The Greek frigate ''Hellas'' ( el, Ελλάς) was the flagship of the

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of var ...

. After an arbitration hearing in New York due to financial default by the Greek government, she was delivered to Greece in 1826. She was burned in 1831 by the Greek Admiral

Andreas Miaoulis Andreas Vokos, better known by his nickname Miaoulis ( el, Ανδρέας Βώκος Μιαούλης; 1765 – 24 June 1835), was a Greek revolutionary, admiral, and politician who commanded Greek naval forces during the Greek War of Indep ...

when the government of

Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (10 or 11 February 1776 – 9 October 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias ( el, Κόμης Ιωάννης Αντώνιος Καποδίστριας, Komis Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias; russian: � ...

ordered her turned over to the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

navy.

Two ships ordered

In 1825, during the latter part 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. The Greeks were later assisted ...

from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, representatives of the Greek government in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

negotiated with an American shipyard in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

for the construction of two frigates to be named ''Hope'' and ''Liberator''. Ultimately, the Greek government defaulted and one of the ships, ( ''Liberator'') was sold and the proceeds were used to pay for the other ship to be delivered to Greece.

The frigate ''Hellas''

The ''Hope'' sailed from New York during the first days of October 1826, with the crew being mostly adventurers. An agent of the Greek government, K. A. Kontostavlos, was also on board. The voyage was raucous as the crew attempted to murder both the Captain and the Greek government agent in a scheme to sell the vessel in Colombia. The crew failed in their mutiny, and the ship was delivered to

Nafplion Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

about 25 November 1826. The crew tried a second time to sell the vessel, this time to Ibrahim Pasha, who at the head of an Ottoman-

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

ian force had invaded the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge whi ...

. This time, Admiral Andreas Miaoulis and a force of 30 local mariners secured the vessel and dispatched the raucous delivery crew.Scorinis, Nicholas G. quoted in ''The Arbitrator'' April, 2001.
After her arrival in Nafplion, three Admirals (Miaoulis from Hydra,

Nikolis Apostolis Nikolis Apostolis ( el, Νικολής Αποστόλης) was a Greek naval commander during the Greek War of Independence. Apostolis was born on the island of Psara in 1770. He was initiated into the Filiki Eteria in 1818. When the revolt again ...

from Psara and

Androutsos Odysseas Androutsos ( el, Οδυσσέας Ανδρούτσος; 1788 – 1825; born Odysseas Verousis el, Οδυσσέας Βερούσης) was a Greek military and political commander in eastern mainland Greece and a prominent figure of the ...

from Spetses) took official delivery of the frigate and brought her to the island of

Aegina Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island a ...

, which had recently become capital of Greece. The frigate, renamed ''Hellas'', became the flagship of the Greek Navy, as she was the most powerful ship in the navy. Under the command of various captains (among them Cochrane,

Antonios Miaoulis Antonios Miaoulis ( el, Αντώνιος Μιαούλης; 1800 – October 25, 1836) was a Greek politician and a revolutionary leader during the Greek War of Independence. Biography He was born on the island of Hydra and was the second son ...

and

Konstantinos Kanaris Konstantinos Kanaris ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Κανάρης, ; c. 17901877), also anglicised as Constantine Kanaris or Canaris, was a Greek admiral, Prime Minister, and a hero of the Greek War of Independence.Woodhouse, p. 129. Bio ...

), the frigate took part in various successful, but insignificant, naval battles in both the Aegean and

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...

Sinking of the flagship

On 27 July 1831, Admiral Miaoulis, who in the meantime had joined the

English Party The English Party ( el, Αγγλικό Κóμμα), was one of the three informal early Greek parties that dominated the political history of the First Hellenic Republic and the first years of the Kingdom of Greece during the early 19th centur ...

that was opposed to Governor Kapodistrias' Russian Party seized on the island of

Poros Poros ( el, Πόρος) is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about south from the port of Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the s ...

the navy then under the command of Kanaris. When the government in Nafplion asked Miaoulis to deliver the Greek fleet to the Russian Admiral Pyotr Ivanovich Ricord, Miaoulis refused to obey that order and threatened to scuttle the entire fleet under his command in the event of hostile movement by Ricord. When Ricord attacked Poros Island 13 August, Miaoulis carried out his threats, burning the small fleet.Finlay, ''History of the Greek Revolution'', T2 pp. 235–239 In addition to ''Hellas'', the other scuttled ships were the corvettes ''Hydra'' and ''Spetsai''.

References

External links

History of the Hellenic Navy (English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellas Frigates of the Hellenic Navy Ships built in New York City 1826 ships Greek War of Independence naval ships of Greece