After the Battle of Numistro against Hannibal, he was left behind in charge of the wounded with a small number of guards, while the consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus pursued the enemy.
Shortly after he arrived in Cisalpine Gaul with 5,000 Latin troops, about 40,000 Insubres, Cenomani, and Boii, led by the Carthaginian general, Hamilcar, plundered Placentia and besieged Cremona.
[3] The following year, Purpureo was a deputy of the proconsul Publius Sulpicius Galba during peace talks with Macedonia and their ambassadors.
Not much was achieved at this meeting and the Macedonians tried to convince the Aetolians, a Roman ally, to break their alliance and join Macedonia.
It is known that Purpureo was a descendant of Marcus Furius Camillus and had a son of his own namesake who served as Legatus in Aetolia in 200 BC under Publius Sulpicius Galba.