Napoleon's experience of the Terror in Paris was somewhat distant and this period of the French Revolution was quite vital for his overall career. The Bonaparte clan had the misfortune of backing the losing side in the confused Revolutionary politics of Corsica, and he was in southern France in 1793 after being driven from his birthplace. Napoleon's dabbling in Coriscan politics was beneficial for him for two reasons. Firstly, it helped helped situate himself politically on the side of Paris as opposed to Corsica. Although Napoleon was a staunch partisan of the Corsican patriot Pasquale Paoli during Napoleon's formative years, Napoleon sided with Antoine Saliceti who pushed for French control of the island while Paoli advocated independence. Through his patron Saliceti, both Napoleon and his brother Lucien were able to gain entry into the various Jacobin clubs in the south of France. These social networks allowed the Bonaparte family to reconstruct their lives and for Napoleon to recast himself as a French soldier loyal to the state. These connections were vital for his military promotion as he possessed a degree of competence and training, and was able to gain promotion due to his connections with Robespierre's brother Augustin. The second reason Napoleon's Corsican and southern France interlude was important for his long-term trajectory was that it put Napoleon in a relative sideshow during the most politically charged moments of the Revolution. Thus Napoleon was not present for the execution of Louis XVI and experienced the turn of events in Paris from a distance. This meant there was very little that political enemies could pin on him for his actions during the Revolution. As Consul, Napoleon would claim to be the champion of order and as a neutral figure above political factions. This feat was easier to accomplish because although Napoleon politically flirted with Jacobinism, he was not politically compromised by it.

The greatest danger to Napoleon's literal neck was not the Terror, but the Thermidorian Reaction that ended it. Napoleon's connection to Augustin for his rapid promotion and his Jacobin network in southern France now proved to be a liability. Saliceti had denounced Napoleon to the new powers in Paris, likely in an attempt to save his own skin and eliminate a potential rival, and Napoleon was arrested and held for two weeks. Although tradition holds that he as imprisoned in the prison of Fort-Carré for two weeks, Dwyer's biography has found he was likely under house arrest. But fortunately for Napoleon, Saliceti now worked for his release, with the former realizing that if Napoleon were put on trial, then his protege could attack his former patron and Saliceti was far more compromised by Jacobinism than Napoleon.

So Napoleon sailed through both the Terror and Thermidor by both being in the right place and time as well as having the right friends. Other officers who received rapid promotion under the Jacobins were not so lucky. Napoleon managed to evade the Thermodorian purging of the officer corps that culled 40% of generals in active service during the Terror. This period in French history also underscored to Napoleon the importance of having the right political connections, and after his arrest, Napoleon sought to broaden his social network, which soon included Paul Barras. Napoleon's experience of the Terror also led him to appreciate the importance of promotion by basis of talent. Napoleon's own promotion at Toulon based on his merits became one of the cornerstones of the Napoleonic legend and one of the guiding principles of his dictatorship.