Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat (/mjʊəˈrɑː/ mure-AH, also /mʊˈrɑːt/ muurr-AHT, French: [ʒɔaʃɛ̃ myʁa]; Italian: Gioacchino Murat; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the Empire and Admiral of France. He was the first Prince Murat,[1] Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808,[2] and King of Naples as Joachim-Napoleon[3] (Italian: Gioacchino Napoleone) from 1808 to 1815.[4][5]
Not to be confused with Marat, political theorist and journalist of the French Revolution.Joachim Murat
1 August 1808 – 20 May 1815
15 March 1806 – 1 August 1808
Joachim Murat-Jordy
25 March 1767
Labastide-Fortunière, Quercy, Kingdom of France
13 October 1815 (aged 48)
Pizzo Calabro, Calabria, Kingdom of Naples
Pierre Murat-Jordy
Jeanne Loubières
1787–1813
Born in Labastide-Fortunière in south-western France, Murat briefly pursued a vocation in the clergy before enlisting in a cavalry regiment on the outbreak of the French Revolution. Murat distinguished himself under the command of General Napoleon Bonaparte on 13 Vendémiaire (1795), when he seized a group of large cannons and was instrumental in suppressing the royalist insurrection in Paris. He became Napoleon's aide-de-camp and commanded the cavalry during the French campaigns in Italy and Egypt. Murat played a pivotal role in the Coup of 18 Brumaire (1799), which brought Napoleon to political power. In 1800 he married Caroline Bonaparte, thus becoming a brother-in-law to Napoleon.
Murat was named a Marshal of the Empire on the proclamation of the French Empire. He took part in various battles including those of Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena and Eylau, where he led a famous massed cavalry charge against the Russians. In 1806, Murat was appointed Grand Duke of Berg, a title he held until 1808 when he was named King of Naples. He continued to serve Napoleon during his Russian and German campaigns but abandoned the Grande Armée after the Battle of Leipzig to save his throne. In 1815, Murat launched the Neapolitan War against the Austrian Empire but was decisively defeated at Tolentino. He fled to Corsica and then made a last-ditch attempt to recover his throne, but was soon taken prisoner by King Ferdinand IV of Naples. He was tried for treason and sentenced to death by firing squad in Pizzo.
Early life[edit]
Murat was born on 25 March 1767 in La Bastide-Fortunière[6] (later renamed Labastide-Murat after him), in Guyenne (the present-day French department of Lot). His father was Pierre Murat-Jordy (1721 – 27 July 1799), an affluent yeoman,[7] innkeeper, postmaster[8] and churchwarden. His mother was Jeanne Loubières (1722 – 11 March 1806), the daughter of Pierre Loubières and his wife Jeanne Viellescazes.[9]
Murat's father, Pierre Murat-Jordy, was the son of Guillaume Murat (1692–1754) and his wife Marguerite Herbeil (d. 1755), the paternal grandson of Pierre Murat (b. 1634) and his wife Catherine Badourès (d. 1697), and the maternal grandson of Bertrand Herbeil and his wife Anne Roques.[9]
Murat's parents intended that he pursue a vocation in the church. He was taught by the parish priest, after which he won a place at the College of Saint-Michel at Cahors when he was ten years old. He then entered the seminary of the Lazarists at Toulouse. When a regiment of cavalry passed through the city in 1787, he ran away and enlisted on 23 February 1787 in the Chasseurs des Ardennes, which the following year became known as the Chasseurs de Champagne, or the 12th Chasseurs. In 1789, an affair forced him to resign, and he returned to his family, becoming a clerk to a haberdasher at Saint-Céré.[8]
Castello di Pizzo, Murat's place of imprisonment and execution
Murat's death sentence, as shown in the Naples State Archive
Murat showed courage at his execution, facing the firing squad standing and without a blindfold.
Hearing of Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815,[29] Murat fled to Corsica,[25][27][29] from which he attempted an impossible invasion of Calabria.[25][28][29] Napoleon remarked: "Murat attempted to reconquer with 200 men that territory which he failed to hold when he had 80,000 at his disposal."[24] Murat was captured, sentenced to death,[25][29] and shot by firing squad in Pizzo Calabro on 13 October 1815.[24][25][28][32]
According to the memoirs of Murat's granddaughter:
Coat of arms as Grand Duke of Berg
Coat of arms as King of Naples
Murat and Caroline had four children:
Relatives[edit]
Murat had a brother named Pierre (La Bastide-Fortunière, 27 November 1748 – La Bastide-Fortunière, 8 October 1792), who married at La Bastide-Fortunière on 26 February 1783 Louise d'Astorg (La Bastide-Fortunière, 23 October 1762 – 31 May 1832), daughter of Aymeric d'Astorg, born in 1721, and wife Marie Alanyou, paternal granddaughter of Antoine d'Astorg, born 18 November 1676, and wife Marie de Mary (4 May 1686 – 7 October 1727) and maternal granddaughter of Jean Alanyou and wife Louise de Valon.
Pierre and Louise were the parents of Marie Louise, Pierre Adrien (d. 1805), Marie Radegonde (d. 1800), Thomas Joachim and Marie Antoinette Murat, whom Emperor Napoleon I arranged to marry Charles, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; Karl III and Marie were the parents of Charles Anthony, Prince of Hohenzollern from whom descended Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Queen of Portugal; her brother Carol I of Romania and her nephew Albert I of Belgium.
Another descendant of note is his great-great-great-grandson, American actor René Auberjonois.