The Caffarelli brothers of Le Falga: six destinies born in one château

Six brothers raised at Le Falga, schooled at Sorèze, then scattered by the Revolution and the Empire: a general, a naval prefect, a bishop, an aide-de-camp, a prefect and an executed royalist.

The Caffarelli brothers were six boys born at the Château du Falga, in the Lauragais near Toulouse in south-western France, between 1756 and 1766. Raised in the same house and educated at the same school, Sorèze, they went on to follow paths that seemed to have nothing in common: Maximilien, a general of engineers, died in 1799 before Saint-Jean-d'Acre (Acre); Joseph became naval prefect of Brest; Jean-Baptiste, bishop of Saint-Brieuc; Auguste, aide-de-camp to the Emperor; Charles-Ambroise, a prefect under the Empire; and Philippe, an émigré officer, was executed by firing squad after the royalist landing at Quiberon. Here is their story, as we tell it to those who stay under this roof, and what remains of it today at Le Falga.

Who were the parents of the Caffarelli brothers?

Their father, Pierre-François Caffarelli, belonged to a family that had come from Italy in the sixteenth century, gallicised its name to Caffarel and then returned to its original name in 1739, when Rome recognised its ancient nobility. Between 1750 and 1766 he considerably enlarged the estate and reshaped life in the house. In 1755 he married Marguerite-Louise-Félicité d'Anceau, a deeply devout woman: she would later turn a barn into a chapel, today's église Saint-Martin du Falga.

The family was large, noble but without great wealth. One son, Étienne, born in 1759, died in infancy; six boys reached adulthood, as the Wikipedia entry on the Famille de Caffarelli recalls. Their parents could count neither on vast lands to divide nor on powerful patrons at Versailles. They staked everything on what cannot be squandered: education. Maximilien, the eldest, would even renounce his birthright, a rare gesture among the nobility of the time, and one that says a great deal about the spirit of the house.

Why did Sorèze matter so much in their lives?

A few leagues from Le Falga, at the foot of the Montagne Noire, the abbey school of Sorèze was then one of the most innovative colleges in the kingdom. The Benedictines taught languages, sciences, music, drawing, riding and even swimming, far beyond the Latin of the classical colleges. Louis XVI would make it one of the royal military schools charged with training future officers.

The Caffarelli brothers were pupils there between 1765 and 1783: Maximilien led the way and his younger brothers followed in turn. Their years at Sorèze explain a great deal: Maximilien's taste for science and mathematics, Joseph's maritime vocation, the solid learning of Charles-Ambroise and Jean-Baptiste. The school has not forgotten them. In the salle des Illustres, where a set of forty-eight busts of former pupils, in plaster and bronze, was created between 1858 and 1906, the Caffarelli hold a place of honour, and their name appears in gold letters on the roll of careers. Auguste's bust is even protected as a historic monument, as its entry on the French Ministry of Culture's POP platform records. We tell the story of the school in more detail in our article on the abbey school of Sorèze.

What became of the six brothers?

The same education, the same childhood memories, and yet a family split in two by the Revolution. In outline:

• Maximilien (1756-1799), the eldest, an engineering officer and a man of the Enlightenment, became a general and died before Acre.
• Philippe (1757-1795), an officer of the royal army, emigrated and was executed after Quiberon.
• Charles-Ambroise (1758-1826), a canon of Toul, spent part of the Terror in prison before becoming a prefect of the Empire.
• Joseph, known as de Merville (1760-1845), a sailor in the American War of Independence, became naval prefect of Brest and a count of the Empire.
• Jean-Baptiste (1763-1815), a canon of Montpellier exiled in Spain, was consecrated bishop of Saint-Brieuc.
• Auguste (1766-1849), a soldier of Marengo and Austerlitz and aide-de-camp to the Emperor, ended his life as a peer of France.

Maximilien, the eldest: from the Enlightenment to Acre

Born at Le Falga on 13 February 1756, Maximilien is the guiding figure of the house, and we have devoted a whole article to him. In 1789 he sat with the Third Estate in the assemblies of the Lauragais and drafted a proposed declaration of rights. Loyal to his principles rather than to factions, he refused in 1792 to swear, without first examining it, the new oath demanded after the uprising of 10 August: he was dismissed. Arrested as a suspect in October 1793, he spent some fourteen months imprisoned in Toulouse, and filled his captivity with study and writing.

Once freed, he returned to service with the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse. In December 1795 a cannonball shattered his left leg; after the amputation he walked on a wooden leg. That did not stop him from following Bonaparte to Egypt as head of the engineers of the Army of the Orient, nor from helping to found the Institut d'Égypte. At the siege of Acre in April 1799, a bullet shattered his right elbow; his arm was amputated, and gangrene carried him off on 27 April. In his order of the day, Bonaparte hailed him as one of the bravest leaders of the army, one of Egypt's legislators and an illustrious scholar.

Philippe, the royalist: loyal all the way to Quiberon

Born at Le Falga on 6 March 1757, Philippe followed the most traditional path for a younger son of the nobility: the king's army. He served in the long siege of Gibraltar between 1779 and 1783. When the Revolution broke out he made the opposite choice to his elder brother: he emigrated and became colonel of a hussar regiment commanded by his uncle d'Anceau.

In 1795 he landed on the Quiberon peninsula in Brittany with the royalist army, in Sombreuil's division. The expedition ended in disaster. Taken prisoner, Philippe was shot at Auray, despite the promise of clemency attributed to General Hoche. His remains lie in the expiatory chapel of the Champ-des-Martyrs at Brech, in the Morbihan. That same year, at the other end of the country, his brother Maximilien lost a leg in the service of the Republic.

Charles-Ambroise, Joseph and Jean-Baptiste: serving the State, the sea and the Church

Charles-Ambroise, born in 1758, was a canon of Toul cathedral when the Revolution began. He swore the oath to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, became an administrator of the district of Revel, then in turn knew prison under the Terror. Under the Empire he was successively prefect of the Ardèche, the Calvados and the Aube; the city of Caen named a quay and a boulevard after him. Removed from the prefecture of the Aube by Napoleon in February 1814, he later sat on the general council of the Haute-Garonne and resumed his priestly ministry under the Restoration. Back home, he embellished the church of Le Falga until his death in 1826.

Joseph, known as de Merville, born in 1760, chose the sea. He fought in the American War of Independence, at Tobago, the Chesapeake and the Saintes. Returning to Le Falga for health reasons, he became its procureur de la commune in 1790, then mayor in 1792. Under the Consulate he was appointed to the Council of State and, in 1800, naval prefect of Brest, where he reorganised the arsenal. A count of the Empire and grand officer of the Légion d'honneur, he ended his days at Lavelanet-de-Comminges in 1845.

Jean-Baptiste, born in 1763, was ordained a priest at twenty. A canon of Montpellier cathedral at the time of the Revolution, he refused the oath and went into exile in Spain. Back in France, he lived for a while with Joseph in Brest. After the Concordat he was appointed bishop of Saint-Brieuc in 1802 and consecrated in Paris, in the church of Saint-Roch. A baron of the Empire, he died in 1815 and lies in his cathedral of Saint-Étienne.

Auguste, the youngest: in Napoleon's inner circle

The youngest, born at Le Falga on 7 October 1766, had the most brilliant career of all. Promoted brigadier general after Marengo in 1800, he entered Bonaparte's immediate entourage. In 1804 he was the one sent to Rome to Pius VII to prepare the Pope's journey to Napoleon's coronation. Governor of the Tuileries and minister of war of the Kingdom of Italy from 1806 to 1810, he then fought in Spain and governed Biscay.

In 1814, as the Empire collapsed, he escorted Empress Marie-Louise and the King of Rome all the way to Vienna. Having rallied to Napoleon during the Hundred Days, he retired in 1815, was made a peer of France in 1831 and died at Leschelle, near Guise, on 23 January 1849. His name is engraved on the Arc de Triomphe.

How did Bonaparte protect the family?

Maximilien's death before Acre marked a turning point. Bonaparte held the eldest brother in high esteem; once First Consul, he extended his goodwill to the younger ones. Joseph entered the Council of State and was given Brest, Charles-Ambroise became a prefect, Jean-Baptiste was called to a bishopric in the very first round of Concordat appointments, and Auguste took his place beside the master of France. It would be wrong to see this as mere favouritism: each of them had proved his worth. But it was indeed the memory of the eldest that opened the doors.

What is most striking is that the political rift never broke the family. Royalist shot by firing squad or republican turned general, refractory priest or constitutional priest, the Caffarelli brothers remained deeply attached to one another, and to Le Falga.

What remains of the Caffarelli at Le Falga?

First of all, the house itself. The great staircase built by Philippe Caffarel at the end of the seventeenth century, the rooms where the children of Pierre-François grew up, the bookplate "de la Bibliothèque de Mr de Caffarelli" still kept at the château. The estate has never left the descendants of Philippe Caffarel, and it is this continuity that we recount on the page devoted to the history of the château.

Next, the église Saint-Martin next to the château: a chapel founded by the six brothers' mother, given to the village in 1804, then endowed by Charles-Ambroise with a coffered ceiling and an altar in Caunes-Minervois marble. It can be visited during the European Heritage Days (Journées du patrimoine).

And finally, a story passed down in the family. Maximilien's body never came back from the East; only his arm returned to Le Falga, buried in the church, until Auguste took it with him and had himself buried beside it in 1849. For the rest, you must go to Sorèze and stand before the busts in the salle des Illustres to find the faces of these brothers.

Frequently asked questions

How many Caffarelli brothers were born at the Château du Falga?
Six brothers reached adulthood: Maximilien, Philippe, Charles-Ambroise, Joseph, Jean-Baptiste and Auguste, all born at Le Falga between 1756 and 1766.

Where can you see the busts of the Caffarelli brothers?
In the salle des Illustres of the abbey school of Sorèze, in the Tarn, very close to Le Falga, which brings together busts of the school's most famous former pupils.

Were all the Caffarelli brothers Bonapartists?
No. Four served the Republic and then the Empire; Philippe chose emigration and the royalist army, and Jean-Baptiste refused the revolutionary oath before becoming a Concordat bishop.

Can you visit the Château du Falga?
The château is a family home rented to travellers; it opens its doors during the European Heritage Days, as does the neighbouring église Saint-Martin.

Stay in the Caffarelli family home

Sleeping at Le Falga means unpacking where these six destinies began. The château welcomes up to 21 guests in summer and on certain weekends, and the Petite Maison, rented separately, sleeps 4 all year round. To plan your visit to Sorèze, or simply to learn more about the family, write to us.

Sources: Caffarelli family archives; notices of the Cité de Sorèze (salle des Illustres); Wikipedia (Famille de Caffarelli, Joseph de Caffarelli, Jean-Baptiste de Caffarelli du Falga, Charles Ambroise de Caffarelli du Falga, Marie-François Auguste de Caffarelli du Falga); French Ministry of Culture POP platform (Palissy entries PM81001598 and PM81001631); Napoleon-empire.org; frenchempire.net; Tourisme Occitanie (abbaye-école de Sorèze).