Enrico Fardella
Enrico Fardella was a Sicilian political activist and military figure from Trapani. He was involved in the 1848 revolutionary movement in Sicily and later participated in Giuseppe Garibaldi’s campaign of 1860, which led to the collapse of Bourbon rule and the unification of Italy. In later life, he served with Union forces during the American Civil War.
Biography
Enrico Fardella was born in Trapani in March 1821 into the marchional family of Torrearsa, the son of Antonino Fardella and Teresa Omodei, of the barons of Reda. At the time of his birth, Sicily was not part of a unified Italian state but belonged to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, a monarchy ruled from Naples by the Bourbon dynasty. Political power was highly centralised and civil liberties were limited, particularly in southern Italy and Sicily.In 1848, a wave of revolutionary movements swept across Europe, as liberal and nationalist groups challenged conservative monarchies and demanded constitutional government. In Trapani, Fardella emerged as one of the most influential members of the local revolutionary committee, a body composed of liberal and nationalist activists opposed to Bourbon rule.
Storming of the Castello di Terra
Alongside Giuseppe Coppola, a prominent Erice patriot active in the revolutionary movement, Fardella led an assault on the Castello di Terra, the principal Bourbon stronghold within the town. The seizure of the fortress symbolised the collapse of royal authority in Trapani and enabled the revolutionary committee to assume control of local administration. Fardella was subsequently appointed colonel of cavalry in March 1848. Coppola was made Vice-Governor. Enrico Fardella’s brother, Vincenzo Fardella di Torrearsa, who later became the first President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy, was appointed Governor of the province during the revolutionary administration.After the defeat of the Sicilian revolution in 1849, Bourbon forces reasserted control over the island and dismantled the revolutionary administrations that had briefly governed towns such as Trapani. Former members of the revolutionary committees were removed from office and many were arrested or otherwise repressed as the restored monarchy sought to eliminate centres of opposition.
Following the collapse of the Sicilian revolution in 1849, Fardella was arrested by the restored Bourbon authorities and imprisoned. After his release, he was subjected to police surveillance and ultimately forced into exile. During the 1850s he lived abroad, moving within the circles of Italian political exiles and acquiring further military experience. He served as an officer in Ottoman cavalry units during the Crimean War, a conflict that drew many European volunteers and provided exiled revolutionaries with opportunities for professional military service.
Expedition of the Thousand
By 1860, the movement for Italian unification had entered a decisive phase. Northern and central Italy had already undergone major political change following the wars of independence against Austrian rule, while the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies remained the principal obstacle to unification in the south. The revolutionary leader Giuseppe Garibaldi, a veteran of earlier uprisings and a symbol of popular nationalism, organised a volunteer force aimed at overthrowing Bourbon rule in Sicily and mainland southern Italy. In May 1860, this force—later known as the Expedition of the Thousand—sailed from northern Italy and landed at Marsala, initiating a campaign that rapidly destabilised Bourbon authority across the island.At the outbreak of the expedition, Fardella was living in exile in London, where he had settled after serving in the Crimean War. Upon learning of Garibaldi’s landing in Sicily, he immediately returned to Italy. In Genoa he joined a small contingent of volunteers, embarking on the steamer Utile, which departed on 24 May 1860 with around sixty men under the command of the Sicilian patriot C. Agnetta.
After landing in Sicily, Fardella proceeded to the western part of the island. There he re-established contact with local revolutionary leaders, including Giuseppe Coppola—who had taken part in the Battle of Calatafimi and Palermo before returning to the area—together with Francesco Russo and the Sant’Anna brothers. Advancing on Trapani, the group occupied the city without significant resistance, marking the definitive collapse of Bourbon authority in the area. Fardella was entrusted with the provisional administration of Trapani and was recognised by Garibaldi with the rank of colonel.
Fardella organised and commanded a volunteer regiment assigned to the brigade of A. Izensmid Milbitz within the Southern Army. After crossing the Strait of Messina between 21 and 22 August 1860, he took part in the mainland campaign, distinguishing himself in the fighting in Campania. On 1 October, at the forward position of San Tammaro near Caserta, his regiment repelled repeated Bourbon attacks, demonstrating notable discipline and effectiveness under fire. Following the wounding of Milbitz, Fardella was promoted to command the brigade, a recognition of his military experience and leadership during the campaign.
Following the end of the campaign and the progressive consolidation of Italian unification—culminating in the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 and the later incorporation of Rome—Fardella withdrew from active service in Italy.
American Civil War
After the conclusion of the southern Italian campaign and the dissolution of the Garibaldian forces, Fardella returned to England and soon afterwards travelled to the United States. He arrived in New York in the spring of 1861, shortly after the outbreak of the American Civil War, and volunteered for service on the Union side. Drawing on his previous military experience, he was assigned to the division of General George B. McClellan and served in the eastern theatre. Disagreements with McClellan led to a brief withdrawal from the front, but Fardella soon resumed active service.According to regimental histories, Fardella later served as colonel of the 101st New York Infantry Regiment, also known as the Union Brigade or Onondaga Regiment, which was organised at Hancock, New York. The regiment was mustered into Union service between September 1861 and February 1862 and served in the defences of Washington, D.C., and with the Army of the Potomac’s III Corps in the Peninsula and Northern Virginia campaigns. During its service, the regiment saw action at the Seven Days Battles, Second Bull Run, and Fredericksburg before being consolidated with the 37th New York Volunteers in December 1862.
In 1864, Fardella was given command of a newly formed regiment and took part in operations in North Carolina. During the fighting at Plymouth on 20 April 1864, he was captured by Confederate forces and held as a prisoner of war. He was released on 3 August of the same year in a prisoner exchange and returned to active duty. In the final phase of the conflict, he was placed in command of cavalry and artillery units along the line between Great Bridge and North Landing, and in March 1865 he was promoted to the rank of general in recognition of his service.