Επιστροφή

Ιστορικό Υπόμνημα/Ηistorical Memorandum 

Ἱστορικό Ὑπόμνημα

1835 κατὰ Μάρτιον1

 Κατηχηθεὶς περὶ τὰ 1818, περιέμενον ὥρᾳ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἀνυπομόνως τὴν ἔκρηξιν τοῦ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐλευθερώσεώς μας πολέμου. Καὶ μετὰ ἕνα χρόνον κατηχήθησαν καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες καὶ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς ὅλης τῆς Πελοποννήσου, δεχθέντες καὶ αὐτοὶ τοῦτο μετὰ πάσης χαρᾶς. Καὶ μετὰ παρέλευσιν πάλιν χρόνου τινὸς συσκεφθέντες οἱ ἄρχοντες ἔστειλαν τὸν κ. Ἰωάννην Παπαρηγόπουλον εἰς Ὀδησσὸν μ᾿ ἔξοδά των ἴδια, διὰ νὰ ἀνερευνήσῃ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς Ἑταιρείας, ὁ ὁποῖος ἐπιστρέψας μᾶς εἶπεν, ὅτι θέλει σταλεῖ ἐπὶ τούτου ἄνθρωπος ἐξ Ὀδησσοῦ νὰ μᾶς ὁδηγήσῃ πότε νὰ κινήσωμεν τὸν πόλεμον.

 Εἰς τὰ 1820, Δεκεμβρίου 21, ἑυρισκόμενος εἰς Τριπολιτσὰν μαζὺ μὲ τοὺς ἄρχοντας τῶν Καλαβρύτων κ.κ. Ἀνδρέαν Ζαήμην, Σωτ. Χαραλάμπην καὶ Σωτήριον Θεοχαρόπουλον ἐμάθομεν τὴν εἰς Ὕδραν καὶ Πέτσας ἔλευσιν τοῦ κυρίου Γρηγορίου Φλέσια, καὶ ἀνεχώρησα παρεθὺς ἀπὸ Τριπολιτσὰν καὶ ἦλθον εἰς τὴν πατρίδα μου, διὰ νὰ κάμω τὰς ἀναγκαίας ἑτοιμασίας τῶν πολεμοφοδίων.

 Εἰς δὲ τὰ 1821, Ἰανουαρίου 5, ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν μου ὁ κ. Φλέσιας μετὰ τοῦ κ. Χαραλάμπους Μάλη, καὶ ἔμειναν μίαν μόνην νύκτα, καὶ τὴν αὔριον ἐξεκίνησαν διὰ Καλάβρυτα, καὶ ἀπ᾿ ἐκεῖ διὰ Πάτρας, καὶ ἀπὸ Πάτρας πάλιν ἐπέστρεψαν εἰς Βοστίτσαν, ὅπου συναχθέντες οἱ ἄρχοντες καὶ ἀρχιερεῖς τῶν εἰρημένων τριῶν Ἐπαρχιῶν ἀπεφάσισαν νὰ συνυπακουσθοῦν ταὐτοχρόνως ὅλοι οἱ Πελοποννήσιοι, καὶ τότε νὰ κινήσουν τὸν πόλεμον, ὅτε ἤθελον εὐκολυνθῇ. Ἀλλὰ τί συνέβη εἰς τὸ μεταξὺ τοῦτο διάστημα; Ἐπῆλθεν ἡ φήμη εἰς τὰς ἀκοὰς τῶν εἰς Πελοπόννησον Ὀθωμανῶν, οἵτινες προσεκάλεσαν τοὺς ἄρχοντας καὶ ἀρχιερεῖς μὲ σφοδρὰς διαταγὰς νὰ παρευρεθοῦν εἰς Τριπολιτσάν, τὸ ὁποῖον καὶ ἠκολούθησαν ἅπαντες, ἐκτὸς τῶν Καλαβρυτινῶν καὶ Βοστιτσιάνων, τοὺς ὁποίους καὶ ἐκ δευτέρου προσεκάλεσαν. Οἵτινες ἐξεκίνησαν, μαζὺ μὲ τοὺς ὁποίους ἤμην καὶ ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ ἡμέτερος ἀρχιερεύς, ὁ Π. Πατρῶν κ. Γερμανός ἐπὶ λόγῳ τοῦ νὰ ὑπάγωσιν εἰς Τριπολιτσάν, ἔχοντες μεθ᾿ ἑαυτῶν ἕνα τάταρην, καὶ ἕνα δερβίσην ἔφθασαν εἰς τὰ Καστριά, χωρίον τῶν Καλαβρύτων, ὅπου εἶχον προδιαθεμένον ἕνα χωρικόν, ὅστις τοὺς ἔφερεν ἕνα γράμμα πλαστόν, σταλὲν τάχα ἀπὸ φίλον των Τοῦρκον, τὸ ὁποῖον ἔλεγεν, ἂν θέλουν νὰ ἔχωσι τὴν ζωήν των νὰ μὴν ὑπάγουν εἰς Τριπολιτσάν. Καὶ οὕτως ἐπέστρεψαν εἰς τὸ Μοναστήριον τῆς Ἁγίας Λαύρας, ὅπου ἔλαβον γράμματα ἀπὸ τοὺς κ. Δελιγιανναίους, λέγοντα: «Μὴ κινηθῆτε, ἀδελφοί, μή ! Ἐπειδὴ οἱ ἀδελφοί μας εἶναι εἰς Τριπολιτσὰ καὶ χάνονται». Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ἐγὼ καὶ ὑποπτευόμενος μὴ δειλιάσωσι καὶ μείνωμεν πάλιν εἰς τὸν αὐτὸν ζυγόν, ἀνεχώρησα παρευθὺς ἀπὸ τὸ Μοναστήριον μὲ τὴν ἀπόφασιν τοῦ νὰ δώσω αἰτίαν καὶ ἀρχὴν τῆς Ἐπαναστάσεως, καὶ κατὰ καλὴν τύχην τὰς 9 Μαρτίου τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους, ὅτε ἔφθασα εἰς τὸ χωρίον μου, διέβαινον τρεῖς Τοῦρκοι Τριπολιτσιῶται, ἀπὸ τοὺς λεγομένους καμπαταΐδας, ἀπεσταλμένοι μὲ γράμματα ἀπὸ τὸν καϊμακάμην τῆς Τριπολιτσᾶς πρὸς τὸν Χουρσὶτ  πασᾶν, τοὺς ὁποίους περῶντας τὸν δρόμον τοῦ Ἀγριδίου εἰς τὰς Πόρτας, χωρίου τῆς ἐπαρχίας Καλαβρύτων, ἐσκώτωσα, ἔχων μαζύ μου καὶ ἓξ στρατιώτας· καὶ πρῶτος ἐγὼ ἔβαψα τὰς χεῖράς μου εἰς τὸ αἷμα τῶν τυράννων κατὰ τὴν Πελοπόννησον. Καὶ τὴν ἐπαύριον, εἰς τὰς 10, διέβαινον ἄλλοι ἑπτὰ Τοῦρκοι, Τριπολιτσιῶται καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀπὸ Ἀρφαρά, καὶ ἔστειλα τινὰς στρατιώτας καὶ τοὺς ἐφόνευσαν, καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν πάλιν ἡμέρα ἔφθασαν εἰς Βερσοβὰν ἑξήκοντα Τοῦρκοι ὁδηγούμενοι ἀπὸ δύω μπουλουμπασίδας, τοὺς ὁποίους συναχθέντες οἱ κάτοικοι τῶν πέριξ χωρίων καὶ συσσωματωθέντες  μὲ μερικοὺς ἐδικούς μου στρατιώτας ἐφόνευσαν ἅπαντας. Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἔγραψα πρὸς τοὺς κατοίκους τοῦ τμήματος Κατσάναις τὰ διατρέξαντα, παρακινῶν καὶ αὐτοὺς νὰ κινηθῶσι. Ταῦτα λοιπὸν μαθὼν ὁ Βοεβόδας τῶν Καλαβρύτων Ἰμπραὴμ Ἀρναούτογλους ἀνεχώρησε μὲ τοὺς ὑπὸ τὴν ὁδηγίαν του εἰς Τριπολιτσὰν διὰ ν᾿ ἀποφύγῃ τὸν κίνδυνον, καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἐμποδίσθη ἀπὸ τοὺς Κατσανιώτας ἐπέστρεψε εἰς Καλάβρυτα, ὅπου συνεκλείσθη μὲ τοὺς ἄλλους Τούρκους εἰς τρεῖς ὀχυροὺς πύργους, οἵτινες ἦσαν ἕως τῶν τετρακοσίων ἐντόπιοι καὶ ξένοι, τοὺς ὁποίους συσωματωθέντες οἱ ἐκ τῆς Ἐπαρχίας Καλαβρύτων κ.κ. Σ. Χαραλάμπης, Σ. Θεοχαρόπουλος, Ἰωάννης Παπαδόπουλος, Ἀσημάκης Φωτίλας, Βασίλειος Πετιμεζᾶς, Νικόλαος Πετμεζᾶς καὶ ὁ ὑποφαινόμενος ἐβιάσαμεν διὰ τῶν ὅπλων νὰ παραδοθοῦν πολεμοῦντες πέντε ἡμερονύκτια, καὶ ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ ἐπληγώθην εἰς τὸν ἀριστερὸν κάλαμον τοῦ ποδός μου, καθὼς καὶ ἄλλοι δύω μου στρατιῶται. Ἐφονεύθησαν δὲ καὶ δύω, ὁ εἷς ἀπὸ τοὺς ἐδικούς μου, καὶ ὁ ἕτερος τοῦ Βασιλείου Πετμεζᾶ. Οἱ πολεμοῦντες Ἕλληνες ἦσαν ἕως ἑξακόσιοι καὶ ἐπέκεινα.

 Καὶ μετὰ ταύτην τὴν μάχην, τὰς 13 Ἀπριλλίου, τὸ αὐτὸ ἔτος, διευθυνόμενος εἰς τὸ νὰ πολιορκήσωμεν τὴν Τριπολιτσάν, ἐγὼ καὶ οἱ κ.κ. Σωτ. Χαραλάμπης καὶ Σωτ. Θεοχαρόπουλος ἐφθάσαμεν εἰς Λεβίδι, ὅπου εὕρομεν τοὺς κ.κ. Κωνσταντῖνον καὶ Β. Πετμεζαίους καὶ μερικοὺς Τριπολιτσιώτας.

 Καὶ τὸ πρωΐ, εἰς τὰς 14 τοῦ αὐτοῦ μηνός, μᾶς ἐπληροφόρησαν ὅτι ἔρχονται οἱ Τοῦρκοι κατεπάνω μας ἀπὸ δύω μέρη. Οἵτινες ἦσαν περίπου τετρακισχίλιοι, τοὺς ὁποίους ἰδόντες, οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι ἀνεχώρησαν φοβηθέντες τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐχθρῶν. Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ οἱ ὑπὸ τὰς ὁδηγίας μου σύντροφοι, δηλ. ὁ ἀδελφός μου Δημήτριος, Ἀναγνώστης Στριφτόμπολας, Ἰωάννης Πετμεζᾶς καὶ Γεώργιος Κουλουχαίρας, μείναντες μὲ μόνους 48 στρατιώτας κατελάβομεν ἑπτὰ ὀσπήτια καὶ ἐπολεμήσαμεν ἀπὸ τὴν πρώτην τῆς ἡμέρας ἕως τὴν ἐνδεκάτην καὶ ἐφονεύσαμεν ὑπὲρ τοὺς τριακοσίους, ἐκτὸς τῶν πληγωθέντων. Εἰς αὐτὴν τὴν μάχην ἐνικήθησαν κατὰ πρῶτον οἱ ἐκ Τριπολιτσᾶς ἐχθροί. Ἀπὸ δὲ τοὺς συντρόφους μου ἐφονεύθη ὁ ἀείμνηστος συντοπίτης μου Ἀναγνώστης Στριφτόμπολας ἐκ Μεσορουγίου, ὁ Σωτήριος Ζαφειρόπουλος ἀπὸ Σόλον καὶ ἄλλοι δύω. Ἐπληγώθη δὲ καὶ ὁ Ἰωάννης Πετμεζόπουλος καὶ ἄλλοι τρεῖς.

 Εἰς δὲ τὰς 17, πάλιν τοῦ αὐτοῦ μηνὸς Ἀπριλλίου, ἐλάβομεν εἴδησιν ὅτι ὁ Κιαχαγιάμπεης ἔφθασε εἰς Πάτρας, καὶ φοβηθέντες μήπως εἰσβάλῃ εἰς τὴν Ἐπαρχίαν μας ὀπισθοδρομήσαμεν, καὶ τὰς 21 τὸν ἐκτυπήσαμεν εἰς τὰ Μαῦρα Λιθάρια, μὲ ὄχι ὀλιγην του ζημίαν. Καὶ παραλείπων τὰς ἐκτὸς τῆς ἐπαρχίας μου ἄλλας σημαντικὰς μάχας, δηλονότι τῶν Δερβενίων, Κορίνθου, Χραίπας, Δαβιᾶς, Κουνουπιᾶς κ.λ. εἰς τὰς ὁποίας προσωπικῶς παρευρέθην, τὰς ὁποίας θέλω σᾶς ἐξιστορήσῃ ὁπόταν μὲ διατάξητε, ἄρχομαι μόνον νὰ σᾶς ἐξηγηθῶ ἐν συνόψει τὴν φρικτὴν μάχην τῆς Ἀκράτας.

 Εἰδοποιηθεὶς ἀπὸ τὴν ἐν Τριπολιτσᾷ τότε Γερουσίαν, ὅτι οἱ εἰς Κόρινθον Τοῦρκοι Ἀχμὲτ πασᾶς, Δράμαλης καὶ λοιποὶ θέλουν ἀφήσει τοὺς ἀδυνάτους εἰς τὸ φρούριον τῆς Κορίνθου καὶ αὐτοὶ θέλουν ὑπάγει διὰ τῆς Ἀκράτας εἰς Πάτρας, ἐκατέβην εἰς Ἀκράταν μὲ τοὺς ὑπὸ τὰς ὁδηγίας μου στρατιώτας, ὅτε ἀκολούθως ἦλθον καὶ οἱ κ.κ. Ἀσημάκης Ζαήμης, Σωτ. Χαραλάμπης, Σωτ. Θεοχαρόπουλος καὶ μετὰ δύω ἡμέρας, εἰς τὰς 8 τοῦ Ἰανουαρίου τοῦ 1823 ἔτους, ἔφθασαν οἱ Τοῦρκοι πρὸς τὸ δεῖλι εἰς τὸν κάμπον Ἀκράτας, καὶ θέλοντες νὰ περάσουν διὰ Βοστίτσαν ἐμποδίσθησαν. Καὶ φοβηθέντες ἐπέστρεψαν καὶ διενυκτέρευσαν εἰς τὸ πλησίον πεδίον τῆς Ἀκράτας. Ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ δὲ ταύτης τῆς νυκτὸς κατέφθασεν τὸ μέγα καὶ δυνατὸν στράτευμα τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, καὶ στοχασθεὶς μίαν ἄλλην θέσιν ἐπικίνδυνον εἰς τὸ πλάγιον μέρος, καὶ ὑποπτευόμενος μήπως οἱ ἐχθροὶ περάσαντες ἐκεῖθεν μοῦ πάρουν τὰς πλάτας, διέταξα μερικοὺς ἀπὸ τοὺς ἀξιωματικούς μου, δηλ. τὸν Ἀγγελὴν Δελοῦκαν, Δημήτριον Μπαναβᾶν, παπᾶ Γεώργιον καὶ Γιάννον Κερπεσιώτην μέ τινας στρατιώτας, νὰ καταλάβουν διὰ νυκτὸς τὴν εἰρημένην θέσιν, ἀπὸ τὴν ὁποίαν ἠδύνατο οἱ ἐχθροὶ νὰ διέλθωσιν. Οἱ δ᾿ ἄλλοι ὁπλαρχηγοὶ κατέλαβον τὰς ὑψηλοτέρας θέσεις· καὶ τὸ πρωῒ οἱ Τοῦρκοι, ὄντες τὸν ἀριθ. 5.000, ὥρμησαν ὅλοι ὁμοῦ ἀποφασιστικῶς νὰ περάσωσιν ἐκεῖθεν διὰ νὰ ὑπάγουν εἰς Πάτρας, ἀλλ᾿ ἀπεκρούσθησαν παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ, φονευθέντες ὑπὲρ τοὺς 200, ὅστις μόνος ἐγκατελείφθην μαζὺ μὲ τοὺς ἀδελφούς μου Δημήτριος καὶ Σωτήριον καὶ μ᾿ ἄλλους 55 ἀπὸ τοὺς στρατιώτας μου, διότι οἱ ἄλλοι βλέποντες τὸν μέγα ἐκεῖνον κίνδυνον ἀνεχώρησαν εἰς τὰ ὑψηλότερα μέρη, ὅπου ἦσαν καὶ τἄλλα στρατεύματα τῶν εἱρημένων ὁπλαρχηγῶν. Καὶ ἀφοῦ δὲν ἠδυνήθησαν νὰ διαβοῦν ἐκεῖθεν, ἐπέστρεψαν νὰ περάσουν ἀπὸ τὴν κατεχομένην ἀπὸ τοὺς εἰρημένους στρατιώτας μου θέσιν· καὶ ἁπαντήσαντες κ᾿ ἐκεῖ τὰ ἴδια, δὲν ἐτόλμησαν πλέον ἄλλην φορὰν νὰ ὁρμήσωσιν καθ᾿ ἡμῶν, διότι τότε ἐμψυχωθέντες καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι Ἕλληνες ἀπὸ τὴν ἦτταν τῶν ἐχθρῶν, ἔτρεξαν σωρηδὸν καὶ ἀπεκλείσαμεν αὐτοὺς τόσον, ὥστε ἀφοῦ πρῶτον κατέφαγον τ᾿ ἄλογα, ἡμιόνους καὶ λοιπὰ των ζῶα, κατήντησαν νὰ τρώγωσι καὶ ὁ εἷς τὸν ἄλλον. Ἔπειτα ἀπὸ δύω μῆνας ἐλθόντα δύω Ὀθωμανικὰ πλοῖα, παρέλαβον ἕως τριακοσίους, οἱ δὲν μείναντες ὠχυρώθησαν διά τινος χαρακώματος, τοὺς ὁποίους ἰδὼν οὕτω προδιατεθειμένους ὥρμησα μὲ τοὺς ὑπὸ τὰς ὁδηγίας μου κατ᾿  ἀυτῶν, καὶ νικήσας αὐτοὺς ἐξολοκλήρου ἐπληγώθην ἐπικινδύνως ἀπὸ βόλι εἰς τὸν δεξιὸν μηρόν μου.

1Οι τέσσερεις χειρόγραφες σελίδες του ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΟΥ ΥΠΟΜΝΗΜΑΤΟΣ (απομνημονευμάτων) του Νικολάου Σολιώτη περιήλθαν στο αρχείο του ιστοριοδίφη, συμβολαιογράφου και δήμαρχου Αιγίου Γεωργίου Παναγόπουλου (1910-1988), έπειτα από δωρεά της Μαίρης Δουκάκη, συζύγου του δικηγόρου και βουλευτή Αιγιαλείας (1924-1928) Ιωάννου Νικήτα Σολιώτη (απεβ. το 1949), εγγονού του οπλαρχηγού. Λίγο αργότερα ο πλοίαρχος Ιωάννης Χ. Σολιώτης (1889-1973) ζητούσε από τον Γεώργιο Παναγόπουλο με επιστολή του ή να επιστραφούν στην οικογένεια διότι «ἀποτελοῦν… ἀνεκτίμητα οἰκογενειακὰ κειμήλια» ή διαφορετικά, αν τα θεωρεί «ὡς… ἐθνικὰ κειμήλια ἱστορικῆς σημασίας» που δεν θέλει να τα αποχωριστεί, να του τα δανείσει, προκειμένου να τα βγάλει φωτοτυπίες. Τα χειρόγραφα αυτά φυλάσσονται σήμερα στο Τοπικό Ιστορικό Αρχείο Αιγίου, παράρτημα των Γενικών Αρχείων του Κράτους (Γ.Α.Κ.) και αποτελούν μέρος του αρχείου Γ. Παναγόπουλου.

Historical Memorandum—(March 1835)1

   Following my initiation [into the Friendly Society] in about 1818, I waited impatiently with every passing hour for the outbreak of the war of our liberation. And once a year had passed, the gentry and senior clergy of all the Peloponnese had been initiated also, and they too received their initiation with the utmost joy. And again, after the passage of a certain period of time, the gentry held a council and sent Mr. Ioannis Paparigopoulos to Odesa at their own expense, in order that he might sound out the leadership of the [Friendly] Society; when he returned, he told us that a man would be sent from Odesa for the purpose of guiding us about when we ought to set the war in motion.
   On the 21st of December 1820, I found myself in Tripoli with some gentlemen from Kalavryta – Andreas Zaïmis, Sot. Haralambis, and Sotirios Theoharopoulos – when we learned of the arrival at Ydra and Spetses of Mr. Grigorios Flesias, and I immediately withdrew from Tripoli and came to my own town, in order to see to the necessary preparations to our supply of weapons.
   On the 5th of January 1821, Mr. Flesias came to my house along with Mr. Haralambos Malis, and they stayed for just one night, setting out the next day for Kalavryta, and from there for Patras, whence they returned to Vostitsa, where the gentry and senior clergy of the three above-mentioned Provinces were gathered and decided that all the Peloponnesians should come to an agreement after which they should set the war in motion, once the path had been smoothed. But what came about in that intervening time? A rumour to this effect reached the ears of the Ottomans in the Peloponnese, who issued strongly worded commands summoning the gentry and senior clergy to present themselves at Tripoli, which they all followed, with the exception of the people of Kalavryta and Vostitsa, whom they summoned again for a second time. Those men, who counted among their number me and our archbishop Germanos of Old Patras, set out on the pretext of journeying to Tripoli, together with a Tatar and a dervish; they arrived at Kastria, a village in the district of Kalavryta, where they had a villager friendly to the cause, who supplied them with a forged letter, allegedly sent by a friend of the Turks, which said that, if they wished to preserve their lives, they should not journey to Tripoli. Accordingly, they returned to the Monastery of Agia Lavra, where they received a message from the Deligiannis clan, saying: “I beg you, do not stir from that place, brothers! Our brothers are in Tripoli and are lost.” Once I heard these words, I suspected that they would lose their nerve and we would remain still under the same yoke, so I withdrew from the Monastery immediately, determined to provide the Revolution with a cause and a beginning and, by a stroke of fortune, on the 9th of March of that same year, when I reached my village, three Turks from Tripoli, of the type who are counted ruffians, were passing through, tasked with carrying letters from the kaymakam of Tripoli to Hurshid Pasha; as they passed down the road at Agridio (a village in the district of Kalavryta) on their way to Portes, I, along with the six soldiers under my command, killed them. And so, I was the first in the whole Peloponnese to stain my hands with the blood of our tyrants. And the following day, the 10th of March, another seven Turks were passing, also Tripolitans (from Arfara), and I sent some soldiers and they slaughtered them, and again that same day, sixty Turks under the leadership of two commanders of the Janissaries, arrived at Hrysanthio (Versova); the inhabitants of the surrounding villages gathered and joined forces with some of my own soldiers and slaughtered all of those. And following these events, I wrote to the inhabitants of the district of Katsanes with information concerning what had happened, encouraging them to mobilize also. Now when the Voivode of Kalavryta, Ibrahim Arnautoğlu, learned of this, he retreated to Tripoli, along with those under his command, in order to escape the danger, but since his way was blocked by the men of Katsanes, he returned to Kalavryta, where he locked himself up in three strong fortress houses towers along with the other Turks, who numbered around four hundred locals and foreigners, whom S. Haralambis, S. Theoharopoulos, Ioannis Papadopoulos, Asimakis Fotilas, Vasileios Petmezas, Nikolaos Petmezas, and the undersigned [Soliotis], all men of the Province of Kalavryta, together forced at gunpoint to surrender over the course of five days and nights of fighting, during which I was wounded in my left shin, as were two other of my soldiers. Two of the Turks were actually slaughtered, one by my own men, and the other by the men of Vasileios Petmezas. The number of Greeks fighting was around six hundred and more.
   And after this battle, on the 13th of April of the same year, while making my way to lay siege to Tripoli, I and Sot. Haralambis and Sot. Theoharopoulos reached Levidi, where we encountered Konstantinos and V. Petmezas, along with several men from Tripoli.
In the morning of the 14th of that same month, they informed us that the Turks were advancing upon us from two sides. They were around four thousand in number, and when we saw them, some retreated in fear of the size of the enemy force. But I, and my companions under my command, namely my brother Dimitrios, Anagnostis Striftombolas, Ioannis Petmezas, and Georgios Koulouhairas, maintained our position with just 48 men, captured seven houses, and fought from the first hour of daylight until the eleventh hour, and slaughtered over three hundred of them, not counting those who were wounded. In this battle, the enemies from Tripoli were defeated for the first time. Of my companions, my compatriot of eternal memory, Anagnostis Striftombolas of Mesoroungi, Sotirios Zafeiropoulos of Solos, and two others, were slaughtered. Ioannis Petmezas and three others were also wounded.
   On the 17th day of that very same month of April, we received word that Kehaya bey had reached Patras, and we retreated out of fear that he might invade our Province, and on the 21st we clashed with him at Mavra Litharia, with no small losses on his side. And leaving aside the other significant battles which took place outside of my province, namely the Battles of Derveni, Corinth, Hrepa, Davia, Kounoupia, etc., for which I was present in person, which I shall recount to you whenever you instruct me to do so, I shall begin with a brief synopsis of the dreadful Battle of Akrata.
   Having been informed by the Council that then sat in Tripoli that the Turks in Corinth – Ahmet Pasha, Dramalis, and others – intended to leave their wounded in the fortress at Corinth and themselves make for Patras by way of Akrata, I went down to Akrata with the men in my command, and, following me, came also Asimakis Zaïmis, Sot. Haralambis, Sot. Theoharopoulos, and two days later, on the 8th of January of the year 1823, the Turks reached the plain of Akrata in the late afternoon, and were prevented from passing through Vostitsa as they wished. They turned back in fear and passed the night on the neighboring plain of Akrata. Meanwhile, during that same night, the enemy’s large, powerful army had arrived, and I, considering another position which was dangerous on the flank, and wary that, if the enemy passed thence they might catch my men from behind, ordered some of my officers, namely Angelis Deloukas, Dimitrios Banavas, Papa-Georgios and Giannos Kerpesiotis, along with some soldiers, to take by night the said position, by which the enemy could come through. The other commanders took the higher positions; and in the morning, the Turks, being 5,000 in number, launched a decisive attack altogether as one to pass by that route to make for Patras, but they were repelled by me and more than 200 of them were slaughtered. I was left alone with my brothers Dimitrios and Sotirios and another 55 of my men, because the others, seeing that enormous danger, retreated to higher ground, where the other armies of the said commanders were. And since the Turks could not pass by that route, they turned back to pass by the position held by my soldiers; and, since there too they encountered the same problem, they did not dare to make any further attack against us, because then the other Greeks were also encouraged by the defeat of the enemy and their massed ranks ran up and we encircled them so tightly that once they had eaten their all horses, mules, and other animals, they were reduced to eating each other. Then, when two months had passed, two Ottoman ships came and took about three hundred of them, and those who had been left behind constructed a defence involving a trench. When I saw them in this position, I launched an attack against them with the men under my command and, although I was utterly victorious against them, I sustained a dangerous bullet wound to my right thigh.

1These four handwritten pages of the “Historical Memorandum” (memoirs) of Nikolaos Soliotis are part of the archive of George Panagopoulos (1910-1988), the historical researcher, notary and mayor of Aigion, bequeathed to him by Mary Doukakis, wife of Ioannis Nikitas Soliotis, a lawyer and member of parliament from Aigion (1924-1928) who died in 1949 and was the grandson of the chieftain. A short time thereafter, captain Ioannis Ch. Soliotis (1889-1973) requested from George Panagopoulos in a letter that the document be returned to the family as “it constitutes … an invaluable family heirloom” and is a “national heirloom of historical importance” that he did not wish to part with, and that he lend them in order for copies to be made. The manuscript is currently housed at the Historical Archive of Aigion, a branch of the General Archives of the State.

Translated by Christopher Jotischky