History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic, vol 3 | Page 9

of his own appointment to the
post of lieutenant-general of Calabria and Apulia. He felt natural regret
at being called to act against a prince, whose character he esteemed,
and with whom he had once been placed in the most intimate and
friendly relations. In the true spirit of chivalry, he returned to Frederic,
before taking up arms against him, the duchy of St. Angel and the other
large domains, with which that monarch had requited his services in the
late war, requesting at the same time to be released from his obligations
of homage and fealty. The generous monarch readily complied with the

latter part of his request, but insisted on his retaining the grant, which
he declared an inadequate compensation, after all, for the benefits the
Great Captain had once rendered him. [34]
The levies assembled at Messina amounted to three hundred
heavy-armed, three hundred light horse, and three thousand eight
hundred infantry, together with a small body of Spanish veterans,
which the Castilian ambassador had collected in Italy. The number of
the forces was inconsiderable, but they were in excellent condition,
well disciplined, and seasoned to all the toils and difficulties of war. On
the 5th of July, the Great Captain landed at Tropea, and commenced the
conquest of Calabria, ordering the fleet to keep along the coast, in order
to furnish whatever supplies he might need. The ground was familiar to
him, and his progress was facilitated by the old relations he had formed
there, as well as by the important posts which the Spanish government
had retained in its hands, as an indemnification for the expenses of the
late war. Notwithstanding the opposition or coldness of the great
Angevin lords who resided in this quarter, the entire occupation of the
two Calabrias, with the exception of Tarento, was effected in less than
a month. [35]
This city, remarkable in ancient times for its defence against Hannibal,
was of the last importance. King Frederic had sent thither his eldest son,
the duke of Calabria, a youth about fourteen years of age, under the
care of Juan de Guevara, count of Potenza, with a strong body of troops,
considering it the place of greatest security in his dominions.
Independently of the strength of its works, it was rendered nearly
inaccessible by its natural position; having no communication with the
main land except by two bridges, at opposite quarters of the town,
commanded by strong towers, while its exposure to the sea made it
easily open to supplies from abroad.
Gonsalvo saw that the only method of reducing the place must be by
blockade. Disagreeable as the delay was, he prepared to lay regular
siege to it, ordering the fleet to sail round the southern point of Calabria,
and blockade the port of Tarento, while he threw up works on the land
side, which commanded the passes to the town, and cut off its
communications with the neighboring country. The place, however,
was well victualled, and the garrison prepared to maintain it to the
last.[36]

Nothing tries more severely the patience and discipline of the soldier,
than a life of sluggish inaction, unenlivened, as in the present instance,
by any of the rencontres, or feats of arms, which keep up military
excitement, and gratify the cupidity or ambition of the warrior. The
Spanish troops, cooped up within their intrenchments, and disgusted
with the languid monotony of their life, cast many a wistful glance to
the stirring scenes of war in the centre of Italy, where Caesar Borgia
held out magnificent promises of pay and plunder to all who embarked
in his adventurous enterprises. He courted the aid, in particular, of the
Spanish veterans, whose worth he well understood, for they had often
served under his banner, in his feuds with the Italian princes. In
consequence of these inducements, some of Gonsalvo's men were
found to desert every day; while those who remained were becoming
hourly more discontented, from the large arrears due from the
government; for Ferdinand, as already remarked, conducted his
operations with a stinted economy, very different from the prompt and
liberal expenditure of the queen, always competent to its object. [37]
A trivial incident, at this time, swelled the popular discontent into
mutiny. The French fleet, after the capture of Naples, was ordered to
the Levant to assist the Venetians against the Turks. Ravenstein,
ambitious of eclipsing the exploits of the Great Captain, turned his
arms against Mitilene, with the design of recovering it for the republic.
He totally failed in the attack, and his fleet was soon after scattered by a
tempest, and his own ship wrecked on the isle of Cerigo. He
subsequently found his way, with several of his principal officers, to
the shores of Calabria, where he landed in the most forlorn and