Helfert, “Joachim Murat”, Chapter 5, Part 1
(Continuing with the text, as there seem to be no letters or documents for chapter 4. The next document Helfert cites is already Murat’s proclamation from September 1815.)
5. King Ferdinand and Prince Leopold
On May 21, Prince Leopold arrived from Teano at Bianchi's main quarter. In an appeal to the Neapolitans he made them aware of his arrival and assured them of the conciliatory and benevolent disposition of his royal father. The Abruzzi, Molise Capitanata, Terra di Lavoro had already declared themselves for their old royal house; there was no doubt about the voluntary adherence of the other provinces, least of all that of the two Calabrias.
In Capua, the agreement of the 20th had scarcely become known when all order broke down in the Carascosa division, which formed the garrison, the only one where a trace of discipline remained. By use of force, they pushed their way out of the city towards Naples. Guglielmo Pepe, otherwise very popular with the army, strove in vain to maintain the soldiers in line of duty; he, like the other officers, had lost their prestige, no order was heeded any more. In the city, which had been evacuated by the troops, the Muratists attempted an uprising and opened the gates of the prisons. Pepe sent an express messenger to the imperial headquarters with the request that he be allowed to move in as soon as possible, and then rode after his fugitive soldiers into the capital. Two squadrons of hussars were ordered from the Austrian camp, and their appearance restored order.
The situation appeared more ominous in the capital, where Caroline Murat, after having renounced the title and functions of a regent, had to seek refuge in the Fort dell'Uovo. All the streets were filled with wild mobs, to whom the numerous military fugitives had to surrender their weapons. Murat's coats of arms, colours, insignia, everything that could recall the rule of the overthrown son of the Revolution, were torn down, the amaranth of the Bourbons and the name of Ferdinand took their place. In between, shrill shouts: "Death to Joachim! Death to the French!" Some of the latter, caught up in these wild mobs, fell victim to the popular fury. The citizen's guard wanted to keep order, but their mere appearance, as a Muratian institution, aroused rage and outbursts of anger; they gave fire to the mutineers, whose savagery was only increased by it. Terrified, the queen, accompanied by Agar, Zurlo, Macdonald and a few other faithful, left the fort to seek shelter on Campbell's ship. The night of the 21st to the 22nd of May was one of the most terrifying that had been experienced in Naples since 1799. A city of 400,000 inhabitants exposed to a mob of 40 to 50,000 heads of the wildest rabble! In addition, as always on such occasions, the criminals rattled at their dungeon doors, the Lazzaroni made efforts to free 600 galley convicts by force. Blood had already been shed on both sides. Deputations of the nobility and the bourgeoisie rushed to Capua to ask the imperial commander-in-chief to occupy the city without delay, although according to the military convention this was not to take place until the 23rd. The same request was made by Mme Murat to the British Commodore, who put several hundred men ashore and ordered them to move into the city, where they were joined by the extremely hard-pressed civil defence. Bianchi also hurriedly ordered General Neipperg to Naples, who set off with two cavalry regiments and a battery on horseback and arrived on the 22nd at two o'clock in the morning, just in time to assist the armed citizens and Campbell's marines, who were defending the royal palace with their last forces against the onslaught of the ravening mob. Order was soon restored and law and order reigned again.
But the two days of rampages and fighting had cost about a hundred lives; the number of wounded was much greater. Sent by Leopold, Prince Atajano arrived in the capital and had the proclamations of the king and the prince made known, which caused joy everywhere. The people, quickly transformed, cheered the Austrians wherever they appeared. San Genuaro himself, it was said among the Lazzaroni, had served the cannons of the imperials. In the evening the city was festively illuminated.
On the 23rd, Bianchi's columns set out from Capua. The magnificent road via Aversa to Naples, through the middle of the most luxuriant stretch of land in the old world, was strewn with discarded shotguns, sabres, cartridge bags, etc.; 22 cannons, 97 ammunition carts, 2 field forges, abandoned by their covering, also fell into the hands of the Austrians.
This made me laugh because it almost sounds as if the Austrians had been especially indignant that the Neapolitans had littered the beautiful landscape with all that rubbish. »Now look at that! Pick that up, boys, we’ll return their waste to them and teach’em to dispose of it properly.«
Then, amidst excessive displays of joy by the population, with music and all the pomp of war, Bianchi and Burghersh, in their midst Prince Leopold of Sicily, made their entry into the city. On the 26th the Prince went with a large escort to the cathedral, where a solemn thanksgiving service was held. The streets of the capital were filled with officers from various countries: Sicilian with English uniforms, Neapolitan with French uniforms, British, Tuscan, Modenese, and the first and most numerous of all: Austrian. City and country paid homage to the imperial colours. On 28 May, General Napoletani surrendered the fortress of Pescara, on 29 Montemajor the fort of Ancona. Only in Gaëta, from the bare rock whose battlements crown the old Torre d'Orlando, the French-Napolitan tricolour still flew lonely and deserted. General Begani refused to surrender, and it was necessary to make arrangements for a formal siege.
Caroline Murat was still in the Gulf. From on board the Tremendous, the unfortunate princess had to hear the celebrations, the salvos of the cannons, all the festive noise and hubbub, the city lights, the bonfires on the surrounding heights, with which the son of her victorious rival was greeted by those who had cheered her and her husband a few weeks, even days before. Admiral Exmouth would not hear of the promise Campbell had made to her about a communication to the British Cabinet; he claimed that the Commodore had not been authorised to make such a concession. Caroline asked Count Neipperg, whom she had known personally since January 1814, for an interview, not as a princess but as a person seeking protection. She declared her intention to give herself into the power of Austria, and so, with the consent of Prince Leopold and Lord Burghersh, an agreement was reached according to which Caroline, who took the name of a "Countess of Lipona" (an anagram of "Napoli"), was to be taken with her family for the time being to Trieste to await the resolution of Emperor Francis. She sent for her children from Gaëta; on the Austrian side, Major Baron Sunstenau was to escort the abandoned woman. She still received individual visits from her husband's faithful, to whom she confidently expressed her optimism that not four months would pass and she would return to her throne, for Napoleon would not tolerate the Austrians in Italy.
That last bit is, according to a footnote, from General Pepe’s memoirs (and thus possibly to be taken with a grain of salt):
Pepe I S. 311... From General la Vauguyon, p. 311 f., he learned some details about life at Murat's court, "and especially of the queen, which to me seemed but a dream, and yet very true: that princess thought of nothing else but the crown which she must wear after the death of her husband".
I imagine that of course Caroline would try to console her last followers somehow, even against better judgement.
I had had no idea that things had become so violent in Naples as well. Pretty much the same thing as in Milan in April 1814.
