He studied medicine in Paris until 1776, when he joined George Washington in the United States’ fight for independence, performing surgery for the Continental Army.
[2] While aboard, he taught the two Bostonians, bound for a diplomatic mission at Versailles, some much-needed French skills.
He supported the French Revolution and in 1792 joined the Army of the North, occupied a seat on the Army’s Health Council (1793), and then as Inspector General he visited hospitals in Belgium, England, and Vendée in Western France.
In 1795, he founded and personally funded a free medical school and a botanical garden which lasted until 1808.
Finally, at the age of sixty, he received a medical doctorate in Paris (1805), and earned the title of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (1831).