Although this French officer was present in Greece for a log period, there are few things we know about him.

According to the biographer of the Philhellenes Henri Fornèsy, Chardon de la Barre, Louis, was born in Amiens, France. He died in Bourganeuf of illness on January 30, 1858. He was a descendant of the knight de la Barre, known for a judicial error. The knight de la Barre was the subject of an incredibly unjust condemnation by the judiciary of France in the 19th century. This conviction was considered a disgrace to French justice, while the defense of his reputation and the fruitless request for the restoration of his memory was one of Voltaire’s most glorious acts.

According to the same source, Chardon de la Barre, before coming to offer his services in the struggle for Greek independence, had taken part in twenty-seven campaigns during the French Empire and inflicted nine injuries on his body, two of which they were very serious and due to shootings.

The French newspaper Le Constitutionnel enthusiastically reports on the departure of the Greek galley from Marseilles to Spartanism, on May 27, 1826, with passengers of twenty-seven officers and non-commissioned officers, including Chardon de la Barre. At the port, at the time of departure, cheers were heard everywhere “Long live the independence and freedom of Greece”!

As soon as he arrived in Greece, in 1826, he had the honor of officially taking over an emblematic flag, sent from France. This flag was embroidered by ladies in Paris. It is worth noting here that a large part of the flags used by Greek and Philhellenic fighters were designed and sewn by French ladies as part of the actions in favor of the Greeks.

This flag was bravely held by Chardon de la Barre, for the first time, at the Battle of Haidari, on August 19 and 20 of the same year (1826), at the Battalion of the Philhellenes. Fornèsy reports that Chardon de la Barre made a vivid and graphic description of this battle, which we unfortunately do not know if it was published and where it is located.

Chardon de la Barre was a cavalry lieutenant in the Cavalry at the time of Governor Kapodistrias. During the reign of King Otto, he was appointed rapporteur of the 2nd War Council (Military Court), in which he was distinguished for his value, his unchanging stability and his incorruptible justice, for which he often had to fight against foreign demands.

He became known in Greece for his service, many incidents of which sometimes occupied the Greek press. Among them are the bilingual French newspapers Sotir and the Era in Nafplio.

According to the official newspapers of the administration, and after the reorganization of the Army by the Regency, in 1834, Chardon de la Barre was transferred from the 2nd War Council, to the 5th Infantry Battalion of the line, with the rank of captain. In 1836 he was transferred from the 5th Infantry Battalion to the 4th. In 1839, when the 4th Battalion was reorganized, it seems that he continued his service in the new formation, but at the same time he was re-employed in the War Councils, as a Captain-Rapporteur.

As an individual, he was appreciated by all his superiors, he was loved and respected by all his old colleagues. In fact, his Greek colleagues had Greekized his name and called him “Sardon”, as the historian of the Regular Army, Christos Byzantios, mentions.

Anninos states that Chardon de la Barre had the consolation to die in his humble homeland, bringing the rank and file of the retired General of the Greek Army. This reference is rather erroneous or misunderstood, and is due to the translation of Fornèsy’s handwritten word “commandant” as “commander”, a translation published in the newspaper Seventh in 1884. The word also means “major”, and given that in 1839 he was a captain, we consider this rank closer to the truth. Indeed, the Sun newspaper, a few days before Chardon de la Barre died, in its January 10, 1858 issue, referring to the philhellenes living in Greece at the time, referred to him as “a retired Major in France.” From this publication it appears that Chardon de la Barre was among the Philhellenes who lived permanently in Greece, and that they simply came and went between Greece and France, as most French Philhellenes did. Indeed, even earlier, in 1827, it appears to have returned to France for some time, according to general records in Paris.

The Chardon de la Barre was honored with the Cross of the Knights of the Legion of Honor, which he had received during the Hundred Days, the Cross of the Savior’s Officer and the Excellence of Greek Independence. He proudly called this award, which he wore with more pride, “his military staff” for his service in Greece.

SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Archives France, Affaires politiques (police politique). Objets généraux (1815-1838), F/7/6678-F/7/6784.
• Averoff Michelle, «Les Philhellènes», Bulletin de l’Association Guillaume Budé, αρ. °3, Οκτωβρίου 1967, σελ. 312-332.
• Άννινος Μπάμπης, Ιστορικά σημειώματα, εκδ. Εστία, Αθήνα 1925.
• Γενική Εφημερίς, αρ. 19, 7 Ιουνίου 1834.
• Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη, Τμήμα Χειρογράφων και Ομοιοτύπων, χειρόγραφο 1.697: Henri Fornèsy, «Le monument des philhellènes», 1860.
• Εφημερίδα Le Constitutionnel, αρ. φ. 131, Παρίσι, 3 Ιουνίου 1826.
• Εφημερίδα Εβδομάς, έτος Α΄ (1884), τ. Α΄, τεύχ. 1 (χ.ημ.) έως και τεύχ. 27 (2 Σεπτεμβρίου).
• Εφημερίδα Ήλιος, αρ. φ. 148, 10 Ιανουαρίου 1858.
• Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως του Βασιλείου της Ελλάδας, αρ. 26, 10 Ιουνίου 1836 και αρ. 4, 27 Φεβρουαρίου 1839.
• Χρήστος Βυζάντιος, Ιστορία των κατά την Ελλην. Επανάστασιν εκστρατειών και μαχών και των μετά ταύτα συμβάντων, ων συμμετέσχεν ο Τακτικός Στρατός, από του 1821 μέχρι του 1833, χ.ε., Αθήνα 1901

 

 

With a wooden horse, a Trojan Horse 6 meters high and weighing 3 tons that volunteers built in the birthplace of Hector Berlioz, the Berlioz Festival began in his birthplace of La Côte Saint-André, near Grenoble, dedicated to the 160 anniversary of his death, March 8, 1869, at the age of 66.

The Trojan Horse as a symbol of the composer’s favorite work, inspired by Virgil, “The Trojans”.

Héctor Berlioz was born on December 11, 1803, ten years before Wagner and Verdi. His parents were the 27-year-old Louis Berlioz of La Côte Saint André in Isère, who died in 1848 without ever hearing his music, and Marie-Antoinette-Josephine, daughter of Nicolas Marmion, a lawyer from Meylan. Hector was the first of six children.

His father was his first music teacher and in 1815, when he was 12 years old, he taught him music lessons. A rare case for a great composer, Berlioz was not taught piano, but flute and guitar.

Due to his father’s persistence, he enrolled in 1821 at the Medical School in Paris. After two barren years, he persuaded his father to help him enroll in the Conservatoire and study composition and counterpoint.

As early as 1825, he would present his work “Grande Messe Solennelle” in the church of Saint-Roch in Paris, with 150 musicians and choristers, conducting himself. For this concert he tried to borrow money from Chateaubriand, whom he admired together with his closest friend of his youth, Humbert Ferrand. The value of his work has gained some recognition, but also an enemy similar to Salieri: the director of the Paris Conservatory, L. Cherubini (composer of « Medea”).

Deeply liberal, but also spiritually philhellene, a connoisseur like any educated Frenchman, then and now, of Greek classical history and literature, he sides from the beginning with the Greek struggle for independence. Literature in general plays a big role in his life and musical creation. He loves two great Britons: Shakespeare and Lord Byron, but also a German, Goethe. A famous Shakespearean actress, Harriet Smithson, will become his first wife.

Berlioz’s favorite Lord Byron’s work was none other than Child Harold’s Pilgrimage, perhaps the most critical work on the development of the Philhellenic movement. Byron’s tragic death in Messolonghi, April 19, 1824, and the terrible effect on his psyche of Eugene Delacroix’s famous painting “The Massacre of Chios”, which was publicly exhibited at the Salon de Paris in August of that year, shocked him.

A close friend of a lifetime, lawyer Humbert Ferrand (1805-1868), shared his ideas and wrote, in 1825, the poem “The Greek Revolution” (Scène Héroïque: La Révolution Grècque), which Berlioz composed for two Bass soloists, Choir and Orchestra. The music is in the style of Spontini, the imperial composer of La Vestale, as the young Berlioz himself proudly pointed out.

The text of the poem is extremely interesting, mainly because it highlights the way in which a liberal poet sees the Greek Revolution, that is, from the point of view of the Hellenism – Christian view that was its heroes view.

The original and direct children of the Enlightenment, who were Ferrand and Berlioz, thus contrast with later intellectual obsessional constructions.

At the beginning of the play, a Greek Hero invokes the awakening of the children of Sparta that Leonidas calls from his grave to rise up for their freedom! Then a priest invokes Constantine the Great and then the two together, in the name of the latter, call on the Greeks (Hellènes in the text) to revolt.

Berlioz found it very difficult to present the work because Rodolphe Kreutzer, the well-known great violinist who was then Director of the Paris Opera, as a true exponent of the establishment, did not even want to hear about the presentation of a then unknown composer. In vain the famous composer Le Sieur, and even the famous Comte de La Rochefoucauld intervened to the unassailable Kreutzer. Finally, Berlioz produced it himself on May 26, 1828.

Berlioz found it very difficult to be recognized in his home country, France. Despite his success in winning, in his third attempt, the famous Prix de Rome in 1830, but also some recognition brought by the Symphonie Fantastique in the same year, which won him a loyal friend, the most generous composer to his fellow craftsmen throughout the history of music, Franz Liszt, he had to write music reviews to live.

Another composer, Paganini, will order him a viola concerto for 20,000 francs. Berlioz draws from Byron again and writes the famous symphonic work “Harold in Italy”, which Paganini will never execute, unknown why.

In December 1837, he presented his own Requiem at the memorial service for General Damrémon, who was killed in Algeria, with 200 musicians and 200 choirs, at the church of Saint-Louis des Invalides.

Following repeated failures of his opera Benvenuto Cellini and Faust’s Damnation, translated from Goethe’s masterpiece by Gérard de Nerval, he will be forced to seek recognition abroad. In Germany, a guest of Liszt in Weimar, who even organized two « Berlioz weeks” in 1852 and 1853. He directed his works in ten cities in Germany, in Prague, Budapest, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Riga and 4 times in London, with which he developed a special relationship due to his love for Shakespeare and Lord Byron.

From April to April 1856-68 he wrote his leading work, Les Troyens, in his own libretto inspired from Virgil. A work in five acts lasting more than four hours. The Paris Opera, while accepting at the beginning, did not presented it in the end! Berlioz sadly had to present only the last three acts in the smaller Théâtre Lyrique, with the title “Les Troyens à Carthage” in November 1863. The entire opera will be performed for the first time after his death in Karlsruhe, Germany, under the direction of the famous Felix Mottl, in 1890!

In Paris, the entire work will be performed for the first time only in 2003, at the Théâtre du Châtelet under the direction of John Eliot Gardiner. Fate wanted a Greek, Yannis Kokkos, to direct, stage and costume design! He will state in connection with the suicide of the Trojan women in the second act of the play: “In this suicide I saw the influence from the Greek history of 1821, which had greatly influenced European artists. In group suicide, Berlioz gives an echo of Messolonghi or Zalongo ».

I remember with emotion the first performance at the Bastille Opera, under Myung-Whun Chung with some small cuts, at the opening of the theater in 1990.

After the Trojans he will compose the choral work « Le Temple Universel », where he prophesies that “Europe will one day have only one flag” (1861) and the opera “Beatrice and Benedict”, based on Shakespeare’s « Much ado about Nothing” (1862).

Two major blows to his life will follow: the death of his second wife, Maria Recio, of a heart attack at the age of 48, in 1862, and the death of his son Louis, captain of a merchant ship, of yellow fever, in Havana, in 1867. Berlioz died on March 8, 1869, at his home in Paris after a stroke.

The work of this great composer and philhellene will find its recognition 90 years after his death. London, which he loved so much, will be the city of the great performances of his works. Starting with the production of the Trojans in Covent Garden in 1957, conducted by Rafael Kubelik and directed by Sir John Gielgud. Sir Colin Davis’, his greatest champion will produce and record almost everything Berlioz had composed, followed by John Nelson and John Eliot Gardiner.

Here is how Isma Toulatou presents in BIMA the performance of “Faust’s Damnation” directed by Maurice Bejart, a Paris Opera production in Epidaurus in 1965:

“The performances of Berlioz’s” La Damnation de Faust “given by the Paris Opera on July 31 and August 1, 1965 at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus, directed and choreographed by Maurice Bejart, surpassed domestic interest. Logical: It was the first appearance of the famous Company abroad in its full composition since its previous “excursion” to Japan concerned only its protagonists. This time, however, the entire potential would travel, from artists to technicians, which created a sense of anticipation.

“Four railway vehicles with the sets of Berlioz’s opera « La Damnation de Faust » have already arrived in Athens in view of the Paris Opera’s performance at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus as part of the Greek Tourism Organization’s artistic events,” (Vima July 21, 1965), describing the impending performance as “the greatest theatrical venture with the participation of the famous institution”. For the presentation of the work, we read in another part of the report, “314 technicians and artists of the Paris Opera and 164 technicians and administrative staff will collaborate. Four aircraft were deployed to transport French singers, dancers and technicians, and an air bridge will be created on the night of July 25-26 between the French city of Orange – where the group appears – and the Athens airport.

The “Greek Revolution” was presented at the Megaron in 2011 by the Symphony Orchestra of the Municipality of Athens, under Eleftherios Kalkanis and in 2019 by Byron Fidetzis, at the OLYMPIA Theater with the Philharmonia.

Lucas Karytinos and Camerata have prepared the work for the Megaron in 2020.

The great composer’s and philhellene’s Hector Berlioz works are now a constant part of the international repertoire, but for Greeks his work is even more important, as he is inspired entirely by the love of beauty and freedom, the high human ideals that make up the legacy of Hellenism.

You can watch a performance of “The Greek Revolution” here.

The original text in French follows:

 

Scène héroïque (La révolution grecque)

I. Récit et Air

Héros Grec: Lève-toi, fils de Sparte! allons!… N’entends-tu pas
Du tombeau de Léonidas
Une voix accuser ta vengeance endormie?
Trop longtemps de tes fers tu bénis l’infamie,
Et sur l’autel impur d’un Moloch effronté
On te vit, le front ceint de mépris et de honte,
Préparer, souriant comme aux jours d’Amathonte,
L’holocauste sanglant de notre liberté.
Ô mère des héros, terre chérie,
Dont la splendeur s’éteint sous l’opprobre et le deuil!
Ce sang qui crie en vain, ce sang de la patrie,
Nourrit de vils tyrans l’indolence et l’orgueil!
Ô mère des héros, terre chérie.

II. Choeur Prêtre Grec:

Mais la voix du Dieu des armées
A répandu l’effroi dans leurs rangs odieux.
Hellènes! rassemblez vos tribus alarmées;
L’astre de Constantin a brillé dans les cieux:
A ses clartés victorieuses, marchez en foule à l’immortalité!
Prêtre Grec et Héros Grec: Hellènes! rassemblez vos tribus alarmées;
L’astre de Constantin a brillé dans les cieux.
Prêtre Grec: A ses clartés victorieuses,
Héros! marchez en foule à l’immortalité!
Et demain de nos monts les cimes glorieuses
Verront naître l’aurore avec la liberté.
Héros Grec et Choeur: A ses clartés victorieuses,
Héros / Guerriers, marchons en foule à l’immortalité, etc.
Prêtre Grec et Choeur: Oui, la voix du Dieu des armées, etc.

III. Prière

Femmes: Astre terrible et saint, guide les pas du brave!
Que les rayons vaincus du croissant qui te brave
S’éteignent devant toi!
Héros, Prêtre, Choeur: Astre terrible et saint, etc.
Femmes: Que les fils de Sion, riches de jours prospères,
De la liberté sainte et du Dieu de leurs pères
Sans crainte bénisse la loi!
Choeur: Que les fils de Sion, etc.

IV. Final

Héros, Prêtre, Choeur: Des sommets de l’Olympe aux rives de l’Alphée
Mille échos en grondant roulent le cri de mort:
Partons /Partez !… le monde entier prépare le trophée
Que nous promet un si beau sort.
Quel bruit sur ces bords expire?…
Tyrtée éveille sa lyre,
Et la Grèce, en ce jour, oppose à ses bourreaux
Tout ce que son beau ciel éclaire de héros.
Ils s’avancent… et la victoire Rayonne sur leurs fronts poudreux;
La terre, belle encor de son antique gloire,
Retentit sous leurs pas nombreux.
Partons / Partez!… Des sommets, etc.
Aux armes!… le ciel résonne…
Harpes d’or, marquez nos pas!
Peuples!… guerriers!… l’airain tonne.
Nos fers ont soif de combats! Aux armes!

 

FOTIS PAPATHANASIOU

 

 

 

Colonel Auguste Hilarion Touret was one of the noblest figures of a philhellene.

Hilarion Touret was born in the city of Sarguémines, France in 1797. On 22 September 1811, he enlisted in the French army of the First Empire as a volunteer in the 2^nd Regiment of Hussars. He received one after the other all the ranks of the military hierarchy to become on 9 January 1822 a Lieutenant. He served under the orders of Colonel Pellion, who later served as commander of the Greek Regular Cavalry, and participated in the campaigns of Prussia and Saxony in 1813, France in 1814, and Belgium in 1815.

During Napoleon’s war operations, he rescued the Cavalry General, Nansouty, and three of his officers. For this brave act he was bestowed by the medal of the Legion of Honor. Then, in the battle at Arcis-sur-Aube, Touret was injured in his right hand. In 1823 he participated in the Spanish campaign as an adjutant of General Bruny. For his participation in this campaign, he was honored with the medal of the Order of St. Ferdinand.

Then he returned to his homeland, and got excited by the struggle for the independence of Greece. He resigned from the French army on 8 November 1825, and prepared his trip to Greece. He reached his destination on 9 September 1826.

He received the rank of Major in the Greek Regular Army on 9 October 1826 and was placed under the command of Ioannis Kolettis. He participated in the campaign that the latter organized at Atalanti on 18 November 1826, in charge of 50 men. In February 1827 he came under the orders of Charles Fabvier, and took part in the campaign of Faliro. He developed a close relationship of mutual appreciation with Fabvier. Indeed, when Fabvier died, Touret delivered the funeral speech in Nafplion in September 1855.

After the bloody slaughter at the Three Towers of Attiki, Touret gathered what was left of the Regular Corps, and returned with the survivors to the camp of Taktikoupolis at Methana. On 11 August 1927 he was placed in charge of the 2^nd company of cavalry. He took part in the campaign in Chios and was distinguished during the battle of Tourloti on 11 January 1828. In 24 January 1828, the army commander Fabvier praised him and his fellow cavalry men in writing for their very good conduct with extremely flattering words.

Touret then worked to reorganize the cavalry in Argos under the command of Carl Wilhelm Freiherr von Heideck, who replaced Fabvier when he left for France. Governor Kapodistrias recognized Touret’s services, and honored him with the rank of Cavalry captain further to a recommendation by the Commander of the Greek Regular Corps, General Trézel.

After the assassination of Kapodistrias, Touret moved with General Gerard and General Pellion in Methoni, and resided at the Headquarters of the French Expedition in Morea. From 1832 until 1845, Touret lived in Nafplio, where he was the soul of the city’s Catholic community.

In 1832 he undertook to reorganize the Hellenic Cavalry upon a relevant mandate by the Greek Government. Despite lack of means, he was able to assemble a body of 150 Cavalry men in January 1833, most of whom were pedestrians because of a lack of horses. A cavalry regiment of six companies was soon organized. On 5 April 1836, Touret assumed command of the Guard of Nafplion. Shortly afterwards, on 25 January 1841, he received the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Touret undertook early actions for the Greek government to honor the Philhellenes. Thus, with his intervention, for example, the city of Athens gave the name of Fabvier to a street in the capital. Moreover, Touret conceived the idea of ​​building a monument dedicated to the memory of the Philhellenes who died for Greece. This project was supported and honored in autobiographic letters, by most of the prominent leaders of Europe, as well as by the Greek Assembly. The monument, known as the “Touret Arch”, was made of wood at the expense of Touret in 1841, and adorns the inner side of the entrance to the Catholic Church of Nafplion. It has a facade with the shape of an ancient Greek temple and its columns bear the names of 276 Philhellenes and the place of their death, while on the pediment there is the shield and the crown of King Othon inside the cross of the Philhellenes fighters.

In 1845, Touret settled permanently in Athens, where he assumed the duties of King Othon’s adjutant. During his stay there, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and served consecutively as the head of the King’s court, Director of the Military Hospital and Chief of the Army’s Administration. On 1 November 1854, he was appointed in charge of the Guard of Athens. Touret was tireless, working hard for the Guard, and to ensure peace and security in the city. That same year, he undertook the foundation and administration of a company of firefighters who offered valuable services to the city. Touret organized the first Fire Corps of Athens. He based the structure on French standards. Indeed, the brass helmet worn by Greek firefighters up-to-date comes from what was originally designed by Touret. A few years earlier, he contributed to the construction of the road leading to the Acropolis, which made him an honorary member of the Archaeological Society of Athens.

In 1830 he married in Argos a lady of Italian descent, Maria-Teresa Pelloni. His wedding was attended by General Gerard and his marriage witnesses, Colonels Pellion and Pauzié.

Colonel Touret was an officer of many abilities, something which was reflected by his handsome appearance and his uniform. Babis Anninos sketches him and refers to his personality, as perceived by Gustave Flaubert (who visited him during his stay in Greece) and Edmond About, who recognized his special character. Full of humility, committed to the homeland and its institutions, he enjoyed a general appreciation and devotion.

Touret was honored with the Cross of the Knight of the Legion of Honor from France, and with a Spanish medal. He then received the silver medal of Greek Independence, which was the highest honor for Greeks and Philhellenes, and a proof of their participation in war operations during the Greek Revolution. King Othon honored him with the Golden Cross of the Knights of the Order of the Redeemer on 20 March 1838 and the Golden Cross of the Commander of the same Order on 20 March 1857. On this day he departed from Greece for France, to receive treatment at a French hospital.

Touret remained loyal to Greece, telling French doctors, who advised him to extend his stay in France until his health was restored: “If I have to die, I want to leave my last breath in Greece.” In fact, his wish was realized on 16/28 August 1857, arriving by boat in the port of Piraeus. At the moment when the steamer that brought him back to Greece from France was anchored, Touret died next to his wife, facing Salamis and Faliro, where he had fought for his beloved second country. During his last stay in France, he had the honor of being accepted by the French royal couple as a confirmation of the recognition he also enjoyed in France.

SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη, Τμήμα Χειρογράφων και Ομοιοτύπων, χειρόγραφο697: Henri Fornèsy, «Le monument des philhellènes», 1860.
• Εβδομάς, έτος Α΄ (1884), τ. Α΄, τεύχ. 1 (χ.ημ.) έως και τεύχ. 27 (2 Σεπτεμβρίου).
• Άννινος Μπάμπης, Ιστορικά σημειώματα, εκδ. Εστία, Αθήνα 1925.
• Ρούσσος-Μηλιδώνης Ν. Μάρκος, «Auguste Hilarion Touret, 1797-1858», Ναυπλιακά Ανάλεκτα, τ. 7 (Ναύπλιο 2009), σσ. 233-235.
• Ρούσσος-Μηλιδώνης Ν. Μάρκος, «Το μνημείο των Φιλελλήνων στο Ναύπλιο», Σύγχρονα Βήματα, τ. 68 (1988/1991), σσ. 224-254.
• Pellion Jean Pierre, La Grèce et les Capodistrias pendant l’occupation française de 1828 à 1834, εκδ. Librairie Militaire, Παρίσι 1855.
• Εφημερίδα Αιών, Αθήνα, 5 Σεπτεμβρίου 1857.
• Εφημερίδα Αθηνά, Αθήνα, 9 Ιουλίου 1841.
• Άννινος Μπάμπης, «Ο Συνταγματάρχης Τουρέ», Ημερολόγιο της Μεγάλης Ελλάδος, έτος 1923, Αθήνα, Ι. Ν. Σιδέρης, σελ. 296-304.

Colonel Charles – Nicolas Fabvier remains undoubtedly the most important of the French Philhellenes who took part in the Greek Revolution.

He was born in 1782 in the city of Pont-à-Mousson, France. He came from a family of lawyers of noble descent and had obtained the title of Baron. His father was Jean-Charles Fabvier and his mother Anne-Christine Richard. He graduated from the Paris Polytechnic School in 1804 as an Artillery officer and participated in the Napoleonic wars. In 1806-1807 he fought in Dalmatia with General Marmont. He was then sent to Constantinople and in 1808 to Persia to organize the Persian army. In 1811 he joined the army of Napoleon and fought along with Polish units and the officer Poniatovski. During this period, he was wounded.

He returned to France the same year, re-joined the French army with the rank of lieutenant, and served as an aide to General Marmont, with whom he participated in the Spanish campaign. In 1812 he fought with the Grand Army of Napoleon in Russia, where he was again injured. Then, he then took part in the 1813 campaign, again on Marmont’s side, where he was distinguished for his bravery and promoted to the rank of Colonel at the age of just 31. In 1814, Napoleon honored him with the medal of the commander of the Legion of Honor. It is worth noting that he was the youngest person to receive this medal. At the same time, Napoleon commissioned him to sign the surrender of the city of Paris to his opponents of the Holy Alliance.

Since then, he remained in France. From 1817 to 1823, he gradually and actively participated in conspiracies against the Bourbon regime for which he was punished. In 1818 he was discharged, like most Napoleonic army officers. In 1820 he participated in another unsuccessful insurgency against the Bourbons, which led to his conviction. The same was repeated in 1822. This year he entered in contact with the secret organization of the Carbonari, which also comprised members who were prominent Greeks residing in Italy. He subsequently traveled to Spain and took part in the revolution against the monarchical regime. Chased by French police, he found refuge in England, and from there he traveled to Greece.

Fabvier first came to Greece in late 1823 under the pseudonym “Borel”. His biographer, Debidour, states that from that time on, Fabvier began to learn the modern Greek language. He had already been taught ancient Greek, while at school during his childhood. Fabvier landed in Navarino with the aim to examine the conditions and to attempt to establish “an agricultural and industrial colony” for his exiled comrades. That is, the Bonapartists French and Italians who had initially fled to Spain and England.

In Greece he cooperated with the Greek irregular forces, and even participated in the battle to the capture the fortress of Koroni, which failed. He then traveled across the country, secretly, to finally reach Nafplion in 1825.

The Greek Government approved his plan to organize a colony, and granted him an area of ​​3,000 to 4,000 hectares (30,000 – 40,000 acres) to build it. In fact, a price was agreed and it was stipulated that the first installment should be paid on 1 January 1826. At the same time, Fabvier undertook to prepare a program to introduce Greeks to the modern techniques of agriculture and industry. The aim was to enable Greece to produce products that it had to import from abroad until then. In addition, Fabvier undertook to provide integrated military assistance, to contribute to the construction of arsenals and fortifications, to provide military tactics training and establish a military academy.

The criticality of the situation, the constant conflicts in Greece, and the subsequent arrival of Turkish-Egyptian troops, did not allow the first plan to be implemented. However, Fabvier proceeded with the organization of the army. In this context, Fabvier traveled again to Europe to meet with the Philhellenic Committees, raise money from the French supporters of the Greek Revolution, recruit volunteers, and arrange the details of their transfer to Greece. During this time, the French secret police was keeping a close eye on him. Thanks to Fabvier’s exhortations, an important number of militaries of the French Revolution, mainly Bonapartists, arrived in Greece in the years 1824 and 1825. These Philhellenes were distinguished from those who came to Greece before, by the fact that almost all of them were army officers of a certain age, with a great deal of military experience in the theaters of battle and not romantic students.

In 1825 Fabvier returned to England for some time to complete his round of contacts, and then settled permanently in Greece at the time when Ibrahim had already landed to the Peloponnese. The Greek government saw in Fabvier the person who was fit and experienced to organise a Tactical Army equivalent to that of Ibrahim. Under these circumstances, on 30 July 1825, Fabvier took in Nafplion command of the regular army (from Colonel Panagiotis Rhodios) and the responsibility to train it. It is recalled here that before Rhodios, another great French Philhellene, Joseph Baleste, was in command.

Then, and thanks to the recruitment of a large number of volunteers from Greece, but also the arrival of several young Greeks and Philhellenes from Europe, two battalions were formed. Each one of them consisted of four companies. This Regular Corps also included a small cavalry unit and an artillery unit. A small music band was also founded. At the same time, in September 1825, an arsenal began to operate in Nafplion. It was tasked with repairing old rifles and cannons, but also with the manufacture of weapons and mortars for the use of the artillery unit. In addition, uniforms and weapons were ordered from abroad.

On 5 October 1825, Fabvier and his Regular Corps, with the exception of a battalion which remained to guard Nafplion, settled in Athens. Upon his arrival, Fabvier issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of the city in which he emphasized the value of the regular army and urged them to join it. Soon, the force of the army reached 4,000, and Fabvier increased the strength of the existing battalions and formed new ones. Thanks to the management of Fabvier, the Regular Corps was trained systematically by philhellenes officers, following the French standard of military training and succeeded to become battleworthy in a very short time. The officers were promoted following a recommendation by Fabvier, either following an order of seniority or by choice for those who were distinguished in their service. The hierarchy of ranks was the French one. Fabvier was in charge of the whole Corps and according to Christos Vyzantios, he was taking care of everything.

In September 1825, Fabvier, with the Regular Army, took part in the siege of Tripolitsa (which was occupied by Ibrahim). In late October, the Regular Army took part in a campaign in Spetses. The following year, financial resources ran out, and the Regular Corps faced subsistence problems. During this period the Corps participated in a campaign in Karystos, which ultimately failed. The lack of resources, losses during military operations, illnesses and desertions, led to a reduction of the forces, which led Fabvier to reorganise the army on 20 July 1826. Accordingly, the Corps took part in military operations in the Attica region under the command of Karaiskakis. Α letter sent by Fabvier, actually in Greek, to the latter on 12 October 1826 is indicative of this cooperation.

In the battle at Chaidari, the Regular Corps fought bravely. After this, the Corps moved to Methana, where Fabvier organised permanent installations for the accommodation and training of his soldiers, which were bearded the name “Tactical City” (Taktikoupolis).

The main, and most heroic, act of the Regular Corps took place in December 1826, when a unit reinforced the Acropolis guard which was threatened and besieged by Reshid Pasha. Colonel Fabvier, in charge of 650 men, managed in the night of 13 December, to break the lines of the Turkish blockade and reinforce the Acropolis guard with men and munitions. During this operation, his life was in danger as he was infected with typhus. This bold act extended for four months the defense of the Acropolis, and this was of great value for the successful outcome of the Greek Revolution, as the resistance of the Acropolis facilitated the developments in the diplomatic field which led to the naval battle of Navarino, a battle of great importance in the history of the Greek nation.

Despite the efforts of the Government, the situation of the Regular Corps in 1827 did not improve at all. Its force was steadily diminishing, due to a lack of resources and means, mainly due to the unstable political climate in Greece. In order to avoid a complete dissolution of the army, Fabvier accepted a proposal by the representatives of Chios (Proestoi) to organize a campaign for the liberation of the island. When Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias arrived, the Regular Corps was fighting in Chios. Unfortunately, this campaign failed and the Regular Corps returned to Methana. The reasons for this failure are many, as in the case of Karystos. Most notably, these were the poor cooperation between the Regular Corps and the irregular fighters, and the lack of coordination. Also, in the case of Chios, the supply was cut off (Miaoulis was busy fighting piracy and was unable to assist them by sea). At the same time, due to its geographical location, it was difficult to integrate Chios into the claims of the Greeks for the borders of the future Greek state. Fabvier was accused of undertaking an unnecessary, and even illegal, military operation, and was led to trial.

This failure was the first reason which put to test the relationship between Fabvier and the new Governor, although at first it seemed quite friendly. Governor Kapodistrias had different views on the character of the army, and it also appeared that he considered Fabvier’s liberal beliefs to be disturbing. This situation annoyed Fabvier, who resigned on 22 May 1828. This disagreement intensified when Fabvier later returned to Greece with Morea’s French expeditionary Corps, and asked for the Greek Regular Army to be reassigned to him. Kapodistrias rejected his proposals and Fabvier, disappointed, finally left Greecefor France in early 1829, taking with him his Greek servant, a corporal named Thiramenis.

In France, in 1830, Fabvier participated in the Julian Revolution and then became commander of the Guard of the city of Paris. In 1831, he married the Spanish Maria de las Nieves-Catherine Martinez de Harvas, with whom he had a son, Louis-Eugène, that same year. In 1839 he became Inspector General of the French Army, in 1845 a member of the French National Assembly, and in 1849 a Parliamentary Representative of Meurthe. He retired from the military service in 1848, and was appointed ambassador to Constantinople and then to Denmark. In 1851 he retired from public life. He died in 1855 in Paris, having received eleven wounds to his body from his involvement in battles during his lifetime.

In Greece, the National Assembly of Troezina declared him a Greek citizen and King Otto honored him with the Great Cross of the Order of the Savior. On the day of his death, 15 September 1855, the Greek Army declared three days of mourning and the Acropolis was illuminated accordingly. The Greek state put into circulation commemorative medals and stamps commemorating the centenary of the heroic battle on the Acropolis.

For the majority of Greek historians, Colonel Fabvier remains a complex personality. Despite their contradictory views, it is undeniable that he was a man of great military experience, a courageous and brave officer, gifted with an organizational talent. Unfortunately, he ignored partially the methods and techniques of warfare followed by the Greek irregular military, who refused to join the Regular Army and avoided co-operation and coordination with him. This caused a serious malfunction.

Fabvier, however, recognized the bravery of the Greek combatants, while on the other hand many chiefs acknowledged this problem. A passage from General Makrigiannis’ memoirs is indicative of this situation: “We stayed for sometime in Hydra. They gave to me a great certificate and an invoice for my money, my soldiers received their own from me, and I got up and went to the Administration and I told them that I will dismantle my unit and join the Regular Army as an ordinary soldier (they had made of me a General). I told them: ”Our country cannot advance without a Regular Army”. They struggled, they could not stop me. I abandoned my rank and dismantled my unit; I took some of my officers and went to Athens, where Fabvier was based, to train as a simple soldier.”

The great French philhellene was a sincere and selfless friend of Greece, inspired by the values ​​of Greek culture, an exemplary leader, who exercised his duties with justice, conscientiousness and generosity. He had a strong character, stubbornness and perseverance. He always cared for his soldiers, and loved them very much, as both Christos Byzantios and Henri Fornèsy testify. Victor Hugo expresses the same appreciation when describing Fabvier in the French National Assembly in his work on Choses Vues. As Hugo says, his soldiers saw in him not a leader, but a god. He even dedicated to him a poem from the Orientales collection. It is worth noting that Fabvier wore from the beginning a foustanela and a scarf wrapped around his head, similar to those worn by the Greek Generals Nikitaras and Makrigiannis. Fabvier had generally adapted so much to the lives of Greek fighters, that when third persons were meeting him they could not believe that he was not Greek.

Fabvier’s deep love for his soldiers is also illustrated by the fact that he used to call them “his children” and, by extension, his soldiers called him “father”. This is recorded in many letters saved and addressed to Fabvier in 1840. Other letters stored in different places of the General Archives of the Greek State, testify his concern for the poor Greek population and for the safety of the inhabitants of various Greek cities. Even after his departure and until his death, he did not stop to love Greece and the Greeks and to defend the Greek cause at every opportunity.

In commemoration of the battle in Attica during the siege of the Acropolis, a marble column reminding the brave action of Fabvier and his deputy Major Robert, who was killed while entering the Acropolis, was placed in the courtyard of the Herodous Atticus Conservatory. The column has the following references engraved on both sides:

“TO, FABIERO, PROMACHO, OF ACROPOLIS, GREECE 1826 – 1926”

“TO THE HEROIC MAJOR FRAGK. ROBERTON AND THOSE PHILHELLENES WHO DIED WITH HIM, GREECE 1826 – 1926 “.

SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Debidour Antonin, Le général Fabvier, sa vie militaire et politique, εκδ. Plon-Nourrit et Cie, Παρίσι
• Le Spectateur Militaire, Recueil de science, d’art et d’histoire militaires, 27^e volume, XXVII, quatorzième année, Παρίσι, Noirot, 15 avril 1839, σελ. 552-556.
• Œuvres Complètes de Victor Hugo, Choses Vues I, A la Chambre des Pairs, 1846-1848, Παρίσι, Imprimerie Nationale, 1913.
• Pellion Jean Pierre, La Grèce et les Capodistrias pendant l’occupation française de 1828 à 1834, Librairie Militaire, Παρίσι
• St-Clair William, That Greece might still be free – The Philhellenes in the War of Independence, τ. 1, εκδ. Oxford University Press, Λονδίνο-Νέα Υόρκη
• Victor Hugo, Orientales, “Enthousiasme” 1827.
• Αργολική Αρχειακή Βιβλιοθήκη Ιστορίας, «Φαβιέρος Κάρολος (1782-1855)» διαθέσιμο στην ιστοσελίδα http://argolikivivliothiki.gr,
• Βυζάντιος Σ. Χρήστος, Ιστορία του Τακτικού Στρατού της Ελλάδος από της πρώτης συστάσεώς του κατά το 1821 μέχρι των 1832, εκδ. Κ. Ράλλης, Αθήνα 1837.
• Βυζάντιος Σ. Χρήστος, Ιστορία των κατά την Ελλην. Επανάστασιν εκστρατειών και μαχών και των μετά ταύτα συμβάντων, ων συμμετέσχεν ο Τακτικός Στρατός, από του 1821 μέχρι του 1833, εκδ. Κ. Αντωνιάδης, Αθήνα 1874.
• Βυζάντιος Σ. Χρήστος, Ιστορία των κατά την Ελλην. Επανάστασιν εκστρατειών και μαχών και των μετά ταύτα συμβάντων, ων συμμετέσχεν ο Τακτικός Στρατός, από του 1821 μέχρι του 1833, χ.ε., Αθήνα 1901.
• ΓΑΚ, Συλλογή Βλαχογιάννη, κατηγορία Ε, κυτίο 5, αρ. 885, Αρχείο Καραϊσκάκη (Γράμμα εκ της Ακροπόλεως).
• Εκατονταετηρίς Φαβιέρου 1826-1926, Εν Αθήναις, Τυπογραφείον «Εστία», 1927.
• Θεμελή-Κατηφόρη Δέσποινα, Το γαλλικό ενδιαφέρον για την Ελλάδα στην περίοδο του Καποδίστρια, 1828-1831, εκδ. Επικαιρότητα, Αθήνα 1985.
• Ιστορία της οργανώσεως του Ελληνικού Στρατού, 1821-1954, εκδ. ΓΕΣ, Αθήνα 1955.
• Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Στρατού, 1821-1997, εκδ. ΓΕΣ/ΔΙΣ, Αθήνα 1997.
• Καρατζάς Γεώργιος, «Ο Φιλέλλην Φαβιέρος και ο Τακτικός Στρατός επί Επαναστάσεως», περιοδικό Εστία, τ. 7, τεύχ. 159 (14 Ιανουαρίου 1879), σσ. 17-22.
• Κρεμμυδάς Βασίλης, «Ο Γαλλικός Στρατός στην Πελοπόννησο. Συμβολή στην ιστορία της Καποδιστριακής περιόδου», Πελοποννησιακά, τ. ΙΒ΄ (1976-1977), σσ. 75-102.
• Λουκάτος Σπυρίδων, «Ιω. Καποδίστριας και Καρ. Φαβιέρος», Μνημοσύνη, Τόμος Β’, Αθήνα, 1968-1969, σσ. 217-277.
• Μονόφυλλα του Αγώνος, 1821-1827 – Προκηρύξεις, θεσπίσματα, διατάγματα, τ. 1, πρόλογος: Ιωάννης Α. Μελετόπουλος, εισαγωγικό κείμενο: Ιωάννης Κ. Μαζαράκης Αινιάν, εκδ. ΙΕΕΕ, Αθήνα 1973.
• Σπηλιάδης Νικόλαος, Απομνημονεύματα δια να χρησιμεύσωσιν εις την νέαν ελληνικήν ιστορίαν (1821-1843), τ. 1-2, εκδ. Παναγιώτου Φ. Χριστοπούλου, Αθήνα 1972.
• Φορνέζι Ερρίκος, Το μνημείον των Φιλελλήνων, εκδ. Χ. Κοσμαδάκης & σία, Αθήνα 1968 [Απομνημονεύματα αγωνιστών του ΄21, τ. 20].

Étienne-Marin Bailly is an important French Philhellene medical doctor, who helped decisively with his work the Struggle of the Greeks.

He was born in Blois, France, in 1795, he studied medicine and served as the personal physician, friend and comrade of the French philosopher Saint-Simon. At the same time, he was the author of various studies of philosophical and medical content.

He arrived in Nafplio in September 1825 to assist with his medical knowledge the revolted Greeks. In particular, Bailly was sent from France, to “run the pharmaceutical sector and establish health services”, with the help of his nephew, also a doctor physician, Félix Blondeau. This plan was funded by the Duke of Orleans. Upon his arrival in Greece, he was frustrated by the primitive image of medicine in a country surrendered to epidemics. He immediately set up a general health care system, through a decision of the interim government, which decided with a decree to withhold 0.5% of all salaries to cover the expenses required to establish the necessary hospitals. Together with the German Chief Doctor, Erik Treiber, and the French physicians Dumont and Bernardi, Bailly initially organized a military surgery in Koulouri, Salamis, which offered valuable services to the armed forces.

In addition, pursuing paragraph (d) of Law (ΜΘ) on Hospitals of 5 October 1825, Bailly was assigned to draft the relevant decree. A little later, he submitted to the Executive Body the plan of a General Organisation for the establishment of Health care establishments. This plan, entitled General Ministry of Health in Greece, regulated the operation of hospitals and provided general provisions on public health. It stipulated that no person could pursue the profession of physician, surgeon or pharmacist without a relevant degree, which was granted by a special committee. In addition, it provided for the establishment of four health care establishments (in Nafplio, Athens, Messolonghi and Chania) and regulated their operating conditions. A special part of the decree was dedicated to the care of wounded soldiers, and required the appointment of a Chief Physician and a surgeon next to each military commander.

At the same time, with the use of money provided by the Philhellenic Committee in Paris, Bailly attempted to establish a central pharmacy. However, lack of resources and other difficulties prevented the materialisation of his ambitious plan. Eventually, only one hospital was organized in Nafplio, and Bailly settled in Athens to set up a new health care establishment there.

Bailly’s contribution was not limited to the organization of health services. With the assistance of his nephew, Félix Blondeau, he managed to cure more than 30,000 wounded and sick soldiers and people of various nationalities. Among them Greeks, Philhellenes, and French officers of General Maison’s expeditionary corps. In addition, Bailly tried to educate Greek physicians, he counteracted the practices of charlatans who exploited the population, and opposed to prejudices which prevailed and harmed public health.
During the governance of Kapodistrias, Bailly continued his activity as a member of the Nafplio Sanitary Committee, saving the city’s population from the plague. Thanks to his work, it is estimated that about a quarter of the total local population was saved from death, hence the designation “Bailly, the god” or “Hippocrates Bailly”.

Another aspect of Bailly’s philhellenic services relates to his work within the committee responsible for managing supplies arriving in Greece from European philhellenic committees at the beginning of 1827. This committee, established by order of the Government, consisted of Bailly, representing the Paris Philhellenic Committee, the Italian Pertini and the military, Bavarian national, Heideck. Bailly assigned part of the supplies to the threatened population, cultivating the idea that France would systematically help Greece. By his action and his policy, he supported the pro-Orléan plans of the French General Roche and the political party of Ioannis Kolettis. In this venture, he was quickly confronted with Heideck on how to manage supplies, in relation to his political role, as well as with Fabvier, whose organizational military actions were not always approved by Bailly. At the same time, Bailly was expressing openly his commitment to Ioannis Kolettis, leader of the French party.

Bailly’s work was undoubtedly significant. According to his own report, thanks to his efforts, 6,000 soldiers received food, equipment and ammunition, while 500.000 francs were allocated for fortification works, and maintenance activities in favour of the Navy and Armed Forces.

For all his services, he was granted the Greek citizenship (5 May 1827) by a resolution of the Third National Assembly of Troezina, while the captains of Rumeli also thanked him in turn.

After the liberation of Greece, he left with his nephew in late 1829. He went first to Constantinople and then to France. He died in 1837. Shortly before he died, he was decorated by King Othon with the Medal of the Knight of the Golden Cross of the Order of the Redeemer.

 

 

 

 

SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Barau Denys, «La mobilisation des philhellènes en faveur de la Grèce, 1821-1829», Populations réfugiées. De l’exil au retour, επιμ. Luc Cambrézy – Véronique Lassailly-Jacob, εκδ. IRD, Paris 2001, [Colloques et Séminaires], σσ. 37-76.
• Barth Wilhelm – Max Kehrig-Korn, Die Philhellenenzeit, von der Mitte des 18 Jahrhunderts bis zur Ermordung Kapodistrias am 9 Oktober 1831, εκδ. Hueber, Μόναχο 1960.
• Άιδεκ Κάρολος, «Τα των Βαυαρών Φιλελλήνων εν Ελλάδι κατά τα έτη 1826-1829», Αρμονία, τ. 1 (1900).
• Αρχεία της Ελληνικής Παλιγγενεσίας, 1821-1823, τ. 7: Πρακτικά του Βουλευτικού της Γ΄ Βουλευτικής περιόδου (1824-1826) – Πρακτικά του Βουλευτικού Σώματος, [τ. 4 του Βουλευτικού Σώματος], εκδ. Βιβλιοθήκη της Βουλής των Ελλήνων, Αθήνα
• Αρχειακή Συλλογή ΚΕΙΝΕ (Ακαδημία Αθηνών), «Αρχείο Ιωάννη Κωλέττη», Φ. 148, έγγραφο 0006, επιστολή του Bailly από τη Μεθώνη προς τον Κωλέττη, «έκτακτο επίτροπο των Ανατολικών Σποράδων».
• Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη, Τμήμα Χειρογράφων και Ομοιοτύπων, χειρόγραφο 1.697: Henri Fornèsy, «Le monument des philhellènes», 1860.
• Προβατά Δέσποινα, Étienne–Marin Bailly (1796-1837) – Ένας σαινσιμονιστής στην επαναστατημένη Ελλάδα, εκδ. Σοκόλη, Αθήνα 2008.
• Τράιμπερ Ερρίκος, Αναμνήσεις από την Ελλάδα, 1822-1828 – Ανέκδοτο χρονικό του Αγώνος, χ.ε., Αθήνα 1960.