Bonapartists in North Florida. Lafayette, Talleyrand, Murat, Liberal Influences

[stephendare]

Achille & Catherine Murat: Tallahassee's Napoléon Connection


Did you know that Napoléon’s nephew once lived near Tallahassee? Prince Achille Murat and his American bride Catherine Willis brought together, in one family, direct blood ties to heads of government across Europe and in America.

Catherine Willis was born near Fredericksburg, Virginia, on August 17, 1803. Her mother was the granddaughter of Betty Washington, sister of George Washington, and her grandfather, Fielding Lewis, was also related to the Washingtons.

In the early 1820s, the Willis family left Virginia for the new Territory of Florida. Young Catherine, having lost both a husband and a baby before she was out of her teens, came south with her family.

Prince Achille Murat, Napoléon’s nephew, came to America after the downfall of the Bonapartes in Europe. His father, Joachim Murat, the King of Naples, had been executed and the family exiled. His mother lived in Austria as the Countess of “Lipona,” an anagram for Napoli (Naples).

Achille first visited his uncle, the former King of Spain, in New Jersey, then traveled south to Florida. In St. Augustine, he rented a small house (still standing) and experimented with crops and cattle on acreage outside the city. By 1825, Middle Florida seemed to offer prospects for a quick fortune, so he formed a land partnership with Colonel James Gadsden, establishing Lipona Plantation about fifteen miles east of Tallahassee.

In 1826, Catherine and Achille married. It was to Lipona, a series of four one-room log houses built around a garden, that Achille took his bride. The interiors were whitewashed logs, but guests used golden teaspoons and fine damask napkins woven with the Napoléonic crest. There were even linens embroidered in silk with the crown and coat of arms of the King of Naples and a marble bust of Achille’s mother, Queen Caroline.

Achille was restless, always ready to seek his elusive fortune in a new quarter. In 1835, the couple left Lipona and moved to Louisiana. The Prince, apparently never short of charm or credit, bought not only a house on the fashionable Esplanade in New Orleans but also a sugar plantation as wellâ€"Magnolia Mound near Baton Rouge. Neither Achille’s law practice nor his sugar venture was successful; subsequently, both Louisiana properties and Lipona were lost. The couple moved to a smaller plantation, Econchatti, in Jefferson County, Florida.

At every favorable rumor of Bonaparte successes in Europe, Achille and Catherine set sail to chase his inheritance. They stayed for several months in Belgium and in England, visiting and counseling with Achille’s cousin, Louis Napoléon.

Achille died in 1847 at Econchatti. Catherine found herself left with a mountain of debts and memories of a life that perhaps had not always been happy, but could never have been dull.

In 1852, Louis Napoléon declared himself Napoleon III, Emperor of France. He sent Catherine 125,000 francs ($40,000) and received her at court as a Princess of France.

Living at Econchatti, Catherine settled debts and put her finances in order. In 1854, she bought a Tallahassee residence, Bellevue. Catherine lived at Bellevue part of each year, entertaining friends and leading an active public life.

As Florida’s first vice-regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, she helped raise $3,000 toward the purchase and preservation of George Washington’s home. Catherine fired the cannon announcing Florida’s secession from the Union and supported the Confederate cause with her funds, food, and energy.

After the war, Napoléon III assisted her with an annuity. In 1867, Catherine gave property adjoining Bellevue to three of her former slaves. She died of typhoid fever on August 6, 1867, at Econchatti and is buried in St. John’s Episcopal Cemetery in Tallahassee beside her Prince.