Note 463 — BOOK XI[336] (continued 2)

Colonel Francis Maceroni, or de Macirone (1787-1846), was born near Manchester, of a family of Roman origin, and was sent to Naples to complete his education. Here he was kept a prisoner of war, as a British subject, from 1806 till the advent of Murat in 1808. The new King took him into favour, made him his aide-de-camp and employed him in his negociations with England. After Murat's departure from Corsica, Maceroni returned to France, where he was arrested and not released before the British Ambassador had made repeated representations on his behalf. He fought as a soldier of fortune in the South American Wars of Independence (1817) and in Spain (1823). His later years were spent in invention, notably of the famous Maceroni steam-carriage.—T.