[2] With the onset of the French Revolution, large numbers of aristocratic army officers left France.

[3] Solignac joined the 2nd Battalion of Pyrénées-Orientales Volunteers formed at Montpellier and became a first lieutenant in August 1792 and then a captain in November 1792.

In the successful defense of the French Directory on 13 Vendémiaire (5 October 1795), Solignac carried out Bonaparte's assignments to disperse the Sections.

[2] During the events leading up to and including the Battle of Tarvis in March 1797, Solignac served as chief of staff in André Massena's division.

[5] Massena, a famous plunderer, lined his own pockets with extorted cash and valuables from churches and towns in Italy.

In Piedmont, Massena extorted 300,000 French livres and in September 1796 he stole church silver worth 310,077 francs.

Soon after, Bonaparte sent him on a successful mission to the 8th Military Division to ensure that the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Var, and Vaucluse supported the newly-established French Consulate.

[1] commanded a brigade in Louis Partouneaux's Reserve Division at the Battle of Caldiero on 30 October 1805 during the War of the Third Coalition.

[10] The French commander Jean-Andoche Junot attempted a frontal attack on Arthur Wellesley's center while turning the British left flank with Antoine Brennier's brigade.

However, Junot saw British troops shifting to their left flank, so he sent Solignac's brigade to support Brennier.

[1] In January 1810, he commanded the 3rd Division of Junot's VIII Corps, with 135 officers and 6,925 rank and file present under arms.

The siege guns arrived on 15 April and their bombardment soon created a breach in the northwest corner of the city wall.

On 21 April, the elite companies of the 47th and Ireland Regiments captured the breach and gained a small foothold.

Pierre Guillaume Gratien's brigade consisted of 3 battalions each of the 15th and 86th Line Infantry Regiments (118 officers, 2,352 men) and Jean Guillaume Barthélemy Thomières' brigade was made up of the 65th Line, Ireland, and Prussian Infantry Regiments (148 officers, 4,608 men).

Believing that he was facing only Solignac's division, Johann von Thielmann's Saxon force attacked the French.

In fact, Maison had recently been reinforced from the Antwerp garrison and he commanded 9,700 infantry, 1,360 cavalry, and 35 guns; the French routed the Saxons.

[20] At Courtrai, Solignac's division included battalion-sized detachments from the 17th, 27th, 28th, 51st, 55th, 65th, and 75th Line Infantry Regiments, a total of 3,738 officers and men.