On 26 March 1796, a youthful commander named Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in Nice to assume command of the Army of Italy. At that time, Beaumont was a brigadier in the 3,090-man 1st Cavalry Division under the overall command of Henri Christian Michel de Stengel. The division included the 1st Hussar Regiment, the 10th, 22nd, and 25th Chasseurs à Cheval, and the 5th and 20th Dragoon Regiments. In April, Beaumont fought in the Montenotte Campaign, in which Stengel was mortally wounded at the Battle of Mondovì.