Throughout history in France, there have been a number of huge executions which changed
the face of French society forever.
The King Louis XVI and his Queen Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution were executed
by the guillotine, and also later the leader of the revolution Maximilien Robespierre was
executed on the device.
But following the revolution there were a number of specific power plays by a number
of people, and one of the most powerful figures in History from around this time was Napoleon.
But one of Napoleon’s skilled military generals, and a man who would be named the Admiral of
France and the Marshal of the Empire was captured and was executed.
Joachim Murat, was the brother in law of Napoleon, but on the 13th October 1815 he met his end
facing a firing squad.
Join us today as we look at the execution of the King of Naples Joachim Murat, and remember
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Joachim Murat was born in 1767, and his father was an affluent businessman and an innkeeper.
His parents pushed him towards persuing a job int he church, and he was taught by the
Parish priest and was awarded a place at a college when he was just 10.
However he would desert from this way of life, and he enlisted in the military instead.
But by 1790, he had joined the National guard, and he was sent to be a representative during
the 1st anniversary of Bastille day, and he was part of the 12th Chasseurs.
The regiment to begin with had to remain loyal to the French Republic, and in 1792 Murat
joined the constitutional guard briefly but then left.
He got in a number of arguments and duels over issues, but he was driven towards the
revolution.
By November 1792, he was made a sous-leftenant, but two years after the King had been executed,
royalists and counter revolutionaries were planning an armed uprising.
On the 3rd October, General Napoleon Bonaparte was based in Paris and became the.
Commander of the French National Convention’s defending forces.
Napoleon asked Murat to gather artillery from a suburb to control the governments forces.
Murat managed to used the cannons and to transport them to Paris avoiding rioters, and these
cannons allowed Napoleon to save members of the national convention.
Napoleon did not forget this, and he made him a Marshal and the First Horseman of Europe,
and also the Grand Duke of Berg and the King of Naples.
Murat would be a companion of Napoleon and he went with him as an aide to Italy, and
he commanded cavalry during campaigns against the Austrians and others.
He commanded the cavalry during the French Egyptian expedition in 1798, and he was a
skilled military leader.
He was a powerful man and supporter behind Napoleon, and Murat then married Caroline
Bonaparte, and he became the brother in law of Napoleon.
He was then made the Marshal of the Empire on the 18th May 1804, and he was made the
Prince of the Empire and the Admiral of it despite not knowing much about the navy.
He continued to fight in a number of battles, and after the grand duchy of Berg was established,
he was appointed the Grand Duke of Berg and the Duke of Cleves in March 1806.
He was then named the King of Naples, and he was in charge of the French Army in Madrid.
He was also used in the Russian Campaign, and he became known for being the best cavalry
commander at a number of different battles, and despite being a brilliant horseman, he
did not really care for the horses.
Napoleon put together a huge horse based force, but the animals were treated rather poorly,
and they were forced to conduct large marches and they suffered from hunger, exhaustion
and sores.
Murat himself made these worse, and she failed to get proper horse shoes for them to traverse
roads that became iced over, and the overworking horses were exploited by the French’s enemies.
He served with Napoleon during the German Campaign of 1813, however after the defeat
of the Battle of Leipzig, Murat entered a secret agreement to save his own throne and
he switched sides.
He would later declare war on Austria, but this did not go well and he was defeated and
following this he fled.
He escaped to Corsica and then travelled on to Pizza, but he was then captured by the
soldiers of King Ferdinand IV of Naples.
He was then held a prisoner in the Castello di Pizza and a tribunal found him guilty of
insurrection, and Murat was sentenced to death to die by a military firing squad.
The soldier who it’s believed had fought 200 battles for France and who was a bold
and brave leader would fight on no more, and his execution was scheduled.
He was a man who when Napoleon’s grip on Europe was getting weak, he looked after himself
and went into business for himself to focus on self preservation and his own power.
He tried to retain his power but he could not.
Napoleon would later say that if Murat would have been by his side at the Battle of Waterloo,
then Napoleon would have been victorious.
But on the 13th October 1815, Joachim Murat had been led out to his execution place, and
he was to die a military execution by firing squad.
It was said that he faced his death in the same way he went into battle, being fearless
and extravagantly dressed.
It was said that, ‘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."
Inside the Castello di Pizzo, the Firing squad stood there with their rifles aimed at Murat,
and he stood there fearlessly confronting them with arrogance.
The firing squad shot straight and instantly Joachim Murat was killed.
He was a man who was incredibly powerful in France, and he was very close with Napoleon.
However his intentions to secure his own territory and power led to him to defect, and with this
his downfall came rather sharply.
His execution was a brutal one, in which he was shot by a number of riflemen by his enemies,
and the former King of Naples was killed inside of his own kingdom.
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