Murat entered Warsaw on the 28th of November, 1806, enthusiastically welcomed by the Poles, who believed the French would bring them independence. Even the Duchess d'Abrantes, who was no great admirer of Murat, wrote of that his "splendid type of chivalrous valour... pleased that brave and most impressionable people, which was ready to follow with …
Continue reading “It once served… one of our most valiant sovereigns”
Murat was sent to Spain in February of 1808, to act as Napoleon’s lieutenant and take command of all French forces in the country. Spain was in political turmoil, its citizens on the brink of revolt against the unpopular minister Godoy. Napoleon, having not yet determined on what course of action he wished to pursue, …
Continue reading “The public tranquility was troubled this morning…”
Continuing with excerpts from the memoirs of General Griois pertaining to Murat during the 1812 campaign, we have a description from Griois of a confrontation between Murat and an unnamed Russian general over the position of Russian outposts during a truce. Murat is also outraged that a Cossack recently took a shot at him (as General Caulaincourt …
On 28 September, 1815, Murat made his fateful decision to reject the Austrian passports and offer of asylum brought to him by his former aide-de-camp, Francis Macirone, who had received them from Metternich; Murat was expected, under the designated terms, to abdicate and choose a name to live under as a private citizen (Caroline Murat …
Continue reading “Captivity and death are to me synonymous.”
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 …
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 …
Continue reading “This latest separation seems more unbearable…”
Hardly any letters from Murat to his wife Caroline still exist; Caroline was in the habit of destroying most of her received correspondence, and Murat rarely kept copies of the letters he sent her. In the eight volumes of his correspondence published by Paul Le Brethon, there is not a single letter from Murat to …
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 …
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 …
Project Murat 