MURAT (JOACHIM). [MURAT EN CORSE REVANT A LA RECONQUETE DE N - Lot 172

Lot n° 172
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Estimation :
3000 - 4000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 4 290EUR
MURAT (JOACHIM). [MURAT EN CORSE REVANT A LA RECONQUETE DE N - Lot 172
MURAT (JOACHIM). [MURAT EN CORSE REVANT A LA RECONQUETE DE NAPLES]. Piece and letter. CORSICA, September 1815. EXTREMELY RARE SIGNED DOCUMENTS FROM THIS PERIOD OF JOACHIM MURAT'S LIFE. Having left France because of the White Terror that raged there after the final fall of the Empire, Joachim Murat took refuge in Corsica with General Franceschetti, who had been in his service in Naples and was then staying with his brother-in-law in Vescovato. This brother-in-law, a royalist, warned General Verrier, the island's military governor, who tried unsuccessfully to arrest him. Murat, thinking only of returning to Naples, assembled a small troop of men and sought to embark at Ajaccio. One of his former secret agents, Macirone, brought him a passport and money from Joseph Fouché to travel to Austria under the name of Comte de Lipona (anagram of Napoli), but he preferred to set sail for Naples with his men on the flotilla of a former Maltese privateer, Barbara. - Signed with 8 autograph words (VESCOVATO in Corsica, September 2, 1815), and with autograph apostilles signed by 3 other people. "[In secretary's hand:] At six days sight, I beg you to pay to the order of Mr Toussaint Gregori, the sum of two hundred thousand francs, value in account with said that you will pass according to the notice to monsieur [in Joachim Murat's hand] Barillon banker [in secretary's hand:] in Paris. [In the hand of Joachim Napoléon:] Good for two hundred thousand francs. J. Napoléon." (2/3 p. in-4; all signatures have been crossed out by Alexandre Barrillon's son but remain legible; 3 stylus cracks). Toussaint Gregori, on September 3, 1815 in Bastia, then wrote: "Pay to the order of monsieur P. F. M. Figarella, valeur en compte...". Then Alexandre Barrillon, on September 23, 1815, probably in Paris, wrote: "Vue...". The financier Alexandre Barrillon, who for a time was one of the regents of the Bank of France, was close to Lucien Bonaparte and Constantin Permon (brother of the Duchesse d'Abrantès). Finally, P. F. M. Figarella, on September 29, 1815 in Paris, added: "Pour acquit...". - Letter signed "J Napoleon". AJACCIO, September 28, 1815. "I hereby inform you that I have drawn on you... as of today the sum of forty[e]thousand francs at ten days' sight to the order of Mr. F. Macirone, value received from the said sieur which I beg you to kindly honour and acquit in due time..." (2/3 p. narrow folio). ATTACHED: - AFFAIRE DE LA TRAITE DE 200 000 FRANCS DE JOACHIM MURAT SUR ALEXANDRE BARRILLON. 1819-1831. 6 manuscript documents, including an autograph signed in Italian by Domenico-Cesare Franceschetti. They concern the aftermath of this trade, in particular the lawsuits brought against Caroline Bonaparte and her children by General Franceschetti to claim reimbursement of the sums he claims to have had to pay for Joachim Murat's stay in Core in 1815. He lost the case definitively in Cassation in 1834. A letter from Alexandre Barrillon's son explains that it was he who crossed out the signatures on the first piece above. Domenico-Cesare Franceschetti (1776-1835), a Corsican who had entered the service of Joachim Murat, who made him a general and aide-de-camp, remained loyal to him to the end, escorting Caroline Bonaparte to Toulon, welcoming Joacim Murat to his brother-in-law's home in Vescovato, and taking part in the tragic battle of Pizzo in October 1815. Taken prisoner with Murat, he was spared. - JOURNAL DES DEBATS. October 11, 1815. including a proclamation by Colonel Verrier, military commander of Corsica, dated Bastia September 15, 1815: "[...] An evil genius seems to have come among us to ignite discord [...]. M. Murat, finding no safety in France, has taken refuge in Corsica, where the laws of hospitality are sacred: he has sought asylum in the house of M. Colonna Ceccaldi, mayor of Vescovato [...]." The colonel complained that Corsican soldiers who had served in the Kingdom of Naples were joining Joachim Murat and forming companies. He forbids this gathering and announces legal proceedings (4 pp. folio).
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