Joachim Murat

Joachim Murat (Italian: Gioacchino; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the Empire and Admiral of France. He was the first Prince Murat, Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808, and King of Naples as Joachim-Napoleon from 1808 to 1815.

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Attributed

On being asked if he had any request to make, he said he wished to have a bath prepared for him and perfumed with a bottle of eau-de-Cologne, and, as a last request, that his eyes should not be bandaged. Both wishes were granted, and, by order sent by King Ferdinand, twelve of his own soldiers were selected to shoot him. When the fatal hour came, seeing the emotion of his men, Murat said, "My friends, if you wish to spare me, aim at my heart."
- Last words. Hearing of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo on 18 June 1815, Murat fled to Corsica, from which he attempted an impossible invasion of Calabria. He was captured, sentenced to death, and shot in Pizzo Calabro on 13 October 1815. According to the memoirs of Murat's granddaughter: Caroline Laetitia Murat, My Memoirs (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1910), p. 23