Anastasios Tsamados (; 1772Ασπρέας Γ. (1930), Μεγάλη ''Στρατιωτική και Ναυτική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια- Λεξικόν'': Έκδοση Μεγάλης Στρατιωτικής και Ναυτικής Εγκυκλοπαίδειας. Αθήνα. σ. 395 or 1774Δρανδάκης Παύλος. (1934) Μεγάλη Ελληνική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια (τομ. 23, σ. 404) (rea
online
– 1825) was a Greek admiral of the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

. He was the famous captain of the brig ''

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

'' and an admiral who led a naval squadron under Andreas Miaoulis. Anastasios Tsamados was the first to rush to the Greek island of

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

and attack the naval warships of the

Kapudan Pasha The Kapudan Pasha (, modern Turkish: ), also known as the (, modern: , "Captain of the Sea") was the grand admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Typically, he was based at Galata and Gallipoli during the winter and charged with annual sailings durin ...

during the massacre of Chios. He also fought in the naval battle of Patras (1822) and died heroically during the famous

Battle of Sphacteria The Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought in 425 BC between Athens and Sparta. Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of ...

Biography

Anastasios Tsamados was born on the island of Hydra in 1772 or 1774. Anastasios Tsamados came from the

Arvanite Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They are bilingual, traditionally speaking Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded ...

community of Hydra, His family migrated from Kranidi around 1750. Upon the outbreak of the Greek Revolution in March 1821, he armed his ship

with 16 12-pounder guns and joined the fleet of his home island. He took part in many battles and operations of the Greek Revolution and soon became a famous captain. In April 1825, he went to Neokastron and consulted with the

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

Anagnostaras to help the fight against Ibrahim Pasha. In this last

fell Anastasios Tsamados while fighting the powerful army of Ibrahim Pasha. Anastasios Tsamados courage, inter alios, inspired

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

's epic adventure novel The Archipelago on Fire (,

1884 Events January * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London to promote gradualist social progress. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera '' Princess Ida'', a satire on feminism, premières at the Savoy The ...

Battle of Sphacteria

At the start of the

, a Greek garrison was quartered at the island of Sphacteria, which controlled the entrance of the excellent natural harbour of the Bay of

Pylos Pylos (, ; ), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of ...

(Navarino).

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Ibrahim Pasha ( ''Ibrāhīm Bāshā''; 1789 – 10 November 1848) was an Egyptian general and politician; he was the commander of both the Egyptian and Ottoman armies and the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman Wāli and unrecognized Khedi ...

, tasked by the

Ottoman sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

to suppress the Greek revolt, needed to take the island in order to use the bay for his own purposes. In May 1825, Ibrahim Pasha and a powerful army and navy of more than fifteen hundred Egyptians landed on the island of Sphacteria only to be met with resistance by Anastasios Tsamados and his gallant band of sailors and soldiers. Shot in the leg, admiral Tsamados continued fighting on his knees until he was killed. When the tragic event was known, the sailors and soldiers regained Tsamados' brig ''

'', on board which Alexandros Mavrocordatos had already taken refuge. The remaining Greek freedom fighters, with head the vice-governor Nikolaos Votsis, dared to be absolutely bold and sailed through a Turkish fleet of thirty-four ships. For four hours, they were bombarded and casualties entailed two dead along with eight wounded.Smith and Felton, p. 641. ootnote"In May, 1825, Ibrahim Pacha attacked Palaeo-Castro and the little island of Sphacteria, with a powerful fleet and army. Mavrocordatos had rushed to their defence. He threw himself with his suite into the island, which was at the moment held by a brave young Hydriote captain named Tsamados, and a small body of soldiers and sailors. Fifteen hundred Arabs landed on the island, but met with a desperate resistance from Tsamados and his gallant band. Tsamados was shot in the leg, but continued fighting on his knees until he was knocked down and killed. When this was known, the sailors, regaining their brig, on board which Mavrocordatos had already taken refuge, ran out through the Turkish fleet of thirty-four ships of war, and, having been exposed for more than four hours to their fire, escaped with riddled sails and rigging shot away, with two men killed and eight wounded. The surrender of Navarino followed; and not long after, the whole Morea, except the unconquerable Manotes, lay at the mercy of Ibrahim." This scene has been depicted in the painting of Konstantinos Volanakis "the exodus of Ares".

References

Sources

* * * Smith, William and Felton, Cornelius Conway. ''A History of Greece: From the Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest, with Supplementary Chapters on the History of Literature and Art''. Hickling, Swan, and Brown, 1855. * ''Histoire picturale de la guerre de l'indépendance héllenique.'' Geneva. Editions d'art Boissonas et Paris: Librairie Jean Budy & Cie., 1926. his work is a facsimile of the celebrated series of paintings commissioned by General Makryjannis sometime during the 1830s from the painter Panayotis Zographos. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsamados, Anastasios 1770s births 1825 deaths Greek admirals People from Hydra (island) Greek military leaders of the Greek War of Independence Greek military personnel killed in action Arvanites