Military Officer. By the age of fifteen, Francois had entered the infantry and three years later was appointed ensign to the Royal Bavarian Regiment. He rose to Captain and by 1771, was made a knight of the Order of Saint-Louis. He received promotions to captain-commander, major, and lieutenant-colonel and colonel general over the next ten years. By the time of the French Revolution, he was sent to Alsace, now as army general. He met up with General Dumouriez to defend Varennes. He takes a position on the heights of Valmy. Although losing his horse and being under artillery fire, he rallies his troops with the call "Long live the nation!" The enemy falls away overwhelmed by the display of sabers and bayonets. By 1793, he was appointed commander of the army of the Alps and Italy. When Lyon rebelled against the Convention, Kellerman was assigned to attack the city. He hesitated, deciding to starve the city instead of bombarding it. While there, he diverted his troops to counter an invasion by the King of Sardinia. He was arrested for not burning Lyon and spent thirteen months in prison anticipating death by the guillotine. After the fall of Robespierre, he was released and returned to his command. By 1798, he was appointed inspector general of the cavalry. He was also called to be part of the Conservative Senate in 1801. At the start of the Austrian campaign, Kellerman was appointed head of the 3rd Reserve Corps on the Rhine and organized the national guards there. Napoleon honored him by naming him the Duke of Valmy, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor and giving him a sizable estate. However, he was demoralized by what he saw as Napoleon's continuing unnecessary waste of French blood. He had no problem signing for his arrest and removal. Louis XVIII appointed him a royal commissioner in the 3rd Military Division, peer of France and grand cross of Saint Louis. When he died, according to his wishes, his heart was buried at the battlefield of Valmy and his ashes were interred at the cemetery. His name is engraved on the triumphal arch of the Etoile. There are statues in his honor in Strasbourg and in Valmy.