The son of an innkeeper, Joachim Murat would one day go on to become a cavalry general, a king, and Napoleon's brother-in-law. But his family never envisioned such lofty goals and instead intended for him to become a priest, securing a scholarship for him to attend the seminary at Cahors. After studying at Cahors, Joachim Murat was sent to Toulouse to further his study in theology, where in February of 1787 he ran away from the school for a girl he loved, or so the rumors claimed. With little to no support from his family, he enlisted with a regiment of chasseurs and was promoted to sergeant major due to his ability to read and write.
The next notable event of his military career came five years later when in February of 1792 Murat was selected to join the Constitutional Guard of the King. Ostensibly this unit was formed to protect the king but it was really intended to prevent further escape attempts by the royal family. A month later he missed roll call and when questioned, he requested to leave the guard, citing royalist plots within the organization. His request was granted and he returned to his former regiment, now known as the 12th Chasseurs à Cheval. In October of that year, Murat was promoted to lieutenant and learned of the death of his brother Pierre, and thereafter he helped support Pierre's widow and children.
The next year General Dumouriez defected to the Austrians, and his immediate replacement General Dampierre thought highly of Murat, promoting him to capitaine in April. Less than a month later Captain Murat received another promotion, this time to chef d'escadrons, joining the newly formed 16th Chasseurs à Cheval. Unfortunately for Murat, his colonel denounced him as a noble, and to counter this for a time Murat signed his name Marat after the martyr Marat, but eventually he was cleared of all suspicion.
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