The Osceola times., 1879-11-22
PRINCE MURAT'S GRAVE.
The Florida Plantation ON which a NapO
leon Lived and Died.

Riding, the other day, along one of the
roads leading into Tallahassee an old
resident of Florida, my companion
remarked: 1--WE are now about to enter
former abode Of royalty" gate was
opened and We passed into a grove Of
live oaks. On each side of the carriage
was row Of frame houses, one, and
some one and half, stories high. These
all had their chimneys, built of brick, on
the outside, while a few had small
porches, or piazzas, in front. mention
the chimneys especially, because the
material generally used for ordinary
country houses here is combination of
sticks and clay. At the further end of
the grove, and separated by fence and
garden from the other buildings, was
one-story frame dwelling in better pres
ervation than the others. 1t had the
appearance of containing eight or nine
rooms, and had several piazzas. The
dooryard at one time had been ornament
ed with shrubs or flowers in great
variety. 1t now presented an appear
ance of neglect, and the adjacent build
ings, some twenty or twenty-five in
number, were fast going to decay. The
following inscription on monument in
the Protestant Episcopal cemetery in
Tallahassee tells who was the owner of
this once fine property / have briefly
described.
Departed this Life,
April Is, lsi7.
Charles Louis Napoleon Achilles Murat
Aged AZ.
This monument is dedicated by his wife
Catherine in perpetual memory
of her love.
On shaft similar in design, and over
another grave, is the following:
sacred 10 the memory OF
Princess e. A. Murat,
Wife of Charles Louis Napoleon Achilles Murat,
And daughter of the late
Colonel Bird &. Willis, of Virginia
Who departed this life on the 9th of August. 1867,
In the 6tih year of heragc
A kind and afiectionate wife and siscr-a sincere
and devoted friend.
None knew her but TO love her:
/ None named her but To praise
This monument is erected 10 her memory BY her
bereaved brother and sister.
The lot in which these two are, buried
is surrounded by brick wall about four
feet high. A pine tree has grown into
the wall on one side, and pushed 1t con-
siderably from perpendicular. The
inclosure is filed with briers and bushes
and the walls and monuments are nearly
covered with green mould. The tombs
Of departed royalty share the common
neglect Of others surrounding them.
The buildings in the grove of live oaks
mentioned are on large plantation
once owned and operated by Murat, and
afterward by his widow. The rows OF
buildings along the carriage-way were
! the quarters occupied by his slaves. In
their present dilapidation they are better
houses than many in which native white
residents of the country live to-day
There were many evidences Of comfort
and convenience on the plantation fol
both master and servants. Every luxury
that wealth could command was indulged
in, for Mnrat lived while cotton was
king, and he had many acres of good
land for its production.
Louis Napoleon, on his accession, made
Mrs. Murat pensioner of the French
government. She regularly received hel
stipend up to the time of her death, with
thc.exceptim of an interruption caused
by the rebellion, which was afterwart
made good. After her death a female
cousin, who now lives on a plantation
between the Murat homestead and Talla
hassee, was made pensioner Of Franc,
in smaller sum, which was annually
paid up to the time of the destruction o
the second empire.
When Lafayette visited the United
States in 1926, he spent some time il
Tallahassee. The Government hat
given him township of land adjoining
the capital of the territory of Florida
and he came here to dispose of it. B,
the bad management Of his agents hi
heirs realized but little from these broat
acres, and cloud was left on the title
of purchasers which has not been re
moved during an occupancy of fift,
years. On his return to France, Lafay
ette reported that Murat had married Al
American peasant girl. II il difficult T.
conjecture what motives prompted hin
in making such a statement, but, rccog
nizing caste distinctions in society here
Mrs. Murat did not belong to the sub
stratum. She was of Virginia "blu
blood" and felt US much pride in he
own ancestry as she did in that Of he
husband, although his mother was
sister Of the great Napoleon.