Frank Abney Hastings
Frank Abney Hastings ( Greek Φρανκ Χέιστινγκς Contemporary also Φραγκίσκος Άστιγγας or Άστιγξ *, 14. February 1794 in Willesley Hall in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, † 1. June 1828 in Zakynthos ) was a British naval officer who as Philhellene the hero of Greek Revolution was.
Early military career
Hastings came from a family of naval officers: following family tradition, he entered the service of the Navy at the age of eleven and took part in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 on board the HMS Neptune . As a result, he went through a successful military career until he left in 1820 after a dispute with a superior.
He first went to France for a year and embarked from Marseille for Greece in March 1822 to support the liberation struggle .
Participation in the Greek War of Liberation
Hastings reached Hydra in April 1822 and participated in numerous fights on land and sea.
Modernizer of the Greek fleet
Hastings realized that the light Greek naval units were inferior to the Ottoman fleet. In a memorandum that he wrote for Lord Byron in 1823 and submitted to the Greek Provisional Government in 1824, he developed new strategic and tactical ideas. Essentially important for the course of the Greek uprising memorandum included a proposal steamships employed instead of sailing ships and instead of using fireships direct fire of the Turkish fleet by artillery shells preferable.
Since the Greek government was only able to partially implement its plans, which meant the purchase of steamers and the introduction of armor, Hastings used a considerable amount of its own fortune to realize them. He went to England in 1824 to buy a steamship and in 1825 had equipped the Karteria ( "endurance" ), a small paddle steamer . This first Greek steam-powered warship was manned by English, Swedes and Greeks and equipped with grenade launchers.
Successful sea battles
Under Hastings' command as the captain of the Karteria , the effectiveness of the shell fire was immediately evident when he attacked the sea supply lines for the Turkish army, which was besieging Athens , at Oropos .
When the fighting shifted to the west after the defeat at Athens, Hastings successfully fought battles to recapture the Peloponnese. On September 29, 1827, he destroyed some ships of the Turkish fleet in the Bay of Salona in the Gulf of Corinth near Itea . This provoked the aggressive action of the Turkish commander-in-chief Ibrahim Pascha , which led to the destruction of the Ottoman fleet in the battle of Navarino by the great powers on October 20, 1827 .
Hastings was seriously wounded in fighting at Etoliko , a small island at the entrance to the Messolongi lagoon , in May 1828. He died of his injuries a few days later in the port of Zakynthos.
Commemoration
Hastings was buried on Poros in a memorial built for him, his heart in the Anglican Church in Athens. A memorial commemorates him in Messolongi. In Athens, Patras and Piraeus streets are named after him.
Web links
- Website Hastings (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The memorial is now located on the grounds of the Poros Naval School.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hastings, Frank Abney |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British naval officer fighting for Greece's independence |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 14, 1794 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Willesley Hall at Ashby-de-la-Zouchi |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 1, 1828 |
| Place of death | Zakynthos |