In 1793, during the war with Spain, Verdier, with only a battalion of tirailleurs, captured a redoubt outside Figueres defended by 4,000 Spanish troops and 80 guns, gaining promotion from Captain to Adjutant-General.

He was promoted to Brigadier in 1795, and the following year in Italy, at the head of three Grenadier battalions, captured the hill called Monte Medolano.

He was made General of Brigade on the battlefield of Castiglione, was wounded at Arcole, and fought on until the end of the war of the First Coalition.

[1] In March 1807, Verdier left Italy to join Grande Armée, and in May he took command of the 2nd Division of the Reserve Corps under Lannes.

After taking part in the fierce fighting of Heilsberg and Friedland, he was rewarded the next year with two honors: Count of the Empire, and Commander of the Iron Crown.

Replacing Reille as commander of a German division, Verdier then took up the siege of Girona in March 1809, and in December he accepted the city's surrender.

That September he took command of a corps under Prince Eugene consisting of Rouyer's and Gratien's divisions in the Army of Italy, and was then placed under Grenier.

[1] For the Hundred Days, Verdier commanded the 17th Infantry Division of Brune's IX Corps, and was made a Peer of France.