First Empire
De Castellane entered the French army on the day of the coronation of Napoléon I of France (December 2, 1804) as an enlisted soldier in the 5th Light Infantry Regiment. In February 1806 he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant in the 7th Dragoons. The same month he was transferred to the 24th Dragoons with whom he served in the Kingdom of Naples. In 1808 de Castellane followed general Georges Mouton into Spain as an aide-de-camp. When Napoléon returned to Germany in 1809, de Castellane followed and in that campaign he fought at Abensberg, Eckmühl, Ratisbon, Aspern-Essling and Wagram.
Promoted to captain in 1810 he further served Mouton, by now count of Lobau, as aide-de-camp and he accompagnied him into Russia where he served at Vitebsk, Smolensk and Borodino. In October 1812 he was made aide-de-camp of general Narbonne and was present at Krasnoi and the crossing of the Beresina. Promoted to major, he served in the personal protection detail of the emperor during the retreat. De Castellane was promoted to command of the 1st Regiment Garde d'Honneur in June 1813. During the German campaign he fought at Dresden.
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“now
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Where seven Ephesian topers slept and never knew
When Alexander’s empire passed, they slept so sound.”
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