Joachim Murat

Born in southwestern France in 1767, Murat abandoned seminary for a cavalry regiment when revolution came. He caught Napoleon's eye in 1795 by commandeering artillery to put down royalist revolt in Paris, then rode as his aide through Italy and Egypt. After helping engineer the 1799 coup that made Napoleon First Consul, Murat married Caroline Bonaparte the following year and rose to Marshal of the Empire. He led charges at Austerlitz, Jena, and Eylau - the last a thundering wave of horsemen into Russian lines - and collected titles: Grand Duke of Berg in 1806, King of Naples in 1808. But after Leipzig in 1813 he abandoned the Grande Armée to preserve his throne, then launched a doomed war against Austria in 1815 and was routed at Tolentino. He slipped to Corsica, attempted one final landing to reclaim Naples, and was captured, tried for treason by Ferdinand IV, and shot in Pizzo on 13 October 1815.