Original: Because of his Indian heritage, Skinner was unable to serve as an officer in the East India Company army and, at the age of sixteen, he entered the Mahratta army as a ensign under Benoît de Boigne, the French commander of Maharaja Scindia's forces of Gwalior State.
Simplified: Because of his Indian heritage, Skinner was unable to serve as an officer in the East India Company army and, at the age of eighteen, he entered the Mahratta army under Benoît de Boigne, where he soon showed military talent.