Spyromilios Spyromilios ( ; 1800 – 1880 ) or Spyros Milios ( Σπύρος Μήλιος ) , was a Greek revolutionary , general and politician . Early life . He was born in Himara , Northern Epirus , in modern southern Albania , then part of the Ottoman Empire . In 1810 he went to Naples in Italy , where he remained until 1819 , studying military theory and learning Latin and French . In 1819 , he returned to his homeland to prepare a geographic survey for his school , but was arrested by Ali Pasha , the ruler of Ioannina , who employed him at his court as a military adviser . Greek War of Independence . In August 1824 , after Ali ’ s death , together with his brothers Nikolaos and Zachos Milios , Spyromilios , he travelled south and joined the ongoing Greek War of Independence . In August 1825 he was fighting in the Third Siege of Missolonghi , at the head of a group of 250 armed Himariotes . Named General in September , he was sent as a member of a commission to Nafplion in January 1826 , to ask the government for more effective aid to the besieged city . Little was achieved , and although Spyromilios tried to arrange for a British ship to evacuate the garrison , it was too late . Spyromilios was thus forced to remain a spectator of the garrison ' s disastrous attempt to sally and break through the Ottoman lines , during which his brother Nikolaos was killed . Afterwards , together with his brother Zachos , he took part in military operations in Central Greece under Georgios Karaiskakis . Under Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias ( 1828 – 1829 ) , Spyromilios was placed captain of the personal guard of Dimitrios Ypsilantis . After Independence . After the end of the War of Independence , Spyromilios settled in Thebes , but as a known supporter of Kapodistrias , he was imprisoned for 9 months in the Palamidi fortress ( September 1833 - June 1834 ) . Released and reinstated to the army , he became director of the Evelpidon Military Academy in 1840 - 1844 . The first Greek to hold that post , he also wrote the Academy ' s first book of regulations . From this position he participated in the 3 September 1843 Revolution that led to the granting of the first Constitution of Greece . This led him to be considered as an enemy of King Otto , but he soon regained the King ' s trust . He was appointed General Secretary of the Ministry of Military Affairs in 1848 and adjutant to the King , and in 1850 he was appointed Minister of Military Affairs , a post he kept until 1853 . Following the outbreak of the Crimean War , he supported Greek revolts in the Ottoman Empire , despite the neutrality forced upon Greece by Britain and France . His involvement in a revolt in Epirus ( 1854 ) led to his dismissal from his offices and his suspension from the Army . Retired from the Army , he returned to politics from 1859 , and served as Minister of Military Affairs in the several cabinets : In 1864 - 1865 , he was a member of the short - lived Council of State , while in 1872 , he was elected speaker of the Greek Parliament . In his memoirs ( published in 1926 ) , he gives detailed account of his life . They are an important contemporary document , especially regarding the Siege of Missolonghi .