Greece; for as soon as they heard of the arrival of Redschid Pacha as Seraskier in Epirus, and of his approach with a large force to Missolonghi, it became impossible, for the Etœan and Ætolian chiefs, even had they been so inclined, to keep their followers from proceeding to the defence of their own mountains. During all this time, Colocotroni, with several of the chiefs of the Morea, as already related, remained state prisoners in the convent at Hydra; though some of the provinces of the Morea had demanded his release; and he himself had twice besought the go vernment to allow him to engage the enemy, offering his two sons as hostages. Two members of the government were in favour of his release, and two against it. The decision was therefore, suspended, till the arrival of the president, whose opinion was to be adopted. It was not long before he arrived at Napoli di Romania, as every expedient to collect an army had failed. His arrival was the signal for a general cabal: Coletti, who had long been averse to Coocotroni, opposed his release; the president, indignant against Coletti, whom he considered as having been instrumental in causing the Roumeliot troops to abandon the camp at Cremidi, wished to expel that individual from the government: while Colocotroni's party, who wished to exalt their chief, imputed all the misfortunes of the campaign to the president's want of skill, and earnestly desired the expulsion of his counsellor Mavrocordato. Finally, the president, perceiving that he should require support in his government against his principal enemy Colocotroni, gave up all thoughts of dismissing Coletti, and left it to the wisdom of the legislative senate to decide on Colocotroni's fate. Abandoned, as they now were by the troops of northern Greece, that body had no other resource than to recall the chief, in whom alone the Moreote troops had confidence. An amnesty was therefore published; and Colocotroni, affecting complete oblivion of the past, proceeded to collect the forces of the peninsula, in order to oppose the advance of the Egyptians. In the beginning of June a detachment of Ibrahim's army defeated a body of Greeks at Aghia on the mountain which overhangs the town of Arkadhia (the ancient Cyparessus); and about the same time the Pacha himself occupied Kalamata. From Kalamata he soon began his march into the interior. After having sustained some loss from the troops of Colocotroni in crossing the mountain now called Makriplaghi, which separates the plain of Messene from the valley of Megalopolis or the upper Alpheius, he occupied, on the 20th of June, the half demolished town of Tripolitza, and appeared before Napoli di Romania within one month after the capture of Navarino. A division of his army attacked the great outposts at the mills of Napoli on the 25th of June, but without success; although the Greeks under Demetrius Ypsilanti (who for some time before had been living retired from affairs at Tripolitza) had, in no part of the action, more than a few hundred men, supported by the fire of some small armed vessels anchored near the shore. Having failed in his principal design, that of surprising Nauplia, or of intimidating it into term of capitulation, Ibrahim re treated; and endeavoured next to open a passage to Patras; but the mountainous districts of Arcadia and Achaia, which are interposed between that city and the plains of Mantineia and Argos, were favourable to such irregular troops as the militia of Greece; and though these were unable, as well from their inferior numbers as from their want of discipline, to face the Egyptians in a general action, or to interrupt the pasha's communications with the Messenian ports; yet Ibrahim, on his part, had suffered considerable loss from sickness as well as from the sword, and was able only to overrun the plains, to destroy the cultivation, which, during three years freedom from Turkish plunder, had begun to grow up, and to reduce all the most fertile parts of the country to more than their former desolation. About the same time that the Egyptian army occupied Messenia, the Turks moved from Epirus and Thessaly upon the shores of the Corinthian gulf: a Turkish division, making a rapid movement from Zituni, seized upon Salona, and in the end of April the Seraskier Redschid Pacha appeared before Missolonghi. But he came quite unprovided with heavy artillery; the Ottoman fortresses at the entrance of the gulf were unable to supply him to any great extent, and the Greeks were successful in interrupting his communications with Salona and with Thessaly, through the mountains of Locris and Ætolia. Contracting his plan, therefore, the Seraskier recalled into Thessaly the troops which had entered Boeotia for the purpose of supporting the operations of the Pacha of Egripo; and, reinforcing himself from Larissa, he directed all his means to the blockade of Missolonghi, and to the protection of his position before that place, until the arrival of the fleet of the capitan Pacha should enable him to commence more active operations. That fleet was to bring him materials for the siege, to furnish boats for attacking the fortress on the side of the lagune, and to secure his communication with Patras from the interruption to which it was liable whenever the Greek cruizers made their appearance. The Turkish admiral sailed from the Dardanelles in the end of May; about the first of June he was met in the channel of Cavo Doro, by the Hydriote Sakhturi, who destroyed with his fire-ships three Turkish men of war and several transports; another corvette was run ashore by the crew, and burned in the island of Syra. These vessels contained a large proportion of the stores intended for the siege of Missolonghi. A few days afterwards, the captain Pacha entered Suda, where he joined the Egyptian fleet which had lately returned from Navarino. He was quickly followed thither by the joint forces of Miaoulis and Sakhturi, amounting to about 70 sail. On the 14th, two days after their arrival, these gallant officers attacked a division of the Ottoman fleet which remained in the outer harbour of Suda, and at the expense of three fire-ships, destroyed a corvette with its equipage. They were prevented from any further success, not so much by the strength or vigilant fears of the enemy, as by the narrowness of the entrance into the inner bay of Suda, and by the fortified island which protects it. A few days afterwards, the Greek fleet was dispersed by a tempest, when, finding themselves deprived of their best means of defence by a want of fire-ships, they retired to Hydra. The Turkish admiral now proceeded unmolested to Navarino, where he landed a reinforcement of 5,000 men. From thence he pursued his course, with seven frigates and many smaller vessels, to Missolonghi, and arriving there about the 10th of July, furnished the Turkish garrisons at the entrance of the gulf of Corinth with the supplies of which they stood greatly in need. The Seraskier now pressed the siege of Missolonghi with increased vigour. The capitan pacha had succeeded, on the 21st of July, in penetrating with small boats into the Lagune; and, on the same day, the fort of Anatolico, an island to the north of Missolonghi, surrendered to the Turks. The garrison of 300 men were made prisoners of war; the inhabitants, to the number of 1,500, received liberty to retire without obstacle into the interior of the country. The besiegers had already succeeded in cutting off the water of Missolonghi, and in erecting several batteries at a small distance from the main works of the place; the ramparts had been much injured by their fire, and a part of the ditches was already filled up. At length, on the 1st of August, the Turkish commanders, apprehensive of the approach of the Greek fleet, ordered a general attack. The works on the land side were assailed in four places, while thirty boats occupied the lake. The Turks, however, were every where repulsed. On the 3rd of August the Greek fleet, consisting of about 25 brigs, made its appearance; and on the 4th and 5th of the month, succeeded in destroying two small ships of war, as well as all the boats on the Lagune; in relieving Missolonghi, and in forcing the Ottoman fleet to retreat. Some of the Turkish ships retired behind the castles of the gulf of Corinth, while others made sail for the Ægæan, whither they were followed by a detachment of the Greek vessels. At the same time, the troops of Zavellas, Caraiscakis, and other chiefs, to the number of 2,000, who had arrived from the camp at Salona, and were proceeding to Apocuron and Carpenisi, attacked the besiegers in the rear, and opened a momentary communication with the Greek garrison; but the Seraskier was sufficiently strong to repel the sally of the garrison as well as the attack from without. He maintained his position throughout September and October, though with scarcely any result except that of loss to his own troops: expecting that the return of the capitan pacha, who in August had gone to Alexandria, would bring him such reinforcements as would more than supply the diminution of strength which he had sustained by the desertions of the Roumeliots. The Turco-Egyptian fleet came within sight of Missolonghi on the 18th of November. After remaining a few hours so near the coast of Etolia that the ships could be distinctly seen from the fortress, and from the camp of Redschid Pacha, the whole fleet bore away for the bay of Patras, and anchored there. On the 23rd, three ships entered the port of Patras, discharged their cargoes, consisting of provisions, stores, and ammunition, and landed some troops. During this time, no attempt was made against Missolonghi by the Seraskier from the land side, nor did it appear that any combined port of Alexandria. At four in the afternoon, four small vessels, bearing European flags, appeared in sight of the port, three of which advanced to the opening of the harbour, the fourth remaining tacking off and on. The pilots went out to bring them into the roads. At half-past five, the first entered, and soon afterwards the second. It was then perceived, that the first of these strange vessels was endeavouring to penetrate between the Turkish ships of war; and as some suspicion arose that it might be a fire-ship, it was ordered to stop. The captain, however, still advanced, and would probably have succeeded but for a sudden change of the wind. Then, finding himself discovered, he set fire to his vessel and abandoned it, while the whole crew got into their long-boat, and by dint of rowing escaped from the port. The second, seeing what had happened, tacked about, and followed the boat. Seven cannon shot were fired at this second ship, three others were fired at it by a French man of war, but without doing it any injury. The fire-ship, which was abandoned, was towed to a part of the harbour where its explosion could do no mischief. plan of attack had been concerted; but on the 24th, there was a slight skirmish between a party of Turks, who had concealed themselves in one of the trenches, and the troops of the garrison, in which the former suffered some loss. On the 26th, the Grecian fleet, consisting of about 30 sail, under the command of Miaoulis, appeared, and began to engage the Turks, who were awaiting them between Zante, Cephalonia, and Chiarenza; a desultory action ensued, which lasted, with little intermission, two days and nights. The Greeks, as usual, with their small, stout-built merchant brigs, sought by the dexterity of their movements to cut off and destroy isolated vessels, or to direct fire-ships against the enemy's larger men of war; but on this occasion they were not successful. The Turks had the advantage of the wind blowing fresh from the eastward, which, increasing on the 28th to a strong gale, put a stop to further action, and obliged the Greek fleet to retire to sea-ward. The Turks affected to consider this as a victory; and, in fact, as they remained in the Gulf, Missolonghi was in a state of blockade for several days. On the 29th, another naval skirmish took place; partial engagements occurred on the two following days; and, on the 2nd of December, the Greeks compelled the enemy to return for shelter within the Gulf. Shortly afterward, Miaoulis returned to the Archipelago. By this time, the whole of the southern shore of the Gulf of Lepanto had been reduced by Ibrahim, who had placed a garrison of Arabs in Patras. On the 10th of August, a bold but unsuccessful attempt was made to burn the Turkish fleet in the VOL. LXVII. In August, theinsurrection broke out anew in Candia; and the insurgents obtained possession of the fortresses of Grambouses and Kissamos. The distress, into which the Greeks were driven by the invasion of Ibrahim Pacha, induced the Senate and Executive body, towards the end of July, to propose to place the country under the protection of Great Britain; and a formal manifesto to that effect [see Public Documents, p. 106*] was issued by them, and transmitted to our government. The offer [0] was not accepted. It excited, however, the zeal of two private individuals, Messrs. Roche and Washington, to such a degree, that, forgetting that they were not in vested with any public character, they presented a strong protest against a step which they conceived to be disrespectful to France and America. |