Prince Achille Murat
Encyclopedia
Achille Charles Louis Napoléon, Crown Prince of Naples, Hereditary Prince of Berg, 2nd Prince Murat (Italian
Achille Carlo Luigi Napoleone Murat; 21 January 1801 – 15 April 1847) was the eldest son of the King of Naples
during the First French Empire
and later in life mayor of Tallahassee, Florida
in the United States
.
, France
. Murat's father was Joachim Murat
, Marshal of France
, Grand Admiral
or Admiral of France
, Grand Duke of Berg
, King of Naples
. His mother was Caroline Bonaparte
, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was Grand Duchess of Berg and Queen of Naples.
in the castle of Frohsdorf, in Lower Austria
. He eventually crossed the Atlantic Ocean
to the United States
. On his arrival in New York
he made immediate application for naturalization. After a few months in that city, Achille made an extensive tour through the United States.
In 1821, he embarked from a Spanish port bound for the United States. There he used an assumed name, since he had a striking resemblance to his famous uncle in countenance and mannerisms. Even though he renounced all his European titles and citizenship, his wide social connections brought Murat to Washington, where he befriended Richard Keith Call, Florida's territorial delegate to the Congress.
Call told Murat of opportunities in the new territory of Florida which had been acquired by the United States from Spain in 1821. The young man who had been "Prince of Naples" settled in St. Augustine
, living briefly at what is now called the Prince Murat House on St. George Street in town. Murat soon insinuated himself into St. Augustine society by joining the Masonic lodge and dabbling in local politics. He enrolled in the local militia and was briefly a volunteer under the command of his personal friend, Brigadier General Joseph Hernandez
.
In 1823 he purchased an extensive property of 2,800 acres (1133 ha) and built a plantation where he planted orange groves, rice, and indigo. He named it 'Parthenope', in honor of his onetime principality in Naples, Italy, which was founded on the site of the ancient Greek settlement of Parthenope (see History of Naples
).
Parthenope was located about ten miles south of St. Augustine on the Matanzas River
, at the mouth of Moses Creek. The eccentric Murat, who liked to go nude, invented a sort of chair that he could sit in, submerged in the waters of Moses Creek with mosquito netting over his head, to escape the heat of the north Florida summers. A neighbor observed that he was obsessed with the "...eatibility of the whole animal tribe." Murat was known to dine on baked turkey buzzard, boiled owl, roasted crow, stewed alligator, lizards and rattlesnakes. He had an aversion to baths, didn't like to change his clothes, "washed his feet only after he wore out his shoes", and slept on a mattress stuffed with Spanish moss.
Around 1825, Murat bought the land he would call Lipona Plantation
15 miles (24.1 km) east of Tallahassee
. He lived there during the remainder of Florida's territorial and early statehood days. The name Lipona is an anagram of Napoli (Naples), the kingdom over which Achille was once destined to rule. His purchase of Lipona was probably due to the July 4, 1825 Lafayette Land Grant
which gave Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette 36 square miles (93.2 km²) of what would be Tallahassee. This land grant also provided an opportunity for several French settlers who were acquainted with Lafayette to move to the area and restart their lives.
In 1824, Murat was elected alderman of the city, mayor in the following year, and in 1826 appointed postmaster
, which office he held till 1838. In 1826, Murat met and married on July 12 at Tallahassee, Florida
Catherine Daingerfield Willis Gray
, but was without issue. Gray was the great-grandniece of George Washington
.
During the early phase of the Seminole Wars
, and for the previous three years, he was a lieutenant colonel
of Florida’s militia and sometime aide to Brigadier General Richard Keith Call. Murat would retain the rank of colonel the rest of his life.
Murat and his wife eventually moved to New Orleans
where he lived for several years and worked as a lawyer
. This move may have been in conjunction with the evacuation of several Frenchmen who found themselves without property after their deeds were deemed void.
in South Carolina in 1827. The two became close friends and enjoyed discussing topics of the day as well as politics, society, and history.
Of Murat, Emerson wrote:
Following the July Revolution
of 1830 in France, Murat returned to Europe
and was briefly a colonel
of the Belgian Legion
. While in Belgium
and France, he had hoped to regain some part of the family fortune that he believed to be his based on the properties of his parents. His attempts were futile and in 1834 the Murats returned to the Tallahassee area.
Murat enjoyed cooking and prepared items such as cow's ear stew, alligator steaks
, and roasted
crow
. He slept on a Spanish moss
mattress and spoke seven languages.
Murat died in 1847 at Jefferson County, Florida
, and was buried at the St. Johns Episcopal Church cemetery in Tallahassee 30°26′38"N 84°17′11"W. His maternal first cousin Napoleon III of France
provided his widow, Catherine D. Willis Murat, with a cash sum of $40,000 and an annual stipend so that she would live a life to which she was accustomed. Catherine died in 1867 and is also buried at the St. Johns Episcopal Church cemetery. The St. Augustine house where he lived briefly still stands at the corner of St. George and Bridge Street and is called the "Murat House".
In Tallahassee, the Bellevue Plantation (Florida)
house, former home of Catharine Murat, is part of the Tallahassee Museum
.
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
Achille Carlo Luigi Napoleone Murat; 21 January 1801 – 15 April 1847) was the eldest son of the King of Naples
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
during the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
and later in life mayor of Tallahassee, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Early life
Murat was born in the Hôtel de Brienne in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Murat's father was Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
, Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
, Grand Admiral
Grand Admiral
Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, generally being the highest such rank present in any particular country. Its most notable use was in Germany — the German word is Großadmiral.-France:...
or Admiral of France
Admiral of France
The title Admiral of France is one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France, the naval equivalent of Marshal of France.The title was created in 1270 by Louis IX of France, during the Eighth Crusade. At the time it was equivalent to the office of Constable of France. The Admiral was responsible...
, Grand Duke of Berg
Grand Duchy of Berg
The Grand Duchy of Berg was established by Napoleon Bonaparte after his victory at the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz on territories between the French Empire at the Rhine river and the Kingdom of Westphalia.-History:...
, King of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
. His mother was Caroline Bonaparte
Caroline Bonaparte
Maria Annunziata Carolina Murat , better known as Caroline Bonaparte, was the seventh surviving child and third surviving daughter of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino and a younger sister of Napoleon I of France...
, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was Grand Duchess of Berg and Queen of Naples.
Murat flees
After Napoleon was exiled for a second time, Achille Murat sought exile in AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in the castle of Frohsdorf, in Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
. He eventually crossed the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. On his arrival in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
he made immediate application for naturalization. After a few months in that city, Achille made an extensive tour through the United States.
In Florida
When Murat turned twenty-one, he obtained permission to emigrate to America.In 1821, he embarked from a Spanish port bound for the United States. There he used an assumed name, since he had a striking resemblance to his famous uncle in countenance and mannerisms. Even though he renounced all his European titles and citizenship, his wide social connections brought Murat to Washington, where he befriended Richard Keith Call, Florida's territorial delegate to the Congress.
Call told Murat of opportunities in the new territory of Florida which had been acquired by the United States from Spain in 1821. The young man who had been "Prince of Naples" settled in St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
, living briefly at what is now called the Prince Murat House on St. George Street in town. Murat soon insinuated himself into St. Augustine society by joining the Masonic lodge and dabbling in local politics. He enrolled in the local militia and was briefly a volunteer under the command of his personal friend, Brigadier General Joseph Hernandez
Joseph Marion Hernández
José Mariano Hernández or Joseph Marion Hernández was an American politician, plantation owner, and soldier. He was the first from the Florida Territory and the first Hispanic American to serve in the United States Congress. He served from September 1822 to March 1823. He was a member of the Whig...
.
In 1823 he purchased an extensive property of 2,800 acres (1133 ha) and built a plantation where he planted orange groves, rice, and indigo. He named it 'Parthenope', in honor of his onetime principality in Naples, Italy, which was founded on the site of the ancient Greek settlement of Parthenope (see History of Naples
History of Naples
The history of Naples is long and varied, beginning in the 9th-century BCE Greeks colonized many parts of south Italy. Naples was one of the latter cities founded in the Magna Graecia, founded as "Parthenope" in the sixth century B.C. It was a second-generation colony, in that it was settled by the...
).
Parthenope was located about ten miles south of St. Augustine on the Matanzas River
Matanzas River
Matanzas River is a body of water located in St. Johns and Flagler counties in Florida. It is a narrow saltwater bar-bounded estuary sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by Anastasia Island....
, at the mouth of Moses Creek. The eccentric Murat, who liked to go nude, invented a sort of chair that he could sit in, submerged in the waters of Moses Creek with mosquito netting over his head, to escape the heat of the north Florida summers. A neighbor observed that he was obsessed with the "...eatibility of the whole animal tribe." Murat was known to dine on baked turkey buzzard, boiled owl, roasted crow, stewed alligator, lizards and rattlesnakes. He had an aversion to baths, didn't like to change his clothes, "washed his feet only after he wore out his shoes", and slept on a mattress stuffed with Spanish moss.
Around 1825, Murat bought the land he would call Lipona Plantation
Lipona Plantation
Lipona Plantation was a cotton plantation of in Jefferson County, Florida, USA established by Prince Achille Murat.-Plantation Specifics:The Jefferson County Florida 1860 Agricultural Census shows that Lipona Plantation had the following:* Improved Land:...
15 miles (24.1 km) east of Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
. He lived there during the remainder of Florida's territorial and early statehood days. The name Lipona is an anagram of Napoli (Naples), the kingdom over which Achille was once destined to rule. His purchase of Lipona was probably due to the July 4, 1825 Lafayette Land Grant
Lafayette Land Grant
The Lafayette Land Grant was a gift by the government of the United States of just over of real estate in central Leon County, Florida, United States.-Origins:...
which gave Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette 36 square miles (93.2 km²) of what would be Tallahassee. This land grant also provided an opportunity for several French settlers who were acquainted with Lafayette to move to the area and restart their lives.
In 1824, Murat was elected alderman of the city, mayor in the following year, and in 1826 appointed postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
, which office he held till 1838. In 1826, Murat met and married on July 12 at Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
Catherine Daingerfield Willis Gray
Catherine Willis Gray
Catherine Daingerfield Willis Gray Murat was born near Fredericksburg, Virginia and died in Tallahassee, Florida, United States.-Family:...
, but was without issue. Gray was the great-grandniece of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
.
During the early phase of the Seminole Wars
Second Seminole War
The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States, part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars...
, and for the previous three years, he was a lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
of Florida’s militia and sometime aide to Brigadier General Richard Keith Call. Murat would retain the rank of colonel the rest of his life.
Murat and his wife eventually moved to New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
where he lived for several years and worked as a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. This move may have been in conjunction with the evacuation of several Frenchmen who found themselves without property after their deeds were deemed void.
With Ralph Waldo Emerson
Murat met Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
in South Carolina in 1827. The two became close friends and enjoyed discussing topics of the day as well as politics, society, and history.
Of Murat, Emerson wrote:
To Europe and back
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
of 1830 in France, Murat returned to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and was briefly a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of the Belgian Legion
Belgian Legion
Several military units have been known as the Belgian Legion:-French Revolution:The first Belgian and liégeois legions were formed in 1792 from volunteers who had come to serve the First French Republic from the Austrian Netherlands and Principality of Liège respectively...
. While in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and France, he had hoped to regain some part of the family fortune that he believed to be his based on the properties of his parents. His attempts were futile and in 1834 the Murats returned to the Tallahassee area.
Murat enjoyed cooking and prepared items such as cow's ear stew, alligator steaks
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
, and roasted
Roasting
Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat, whether an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting usually causes caramelization or Maillard browning of the surface of the food, which is considered by some as a flavor enhancement. Roasting uses more indirect, diffused heat , and is...
crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
. He slept on a Spanish moss
Spanish Moss
Spanish moss is a flowering plant that grows upon larger trees, commonly the Southern Live Oak or Bald Cypress in the southeastern United States....
mattress and spoke seven languages.
Murat died in 1847 at Jefferson County, Florida
Jefferson County, Florida
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population is 12,902. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 14,490 . Its county seat is Monticello, Florida....
, and was buried at the St. Johns Episcopal Church cemetery in Tallahassee 30°26′38"N 84°17′11"W. His maternal first cousin Napoleon III of France
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
provided his widow, Catherine D. Willis Murat, with a cash sum of $40,000 and an annual stipend so that she would live a life to which she was accustomed. Catherine died in 1867 and is also buried at the St. Johns Episcopal Church cemetery. The St. Augustine house where he lived briefly still stands at the corner of St. George and Bridge Street and is called the "Murat House".
In Tallahassee, the Bellevue Plantation (Florida)
Bellevue Plantation (Florida)
Bellevue Plantation was the U.S. home of Catherine Willis Gray Murat, located in Tallahassee, Florida. It was purchased in 1854 after Catherine's husband Prince Achille Murat died in 1847.-Plantation home:The home was named after the Hotel de Belle-Vue in Brussels, where Catherine and Achille had...
house, former home of Catharine Murat, is part of the Tallahassee Museum
Tallahassee Museum
The Tallahassee Museum is a privately funded, non-profit corporation in Tallahassee, Florida.The stated purpose of the Tallahassee Museum is "to educate the residents of and visitors to the Big Bend area about the region's natural and cultural history, from the nineteenth century until the...
.
Ancestry
External links
- Florida Letters of Achille Murat openly available online from the University of Florida Digital CollectionsUniversity of Florida Digital CollectionsThe University of Florida Digital Collections are supported by the University of Florida Digital Library Center in the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. The University of Florida Digital Collections comprise a constantly growing collection of digital resources from the...