History of the Greek revolution : and of the wars and campaigns arising from the struggles of the Greek patriots in emancipating their country from the Turkish yoke

Front matter

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.

Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the publisher to a library and finally to you.

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.

Preface

The contest betwixt the Greeks and Turks has employed so many pens, that he who now ventures to write on that hackneyed, and apparently exhausted subject, must begin by explaining his reasons for travelling over a beaten road, to which he cannot hope to attract public curiosity, since it is either satiated by preceding narratives, or drawn away towards more recent and important transactions : these reasons may be summed up in a few words. That momentary interest, which induced a number of persons hastily to publish what they had seen or heard in Greece, exists no longer ; but there is, and ever will be, a grave class of readers loving truth more than novelty, and desirous of becoming acquainted with the exact details of a revolution, that must take its place in the history of the world As yet there is nothing calculated to satisfy their taste, for of the forty authors whom the struggle in Greece has called forth, three or four alone have any claims to accuracy,

VOL. I. a

11 PREFACE.

and their labours were confined to short and isolated periods, and detached scenes of the war;* neither are they always free firom the influence of strong prejudices. Conceiving that a day would come when a work more connected, and written on a larger basis, will be acceptable to literary men, the author of the following pages has presumed to take upon himself the task of composing it ; because having served in the Greek army, and lived several years in dose intimacy with the people of Hellas, he is indebted to the friendship of numerous individuals who bore a distinguished part in their country's a€^tirs, as well as to the kindness of his Philhellenic comrades, for authentic materials, which are not likely either to survive the present generation, or to fall in the way of others.

* As an example we shall pitch upon the campaign of 1821, certainly better described hitherto, than any subsequent epoch. Of four authors who have treated it in detail, Messrs Raybaudi Blaquiere, Pouquerille, and Green, the first served in Greece, and may be impli* citly trusted for every thing that happened under his own eyes ; the second, though partial, is a lover of truth, and derived his information from a Philhellene serving in the Morea ; the third (long a resi* dent in the East, and brother to the French Consul at Patrass) and the fourth, (himself Consul at that port,) had very good means of sifting out the real progress of events, but were both unfortunately wedded to violent prejudices on opposite sides, and both wrote for a political purpose. By comparing their accounts, a reader of judgment may obtain an accurate knowledge of the insurrection at Patrass, the siege of Tripolizza, and generally of the campaign in Peloponnesus: but with regard to the contemporaneous operations in Northern Greece, and beyond the Danube, be will either be left in the darii or led astray.

PREFACE.

lU

At the same time he has thought it his duty carefully to peruse all former publications on the topic of Greece, neither affecting to differ from his predecessors, where they are correct, nor admitting any thing upon their authority, tmless when assured of its exactitude by his own observations, or by collating oral and MS. evidence worthy of credit. His study, in short, has been, by clearing away exaggeration, rectifying errors and anachronisms, and supplying omissions, to represent the Greek Revolution as it really was.

Cairness, Nov. 1, 1832.

Chapter 1

Rebellion of Ali Paaha, and iU conBeqnences. Retnrn to Epinis of the Souliotes, and their hostilities against the Tnrks. Hopes and projects of the Hetcerists. Revolt of Theodore Vladimiresco in Wallachia, and Invasion of Moldavia by Ypsilanti. Campaign in the Trans-Dannbian Principalities, . 75

Appkndix to Chapter I.> 135

CHAPTER IL

Insorrection of Peloponnesus-— of the Archipelago — of Northern Greece, and Macedonia, .... • . 143

Chapter VI

Affairs of Peloponnesus, from the capture of Tripolizsa to the end of the year 1821. Insurrection of Crete. Some general consideraUoDS on the state of Turkey and Greece, and on the feelings with which the RcTolution was regarded in Europe, 289

Chapter II

Affiiirs of the Archipelago. Insurrection of Scio. Naral operations on the Atiiatic coast, 349

Appendix to Chapter IL, . . • ' . . . . 372

CHAPTER in. .

Campaign in Epirus. 0|>eralious in EubcM, Macedonia, and Northern Greece, till die middle of July 1822, . . .375

Chapter VI

Transactions in the Archipelago and Peloponnesus during the three last months of the year. State of Greece and Turkey at its condnsion. Campaign of 1822 in the Island of Crete, 468

Appbhdix to Chapter VI., 501

DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER.

VOL. I.

1. Mtp of Greece, to fiice the title-pttg«.

2. Emblem of the Hetoerim, to hce ptge ... 58 S. Map of WaUachia, 96

4. Battle of Vahena and DragaahaD, 14S

5. Siege of THpolina, 234

6. Island of Candia, SOI

7. BatUe of Petta, 388

a Plain of Argos, 418

VOL II.

L Greek Islands, to face the title-page.

2. Sketch of operations before Athens, to face page

3. Siege of Scio,.

375 450