The Ahepan Winter 2020 - 13

Ioannis Kapodistras

May 5, 1827
ncy
To His Excelle
d States
t of the Unite
The Presiden

nsn has just tra
ss of my natio
presses
tional Congre
ex
na
he
l
ra
ich
ne
wh
ge
e
t of th
Excellency, in
The presiden
America
essed to Your
nduct of the
a letter, addr
the liberal co
ich
mitted to me
wh
th
wi
ts of gratitude
he presides.
as the
the sentimen
n over which
been selected
led the natio
y in having
pp
ha
nation has fil
America
gly
of
in
r
to
ed
ec
ce
ot
ex
f
Pr
el
God, the
I deem mys

sing the
n; and I pray
ties of witnes
communicatio
her opportuni
ot
d offer
organ of this
re
an
tu
,
fu
ng
in
lo
I be
to afford me
one of which
and Greece,
o nations, to
age of my grat
tw
m
of
ho
ts
e
en
th
d
im
nt
n an
reciprocal se
my admiratio
of
ts
en
im
nt
e se
to the other th
me by this
nor afforded
elf of the ho
ys
itude.
m
g
y own senin
m
ail
of
mage
re in av
llency the ho
I take pleasu

to Your Exce
g
tin
en
es
pr
of
opportunity
t.
mble
ofound respec
ncy's most hu
timents of pr
Your Excelle
t,
an
rv
Se
and devoted

Excellency:

strias
Count Kapodi

soon as he set foot in Hydra, he threw away his Western clothes,
donned a kleftic Greek outfit with foustanella and learned to
write and speak Greek. He fought with Kolokotronis in Tripolitsa
where he was seriously wounded as well as with Karaiskakis in
Roumeli. He wished to be considered a true Greek and a son of
his true homeland which had embraced him as a true mother.
He died August 11, 1828 and was buried in Argos with the high
honor of a lieutenant general.
Jonathan Peckam Miller without money or other means, had
his travel expenses paid by the Philhellenic committee of Boston.
For his outstanding courage in battle, he earned the Greek nickname, " The American Dare Devil. " He began his military activity
as a captain and by the time he left, was promoted to colonel.
John M. Allen, a midshipman of the U.S. Navy, served on
Greek ships which blocked the port of Souda, Crete. In 1825, he
was wounded during the siege of Missolonghi while fighting with
the Greek fleet.
Samuel Gridley Howe arrived in Greece in 1824, three years
after he received his doctor surgeon degree from Harvard. He
served as Chief Surgeon of the Navy. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Howe, primarily for his philanthropic work and for his
medical services. A surgeon and a warrior, he founded a hospital in Poros. In 1828, he left for America to obtain monetary
assistance for Greece through speeches to the public. He returned
in 1828 to a dire state of affairs. He built a new pier at Aegina
harbor, tended to the masses, taught new methods of cultivation
in Megara. In the Examilia area of Corinth, he helped build a
settlement for refugees he named Washingtonia, in honor of its

www.ahepa.org

American donors. Always compassionate, Howe
accomplished a great deal in the United States as
well, fighting for the abolition of slavery and other
causes.
William Townshend Washington was a distant
cousin of George Washington. Washington died for
Greece. He had a monument built in his honor in
Nafplio. He declared prophetically, " Greece is at war and to her
belongs every drop of my blood. "
***
Jumping forward, in March 2020, U.S. Ambassador to Greece
Geoffrey Pyatt launched the U.S. Embassy in Athens' official
logo (pictured on page 11) to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution. Since then, the U.S. Embassy has
been making preparations to support Greek commemorations
of their bicentennial that will take place throughout 2021. This is
an important moment for Greece-in particular for Greek young
people who have pulled through a difficult economic crisis--to
draw strength from Greece's history. The Embassy's hope is that
they will look at this remarkable story from their past, honor the
accomplishments, and realize they, too, can define their futures.
Ambassador Pyatt said, " The United States played a role in
Greece's story-in the past, in the present, and we hope it will
continue to do so in the future. 2021 is a great jumping off point,
and I'm incredibly optimistic about what our two countries and
peoples can achieve together. "
The U.S. Embassy will announce its plans to commemorate
the bicentennial in January 2021.
Ambassador Pyatt added, " Our efforts will be designed to
encourage the inclusion of American perspectives and voices,
conveying our respect for ancient Greek ideals of democracy, and
highlighting stories of friendship and the historical connection
between our peoples: the role American Philhellenes played in
Greece's fight for independence, and our commitment to the strategic partnership we enjoy that includes a shared vision for the
future. "
___________________________________________________
Editor's Note
AHEPA thanks Papazissis Publishers and the Hellenic Ministry of
Foreign Affairs for use of excerpted material from the book " The
American People's Support to the Greek War of Independence
1821, " granted to AHEPA in honor of the Greek Bicentennial.

Winter 2020 · THE AHEPAN | 13

http://www.ahepa.org

The Ahepan Winter 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Ahepan Winter 2020