Kitsos Tzavellas was the son of Fotos and served as one of the leaders of the Greek forces during the siege of Missolonghi (1825-1826). In April 1826, with all food supplies exhausted and no relief in sight, the desperate defenders decided to attempt a sortie through the besieging Ottoman army. Kitsos commanded a column consisting of women and children, as well as some soldiers. He was recently married, so he dressed his wife as a man and gave their newborn son Dimitrios to a soldier. The sortie was betrayed and a fierce battle ensued, as the Greeks tried to open a path to safety. Kitsos killed an Ottoman officer and his wife got on the dead man’s horse, using the animal’s body to protect her husband from enemy bullets.