Born inLabastide-Fortunière in southwesternFrance, Murat briefly pursued a vocation in the clergy before enlisting in a cavalry regiment upon the outbreak of theFrench Revolution. Murat distinguished himself under the command of GeneralNapoleon Bonaparte on13 Vendémiaire (1795), when he seized a group of largecannons 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 inItaly andEgypt. Murat played a pivotal role in theCoup of 18 Brumaire (1799), which brought Napoleon to political power. In 1800 he marriedCaroline 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 ofUlm,Austerlitz,Jena andEylau, 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 hisRussian andGerman campaigns but abandoned theGrande Armée after theBattle of Leipzig to save his throne. In 1815, Murat launched theNeapolitan War against theAustrian Empire but was decisively defeated atTolentino. He fled toCorsica and then made a last-ditch attempt to recover his throne, but was soon taken prisoner by KingFerdinand IV of Naples. He was tried for treason and sentenced to death by firing squad inPizzo.
Murat was born on 25 March 1767 inLa Bastide-Fortunière[6] (later renamed Labastide-Murat after him), inGuyenne (the present-dayFrench department ofLot). His father was Pierre Murat-Jordy, an affluentyeoman,[7] innkeeper, postmaster,[8] and churchwarden. His mother was Jeanne Loubières, the daughter of Pierre Loubières and his wife Jeanne Viellescazes.[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 atCahors when he was ten years old. He then entered the seminary of theLazarists atToulouse. When a regiment of cavalry passed through the city in 1787, he ran away and enlisted on 23 February 1787 in theChasseurs des Ardennes, which the following year became known as theChasseurs 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 atSaint-Céré.[8]
By 1790, Murat had joined theNational Guard. The Canton of Montaucon sent him as its representative to theFête de la Fédération, the celebration of the first anniversary ofBastille Day (la Fête nationale). He was reinstated in his former regiment. Because part of the 12th Chasseurs had been sent to Montmédy to protect the royal family on itsflight to Varennes, the regiment had to defend its honour and loyalty to the Republic. Murat and the regiment's adjutant made a speech to the assembly atToul to that effect.[8]
In 1792, Murat joined theConstitutional Guard, but left it that same year. His departure was attributed to various causes, including his constant quarreling and dueling, although he claimed he left to avoid punishment for being absent without leave.[8]
An ardent Republican, Murat wrote to his brother in 1791 stating he was preoccupied with revolutionary affairs and would sooner die than cease to be a patriot. Upon his departure from the Constitutional Guard, he reported to the Committee of Surveillance of the Constitutional Assembly that the Guard was guilty of treason and that his lieutenant colonel, a man named Descours, had encouraged him to serve in theémigré army ofLouis Joseph, Prince of Condé, then stationed inKoblenz.[8] This garnered for him the support of the Republicans. Murat rejoined his former regiment and was promoted to corporal in April, and in May to sergeant.[8]
By 19 November 1792, Murat was 25 years old and elated at his latest promotion. As asous-lieutenant, he thought, his family must recognise that he had no great propensity for the priesthood, and he was hoping to prove that he had not been wrong in wishing to be a soldier. Two of the ministers had accused him of being an aristocrat, confusing him with the noble family of Murat d'Auvergne, an accusation that continued to haunt him for the next several years.[10]
In the autumn of 1795, two years after KingLouis XVI had beenguillotined, royalists and counter-revolutionaries organised an armed uprising. On 3 October, GeneralNapoleon Bonaparte, who was stationed in Paris, was named commander of the French National Convention's defending forces. Bonaparte tasked Murat, who had offered himself voluntarily, with the gathering of artillery from a suburb outside the control of the government's forces.[11]
Murat managed to take the cannons of theCamp des Sablons and transport them to the centre of Paris while avoiding the rioters.[11] The use of these cannons – the famous "whiff of grapeshot" – on 5 October allowed Bonaparte to save the members of theNational Convention.[12] Napoleon's later report did not mention Murat, but Napoleon did not forget him, as Murat was made a marshal, the "First Horseman of Europe", Grand Duke of Berg and King of Naples.[13]
In 1796, Joachim Murat went with Bonaparte to northern Italy, initially as his aide-de-camp,[14] and was later named commander of the cavalry during the many campaigns against theAustrians and their allies.[15]
Murat inhussar uniform as commander of theConsular Guard, byFrançois Gérard (1801)Joachim Murat signatur, brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte, at the bottom of a letter of complaint in 1807.
Murat commanded the cavalry of the FrenchEgyptian expedition of 1798, again under Bonaparte. On 25 July 1799 at theBattle of Abukir, he successfully led the cavalry charge that broke theOttoman line.[16]
In 1799, some remaining staff officers, including Murat, and Bonaparte returned to France, eluding various British fleets in fivefrigates. A short while later, Murat played an important, even pivotal, role in Bonaparte's "coup within a coup" of18 Brumaire (9 November 1799), when he first assumed political power.[17]
Murat leading a cavalry charge at theBattle of Jena, 14 October 1806
Napoleon made Murat a Marshal of the Empire on 18 May 1804, and granted him the title of "First Horseman of Europe". He was made Prince of the Empire and Admiral of the Empire in 1805, despite having very little knowledge about naval warfare. He fought in various battles, during 1805–1807, including those ofUlm,Austerlitz,Jena andEylau, where he led a famous cavalry charge against the Russians.[17]
Although he was a great horseman, Murat showed a total lack of concern for the well-being of the horses. Napoleon had created the greatest forage problem known in military history by putting together a cavalry of 40,000 men and horses. The long marches and the lack of rest meant that the horses suffered from hunger, bad fodder, saddle sores and exhaustion, but these factors were aggravated by Murat himself.[23] He also failed to forgecaulkin shoes for the horses to enable them in the retreat to traverse roads that had become iced over. The Polish cavalry andCaulaincourt knew this and acted accordingly.[24]
With his throne no longer secure, following Napoleon'sreturn from exile, Murat switched sides in an unsuccessful attempt to return to Napoleon's favour. On 15 March 1815, the Kingdom of Naples declared war on the Austrian Empire, starting theNeapolitan War.[28][30][31] With an estimated 45,000 troops, the Neapolitan army invaded thePapal States andTuscany.[27][30][31] Though the Austrian army innorthern Italy numbered 94,000 troops, it was widely distributed.[29] On 30 March 1815, Murat's troops arrived inRimini, where they were hosted by the Battaglini counts.[27] In a final attempt to gain allies, Murat published theRimini Proclamation, though it may have been backdated after his military defeats.[32][33]
Murat's eastern column advanced northwards from Rimini towards theRiver Po, enteringBologna on 2 April, while the western column reachedFlorence on 8 April.[29] On the same day, the eastern column engaged 3,000 Austrian soldiers at theBattle of Occhiobello.[30][32] Following its defeat at Occhiobello, it was pushed southwards, leading to Murat's decisive defeat at theBattle of Tolentino on 2–3 May.[28][32][34] Murat returned to Naples on 18 May, where Caroline had already surrendered to the British, and fled immediately to southern France.[29]
Hearing of Napoleon's defeat at theBattle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815,[32] Murat fled toCorsica,[28][30][32] from which he attempted an impossible invasion ofCalabria.[28][31][32] Napoleon remarked: "Murat attempted to reconquer with 200 men that territory which he failed to hold when he had 80,000 at his disposal."[27] Murat was captured, sentenced to death,[28][32] and shot by firing squad inPizzo Calabro on 13 October 1815.[27][28][31][35]
According to the memoirs of Murat's granddaughter:
On being asked if he had any request to make, he said he wished to have a bath prepared for him and perfumed with a bottle of eau-de-Cologne, and, as a last request, that his eyes should not be bandaged. Both wishes were granted, and, by order sent by King Ferdinand, twelve of his own soldiers were selected to shoot him. When the fatal hour came, seeing the emotion of his men, Murat said, "My friends, if you wish to spare me, aim at my heart."[36]
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.
Bonar, Hugh S. (Jr.) (1989).Joachim Murat : lieutenant of the Emperor. Consortium on Revolutionary Europe 1750–1850 (University of Florida), Articles relatifs totalement ou partiellement à la période 1795–1815, Proceedings.
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