At the time of the insurrection of 10 August 1792, he abruptly left the French capital and fled to Bordeaux. He was teaching public classes there, when he was conscripted ("Levée en masse") as a soldier and had to fight against the insurgents in the Vendée. But he managed to escape and in June 1793 he embarked on the "Pigon" an American ship which had been chartered for the Isle de France (Mauritius).