Joachim Murat - Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

Napoleon made Murat a Marshal of France on 18 May 1804, and also granted him the title of "First Horseman of Europe". He was created Prince of the Empire in 1805, appointed Grand Duke of Berg and Cleves on 15 March 1806 and held this title until 1 August 1808, when he was named King of Naples and Sicily. He was in charge of the French Army in Madrid when the popular 2nd May uprising that started the Peninsular War happened.

Murat was equally useful in Napoleon's invasion of Russia (1812) and in the Battle of Leipzig (1813). However, after France's defeat at Leipzig, Murat reached an agreement with the Austrian Empire in order to save his own throne.

During the Hundred Days, he realized that the European powers, meeting as the Congress of Vienna, had the intention to remove him and return the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily to their pre-Napoleonic rulers. Murat deserted his new allies and, after issuing a proclamation to the Italian patriots in Rimini, moved north to fight against the Austrians in the Neapolitan War to strengthen his rule in Italy by military means. He was defeated by Frederick Bianchi, a general of Francis I of Austria, in the Battle of Tolentino (2–3 May 1815).

He fled to Corsica after Napoleon's fall. During an attempt to regain Naples through an insurrection in Calabria by announcing a rebellion at the town square, he was attacked by an old woman blaming him for the loss of her son, the incident sparking attention. Forces of the king, Ferdinand IV of Naples, arrested him, and he was eventually executed by firing squad at the Castello di Pizzo, Calabria.

When the fatal moment arrived, Murat walked with a firm step to the place of execution, as calm, as unmoved, as if he had been going to an ordinary review. He would not accept a chair, nor suffer his eyes to be bound. "I have braved death (said he) too often to fear it." He stood upright, proudly and undauntedly, with his countenance towards the soldiers; and when all was ready, he kissed a cameo on which the head of his wife was engraved, and gave the word — thus,

« Soldats ! Faites votre devoir ! Droit au cœur mais épargnez le visage. Feu ! »

"Soldiers! Do your duty! Straight to the heart but spare the face. Fire!"

Murat is memorialised by a grave in Père Lachaise Cemetery, though it is claimed that he is not actually buried there but that his body was lost or destroyed after his execution. Others say he was buried in a church in Pizzo, making the removal of his body possible later on.