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148 - MURAT (JOACHIM). "OUR EMPEROR WILL SOON SAY 'MY ARMY OF NAPL…
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Estimate 800 € - 1 000 €
Sale commission
Description
MURAT (JOACHIM). "OUR EMPEROR WILL SOON SAY 'MY ARMY OF NAPLES HAS ALSO DONE ITS DUTY: I AM PLEASED WITH IT'...". Signed "Joachim Napoleon" as King of Naples. Naples, "en notre camp royal", 24 June 1809. One p. 1/2 in-folio, on strong vellum gilt on edges. "SOLDIERS! YOU HAVE BEEN GROANING FOR A LONG TIME FROM YOUR IDLENESS; YOU SIGH AFTER THE FIGHTING: YOUR DESIRES ARE AT LAST GOING TO BE FULFILLED. This enemy, who has not blushed to join forces with brigands and to arm them in order to use them to desolate my provinces, appears on the seas and seems to want to descend to the plains. We will pick up the gauntlet, we will go to meet him and soon you will have purged my States of these insolent enemies who, from the neighbouring island, have organised murder, kidnapping and pillage. You will have the powerful support of my good people; their wishes will accompany you to the battlefield, and my troops and my provincial legions will either fight by your side, or pursue to the utmost these brigands whom the Court of Palermo had sent to announce its benefits and pardons, and who were only really to return with dagger and torch in hand. SOLDIERS! YOU WILL BE WORTHY OF THE SOLDIERS OF THE GREAT ARMY, AND OUR EMPEROR WILL SOON SAY 'MY ARMY OF NAPLES HAS ALSO DONE ITS DUTY: I AM PLEASED WITH IT'...". ADDRESS TO THE ARMY AT THE TIME OF THE BRITISH LANDING IN THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. With the formation of the Fifth Coalition and the difficulties of the Grand Army in Austria, an Anglo-Sicilian expedition was organised under the command of General John Stuart and Prince Leopold, son of the deposed King Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies: 20,000 men were mobilised, along with a fleet of 40 ships. In June 1809, the islands of Procida and Ischia, at the entrance to the Bay of Naples, were taken despite the defence of General Agostino Colonna, known as Stigliano. A few hundred men were landed at Cape Misene in an attempt to foment an insurrection, but the defences put in place by Murat dissuaded the invaders from attacking Naples directly. On 24 July, General Stuart heard the news of the French victory at Wagram and the end of the coalition, so he finally resigned himself to withdrawing, evacuating Ischia and Procida in mid-August 1809. Joachim Murat's prestige was greatly enhanced for the time being.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale The Empire at Fontainebleau - Second day
Auction location
Auction time 21/06/2026 à 10h30
Pictures credits:
Michel Bury and Henri du Cray
See original version (French)
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