IV. The “Greek Question” As An Issue of U.S. Foreign Policy
C3. Estwick Evans, Extracts from “Views of Greece"
New-Hampshire Gazette, April 25, 1826 (1)
.... Most of the accounts from that country are fabrications, or egregious misstatements. Having been upon the ground I know them to be so, and shall, in the course of my remarks notice some striking discrepancies. Besides the system of deception acted upon by the Greeks themselves, persons from this country have misstated some things and managed with respect to others in order to favor themselves or their friends there, in order to acquire fame without deserving it, and to draw funds from the American people of which they did not stand in need, and which they knew would be useless, as it respected rendering any service to the Greeks, I state facts and do not fear contradiction; particulars shall be noticed in due time.
It may be said, how did the writer acquire all the information he intends to give us. He remained but a few months either in Greece, or in the vicinity of that country. My answer is, that I adopted a systematic plan in relation to this subject, and spared no pains to make myself acquainted with every thing concerning it....
June 6, 1826 (VI)
... With what people then do the Greeks compare --in form and feature, -in air and gait, and generally in complexion, -in modes of dress, -in fondness for ornament, -in the manner of wearing the hair -in disposition, -in intellect, -in elocution, - in modes of warfare, -in all their virtues and vices, -and in every other particular which can be mentioned: I answer, the North-American Indian. Both of these races of men did , in my opinion, proceed from a common stock. Besides a hundred reasons that I could give for this opinion, I am influenced by a powerful consiousness [sic] of the truth of this idea, which was impressed upon my mind whilst in Greece by a great many circumstances, the force of which I could feel, but cannot fully express. Those who may think there is nothing in this idea should be reminded, that the Apollo Belvidere at Rome is a very striking likeness of the North American Indian. This fact, although not exactly in point, goes to support the general principle upon which the position is grounded.
Whilst Cecrops was establishing himself at Athens, some ancestor of Powhatan might have been making a settlement upon the shores of Virginia ...
June 27, 1826 (VIII)
... Upon entering the seat of Government I soon perceived the injurious effects of the loans and donations which had been sent to Greece. Although the Greek soldiery are high minded, and will, in the course of time, be prepared for liberty and free institutions, the great mass of them have, at present, but little idea of national pride, of patriotism, or in any particular form of government. In actually contending with the enemy their first object is mere personal security, and beyond this their whole heart is set upon gain. For this they looked, in the early stages of the revolution, to the plunder of the Turks. This gave them a great impetus, and was one principle cause of their success. Although the people of other nations might have assisted and might still assist them in certain ways which I shall soon mention, yet the interference of strangers, as far as related to pecuniary aid, has been very pernicious. The Greek captains and soldiers once sought for wealth in the enemy's camp, and whilst they pursued their own private interest, advanced the freedom of their country;-now they endanger that freedom and jeopardize that country by resorting to the government alone for the supply of their pecuniary wants ...
The Greeks have been corrupted by loans and donations. The captains draw upon the Government for pay due to themselves and their followers, usually rating their followers at three or four times the number which they really have; and even then, the soldier, who is actually following his leader, sometimes receives but one month's pay out of two or three; ...All loans and donations for assisting the Greeks should have been appropriated through certain agents for the purpose of raising and maintaining a well disciplined military force. With such a force the enemy could always have been resisted, and with the example of such a force the Greeks themselves would, in time, have become disci-plined. The Greeks might also have been assisted by a few large ships, which are absolutely necessary for them and of which they are entirely destitute. The campaign of 1825 of which I shall in some future number give an account, inasmuch as it illustrates several important particulars in the present condition of the Greeks, shows how essential a well regulated military force and a more efficient navy are to the success of the Greek cause ...
July 11, 1826 (IX)
... Upon my arrival in Greece I found nothing deserving the name of army-The troops, if troops they might be called, came and went when and where they pleased. They would follow a leader to-day and leave him to-morrow. The captions would destroy their soldiers, or their soldiers their captains in the most open manner, and always with impunity. The Greeks have never employed the bayonet, and were totally unacquainted even with the idea of the first principles of military organization. Their mode of fighting was precisely that of the North-American Indian. They would not stand in a body in the open field, but every man must be permitted to choose his own ground. They must not be circumscribed, they must not be confined, they must make their own calculations, and always have a way open for a retreat in case they should find one necessary, and above all, they must have a hill, or a rock, or a tree in order to shelter themselves from the fire of the enemy..... In about all the rencounters between the Greeks and Turks the parties have fought at a great distance from each other; and, generally, after a vast deal of noise and smoke both parties have retired with a very trifling loss— The result, however, has, in almost every case, been in favor of the Greeks, because the Turks are themselves not only destitute of discipline, but are far less vigorous and active than the Greeks. They have also far less native courage. The Greeks, however, it must not be denied, had much rather, Indian like, find the enemy asleep, and destroy them at once than to meet them wide awake in the field. The Greeks, if hemmed in, will fight to desperation; but they are not very fond of fighting, and they consider it rather disgraceful than otherwise to fall in battle; they suppose it a proof of a want of ingenuity. To destroy the enemy and remain unhurt themselves is considered by them the height of courage. This fact remains one of the ancient Spartans who attached the idea of crime to theft, if the individual were detected, but if after sometime had elapsed, he informed of it himself, he was praised for his cunning. The Greeks generally pride themselves in their management, and are by no means ashamed of their duplicity. This is a native characteristic of theirs, but the inherent purity and greatness of their souls enable them sometimes to correct this vice, and to become, what men ever should be, perfectly sincere in all their words and actions.
August 1, 1826 (XII)
... I have advanced these principles and ideas in order to show, that the nature of things, the course of events, and the spirit of the age are all in favor of the position that the Greeks will regain their liberties. But there is another circumstance which still further strengthens their cause. No people ever inherited from nature a more free and untamable spirit than the Greeks. They are high-minded, proud, and republican. That they are a degenerate people is altogether a groundless assertion; that they are not equal to their ancestors in the days of Agamemnon, or Lycurgus, or Pericles would be saying too much. It is true that Greece was conquered; but it was by an eruption-an inundation of barbarians. The food brook down her walls and spread over her vallies [sic]; but the spirit of the Greeks was never subdued. Thousands of them retired to the fastnesses of their mountains, and from sire to son, and from generation to generation they have warred with their invaders, and at length, have kindled a flame, which, although at this moment exhibiting a half-smothered light, will, in time consume the whole Ottoman power. Yes, this spirit dwells among their mountains, and will never submit to foreign or domestic tyranny ...
Notwithstanding all the difficulties with which the Greeks have to contend they will not, nay cannot be conquered. Their genius is decisive and peculiar. They cannot be merged in any other people. They are all that they once were in originality and force of character, and the great mass of the people are far more enlightened than in ancient times. Then they were surrounded by barbarous nations, but now and for many ages past, by civilized and polished communities ...
August 22, 1826 (XV)
... The Greeks are all christians and all republicans. These circumstances render their cause doubly interesting to the people of the United States;-these circumstances render their cause doubly important to the world. Until religion and liberty go hand in hand neither the honor nor the happiness of man can be secure. Corrupt religion produces corrupt government, and corrupt government produces corrupt religion ... The position of the United States in relation to this subject involves great moral grandeur and high responsibility. She is a light set upon a hill,-a chart for infant republics to sail by. To the world she should always be able to present herself as a pattern of public virtue and of private worth ...
September 5, 1826 (XVII)
... With all the Americans in Greece I am more or less, personally acquainted. They are How[e], Jarvis, Washington, Miller, and Allen.
How[e) is a Bostonian. I should think him twenty-five years of age or more. he is of small stature, but of middling height, and if I mistake not, possesses talents and resolution- He is very usefully employed in Greece, and I presume will meet with much success. I have never known him to pretend to have gone to that country from disinterested motives. I believe his principal objects were to improve his health by living in a warmer climate than that of New England in winter, and to increase his knowledge of Surgery by an extensive practice.
Jarvis, I understand, was born in the United States, but, at any rate, has from early life, resided in Germany. He is of common stature, or a little below the usual height, and his age, I presume, upwards of thirty. Howe's description of him in one of his letters, is altogether fanciful The personal appearance of Jarvis is rather ordinary, and his mode of dress, etc. extremely so. He is a man of much native shrewdness and his habit truly a Greek-He has been in Greece about five years, and has, I believe, displayed courage. He is very attentive and useful to Americans who arrive in that country.
Washington is, I learn, twenty-two years of age, but has the appearance of being thirty. He is a Virginian; –a tall and elegant man, and possesses great and brilliant talents. It is not necessary that I should speak of him any further.
Miller it is said, is from Vermont. His is about thirty-five or forty years of age, rather below the common stature, and of ordinary personal appearance. He has native talents, but they have not been extensively improved, nor well regulated. He possesses enthuseasm in that refinement, and a fondness for applause which arises from an erroneous estimate of himself. I from supposing that he does not possess courage: and were he still in military life, should expect him to display some degree of it. In Greece, however, he has exhibited nothing of the kind, worth mentioning.
Allen is from New York, and was formerly a midshipman in our Navy. His age is, perhaps twenty-seven or eight and he a tolerable good looking man. He sailed on several cruises with Miaulis and other Greek commanders, and they became attached to him. With respect to this young man I believe the trump of fame has never been sounded in the United States. But let every one have his due. Allen fought manfully-fought valiantly in several engagements with the Turkish fleet off Missolonghi, and was two or three times severely wounded. The first men in Greece mention him with much applause ...
... If any one asks why I have written so much, I reply, because the subject possesses great importance to the people of the United States ...
(Hatzidimitriou 276-280)
Source: Constantine G. Hatzidimitriou, Founded on Freedom and Virtue: Documents Illustrating the Impact in the United States of the Greek War of Independence, 1821-1829 (New Rochelle, New York: Aristide D. Caratzas, 2002).