One of the Little Corporal’s most loyal soldiers

©Warren Nunn 2004

Joachim Murat (brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte) by François Gérard. 

A HANDSOME, strikingly tall stable boy who would one day have Napoleon Bonaparte as his brother-in-law gives his name to Labastide Murat, one of a number of quaint villages that dot the hills of France’s Lot region.

Joachim Murat came to prominence in the French revolution, rose through the ranks to become General Marshall and won the confidence and close friendship of the emperor through both his battlefield exploits as well as his charismatic presence.

Murat married Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister, Catherine, and had four children. Even though he returned to his home village only once (in 1800), it would benefit significantly from both his benevolence and generosity.

The striking cathedral and nearby clergy’s quarters (originally built as his mother’s house) as well as the Murat chateau on the village’s outskirts, stand as a significant reminder of the Murat influence.

The chateau was designed on the same lines as the Elysees Palace in Paris where the Murats once lived and which France’s presidents have long called home. It  reportedly houses treasured pieces such as busts and images of Napoleon and has been subject to burglaries over the decades.

But Joachim never set foot inside the village chateau which became home to brother Andre and various family members. It is now in the hands of descendants of Joachim’s great-grand niece Clotilde Murat.

When Napoleon Bonaparte’s kingdom began to crumble, Joachim sent sons Achille and Lucien to America where Achille married George Washington’s great-grandniece Catherine Willis Gray. Joachim’s daughters Letitzia and Louise ended up in Italy. As was common in the 19^th century, alliances with other countries were built on strategic marriages and the present Grand Duchess of Luxemburg descends from another of Joachim’s brothers, Pierre.

Historical image of the Murat maison on the outskirts of the village. The grand house has many images and busts of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Despite his lauded effort to bring together the Italian people in his role as King of Naples, Joachim’s life came to an abrupt end as Napoleon’s expansion plans fell apart.

In 1815, Joachim was executed by a firing squad made up of deaf soldiers. The locals were scared that the 2m tall, devilishly handsome Joachim would try to talk his executioners around and turn them into his liberators.

He refused a blindfold and, pointing to his heart, demanded they aim there and not destroy his good looks. He was only 38.

That fierce determination and fighting spirit was displayed by another Joachim Murat in 1944 who was a member of the French Resistance. He died at the hands of a German executioner.

The original Murat village home has been turned into a museum that houses memorabilia including Joachim’s impressive uniform.