A new window on the Greek Revolution

It was March 21, 1827, and Greek independence fighter Ioannis (the Brave) Kolokotronis was at the Attica base writing to British Admiral Thomas Cochrane, who had recently taken command of the Greek fleet by decision of the Third National Assembly at Troezen, to thank him for his advice and offer assurances that he would follow that advice in the operation for the liberation of Athens under the campaign plan of general commander Georgios Karaiskakis.

Kolokotronis noted that "all Greeks," as well as "all friends of humanity," owed Cochrane a debt of gratitude for his timely contribution to the struggle against Ottoman rule. He ended the highly complimentary missive by apologizing for his delay in writing, explaining that he had been busy with the Athens campaign.

"The manner of his address, the things he wrote, are quite fascinating," says Dr Konstantinos Thanasakis,...