On March 22, 1848, the Municipal Deputation of Ponte in Valtellina decided to form the Civic Guard and gave the command to Enrico Guicciardi who led 150 men to defend the Tonale Pass.

With the fall of the Stelvio-Tonale Republic, he fled to Piedmont where he was in command of the Bersaglieri Valtellinesi battalion which distinguished itself in the Battle of Novara and was decorated with a medal for valor.

Having freed the commune, in 1859 he was placed at the head of the Province of Sondrio by the Count of Cavour with the task of establishing the new political-administrative systems.

He resigned due to conflicts with the military commander who didn't respect his promise of a saved life in exchange for the surrender of a famous band of brigands.

[2] In 1866, during the Third Italian War of Independence, with the rank of colonel he commanded the 44th Battalion of the "Mobile National Guard", organizing the defense of the valley at the Sondalo squeeze, repelling the Austrians under Alexander von Metz [it] and Ulysses von Albertini [it] during the Operations in Valtellina.