Born on the island of Hydra, Anastasios Tsamados (1774 – 1825) was a Greek Navy Admiral, owner and Captain of his own ship the – Aris – one of the most famous vessels of the Greek War of Independence.
One of the most distinguished sailors of the time, he armed his ship and joined the fleet of his home island, participating in numerous operations.
Tsamados was involved in the naval battle of Patra in 1822, his was also one of the first ships to respond and attack Turkish vessels during the Massacre of Chios, where the Turks slaughtered 50,000 islanders and sold another 50,000 into slavery.
In 1825, Tsamados led a small fleet of 8 ships and 1,000 sailors & soldiers at the Battle of Sfaktiria off the southwest coast of the Peloponnese.
Against Egyptian forces numbering 45 ships and 3,000 men, Egypt at the time being a close ally and protectorate of sorts of the Ottomans.
Tsamados died heroically during the battle, after he was shot and killed.
His ship the – Aris – and its remaining crew managed to escape total destruction, the ship surviving with relatively little damage.
After the War of Independence, the ship was incorporated into the new Hellenic Navy and mainly used as a training vessel for the Naval Academy.
On March 25, 1921, it was ceremonially sunk off Salamis with full honours, on the 100th anniversary of the Greek Revolution.
Today, only the ship’s figurehead is preserved, which can be seen at the National Historical Museum of Athens.
READ MORE: On this day in 1944, Athens is liberated from Nazi forces.
