The New International Encyclopædia/Missolonghi

MISSOLONGHI, mĭs′sō̇-lŏṉ′gē̇ or Mesolonghi. One of the principal towns of Western Greece, the capital of the Nomarchy of Acarnania and Ætolia (Map: Greece, C 3). It is situated on the north shore of the Gulf of Patras, in a low, marshy, and unhealthful locality. The harbor is shallow and inaccessible for large vessels. The town is the seat of an archbishop and of a high school. It has a statue of Lord Byron, who died here in 1824, and a mausoleum which contains the heart of the poet-hero. Population, in 1896, 8394. The town is famous as the chief western stronghold of the Greek patriots during the war of liberation (1822-26). It withstood two prolonged sieges by the Turks until April, 1826, when the survivors of the garrison destroyed the town and cut their way through the Turkish lines. In May, 1829, the town was evacuated by the Turks and restored to Greece.