Palestrina, Lazio. Roman Republic. Ferdinand II’s Bourbon army, with 12,000 well-trained men (veteran of the victorious campaign against the Sicilian rebels), clashes with Italian volunteers. The attack of two Bourbon columns is repelled, one by Manara’s bersaglieri, the other by Garibaldi’s legionaries supported by a battalion of university students. Garibaldi tries to continue the counterattack once more but is stopped by Pisacane. The Bourbons flee into the night. In effect, a powerful army is routed by “a few brigands.” From this point on, the Bourbons will develop a certain respect for Garibaldi.
