An archive of primary source material relating to Joachim Murat, Marshal of France and King of Naples
I've posted quite a few letters from Murat to his daughter Letitia here (see the letters list at the bottom of the Archive page); however, very letters still exist from Caroline Murat to any of her children (or at least, very few of them have been published anywhere). Below is one of Caroline's letters to …
Continue reading “The Emperor is excessively occupied with his future”
This second installment of Napoleon's letters (via the Fondation Napoléon) to Murat spans from 3 November - 15 December 1808. There is a noticeable change in tone in these letters from those of the first few months of Murat's reign, with the Emperor beginning to unleash a torrent of criticisms against Murat about matters great …
As many Napoleonic history buffs are already aware, the Fondation Napoléon has recently published the the entirety of Napoleon's correspondence online (here). This will be the first part of a series of translations of the Emperor's letters to Murat. Rather than going from earliest to latest, I'm starting with the letters from the beginning of …
Continue reading “Distinguish yourself and make yourself loved”
Mademoiselle Avrillion, who served as a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Josephine, published her memoirs with the intention of “recounting with simplicity and in good faith what I have seen and heard during the more than twelve years I spent in the service of an excellent woman, who, in fatal circumstances, also had her own kind …
Continue reading “Deep down, the emperor did not like Prince Murat…”
General Auguste-François-Marie Colbert de Chabanais met Murat in 1797, and served as his aide-de-camp in Italy and Egypt, where he was badly wounded; he returned to serve under Murat once more just before the battle of Marengo. In 1803, Murat attended his wedding. Colbert was a promising young officer rising quickly through the ranks; like …
Continue reading “His courage… always grew with his position”
Returning to the memoirs of General Belliard, Murat's close friend and chief of staff, we have a letter from Caroline Murat to Belliard, written on 20 October 1812, two days after her husband's defeat at the Battle of Tarutino. Caroline expresses her hope that the army will arrive in Moscow soon; Napoleon had just begun …
Returning to the memoirs of General Griois with a scene from the Russian retreat. Arriving back at the ruined city of Smolensk on 13 November, Griois, after procuring some shelter and food, seeks out Murat to report on the loss of his artillery. He finds him with his wounded chief of staff, Belliard, and is …
Continue reading “A king… appearing as a friend caring for another friend”
I've added an Affiliates page to the top menu, featuring links to a some Napoleonic pages run by a couple of Napoleonic historians with whom I've had the privilege of becoming friends. Please check out their work if you haven't already!
Another excerpt from Dedem de Gelder, backtracking to the 1812 campaign. After Napoleon's abandonment of the Grande Armée (the command of which he had left to Murat), the political ramifications of the disastrous campaign are already being felt; the Prince of Schwarzenberg confirms to Dedem that Austria, Napoleon's reluctant ally since his marriage to Marie-Louise, …
Going back to the memoirs of General Dedem de Gelder this week. In this excerpt, Dedem discusses Murat's defection from Napoleon in 1814. It is a surprisingly sympathetic take from a man who is far from being an admirer of Murat, and who is deeply critical of his conduct at other points in his memoirs. …
Continue reading “The allies… paid him the blackest ingratitude”
Project Murat 