Volturno. Early afternoon. The Swiss Papal General von Mechel and his 3,000 mercenaries continue to fight successfully against Bixio’s troops at Ponti della Valle, awaiting Ruiz’s outflanking. Ruiz is blocked at Castelmorrone by a small group of Garibaldi’s men on a half-collapsed fortress. He relentlessly attempts to capture it, and, assault after assault, loses the entire afternoon. Bronzetti’s Garibaldi men, in fact, defend themselves heroically despite the enormous disproportion of forces. First with rifles, then with stones, and finally with bayonets. The fortress surrenders after four hours, with two-thirds of its defenders dead or wounded. Bronzetti himself is killed while waving the white flag. But the objective has been achieved, and von Mechel has already been forced to retreat.
