An archive of primary source material relating to Joachim Murat, Marshal of France and King of Naples
"Thus, I am offered a prison for asylum! From the prison to the tomb is but a short step: a king who cannot keep his crown has only the alternative of a soldier's death. You have arrived too late, my dear Maceroni, the dice are thrown; I've awaited three months, and constantly at the risk …
Continue reading “From the prison to the tomb is but a short step…”
A fairly balanced view of Murat from Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine, and adopted daughter of Napoleon. Murat was a good man. He was dashingly brave, and possessed military talents together with a great desire to please and to be admired. He sought to have good manners and overdid them. One saw by his …
Continue reading “He had an excellent heart, a mediocre mind…”
A recollection of Murat at the Battle of Leipzig (October 1813): "At that moment, a polished military staff arrived from the right, at the head of which was a superb horseman wearing a toque surmounted with a great plume, dressed in a sort of Brandenbourg tunic, his beautiful horse covered with a golden-clawed tiger skin. …
Continue reading “I want to live another quarter of an hour…”
Madame Louise Fusil relates a brief encounter with Murat during the 1812 campaign, prior to the crossing of the Berezina River as the French army was in retreat. "The King of Naples held his horse by lash, and his hand was set on the door of my carriage. He spoke an obliging word when he …
Joachim attended to his children’s education with utmost care, since their future, despite his apparent optimism, filled him with vague apprehensions. He wanted them to have a full education, in order for them, if necessary one day, to be self-sufficient. Aside from equitation and dance, it was his wish that they learned German and English. 'I’m …
Continue reading “Joachim attended to his children’s education with utmost care…”
An anecdote regarding Murat’s unfortunate tenure as commander of the Grand Armée during the disastrous retreat from Russia in 1812. “Ready to harness, I waited, when around eight or nine o'clock I was summoned by the King of Naples. He was in a carriage; and, surprised to see in passing 16 guns in good condition …
"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 …
Source: The Table Talk and Opinions of Napoleon Bonaparte, compiled by Edith Blumer, 3rd edition; London (Sampson Low, Son, & Marston), 1870, pg 43.
"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 …
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