Her father died and her mother met an unknown fate resulting in Antonini being an orphan by age ten.
[2]: 443 After 10 years, in 1804, she was captured and wounded near Îles des Saintes, during an action with the British Navy after the frigate had left the port of Santo Domingo.
As a prisoner, she was interned on a pontoon off the coast of Plymouth, England for eighteen months.
Following the signing of a treaty between the British and French, she was allowed to return to France.
While in Portugal during the French occupation, she was wounded severely, including major injuries to her head.