He belonged to the squad of Corporal Jean Macquart.
Originally a housepainter of Montmartre, his time was almost expired
when the outbreak of war prevented his leaving the army. A revolutionary
in his ideas, he was the leader in every breach of discipline among
his companions, suggesting to them that they should throw away their
knapsacks and guns; on the plateau of Floing, in front of the enemy,
he declared that as he had not eaten he would not fight. Sergeant Sapin
having been severely wounded, Chouteau offered, along with Loubet,
to remove him to the ambulance, and the two men disappeared from the
battlefield. After the defeat of the French Army he was made prisoner
at Iges, where he continued to advise his companions in committing all
kinds of excesses, going the length of handing a knife to Lapoulle in
order that he might kill Pache, who had hidden some provisions from him.
Along with Loubet he made an attempt to escape from the Germans, and
in this he attained success by treacherously sacrificing his comrade.
During the Commune he took an active part in the excesses which were
then committed; but during the sanguinary repression which followed
he was seen in the blouse of an honest workman applauding the massacre
which ensued.
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