On 9 October 1754, Charbonnier was born the son of a shoemaker in Clamecy, a town in what later became the Nièvre departement. As a young man, he enlisted in the "Vintimille" Regiment as a simple soldier in 1780. The regiment was later renamed the 49th Line Infantry. His fellow soldiers gave him the nickname "Fleur d'Orange" (Orange Flower). On 18 July 1789 he joined the National Guard of Paris. Later that same year, he emerged as captain in the Clamecy National Guard. Soon appointed captain of a company in the 1st "Nièvre" Volunteer Battalion, he rose in rank to chef de bataillon (major) by the start of 1792. On 21 September 1792 he was elected second-in-command of the 21st "National Volunteers" Battalion. While with the "Army of the North" he fought under Charles François Dumouriez in the battles of Jemappes and Neerwinden. A French order of battle for Jemappes does not list the 21st Battalion. However, the 1st "Nièvre" Battalion served in the 14th Brigade in the Left Wing under Jean Henri Becays Ferrand. Charbonnier was promoted to general of brigade on 14 November 1793.