Vive les Vivandières!

Certainly the Vivandière is one of the enduring images of French armies, especially during the Republican and First Empire eras. I decided that the morale of my French troops needed some boosting after painting a lot more Austrians lately, so these two fine ladies were added to the Army. 

In France, the term cantinière started to replace the earlier term from 1793 on. These figures are both from Brigade Games. 

"Cantinières expanded their numbers greatly during the Napoleonic Wars, gaining fame for battlefield heroics as well as for nursing the sick and wounded. They fought in every French campaign and battle of the era, creating a legend that survived long afterwards. It was common for cantinières to provide food and drink to the troops while under fire (generally at no charge on days of battle), nurse the wounded, and generally stiffen morale. Some cantinières reportedly carried muskets and fought in the ranks." (quote is from the Wikipedia article on the subject). 

Military music is another morale booster, so while I was ordering from Lon at Brigade Games, I added this Fifer and Drum Major. 

The regimental band, if any, was hired, paid for, and uniformed by the colonel and officers of the regiment (as opposed to the drummers, who were official members of the regimental organization). The tambour-major often wore the most over the top uniform that the colonel could afford. 

Similarly, there was no prescribed uniform for bandsmen (as opposed to drummers and light infantry hornists), although all sorts of non regulation uniform variations were common with their dress as well, especially prior to the advent of the Imperial Livery in 1812. 

"The playing will continue until morale improves!"