Part 4 of Murat-related excerpts from General Pépé's memoirs. When we last left off, Pépé and a number of his fellow generals had begun collaborating to push King Joachim to grant Naples a constitution. But the resolve of many of the generals began to waver, the collaboration soon unraveled, and word of the plan made …
Continue reading “The King’s anger had entirely passed away”
While his wife remained in Paris attending Napoleon's new empress well into the summer of 1810, Murat continued organizing his expedition against Sicily, which he hoped to reunite with Naples under one--his--crown. But unbeknownst to Murat, though his brother-in-law had given the expedition his approval--including a small force of French troops, commanded by French generals--Napoleon …
Continue reading “Perhaps you love me still in the depths of your heart.”
Towards the end of the months of festivities and celebrations following Napoleon's marriage to Marie-Louise, yet another ball was held in honor of the Emperor and his new Empress, on 1 July 1810, this time by the Austrian ambassador, the Prince of Schwarzenberg. A fire broke out, caused by a drooping candle setting one of …
An account of Murat at the battle of Heilsberg (10 June 1807), in which Murat lost one of his boots but continued to fight on; shortly afterwards, he and General Lasalle saved each other's lives. [The boot was also rescued.] Source: Lieutenant Aubier (20th Chasseurs), Un Régiment de Cavalerie Légère de 1793 à 1815, 2nd edition, …
Following his final defeat against Austria at the battle of Tolentino at the beginning of May 1815, Murat made a hasty retreat to Naples. Advised by Caroline to depart the kingdom, as the Austrians and English flat-out refused to deal with him, Murat left Naples the day after his return, and soon made his way …
Continuing with Louise Murat's memoirs, we arrive at Murat's decision, in 1815, to march in support of Napoleon following his brother-in-law's triumphant return from Elba. Murat had been urged by Joseph Bonaparte to try to convince Emperor Francis of Austria to ally himself to Napoleon; but the letter Murat ends up sending Francis towards the …
Continue reading “We would be driven to a state of barbarism”
Part 3 of Murat-related excerpts from the memoirs of Neapolitan General Guglielmo Pépé. In this excerpt, Pépé discusses the first, ultimately unsuccessful attempt at pushing King Joachim to grant the Neapolitans a constitution in 1814; Lord William Bentinck's personal dislike for Murat; and Murat's inclination towards rewarding those of his generals whose politics (unlike Pépé's) …
Today--25 March--is the shared birthday of Joachim & Caroline Murat (in 1767 & 1782, respectively), so I've put together a little something to provide some insight into their relationship. There's one period in particular during which an abundance of letters exists from Caroline to Joachim: their long separation(s) during most of 1810. Joachim and Caroline …
Continue reading “You can never know how attached to you I am”
Emmanuel-Augustin-Dieudonné-Joseph, Count de Las Cases, was one of the few men to voluntarily accompany Napoleon into exile on Saint Helena, along with his son. There, he served the deposed Emperor as a secretary, recording numerous conversations with Napoleon and taking extensive notes, which he later turned into the Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène following his expulsion from the island …
Part 2 of Murat-related excerpts from the memoirs of Guglielmo Pépé. This part begins with Pépé's recollection of his first meeting with Murat in Florence in 1802, continues with the crowning and general reception of Murat as King of Naples six years later (and their reaction to Napoleon naming Caroline his immediate heir), and ends …
Continue reading “I could have fallen at his feet and worshipped him”
