Domenico Millelire

An illustration of Millelire

Luogotenente di Vascello Domenico Millelire (1761 – 1827) was a Royal Sardinian Navy officer who was the first man to be awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor.^[1] Millelire was born in La Maddalena in 1761. He was the son of Pietro Leoni Millelire and Maria Ornano, who also had three other sons. Millelire, alongside his brothers, joined the Royal Sardinian Navy and rose to the rank of quartermaster.

On the night of 22 February 1793, during the French expedition to Sardinia, he bombarded a French flotilla of 16 troopships and the corvette La Fauvette under the command of Pietro Paolo Colonna-Cesari. Millelire had transported artillery to La Maddalena throughout the day, and his bombardment heavily damaged the flotilla. On 25 February, Millelire, commanding a small gunboat, attacked two French feluccas, causing panic amongst nearby French forces and resulting in La Fauvette fleeing towards the open sea.^[2]

He proceeded to disembark Sardinian troops on the southern side of the island of Santo Stefano, who recaptured it from the French and took several prisoners of war. Millelire was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor and a lifetime annuity of 300 lire by Victor Amadeus III. He was subsequently promoted to luogotenente di vascello and died in La Maddalena in 1827.^[3]

References

1. "Cerimonia di commemorazione per Domenico 'Millelire', prim medaglia d'oro al valor militare della Marina - Marina Militare". www.marina.difesa.it. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
2. "BellaSardegna.it Personaggi di Sardegna: Domenico Millelire". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2012-11-21. DOMENICO MILLELIRE: Il sardo che sconfisse Napoleone
3. http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/battles/1793/c_maddalena.html La Maddalena, 22/25 February 1793 The baptism of fire of a young Lieutenant Colonel, a certain Napoleone Di Buonaparte from Ajaccio.

Bibliography

• Domenico Millelire e la difesa della Sardegna nel febbraio 1793 - 11 di Collana dei quaderni azzurri - Giorgio Bardanzellu - 1954