Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat

Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat

Male 1801 - 1847  (46 years)

Personal Information    |    Media    |    Notes    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat 
    Born 21 Jan 1801  Paris, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Arrival 23 Mar 1840  New York, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Departure Le Havre, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Reference Number 41928 
    Died 18 Apr 1847  Tallahassee, Leon, Florida, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried Tallahassee, Leon, Florida, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Saint Johns Episcopal Church Cemetery
    Person ID I41928  Thompson-Milligan
    Last Modified 12 Apr 2018 

    Family Catherine Willis,   b. 1803,   d. 1867  (Age 64 years) 
    Married 12 Jul 1826 
    Last Modified 12 Apr 2018 
    Family ID F13922  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 21 Jan 1801 - Paris, France Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsArrival - 23 Mar 1840 - New York, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeparture - - Le Havre, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 18 Apr 1847 - Tallahassee, Leon, Florida, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Tallahassee, Leon, Florida, USA Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat 1801-1847
    Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat 1801-1847
    Catherine (Willis) & Charles Murat
    Catherine (Willis) & Charles Murat

  • Notes 
    • Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat (January 21, 1801 - April 18, 1847) was born in the Hôtel de Brienne in Paris, France with the courtesy title of Prince of the Two Sicilies. Murat's father was Joachim Murat, Grand Duke of Cleves and Berg, Grand Admiral, King of Naples, Marshal of France. His mother was Caroline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was Grand Duchess of Berg and Cleves, Queen of Naples. Achille had the titles of Prince Royal of the Kingdom of Naples and Duke of Cleves. After Napoleon was exiled for a second time, Achille Murat sought exile in Austria 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, Murat embarked from a Spanish port bound for the United States. He settled in a cottage in eastern Florida but in 1823 purchased an extensive property of 2,800 acres in St. Augustine. This property was converted to a plantation and named Lipona, an anagram of Napoli (Naples), the kingdom over which Achille was once destined to rule. He was a member of the local enrolled militia and briefly a volunteer under his personal friend, Brigadier General Joseph Hernandez.
      Murat lived in Tallahassee, Florida during Florida's territorial and early statehood days. 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.
      Between 1824 and 1826, Murat bought Lipona Plantation 15 miles east of Tallahassee. In 1824, he was elected alderman of the city in 1824, mayor in the following year, and in 1826 appointed postmaster, which office he held till 1838.
      In 1826, Murat met and married Catherine Willis Gray. Catherine was born August 17, 1803 near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Gray was the great-grandniece of George Washington. Murat and his wife moved to New Orleans for several years, where he worked as a lawyer. Following the 1830 revolution in France, Murat returned to Europe and was briefly a colonel of the Belgian Foreign 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 moss mattress and spoke seven languages.
      Murat died in 1847 and was buried at the St. Johns Episcopal Church cemetery in Tallahassee. Emperor Napoleon III provided his widow, Catherine Murat, with a cash sum of $40,000 and an annual stipend so that she would live in a life she was accustomed to. 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".