George Jarvis (1797–1828) was the first American

Philhellene Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...

, who took part in the

Greek Revolution The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

Biography

George Jarvis, born in Altona (today a western borough of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

) was the son of Benjamin Jarvis, an American diplomat on assignment in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. While Jarvis was a student in a German university, he was fired by enthusiasm for the

. Jarvis sailed for Greece with

Frank Abney Hastings Frank Abney Hastings ( el, Φραγκίσκος Άστιγξ) (14 February 1794 – 1 June 1828) was a British naval officer and Philhellene. Born to a noble British family, he served in the Royal Navy, seeing action at the Battle of Trafalgar ...

, a Royal Navy officer, arriving on the island of Hydra on April 3. Jarvis serving as an officer in the Greek Navy from 1822 to 1824 with Manolis Tobazis, a captain and shipowner from Hydra.George Jarvis (1797–1828). Excerpt from Portraits of Historic American Philhellenes by Frederiki Pappas
/ref> Jarvis was a true philhellene who endangered his life to come to the aid of Greece and her people. Upon his arrival in Greece in 1822 he put the "

fustanella Fustanella (for spelling in various languages, see chart below) is a traditional pleated skirt-like garment that is also referred to as a kilt worn by men of many nations in the Balkans (Southeast Europe). In modern times, the fustanella is par ...

" (uniform of the Greek fighter), he taught himself to read and write Greek and thereafter Greek fighters call him Captain "George Zervas or Zervos, the American".Apostolos E. Vakalopoulos, Επίλεκτες Βασικές Ιστορικές Πηγές της Ελληνικής Επαναστάσεως, Εκδόσεις Βάνιας, Thessaloniki 1990, vol. II, p. 542 After

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

's arrival in Greece, Jarvis left Hydra for the town of

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...

, in western Central Greece, and served as Lord Byron's adjutant until his death on April 18, 1824. Under guidance of Greek engineer M. Kokkinis he also helped fortify both Missolonghi and the island of

Aitoliko Aitoliko (Greek: Αιτωλικό) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Messolonghi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit ...

. In August 1824 under

Alexandros Mavrokordatos Alexandros Mavrokordatos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Μαυροκορδάτος; 11 February 179118 August 1865) was a Greece, Greek statesman, diplomat, politician and member of the Mavrocordatos family of Phanariotes. Biography In 1812, Mavroko ...

's leadership, he took part in the expedition to the northern Turkish strongholds of Kravassaras (

Amfilochia Amfilochia ( el, Αμφιλοχία) is a town and a municipality in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, on the site of ancient Amfilochia. Under the Ottoman Empire, it was known as Karvasaras (Καρβασαράς; from '' cara ...

) and Makrynoros, in the province of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

. During the invasion of the

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottoman ...

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Ibrahim Pasha ( tr, Kavalalı İbrahim Paşa; ar, إبراهيم باشا ''Ibrāhīm Bāshā''; 1789 – 10 November 1848) was an Ottoman Albanian general in the Egyptian army and the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised ...

, he assumed the expenses for the 45 soldiers sent to Methoni. From 1827 until his death on August 11, 1828, Jarvis along with

Samuel Gridley Howe Samuel Gridley Howe (November 10, 1801 – January 9, 1876) was an American physician, abolitionist, and advocate of education for the blind. He organized and was the first director of the Perkins Institution. In 1824 he had gone to Greece to ...

and

Jonathan Peckham Miller Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media *Jonathan (1970 film), ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer *Jonathan (2016 film), ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by ...

, as members of the philhellenic committee of America, continued to contribute by distributing much needed medication, clothing and food to Greek population who had suffered during this time. George Jarvis died on August 11, 1828, most probably from

tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

. He was buried within the premises of Agios Ioannis church in the city of

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

, with the rank of lieutenant general.Vasilis K. Dorovinis, « Τρεις Φιλέλληνες στην Αργολίδα. Νέα και ανέκδοτα στοιχεία για τους Τζώρτζ Τζάρβις, Πέτρο Μπελλίνο και Μπονιφάτσιο Μποναφίν», pp. 155–160, Ανάτυπον από τα «Ναυπλιακά Ανάλεκτα», Vol. ΙΙΙ (1998), Έκδοση Δήμου Ναυπλιέων

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarvis, George 1797 births 1828 deaths American philhellenes in the Greek War of Independence Americans who served in foreign militaries Burials in Greece American expatriates in Greece People from Altona, Hamburg Deaths from typhus