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

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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 well—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.

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Marquis de Lafayette: The Absent Landlord Frenchtown

Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Montier, the Marquis de Lafayette, was born in France in 1757. He came to the United States in 1777 to fight in the American Revolution against the British. Lafayette served as a member of George Washington’s staff and so distinguished himself in the war that the U.S. Congress rewarded him with a monetary grant and 36 square miles of land in Tallahassee. After the war, he returned to France and became involved in politics and the military, although his views during the French Revolution led to his exile, imprisonment, and eventual retirement. Lafayette later returned to politics and worked for Napoléon’s abdication after the Battle of Waterloo.

Although the Marquis never visited his property in Florida, he sent people to grow limes and olives and to produce silk from moths. However, the colony failed, and most of the residents went to New Orleans or to France. Those who remained lived in an area of Tallahassee that still is called Frenchtown. Lafayette eventually sold his property.

Frenchtown
According to local historical tradition, the French who settled in the northwest quarter of Tallahassee actually were sent to colonize the northeast quarter of Tallahassee, a land grant given to the Marquis de Lafayette by Congress in 1824. Their colony did not succeed, and it is believed that some returned to France, moved to New Orleans, or resettled in the northwest quarter (Frenchtown).

Thus, Frenchtown had its beginnings in the late 1820s. The 1987 report, “Historical and Architectural Survey of the Frenchtown Neighborhood,” by Sharyn Thompson and Darlene Bowers states, “There were several persons from France residing in Tallahassee soon after it was established as the Territorial capital, and prior to 1831 when the Lafayette colony supposedly arrived.” By the 1840s, French merchants and laborers owned one-third of the property in the area, hence the name “Frenchtown.” The 1850 Census indicates only a few French remained. After the Civil War, records show freedmen moved into the area.