Alexakis Vlachopoulos (), also known as Alexis Vlachopoulos, (

Nicopolis Nicopolis () or Actia Nicopolis was the capital city of the Roman province of Epirus (Roman province), Epirus. Its site, near Preveza, Greece, still contains impressive ruins. The city was founded in 29 BC by Octavian in commemoration of his ...

near

Preveza Preveza (, ) is a city in the region of Epirus (region), Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula of the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the Preveza (regional unit), regional unit of Preveza, which is the s ...

, 1780 –

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, 1865) was an armatolos, fighter in the Greek Revolution for Independence of 1821, congressman, and Minister of Defense. He was additionally a member of the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria () or Society of Friends () was a secret political and revolutionary organization founded in 1814 in Odesa, Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule in Ottoman Greece, Greece and establish an Independenc ...

Biography

He was born in Nicopolis near Preveza, northwestern Greece, in 1780. Many members of his family were Armatoloi, Christian Greek irregular soldiers, in the area of Karpenisi, in central Greece. When he was young he went to Ali Pasha’s court, where he learnt to use the guns, like many other Greek fighters, as for example

Odysseas Androutsos Odysseas Androutsos (; 1788–1790 – 1825; born Odysseas Verousis ) was a Greek armatolos in eastern continental Greece and a prominent figure of the Greek War of Independence. Born in Ithaca (island), Ithaca, the son of an Arvanites, Arva ...

Markos Botsaris Markos Botsaris (; 1790 – 21 August 1823) was a Souliot chieftain, general of the Greek revolutionary army and hero of the Greek War of Independence.Brigands with a Cause, Brigandage and Irredentism in Modern Greece 1821–1912, by John ...

, and others. During the pre-revolutionary period he fought together with his brother Konstantinos, also an armatolos. Later, because of Ali Pasha's persecution, he and his brother were forced to flee to

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

, where, the two brothers joined the Greek battalions of the British Army. In 1819 he was initiated, along with his brothers, Konstantinos and Dimitrios, into the

(''Society of Friends''), a secret organization whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and establish an independent Greek state. He fought in many battles of the Greek Revolution of 1821, and while leading his army group he liberated the town of

Agrinio Agrinio (Greek language, Greek: Αγρίνιο, ; Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional units of Greece, regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 89,691 inhabitants (2021) as well as the seco ...

, then called Vrachori. In this battle he took some Turks as hostages, which he later exchanged with members of his family which were imprisoned by the Turks in Preveza. After the Greek Independence he became a politician. He served as a Minister of Defense in the government of

Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (; February 1776 –27 September 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias, was a Greek statesman who was one of the most distinguished politicians and diplomats of 19th-century Europe. Kapodistrias's ...

, and also under the first king of Greece, Otto. During the 3 September Revolution of 1843 he was imprisoned. He served as an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

to king George I of Hellenes. He was married to a woman named Anastasia, with whom he had at least three children. Two girls, Euphrosyne and Kassandra, and a son named Parnassos. Cassandra married Nikolaos Miaoulis, Andreas's grandson, while Euphrosyne married Panagi Valsamakis from Kefalonia. The daughter of Euphrosyne, Maria, married the Corfiot painter Aimilios Prosalentis, son of Spyridon Prosalentis. He died in Athens in 1865.

References

Bibliography

* ''Encyclopedia Eleftheroudakis'' (in Greek), Athens, 1960. * ''Megali Elliniki Encyclopedia'' (Great Greek Encyclopedia) (in Greek), Athens, 1932. * ''Papyros-Larousse Britanicca'' (in Greek), Athens, 2007. * Dionysios Kokkinos, ''He Elleniki Epanastasis'' (The Greek Revolution) (in Greek), 6th Ed., Melissa Eds., Athens, 1974.

External links

Heroes of 1821: Alexakis Vlachopoulos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlachopoulos, Alexakis 1780s births 1865 deaths Greek people of the Greek War of Independence People from Preveza Members of the Filiki Eteria