Rubuta ci gaba ga wannan sakin layi - An haife shi a Ham, Somme, kuma ya yi karatu a makarantar soja ta La Fere, kuma ya zama mataimakin laftanar bindigogi a 1792. Ya kasance a wurin yakin Valmy
da Jemappes, kuma a cikin 1793 ya sami kamfani, kamar yadda ci gaba ya kasance cikin sauri a waccan zamanin. A cikin dukkan kamfen da suka biyo baya (ciki har da Yaƙin farko na Zurich) an yi amfani da shi sosai a ƙarƙashin Dumouriez, Pichegru, Moreau, Masséna, da sauransu.