I've been wanting to translate the relatively short manuscript on Murat left behind by Murat's childhood friend, the Count of Mosbourg, for a while now, so I'm going to start working my way through it and posting it bit by bit; it'll be a nice break in between the ongoing translation of excerpts/correspondence from Louise …
Tag: Napoleon Bonaparte
“Everything announces a revolution”
Ten days after writing to Napoleon on the situation in Italy and imploring him to unify the country and grant its independence, Murat wrote to the Emperor once more. In the interim, he had not received a reply from Napoleon, who was ignoring his brother-in-law's correspondence (again), believing that Murat was deliberately exaggerating the situation …
“This first spark of revolt might become a general inferno”
Continuing with the series of letters in Louis Murat's memoirs leading up to her father's defection from Napoleon. We left off in July 1813, with Murat writing to Napoleon prior to departing to join him for the 1813 campaign, his pride still wounded from Napoleon's treatment of him following his return from Russia. Sensing that …
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“You do not tell me a word of your advent to the throne”
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 …
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“I owe it to myself not to deviate”
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. …
“I dare to beseech you, Madame…”
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 …
“My Father… showed less firmness than the Queen”
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 …
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“My heart is still the same”
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 …
“Their farewells were full of sadness”
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 …
“The public insult made to his honor”
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 …
Project Murat 