In 1808 Napoleon appointed Bisson a Count of the Empire. November 1808 found Bisson serving in the Peninsular War as governor of the fortress of Pamplona. By this time in his career, Bisson gained a reputation as a hard drinker. The beginning of the War of the Fifth Coalition found him leading a column of 2,050 conscripts from Italy to Bavaria over the Brenner Pass. The Tyrolean Rebellion broke out all around him. The rebels soon forced Bisson to surrender with his trapped soldiers and the eagle of the 3rd Line Infantry Regiment near Innsbruck between 11 and 13 April 1809. Another source claimed that 3,500 soldiers surrendered.