Christos Kapsalis, Polychronis Lembesis, 1881, National Museum of History, Athens, Greece.Christos K
Christos Kapsalis, Polychronis Lembesis, 1881, National Museum of History, Athens, Greece.Christos Kapsalis was an important figure of the Greek War of Independence. He fought and gave all his fortune for the Revolution as well as provided one of his houses to Lord Byron when the Philhellene poet arrived at Missolonghi. The Third Siege of Missolonghi lasted one year (April 1825 - April 1826) and by the end of that year there was no food left and the people of the city were dying from all sorts of diseases. The city had no more cats, dogs, donkeys, or horses as the people had eaten them all. In order to survive, the people were forced to eat seaweed washed ashore from the lake. The Greeks planned to attempt a mass breakout from the city’s walls in April 22th of 1826, otherwise they would all die from the famine and the illnesses. Kapsalis was old by that time and too weak to follow the fighters out of the city’s walls. He and about 400 other men, women and children, who were too ill or weak to stand any chance of successfully joining the Sortie gathered in Kapsalis’ powder magazine. When the Ottoman Turks entered the city, the Greeks lit the gunpowder causing a huge explosion that killed them all and caused severe casualties to the Turks as well. -- source link
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