Defrance was stationed in Saint-Domingue during the first Haitian revolt and served in the volunteers "Cape Dragoons". On his return to France in 1792, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the cavalry regiment "royal-étranger". After serving in the Army of the North, he was appointed adjutant-general brigadier in the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse. He also served in the Council of the Five Hundred.