During 1741–54, the family worked the remote estate of "Dreyschlatt". Ulrich was educated in literacy and basic arithmetics during ten weeks each winter, working as a goatherd for the rest of the year. In 1754, the family moved to Wattwil, where Ulrich worked various jobs. In 1755 he entered the service of a Prussian recruiting officer. Against his will, he was pressed into military service in the 13th infantry regiment of the Prussian Army in 1756, but managed to escape later in the same year, at the Battle of Lobositz.