Murat became famous--perhaps "notorious" would be a better word--for designing outlandish uniforms for himself, to make himself stand out not only on the battlefield, but wherever he went. While Constant, Napoleon’s valet, who liked Murat, charitably recalled that Murat was "the man in all France who dressed with the most care, and nearly always in …
Tag: Napoleon Bonaparte
“These conflicts which arise in your heart do not astonish me…”
The following letter was written by Eugène de Beauharnais, adopted son of Napoleon (and therefore Murat’s nephew by marriage) to Murat in the days following Murat’s treaty with the Allies, as Murat continued to stall at, and agonize over, the prospect of taking up arms against his own countrymen at the Allies’ behest. Source: The Romance …
Continue reading “These conflicts which arise in your heart do not astonish me…”
“It is not too late…”
The following correspondence was conducted in the wake of Murat’s defection to the Allies in 1814, as Napoleon attempted to bring his errant brother-in-law back into the fold before it was too late. It is worth noting that Joseph Bonaparte declines, in his letter to Murat, to “point out to him the iniquity of his …
The Battle of Eylau—February 7-8, 1807
Napoléon on the Battlefield of Eylau, by Antoine-Jean Gros (1808). Close-up of Murat from the above.
“He will have less pity to expect from his new allies than from me.”
Source: Memoirs of Constant: First Valet de Chambre of the Emperor, on the Private Life of Napoleon and His Family and His Court, Vol. 4; translated by Elizabeth Gilbert Martin. New York (The Century Company), 1907; pg 212.
“… like a whirlwind…”
"I remember how he envied my position. One day when we were walking together he tried to prove to me that on the staff I had a hundred opportunities and means of bringing myself into notice--that is, of getting on; whereas a regiment was a blind alley where one was confounded with the mass, and …
“The fate of war…”
Source: The Table Talk and Opinions of Napoleon Bonaparte, compiled by Edith Blumer, 3rd edition; London (Sampson Low, Son, & Marston), 1870, pg 43.
“Your Majesty dresses too much like a good family man…”
Source: Recollections of the Private Life of Napoleon, by Constant, Premier Valet de Chambre, Vol. I, translated by Walter Clark. Akron (The Saalfield Pub. Co.), 1907, pg 286.
“How many errors…”
"How many errors did not Murat commit in order to establish his headquarters in some château where he knew there were pretty women! He had to have women about him every day, and for that reason I tolerated the practice of allowing generals to have each a disreputable female attached to him." -Napoleon Bonaparte, to …
Project Murat 