I cannonieri guardacoste di Napoleone. Un corpo per la difesa litoranea dal Consolato al Regno d’Italia

This article concerns the Napoleonic Coastguard Cannoneers\r\n(cannoniers garde-côte), considered from its French origins under the Bourbon\r\nMonarchy (18th century) to its introduction in Napoleonic Italian Peninsula.\r\nAs an Artillery body, Coast Guard Cannoneers were instituted in 1803 by First\r\nConsul Bonaparte and later introduced in his Italian States, between 1806 and\r\n1810 (Italian departments of the French Empire, Kingdom of Naples, Kingdom\r\nof Italy). In the broader context of coastal defense during the Continental System,\r\nto provide protection against British attacks and landing, the cannoneers carried\r\nout, not without any effectiveness, the difficult task of facing corsairs, smugglers\r\nand the powerful British Navy. This case study is focused on the coastguard\r\nartillery of the Kingdom of Italy (1810-1814). They were organized into seven\r\ncompanies consisting of 140 men, recruited from Artillery veterans, Navy\r\ngunners, Reserve officers and non-commissioned officers, and inhabitants of the\r\ncoastal municipalities. They manned 37 batteries, in communication with each\r\nother thanks to the line of optical telegraphs and distributed on the Adriatic coast,\r\nabout 311 miles from Grado to Porto d’Ascoli.