In the spring of 1828, the first Governor of the then small free Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias, decided, a few months after his arrival and while the country lay in ruins and was still at war, despite the serious problems, both internal and external, to found a “Military Establishment” in Nafplio, whose mission would be to provide “…military and scientific training to young men from good families, who would one day be commissioned as Officers in the Regular Corps…”.

In early June 1828, he assigned the establishment, organisation, and operation of such a Military School to the then General Director of the Regular Corps, the Bavarian Philhellene Colonel Karl Wilhelm von Heideck, while soon thereafter, on 15 June 1828, he assigned as Commandant and instructor of the school the Corsican (of French nationality) Romylo de Santelli, former Lieutenant of the British Army, who had arrived in Greece soon after Ioannis Kapodistrias.

It was the second time that Ioannis Kapodistrias decided to found a similar Military Foundation. The first time was between 1803-1808, when, as Minister of the newly founded Septinsular Republic, he undertook actions for the creation of a Military Academy, where later Nikolaos Mavrommatis and the Cephalonian Count Loverdo, later Lieutenant General of the French Army, taught. The title of this Military Foundation was “Instructor Company”, as the early form of the later School of the Evelpides in Naflpio (currently War Museum – Nafplio Chapter).

On 1 July 1828, with Santelli as the sole instructor and the first five students, who doubled a few days later, Kapodistrias named them “Evelpides”, a title that still stands today.

With the trial implementation of a Draft Resolution “On the Regulation of the Regular Troops”, which named the Foundation the “Company of the Evelpides”, which was ratified by the Governor on 21 December 1828, and with two additional teachers – a Greek civilian and a Bavarian Lieutenant – and an increasing number of students, the Academy continued its operation, despite difficulties and problems.

By December of the same year, the School had admitted 54 Evelpides, with 41 studying regularly. According to article 46 of the aforementioned resolution, they were considered officers, despite receiving the pay and rations of an Artillery Staff Sergeant.

#ΕλληνικόςΣτρατός, #HellenicArmy