Following in his father's footsteps, Dimitrios Papatsonis also became governor of Emplakia and, together with his brothers, was initiated into the Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends). Dimitrios Papatsonis participated in the Greek Revolution, as the leader of a group of over a thousand Messinian fighters, including notable chiefs such as Mitros Petrovas and Panagiotis Kefalas. Dimitrios Papatsonis played a prominent role in the liberation of Kalamata on March 23, 1821. He then fought alongside Theodoros Kolokotronis, Nikitas Stamatelopoulos (Nikitaras), and Dimitris Plapoutas during the siege of Tripolitsa and the Battle of Valtetsi. After the fall of Tripolitsa, he became a senator of the Peloponnesian Senate. When Mahmut Dramali Pasha invaded the Peloponnese, Dimitrios Papatsonis fought in Argolis, in the Battle of Dervenakia, gaining praise for his heroism. In 1824, Dimitrios was imprisoned along with Kolokotronis and other leaders of the Revolution in Hydra. He died in June 1825, aged 27, at the Battle of Trikorfo, after a long battle with the forces of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt.