During the War of Independence (1821-1829) the Greeks failed to capture the castle of Nafpaktos. Its strong fortifications proved too much for the disparate rebel forces that lacked both the discipline and the firepower to breach the walls. Only after the Ottomans accepted the futility of trying to suppress the revolution did they agree to surrender the castle, on April 18, 1829. This polygonal artillery bastion, with the alternating bands of red bricks and squared blocks reminiscent of Byzantine architecture, was a solid gun platform with a 180 degree field of fire to the south. Local legend claims that an Ottoman commander called Tsaous committed suicide here rather than surrender the castle to the Greeks.