Bernardo O'Higgins accepted the position instead, and became the leader of an independent Chile. He was granted dictatorial powers as Supreme Director on 16 February 1817. On 12 February 1818, Chile proclaimed itself an independent republic. Throughout the war with the royalists, O'Higgins had engaged in an ongoing feud with José Miguel Carrera. After their retreat in 1814, O'Higgins had fared much better than Carrera, who found little support forthcoming from San Martín, O'Higgins' political ally. Carrera was imprisoned to prevent his involvement in Chilean affairs; after his escape, he ended up taking the winning side in the Argentine Federalist war, helping
Army of the Vosges Army of the Vosges The Army of the Vosges was a volunteer force in the Franco-Prussian War, led by Giuseppe Garibaldi. Garibaldi had led volunteer forces with great success during the unification of Italy, and had also fought in South America. He had a worldwide reputation as a liberal revolutionary. Most Italians including Garibaldi had supported Prussia against France in this war. However, after Napoleon III was defeated and the French Third Republic was proclaimed, and Bismarck demanded the cession of Alsace, Italian opinion reversed completely. This was best exemplified by the reaction of Garibaldi, who told the "Movimento" of