Arrival in Missolonghi -
Lord
Byron finally arrived in Greece, amidst the mosquito-infested marshes of
Missolonghi.
 |
Painting by Theodoros Vryzakakis
(Alamy) |
Error: The imaginary painting of Byron’s reception at Missolonghi depicts him dressed as an aristocratic poet and not in his scarlet regimental uniform!
Crowds of soldiers and citizens assembled on the shore. He was awarded freedom of the city and shown to the house where he would reside with Col. Leicester Stanhope. The latter is best known for his introduction of the printing press into Greece and the launch of the ‘Greek Chronicle’. Usually four pages long, the newspaper served as a vital communication tool during the war and published articles about democracy, freedom and the free press. Although Byron and Stanhope did not always agree with each other, both were key to the publication of the first Greek newspapers. When Stanhope accused Byron of being the enemy of the liberty of the press, Byron was quick to respond:
“And yet without my money, where would your Greek newspaper be?... Judge me by my actions, not by my words.”
Byron was named Commander-in-Chief of the allied forces and saw himself standing shoulder to shoulder with Alexandros Mavrokordatos - as a military leader should war commence, and unquestionably, a political leader with noble intents.
“The poet had now laid down his pen – and mounted the warrior’s plume.”
Effectively, Byron had reinvented himself as a Political Statesman of the New Age. He nevertheless remained sceptical regarding his own abilities and the likely impact of the warring Greeks upon his aspirations.
Byron visited the grave of Markos Botsaris and swore an
oath to fight to the death for the liberation of Greece, in his memory. This
moment was deeply symbolic as Botsaris had died heroically in battle the
previous year and his memory was a powerful rallying cry for the Greek
Revolution and for Philhellenes across Europe.
In this way, Byron made his own pledge to fight for Greece’s freedom – a promise that cemented his status as a hero in the Greek War of Independence.
 |
Lord Byron Swears on the Grave of Markos Botsaris by Ludocico Lipparini |
Last months of Byron’s Life: The Timeline
I have focused here upon the eye-witness accounts by
William Parry and Count Pietro Gamba. Although they agreed on the overall
course of events, they did not always agree on the precise day when significant
events occurred. We also have the
medical reports by his doctors - Francesco Bruno and Julius Millingen. I hope
this will give us an interesting, and hopefully viable insight into the last
few months of Byron’s life in Greece.
Both the physicians who attended Byron
were young and inexperienced. Francesco Bruno boarded the brig Hercules in
Genoa as Byron’s personal physician. He had recently qualified at the
University of Genoa. Francesco was devoted to Byron and with him to the end. He
attended his funeral back in England at Hucknall Torkard and refused to accept
payment for his services. Julius Millingen, only twenty-three years of age, had
qualified in Edinburgh in 1821. He joined the medical team in April and was in
Missolonghi until after the postmortem.
 |
View from Lord
Byron’s House in Missalonghi by H.Raper (Alamy) |
The Greeks looked to recapture the Ottoman naval base of Lepanto (present-day Nafpaktos) in the gulf of Patras. In early January, Byron recruited and financed 500 Souliotes to form the main body of his intended military command in Western Greece. The Souliotes were a fierce and effective fighting force, but their ‘wild undisciplined nature’ led to frequent disputes. Kitsos Trevalas was one of the principals in command of the forces. Like his fellow ‘klept’ Markos Botsaris, he was the kind of powerful and charismatic, but often independent-minded local chieftan that Byron admired.
Byron was appointed commander of the expedition to
Lepanto.
On 22nd January, Byron celebrated his thirty-sixth birthday. He recalled that when he was a boy, a famous fortune-teller had told his mother, that he should beware of his thirty-seventh year. Byron wrote a poem which spoke openly of his desire for military glory and the possibility of losing his life. ‘On this day I complete my thirty-sixth year.’
The flowers and fruits of love are gone;
The worm, the canker, and the grief
Are mine alone!
The sword, the banner, and the field,
Glory and Greece, around me see!
The Spartan, borne upon his shield,
Was not more free.
Seek out—less often sought than found—
A soldier’s grave—for thee the best;
Then look around, and choose thy ground,
And take thy rest.
The ship with William Parry and the stores sent by the London Greek Committee, had been detained in Malta and Corfu. In February, William Parry finally arrived with eight mechanics and four (volunteer) officers. Parry was a ‘fire master’ charged with the preparation of Congreve rockets and other weaponry. An old seraglio was converted into a laboratory and an arsenal. Parry prepared a plan for improving the defence of Missolonghi and its harbour. However, finances were not available, and work came to a standstill. The two loans from the Greek Committee did not arrive until after Byron’s death – later in 1824 and 1825.
With time to spare, William Parry took command of Byron’s
Philhellene ‘artillery brigade’ of (largely foreign) volunteers. He was a
somewhat uneducated shipwright, but Byron liked his straightforward attitude
and sense of humour.
Widespread discontent and hardship amongst the foreign volunteers, along with outrageous demands for higher pay by the Souliotes, caused Byron to disband his corps in February. He had already used his personal funds to pay off the back pay owed to the Souliotes by the Greek Government for their previous military services – and was not prepared to be blackmailed. The mission to Lepanto was postponed indefinitely when Byron ordered that all agreements between him and the Souliotes were null and void.
Subsequently Byron and his officers reorganized corps insisting on discipline, obedience and loyalty. William Parry was promoted to the rank of major and commanding officer of artillery within ‘Byron’s Brigade’. He remained faithful to Byron until the very end. In the weeks before Byron’s death, he became a close friend, confidante and carer.
15th
February - Byron
had not been able to ride for some days due to the weather. At 7.00 in the
evening, Pietro Gamba discovered Byron lying on a sofa and calling out that he
was not well. Later in the evening, with the doctors in attendance, Byron had
‘a fit’. This lasted approximately three minutes. He complained of pain in his
knee and could not walk. His features were distorted, and he was unable to
speak (but did not lose his senses).
“I had a strong shock of a convulsive description but whether Epileptic – Paralytic or Apoplectic is not yet decided by the two medical men that attend me. I was speechless with the features much distorted - but not foaming at the mouth - and my struggles so violent that Mr Parry and my servant Tita the Chasseur could not hold me.”
Byron was carried upstairs to his bed,
at which point he still felt weak, but his features were no longer distorted.
He asked if the attack was likely to prove fatal. Pietro Gamba’s opinion was
that the fit had been brought on principally by recent vexations and his
lifestyle. He had eaten nothing but fish, cheese, vegetables and fruit – and had
taken little or no exercise.
16th
February - Byron was
out of bed at midday - still very pale and weak. The doctors agreed to bleed
him and applied eight leeches to his forehead.
Excessive bleeding occurred as the leeches had been placed too close to
the temporal artery and caused him to faint.
Byron made a slow recovery.
22nd
February - There was
a slight recurrence of the attack along with convulsions in the right leg. It
quickly settled and he was able to resume his long daily rides. His health
visibly improved.
He continued to starve himself of
‘healthy’ food, however, eating only small portions of cheese, fish, vegetables
and bread. He was often gloomy and melancholy and he took to playing practical
jokes on members of his entourage - which were often unkind.
According to William Parry, when in good health Byron kept to a rigid daily routine:
Parry received orders for the day; Byron checked accounts and dealt with correspondence together with Pietro Gamba. Depending on the weather, Byron rode again or practised pistol shooting at a mark
After dinner he drilled the officers of his own corps
In the evening he conversed with friends and often studied military tactics
“The idea of having so efficient a corps to bring into the field, formed under his own eye, and chiefly at his expense, delighted Lord Byron beyond measure. The hopes which he entertained that the corps would perform some brilliant and distinguished service, gaining him reputation, both as a commander and a statesman.” (William Parry)
However, his health had not fully recovered, and he often complained of slight pains in the head, shivering fits, confusion of thoughts and vision issues. He refused Parry’s advice to eat better food and the doctor’s advice to bleed him.
“He ate very sparingly and what he did eat was neither nourishing, nor heating… nor blood-making food.” (William Parry)
Despite both being commissioners from the London Greek Committee, Leicester Stanhope and Byron often held different views and looked to follow different courses. Stanhope became an admirer of Odysseas Androutsos - the war lord based in the Acropolis. Around the end of February, following growing political and ideological disagreements with Byron and Mavrocordatos, amid the chaos of the Souliote mutiny, Stanhope left Missolonghi. He actively advocated for a conference at Salona to unite the various parties – a plan that Byron initially supported.
A Congress at Salona to discuss the unification of Eastern and Western Greece and examine the best means of defence was set up by Odysseas Androutsos and Leicester Stanhope. Lord Byron intended to attend the Congress.
March – Civil War broke out when government forces besieged Nafplion and Tripolitsa which were held by the opposing faction led by Panos and Theodoros Kolokotronis. At this point, Byron was forced to abandon all hope of achieving his aims and suffered from long-lasting depression.
“He was not prepared to meet with black-hearted treachery; or to see Greeks themselves conspire against their own country. The volcanic mind of Lord Byron was thrown by these events into a violent state of commotion.” (Dr. Millingen)
