French 2nd Hussar regiment Vivandiere
c.1854 – Crimean war.
Vivandière or Cantinière were women in the military attached to regiments to provide wine, tobacco, paper, ink and other commodities to the soldiers. They achieved a particularly romanticized status during the Second French Empire due to the increase of their number and the many military campaigns on foreign soil during that era.
First French Empire cantinière tonnelet
Cantinières were civilian women married to soldiers who were contracted by a regiment’s administrative council to sell food and drinks to the troops beyond their usual rations, which usually involved a lot of alcohol as pictured above.
First French Empire cantinière tonnelet
Cantinières were civilian women married to soldiers who were contracted by a regiment’s administrative council to sell food and drinks to the troops beyond their usual rations, which usually involved a lot of alcohol as pictured above.
Hunting bodice worn by Empress Eugénie de Montijo, Musée de la Vénerie 1853-1870
Vivandière or cantinière
Women attached to military regiments as sutlers or canteen keepers.
Cask of Vivandière with imperial eagle.
Cantinière Catherine Opdemessing
Belgian Legion, 1865, Mexico
Tunique de cantinière de chasseurs à pied de la Garde Impériale
Vivandière or cantinière is a French name for women attached to military regiments as sutlers or canteen keepers. Their actual historic function of selling wine to the troops and working in canteens..
Vivandières also served on both sides in the American Civil War.