US Ambassador Unveils New Street Name on Hydra
US Ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt unveils a Hydra street sign during a naming ceremony today in honour of American Philhellenes William Washington and George Jarvis.
Today, Hydra hosted the US Ambassador to Greece Mr Geoffrey Pyatt and his wife Mary. The Ambassador was met at mid-day by the Mayor and members of the municipal council.
The Ambassador was invited to the island to unveil a street name and later this evening to take part in a lecture as part of the 200 Year Greek Independence celebrations.
The street name unveiling took place on the east side of the harbour. Music was provided by the U.S. Army Europe & Africa Band.
The ceremony was opened by President of the Municipal Council, Anastasia Mavromati. Then Mayor Koukoudakis and the Ambassador walked up a couple of steps at the bottom of the street, to unveil the new street name. And the short ceremony was concluded by the Ambassador’s reply.
During her address, Anastasia incorporated the words of George Koukoudakis when he made his proposal during a municipal meeting in September, 2020. It’s an interesting piece of history and I really appreciate Anastasia forwarding it to me so I could include it in my blog. (See below).
The Ambassador was clearly happy to be on Hydra and made a gracious reply of thanks. My thanks to the US Embassy’s website for posting his reply so promptly so I could include it here too. (See below).
Before the arrival of the Ambassador, I had a chance to speak to some of the band. I asked if they travelled with the Ambassador, but apparently not always. They travel all over Europe representing the US at all sorts of functions. After the ceremony they moved along the harbour to find some much needed shade and continued to play for audiences at the cafes. I look forward to hearing them play again this evening. The photographer who was with them will be posting video and photos on their Facebook page, click here.
Opening Address:
The On September 11, 2020, the Mayor of Hydra, Mr George Koukoudakis proposed that the street from the front of the ground floor of the School of Fine Arts and ends at the port of Hydra should be named after William Washington and George Jarvis.
Mr Koukoudakis justification for his proposal was read today by the President of the Municipal Council, Anastasia Mavromatis during the unveiling of the new street name by Ambassador Pyatt. Mr Koukoudakis was quoted as saying:
“Studying the history of the island, the confirmed presence and the contribution of Americans William Washington and George Jarvis not only to the revolutionary action of the Hydriots but also all Greeks, creates the moral obligation to give them the recognition they deserve.
William Washington, a graduate of West Point, arrived on Hydra during the Revolution and, among other things, enjoyed the appreciation of Lazaros Kountouriotis, in whose house he was hosted for a long time. Following a relevant suggestion by Lazaros Kountouriotis to the Revolutionary Government, among other things, Washington was assigned a mission to recruit Irish mercenaries.
William Washington is said to have been the nephew of the first US President George Washington. In his personal diary, which was saved, he describes Hydra with special praiseworthy comments and especially Lazaros Koundouriotis. In fact, according to the suggestion of the director of the Historical Archive and Museum of Hydra, Mrs. Dina Adamopoulou, at a conference on American Philhellenism, William Washington is buried in Hydra in the parish church of the Assumption of Christ.
The second American Philhellene to fight with the Hydriots is George Jarvis. According to the records of the Emmanuel Voulgaris family found in Ermioni in 1982, Jarvis, a medical student in Germany, arrived on Hydra on April 3, 1822 and boarded a ship in the Hydra fleet. He even took part in a series of naval battles. At the same time, through a series of letters he sent to his father, the US consul in Germany, he spoke warmly and enthusiastically about the Greek Revolution. As a result, his father sent similar letters to the American Government and provoked the organisation of fundraisers in favour of the Greek revolutionaries.
As a minimum tribute I suggest the street that enters in front of the ground floor of the School of Fine Arts and ends at the port of Hydra to be named after William Washington and George Jarvis.
This action of our Municipality in combination with the events that we plan in cooperation with the American Embassy in Athens to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Greek Revolution, I believe will significantly contribute to the revival of the of the historical relations of Hydra with the USA.
The Ambassador’s Reply:
"Thank you for welcoming us all today, but also for honouring our Philhellenes in this way.
I want to start in particular by thanking the Municipal Council and the Council President for the Resolution which was passed.
I was on Hydra with my wife Mary about a year ago and the Mayor gave us a grand tour of the island and all of the history of the Greek War of Independence that was written on this small rock, and the enormous sacrifices of the community of Hydra for the cause of independence. I was able to learn not only about the pivotal role that Hydra played, but also the real heroic support which was provided by young Americans who rallied to the cause of the Greek War of Independence.
So on this very special day for Hydra, but also for the United States, just a few days before our Fourth of July Independence holiday, I can’t think of any place better to be to celebrate the Greek bicentennial and the two hundred years of ties between our two countries.
I’m especially happy that I am able to share this occasion with a lot of colleagues from the American Embassy who came out for the day, and not just family members and employees, but parents, Geoff and Tracy Keogh, Geoff’s parents are here as well. And we are so proud to be able to share this occasion with all of you.
I also want to say a very special thanks to the members of the U.S. Army Europe & Africa Band who have honoured us by coming out here today, again demonstrating the strength of the ties between our two countries and our two armed forces.
I’ll have more to say about this, this evening at the seminar, but I would just like to underline something that President Biden emphasised on the occasion of Greek Independence Day, which is the centrality of the democratic values that our two societies share in common. There are many countries that contributed to the Greek Independence cause, many other great powers, but the United States was unique because our support for the Greek Revolution was founded not in great power politics, but in our shared democratic values.
So we had, as the Resolution of the Council describes, two American philhellenes William Washington and George Jarvis who came here to this island, who died in Greece in the cause of freedom. And I think it’s enormously significant that we are now able to commemorate this on the street.
I was talking to another American citizen, an American expat who lives here on Hydra, and she was asking what’s the story, why the street has been renamed. I am very hopeful that many other people will come here, will walk down this street and they will learn the story of the American philhellenes, which is not well-known either in Greece or in the United States.
Two hundred years after William Washington and George Jarvis laid down their lives in the cause of Greek Independence, the ties between our countries are stronger than they’ve ever been.
I know that President Biden is deeply committed to further deepening that relationship and I am very proud that this small but historically important island plays a part in that story.
So Mr. Mayor, thank you very much and thank you for honouring all of us."
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