Chapter VI · An Account Of The Persecution In Italy, Under The Papacy. · 9

With respect to my wife and children, my lord,
nothing can be more afflicting to me than the
thoughts of their confinement, or more dreadful to
my imagination, than their suffering a violent and
cruel death. I keenly feel all the tender
sensations of husband and parent; my heart is
replete with every sentiment of humanity; I would
suffer any torment to rescue them from danger; I
would die to preserve them.

But having said thus much, my lord, I assure you
that the purchase of their lives must not be the
price of my salvation. You have them in your power
it is true; but my consolation is, that your power
is only a temporary authority over their bodies:
you may destroy the mortal part, but their immortal
souls are out of your reach, and will live
hereafter to bear testimony against you for your
cruelties. I therefore recommend them and myself to
God, and pray for a reformation in your heart.

JOSHUA GIANAVEL.

This brave protestant officer, after writing the above letter, retired to the Alps, with his followers; and being joined by a great number of other fugitive protestants, he harassed the enemy by continual skirmishes.

Meeting one day with a body of papist troops near Bibiana, he, though inferior in numbers, attacked them with great fury, and put them to the rout without the loss of a man, though himself was shot through the leg in the engagement, by a soldier who had hid himself behind a tree; but Gianavel perceiving from whence the shot came, pointed his gun to the place, and despatched the person who had wounded him.

Captain Gianavel hearing that a captain Jahier had collected together a considerable body of protestants, wrote him a letter, proposing a junction of their forces. Captain Jahier immediately agreed to the proposal, and marched directly to meet Gianavel.

The junction being formed, it was proposed to attack a town, (inhabited by Roman catholics) called Garcigliana. The assault was given with great spirit, but a reinforcement of horse and foot having lately entered the town, which the protestants knew nothing of, they were repulsed; yet made a masterly retreat, and only lost one man in the action.

The next attempt of the protestant forces was upon St. Secondo, which they attacked with great vigour, but met with a strong resistance from the Roman catholic troops, who had fortified the streets, and planted themselves in the houses, from whence they poured musket balls in prodigious numbers. The protestants, however, advanced, under cover of a great number of planks, which some held over their heads, to secure them from the shots of the enemy from the houses, while others kept up a well directed fire; so that the houses and entrenchments were soon forced, and the town taken.

In the town they found a prodigious quantity of plunder, which had been taken from protestants at various times, and different places, and which were stored up in the warehouses, churches, dwelling houses, &c. This they removed to a place of safety, to be distributed, with as much justice as possible, among the sufferers.

This successful attack was made with such skill and spirit, that it cost very little to the conquering party, the protestants having only 17 killed, and 26 wounded; while the papists suffered a loss of no less than 450 killed and 511 wounded.

Five protestant officers, viz. Gianavel, Jahier, Laurentio, Genolet, and Benet, laid a plan to surprise Biqueras. To this end they marched in five respective bodies, and by agreement were to make the attack at the same time. The captains Jahier and Laurentio passed through two defiles in the woods, and came to the place in safety, under covert; but the other three bodies made their approaches through an open country, and, consequently, were more exposed to an attack.

The Roman catholics taking the alarm, a great number of troops were sent to relieve Biqueras from Cavors, Bibiana, Fenile, Campiglione, and some other neighbouring places. When these were united, they determined to attack the three protestant parties, that were marching through the open country.

The protestant officers perceiving the intent of the enemy, and not being at a great distance from each other, joined their forces with the utmost expedition, and formed themselves in order of battle.

In the mean time, the captains Jahier and Laurentio had assaulted the town of Biqueras, and burnt all the out houses, to make their approaches with the greater ease; but not being supported as they expected by the other three protestant captains, they sent a messenger, on a swift horse, towards the open country, to inquire the reason.

The messenger soon returned and informed them that it was not in the power of the three protestant captains to support their proceedings, as they were themselves attacked by a very superior force in the plain, and could scarce sustain the unequal conflict.

The captains Jahier and Laurentio, on receiving this intelligence, determined to discontinue the assault on Biqueras, and to proceed, with all possible expedition, to the relief of their friends on the plain. This design proved to be of the most essential service, for just as they arrived at the spot where the two armies were engaged, the papist troops began to prevail, and were on the point of flanking the left wing, commanded by captain Gianavel. The arrival of these troops turned the scale in favour of the protestants; and the papist forces, though they fought with the most obstinate intrepidity, were totally defeated. A great number were killed and wounded on both sides, and the baggage, military stores, &c. taken by the protestants were very considerable.

Captain Gianavel, having information that three hundred of the enemy were to convoy a great quantity of stores, provisions, &c. from La Torre to the castle of Mirabac, determined to attack them on the way. He, accordingly, began the assault at Malbec, though with a very inadequate force. The contest was long and bloody, but the protestants, at length, were obliged to yield to the superiority of numbers, and compelled to make a retreat, which they did with great regularity, and but little loss.

Captain Gianavel advanced to an advantageous post, situated near the town of Villaro, and then sent the following information and commands to the inhabitants.

1. That he should attack the town in twenty-four hours.

2. That with respect to the Roman catholics who had borne arms, whether they belonged to the army or not, he should act by the law of retaliation, and put them to death, for the numerous depredations, and many cruel murders, they had committed.

3. That all women and children, whatever their religion might be, should be safe.

4. That he commanded all male protestants to leave the town and join him.

5. That all apostates, who had, through weakness, abjured their religion, should be deemed enemies, unless they renounced their abjuration.

6. That all who returned to their duty to God, and themselves, should be received as friends.

The protestants, in general, immediately left the town, and joined captain Gianavel with great satisfaction, and the few, who through weakness or fear, had abjured their faith, recanted their abjuration, and were received into the bosom of the church. As the marquis of Pianessa had removed the army, and encamped in quite a different part of the country, the Roman catholics of Villaro thought it would be folly to attempt to defend the place with the small force they had. They, therefore, fled with the utmost precipitation, leaving the town and most of their property, to the discretion of the protestants.

The protestant commanders having called a council of war, resolved to make an attempt upon the town of La Torre.

The papists being apprized of the design, detached some troops to defend a defile, through which the protestants must make their approach; but these were defeated, compelled to abandon the pass, and forced to retreat to La Torre.

The protestants proceeded on their march, and the troops of La Torre, on their approach, made a furious sally, were repulsed with great loss, and compelled to seek shelter in the town. The governor now only thought of defending the place, which the protestants began to attack in form; but after many brave attempts, and furious assaults, the commanders determined to abandon the enterprise for several reasons, particularly, because they found the place itself too strong, their own number too weak, and their cannon not adequate to the task of battering down the walls.

This resolution taken, the protestant commanders began a masterly retreat, and conducted it with such regularity, that the enemy did not choose to pursue them, or molest their rear, which they might have done, as they passed the defiles.

The next day they mustered, reviewed the army, and found the whole to amount to four hundred and ninety-five men. They then held a council of war, and planned an easier enterprise: this was to make an attack on the commonalty of Crusol, a place, inhabited by a number of the most bigoted Roman catholics, and who had exercised, during the persecutions, the most unheard-of cruelties on the protestants.

The people of Crusol, hearing of the design against them, fled to a neighbouring fortress, situated on a rock, where the protestants could not come to them, for a very few men could render it inaccessible to a numerous army. Thus they secured their persons, but were in too much hurry to secure their property, the principal part of which, indeed, had been plundered from the protestants, and now luckily fell again to the possession of the right owners. It consisted of many rich and valuable articles, and what, at that time, was of much more consequence, viz. a great quantity of military stores.

The day after the protestants were gone with their booty, eight hundred troops arrived to the assistance of the people of Crusol, having been despatched from Lucerne, Biqueras, Cavors, &c. But finding themselves too late, and that pursuit would be vain, not to return empty handed, they began to plunder the neighbouring villages, though what they took was from their friends. After collecting a tolerable booty, they began to divide it, but disagreeing about the different shares, they fell from words to blows, did a great deal of mischief, and then plundered each other.

On the very same day in which the protestants were so successful at Crusol, some papists marched with a design to plunder and burn the little protestant village of Rocappiatta, but by the way they met with the protestant forces belonging to the captains Jahier and Laurentio, who were posted on the hill of Angrognia. A trivial engagement ensued, for the Roman catholics, on the very first attack, retreated in great confusion, and were pursued with much slaughter. After the pursuit was over, some straggling papist troops meeting with a poor peasant, who was a protestant, tied a cord round his head, and strained it till his skull was quite crushed.

Captain Gianavel and captain Jahier concerted a design together to make an attack upon Lucerne; but captain Jahier not bringing up his forces at the time appointed, captain Gianavel determined to attempt the enterprise himself.

He, therefore, by a forced march, proceeded towards that place during the whole night, and was close to it by break of day. His first care was to cut the pipes that conveyed water into the town, and then to break down the bridge, by which alone provisions from the country could enter.

He then assaulted the places and speedily possessed himself of two of the out posts; but finding he could not make himself master of the place, he prudently retreated with very little loss, blaming, however captain Jahier, for the failure of the enterprise.

The papists being informed that captain Gianavel was at Angrognia with only his own company, determined if possible to surprise him. With this view, a great number of troops were detached from La Torre and other places: one party of these got on top of a mountain, beneath which he was posted; and the other party intended to possess themselves of the gate of St. Bartholomew.

The papists thought themselves sure of taking captain Gianavel and every one of his men, as they consisted but of three hundred, and their own force was two thousand five hundred. Their design, however, was providentially frustrated, for one of the popish soldiers imprudently blowing a trumpet before the signal for attack was given, captain Gianavel took the alarm, and posted his little company so advantageously at the gate of St. Bartholomew, and at the defile by which the enemy must descend from the mountains, that the Roman catholic troops failed in both attacks, and were repulsed with very considerable loss.