Jean Christophe Collin, called Verdière, was a general of French general of Cavalry in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was born 18 January 1754 in Paris. The son of Christopher Collin (Colin) of La Verdière, he was a volunteer in the Dragoons in 1767. He became captain of Hussars of Lauzun in 1778, a colonel of the Paris Cavalry in 1789, and a brigadier in 1795. He helped to quell the royalist insurrection of 5 October 1795, and joined the Army of Italy in 1796. He commanded the garrison at Paris in 1797, and was appointed General of division the following year. Subsequently, he participated in the campaigns of the Army of the Danube in 1799, at the Battle of Ostrach and the Stockach; later that year, he participated in Andre Massena's campaigns in northeastern Sw