An archive of primary source material relating to Joachim Murat, Marshal of France and King of Naples
One of my favorite historical coincidences is the fact that Joachim and Caroline Murat share the same birthday–the 25th of March (of 1767 and 1782, respectively). Unfortunately the nature of Murat’s duties often led to the two spending their mutual birthday hundreds of miles apart–after 1805, they would not be together on that particular day …
Continue reading “You have undoubtedly forgotten the 25th of March”
I’ve been terrible about updating lately. Sorry! Here’s a short letter from Jerôme Bonaparte to Murat, as I continue translating more from Louise’s memoirs. Jerôme wrote this shortly after Murat became King of Naples; he was a little miffed with Joachim for forgetting to tell him about it. *** Jerôme Napoléon, King of Westphalia, to …
Continue reading “You do not tell me a word of your advent to the throne”
Nearly two months after writing to Empress Marie-Louise with the hope that she would be willing to mediate between himself and Napoleon, Murat wrote the following letter directly to the Emperor himself. The Allies were on the verge of moving against the French once more; Napoleon had requested Murat to send troops to support him. …
A random tidbit I figured I'd toss up here as I continue working my way through translating Murat's letters in Louise's memoirs. I first came across this little anecdote--an observation of Murat by Sergeant Adrien Bourgogne in the aftermath of the Battle of Borodino--paraphrased in a couple biographies of Murat, but this morning I found …
Louise Murat includes in her memoirs six letters written by her father between 1813 through his defection from Napoleon (the last letter in this series, from immediately after his treaty with Austria was signed, can be read here from Jean Tulard's biography of Murat). The following letter is the first in the series, addressed by …
Picking back up with Louise Murat's memoirs, we reach Murat's fateful decision to abandon Napoleon and ally himself to Austria. Louise makes a compelling argument in defense of her father's choice; she also contrasts her father's visible torment over the decision with her mother's stoicism. Source: Souvenirs d’enfance d’une fille de Joachim Murat, by Louise …
Continue reading “My Father… showed less firmness than the Queen”
After months of negotiating, stalling, and vacillating, Murat very reluctantly put his pen to a treaty with the Austrians in January of 1814, officially aligning himself with the enemies of his brother-in-law Napoleon. The decision caused him great torment. Julie Récamier, temporarily staying in Naples as a guest of the king and queen, describes a …
In this excerpt from Louise Murat's memoirs, we arrive at the final meeting between Napoleon and Murat, and Murat's fateful decision to join the Allies--a decision which Louise argues was made for the good of Murat's subjects, and very much against his own personal inclinations. But Louise doesn’t balk from assigning some blame for her …
Continuing on with Louise Murat's memoirs, we reach what not only Louise herself, but most historians likewise regard as the pivotal moment in the Murat/Napoleon relationship: the unhappy conclusion of the 1812 campaign. Louise points out that prior to this, the two men had always managed to overcome their previous differences upon being reunited again …
We left off yesterday with Countess Potocka's rather unflattering description of Murat following his triumphant entry into Poland in November of 1806; today we will continue with the Countess's recollection of Murat's clumsy and, ultimately, unsuccessful attempt to arrange a liaison with her. This occurs shortly after the arrival of Napoleon and the beginning of …
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