Towards the end of February, we received the news, that Ibrahim Pasha had arrived, on the 13th, with a portion of his fleet before Modon, and landed with two regiments.
The entire fleet consisted of eight frigates, twelve corvettes, thirty-six brigs, and numerous transport-ships; it had on board four disciplined regiments, each consisting of four thousand men, two thousand cavalry, one thousand artillerymen. On its way to Modon it was to stop at Candia, in order to take the five thousand Albanian irregulars and eight hundred cavalry under Hussein Bey.
On the 17th of July, 1824, the fleet, composed of upwards of two hundred
and twenty sail, left Alexandria; and, in conformity with the orders of the admiral,
Ismael Gibelattar, steered towards Rhodes, where
there was an indispensable necessity of touching; in order to renew the supply of water, of
which, owing to the number of men, horses, and mules, on board, caused an immense
consumption to be made. Assisted by fair winds, they soon arrived in the bay of Marmarizza;
where Ibrahim convoked a general counsel, or divan,
in order to deliberate on the best plan for opening and pursuing the campaign. The
chiaia, and chief officers of his court, Ismael and the principal
naval officers, Courshid Bey, Selim
Bey,
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When Ismael Gibelattar’s turn
arrived to speak, he requested Ibrahim to allow him,
in consideration of the friendship his father bore to him, and of his grey beard, to
address him freely. Having obtained permission, he entreated him to observe, that since
union among leaders is the soul of success, he much feared, the present enterprise would
entirely miscarry, unless an open and sincere reconciliation took place between him and the
capitan pasha. As they
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Ibrahim, who had no personal resentment against the capitan pasha, readily consented to these propositions; observing, that he would ever act with sincerity himself; but he greatly feared, that Topal Pasha’s hatred to his father was so deeply rooted and irreconcilable, that he extended it, also, to his son; and that, though he might for awhile assume the mask of friendship, he might do it only the more certainly to gratify his revenge. Indeed the injuries, received by him from Mehmet Ali, were not of a nature to be soon forgotten. For the loss of a pashalik like Egypt had produced such an indelible impression, that it could not but hourly return to his mind, governed, as it was, by avarice, ambition, and “high disdain from sense of injured merit.”
Topal Pasha was an adept at dissimulation. He,
therefore, laid aside all those laws of etiquette, to which Mussulmen attach even more
importance than European grandees; he came in person on board Ibrahim’s ship; and exhibiting all the joy and delight, experienced
by a father on meeting, after a
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His manner and fair words succeeded in imposing on Ibrahim so well, as completely to destroy the suspicions, he had entertained; and, in compliance with his desire, he consented, en passant, to assist him in taking Samos. This undertaking, he said, would be now but the affair of a few hours; obeyed as he should be by disciplined troops, and assisted at the same time by the talents of so consummate a general.
Ibrahim accepted the proposal the more willingly, as, aware of the disgraceful failure of Topal Pasha, a few weeks before, in his attempt against that island, his inordinate confidence and vanity, united to the utmost contempt for the enemy, induced him to think it would be an easy manner of proving the superiority of the Egyptian over the Constantinopolitan fleet and troops. The dauntless courage of the Greek sailors, however, their immense superiority in naval tactics, the losses their fire-ships had occasioned him, and the panic, which the effect of the whole had spread among his crews, and the excellent dispositions, taken by the Samiots to oppose an enemy’s landing, were sufficiently known to Topal Pasha; and these made him prognosticate, that the fate of Ibrahim would be equally unsuccessful as his own.
Three days after the reunion of the two fleets, while they were anchored
off Cos (Stanchis) occupying a line, extending between Cape Pitezi and Halicarnassus, a
detachment of the Greek fleet, composed of twenty sail and six fire-ships, under the orders
of the Hydriot Vice-admiral Stactouri, and the Spezziot
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A terrible engagement took place; and reflecting on the perilous position, in which the Greeks had so courageously placed themselves, exposed not only to the artillery of the Turkish men-of-war, but also to that of the fortresses; it seemed, that they were infallibly lost; especially as nothing was more practicable for the Egyptian ships, which had set sail, to shut them up in this strait. Their address, however, extricated them out of this danger; and in order to give the reader some idea of the almost incredible want of skill of Turkish artillery-men, it may be proper to add, that although they fired upwards of five hours almost incessantly on the Greeks, they succeeded only in destroying one Hydriot fire-ship, and wounding six men.
Four days after this, Ibrahim
Pasha, who, during the action, happened to be on shore, perceiving the same
Greek vessels, ordered his fleet to give them the chase. Having the wind against them, the
Greek vessels were obliged to fly before the Egyptians, who began immediately to
congratulate themselves on their triumphs; but the next morning, the wind having changed,
they saw the Greeks preparing to attack them again; and although they fought more bravely
by far than the Turkish fleet, yet they could not prevent the destruction of a brig and
Tunisian
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As soon as Stactouri was informed of the junction of the two fleets, which amounted to upwards of seventy-five sail, he hastened to communicate the news to Miaouli, the Hydriot admiral, who was then cruizing with his division off Souda, in expectation of the Egyptian fleet. This brave, indefatigable sailor came immediately, in all haste, to the assistance of his brethren. Their fleet was then composed of seventy-five ships, and ten brulôts. They congratulated themselves mutually on the blindness of their enemy, who, of his own accord, came to entangle his fleets and transports, in a sea where the navigation was so intricate, and so favourable to the employment of the only arm, the weakness of their small merchant brigs permitted them to use,—their fire-ships. Providence seemed to have delivered into their hands the enemy of Greece and Christendom. They mutually exhorted each other to behave with intrepidity; and to do their duty to their country, whose fate depended on their success.
Experience had taught them, that the Egyptian was not more formidable than
the Turkish fleet; they trusted, therefore, they would render the efforts of the former
against Samos, as fruitless as those of the latter had been. In conformity with their
determinations, when a few days after Ibrahim
prepared to effect a landing on that island, and had selected for that purpose his two best
regiments, those of Courshid and Selim
Bey; so many Greek vessels were seen advancing, that, at last, convinced of
the rashness of undertaking any thing before the destruction of the Greek fleet had been
effected, he hastily ordered his troops to re-embark; and, consulting his safety, sought
the open seas. Pursued while in the waters
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It was not before the 9th of November, that Ibrahim departed from the port; but, before his arrival at Souda in Candia, several of the transports, having soldiers, horses, ammunitions of war, &c. fell into the power of the Greeks; who closely followed him during his voyage. They more than once attempted making use of their fire-ships; but were not, at this time, so fortunate as on other occasions. When in sight of Candia, a violent tempest arose, which so much dispersed his fleet that several ships were thrown on the coast of Egypt and obliged to return to Alexandria in order to repair the damage they had suffered. Others were wrecked; and the greater part were tossed, during several weeks, at sea, before they could reach Souda.
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