Battle of Milazzo (1860)

The Battle of Milazzo was fought on 17–24 July 1860 between Giuseppe Garibaldi's volunteers and the troops of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies at Milazzo, Sicily, then part of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.

The main clash began on the morning of 20 July on an open field leading to the cape on which Milazzo is located. In the afternoon, after seven hours of combat, the battle moved towards the town itself. Here on a bridge, surrounded by the Neapolitan cavalry, Garibaldi was saved by an assault from Sicilian volunteers. The Garibaldines, after the initial setbacks, gained confidence from this success. Giacomo Medici, Giuseppe Sirtori and Enrico Cosenz attacked the Neapolitan troops, but were pushed back by General Beneventano's men.

Then came from Palermo the armed ship Tukory, which bombarded the Neapolitans, who retreated to Milazzo's fortress. Here they capitulated on 24 July. Garibaldi lost more than 800 troops, the Neapolitans c. 300.

This victory allowed Garibaldi an unimpeded passage to Messina.