Guglielmo Pepe
Guglielmo Pepe | |
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Siege of Venice (1848) |
Guglielmo Pepe (13 February 1783 – 8 August 1855) was an
Biography
Pepe was born at Squillace in Calabria.
He entered the army at an early age, but in 1799 he took part in the
After commanding a Neapolitan brigade in the Peninsular campaign, Pepe returned to Italy in 1813, with the rank of general, to help reorganize the Neapolitan army. When news of the fall of Napoleon (1814) reached Italy, Pepe and several other generals tried, without success, to force
On Napoleon's escape from Elba (1815) Murat, after some hesitation, placed himself on the emperor's side and waged war against the Austrians, with Pepe on his staff. After several engagements the Neapolitans were forced to retire after the Battle of Tolentino (in which Pepe participated), and eventually agreed to the Treaty of Casalanza, according to which Murat was to abandon the kingdom; but the Neapolitan officers retained their rank under Ferdinand IV, who now regained the throne of Naples.[1]
While engaged in suppressing brigandage in the Capitanata, Pepe organized the
Meanwhile, the king, who had no intention of respecting the constitution, went to the Congress of Laibach to confer with the sovereigns of the holy alliance assembled there, leaving his son as regent. The king obtained the loan of an Austrian army with which to restore absolute power, while the regent dallied with the Liberals. Pepe, who in parliament had spoken in favour of deposing the king, now took command of the army and marched against the Austrians. He attacked them at Rieti (March 1821), but his raw levies were repulsed.[2]
The army was gradually disbanded. Pepe then spent several years in England, France and other countries, publishing a number of books and pamphlets of a political character and keeping up his connection with the Carbonari. When the
He again went into exile and died in Turin in 1855.[3]
Works
- Relazione delle circostanze relative agli avvenimenti politici e militari in Napoli nel 1820 e 1821 [...] (1822)
- Memorie (1847)
- L'Italie politique et ses rapports avec la France et l'Angleterre (1848)
- Casi d'Italia negli anni 1847, 48 e 49 : continuazione delle memorie del generale Guglielmo Pepe (1851)
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d Chisholm 1911, p. 126.
- ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 126–127.
- ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 127.
References
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pepe, Guglielmo". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 126–127. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the