del Gran Capitan, lib. 2, cap. III.-Peter Martyr, Opus Epist., epist. 270. |