The second part of General Belliard’s account of the events following his arrival in Naples in April 1815. Following Murat’s failed campaign against Austria, both the Austrians and English refuse to have any further dealings with him, and will negotiate terms only with his wife, Queen Caroline. Murat’s reign comes to an abrupt end; he …
Author: Sarah
History lover. Highly caffeinated. Introverted. Devoted to researching/writing about Murat, and translating his letters; someday I would like to publish at least one book about him. Slightly obsessed.
“So you have come to die with me?”
General Augustin Daniel Belliard, Murat’s close friend and former chief of staff, recounts being sent by Napoleon to Naples to aid King Joachim as he finds himself now at war with his recent ally, Austria. (Part 1 of 2) Source: Mémoires du Comte Belliard, Vol I, 1842; pages 231-235. *** Named, by the Emperor, extraordinary …
“Everything captures the imagination”
Two letters from Caroline Murat, newly-crowned Queen of Naples; the first to her uncle, Cardinal Fesch; the second, to her sister-in-law/friend/rival Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland. Caroline has only recently arrived in Naples, and is not quite adjusted to her new home yet; her accommodations are dreadful, and she already feels forgotten by her …
“Napoleon… had prepared the future defection”
Continuing with Murat-related extracts from the memoirs of Baron de Dedem, Dutch ambassador to the court of Naples. Dedem discusses Murat's 1810 expedition to conquer Sicily--the general perception of the populace (and Napoleon) that it would not succeed, and Murat's reaction to its ensuing failure (which Murat would blame at least partially on Napoleon). Source: Un …
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“He in no way feared death”
In the aftermath of Murat's defeat at the battle of Tolentino, among those who accompanied him during his final months from Naples to France, Corsica, and ultimately to Pizzo, Calabria, was a valet by the name of Armand-Victor Blanchard. Armand left a brief but interesting account of Murat's final days, which can be found today …
“The people perceived… the sad exchange they had made”
In the last excerpt I posted from the memoirs of Dedem--who was no admirer of Murat--we see Dedem praise Murat for ruling in the interests of his subjects, for reforming and modernizing the Neapolitan administrative, financial, and judicial systems, and for instituting various public works projects. I've found some more excerpts that echo Dedem's sentiments …
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“A king who takes care of them”
Continuing with another excerpt from the memoirs of Baron Dedem van den Gelder, ambassdor to Naples from the Kingdom of Holland. Dedem, who was very critical of Murat, here gives credit to Murat for the good he did as King of Naples; he also discusses Queen Caroline's contributions towards advancing female education, and her work …
“None dared approach…”
A description of Murat at the battle of Borodino (7 September 1812), from the memoirs of General Louis-François Lejeune.
“This latest separation seems more unbearable…”
Apologies for the infrequent updates lately; I've been working on a side project involving Caroline Murat's 1810 letters to her husband, which may or may not turn into something bigger down the line. So here is one of those letters, written in the middle of Caroline's very long absence from Naples that lasted roughly nine …
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A marriage of separations
One of the many Murat-related side-projects I've been meaning to get to for a while now, has been to put together a decent estimate of how much time Joachim & Caroline Murat spent apart, for one reason or another, during their fifteen years of marriage. I finally made myself sit down and do the work, …
Project Murat 