Born in Paris, he entered the army in 1737 as a private in the Régiment de Nice, rising to grenadier in 1743, sergeant in 1744, sub-lieutenant in 1747 and lieutenant in 1750. During an attack as part of the Battle of Minorca on 20 May 1756 he was buried by an exploding mine and later the same year he was made a chevalier de Saint-Louis.