Born in Nancy on 18 June 1746, he was enlisted as a soldier of the Régiment Recrus des Colonies on 4 October 1765, promoted sergeant in November 1766 and Fourrier in December 1770.
He obtained a pension of 400 Livres on 1 July 1783 and was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Governor of Senegal Repentigny, in which role he served until 1 February 1786 when he returned to France.
Seeing service in the Flanders Campaign during 1792-1793, he was made provisional Adjudant General Chef de Brigade (Colonel) by Dampierre on 18 April 1793.
Part of this force was driven back to Cambrai in confusion by 400 cavalry under Rudolf Ritter von Otto at Villers en Cauchies 24 April.
Chapuis was wounded with two sabre cuts and captured at the beginning of the action, his orders from Pichegru also falling into the hands of York.