Élie entered into service on 2 December 1766, joining what was then known as the
régiment d’Aquitaine. He participated in the
Corsican campaign of 1769, during which he sustained a right knee injury while building a fascine bridge under the orders of
General de Vaux. He was also present during the bombardments of
Sousse and
Bizerte during the campaign of Tunis and Algiers in 1770. Élie was later injured again by a pulley aboard the frigate
la Topaze. He was dismissed on 2 December 1774 (or 1777 according to other sources), then enrolled into the Queen's Regiment (later the 41st Infantry Regiment) the following year. He participated in two major events of the American Revolutionary War, the first being the 1778 campaign of Ushant under the command of the
count du Chaffault and the second being the 1780 Siege of Savannah under the command of the
count d'Estaing. He was promoted to sergeant on 1 November 1781, and tried unsuccessfully to be promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1787. He was later appointed standard-bearer on 1 August 1788. Condemned to remain a sub-officer in the Kingdom's army, his fortune soon changed with the dawn of the French Revolution. On 14 July 1789, Élie took part in the storming of the Bastille, was the first to enter and negotiated the surrender of the fortress. His participation in the event opened up new career opportunities: He was later named a captain of the 5th Battalion of the 5th Division of the
Paris National Guard on 1 September 1789, then a captain of the 103rd Infantry Regiment on 3 August 1791. Thereafter, he rose through the ranks rapidly. He was made a
Knight of Saint Louis on 2 November 1791. He was named
lieutenant colonel on 7 February 1793 and became a battalion chief commanding the vanguard of the
Army of the Moselle under General
Houchard and General Sigueville. He was then promoted to
brigadier general in the
Army of the Ardennes on 30 July 1793, and assigned to the command of
Givet and
Charlemont. He was promoted to
divisional general on 3 September 1793, and he and his forces participated in the Battle of Wattignies as part of the larger
Army of the North. He was later transferred to the
Army of Sambre and Meuse on 2 July 1794. While serving in the Army of the Ardennes (later the Army of Sambre and Meuse), the people's representatives sent him to command Verdun in July 1794 and Mézières in 1795. Élie seems not to have been in active service in 1795, as his name wasn't included in the general staff organisation announced on 13 June 1795. He was recalled to active service on 28 February 1796 and took command of
Lyon on 28 March 1796. On 19 August 1796, he was assigned to the
Army of the Alps under General
Kellermann, then assigned to the command of
Maurienne and
Tarentaise on 22 October 1796. He was discharged on 18 March 1797. ==Storming of the Bastille==