“ He enlisted in the army in 1786, served in Martinique in 1788 and on returning to France entered into the Revolutionary movement, raising a company of light infantry at his native place. His extraordinary bravery and vigour in the campaign of 1793 ensured his rapid promotion, and after Hondschoote he was made a general of brigade. He served in this rank in the campaigns of 1794 in the Low Countries, 1795 on the Rhine and 1796 in Germany, and at the outbreak of the war in 1799 he was promoted general of division. ”

“ In his captivity he appears to have been treated with especial harshness, and when the end of the war released him he was forbidden to enter Paris, and sent to Cassel by Louis XVIII. He was thus free of all obligations towards the Bourbons, and when Napoleon returned, joined him without hesitation. ”