A British officer on the aftermath of Vittoria comments on the number of women with the French army:

"A friend of mine, Captn. During, of the Adjt. Genl. Department seeing what he though a smart young French Officer riding off, gallopped after him, to stay his flight, when on getting alongside, it proved to be a beautiful Catalonian girl, who had been Mistress of a French Colonel, for two years -- She implored our Captain's mercy who sent her to his baggage. She exchanged Masters with admirable & cheerful composure, & remained attached to the Captns. Suite, until the entry of the British Army into France the following year. This was by no means a solitary instance of such arrangments -- & shortly after the battle of Vittoria, Spanish Guitars were gaily sounding in the English Camp, & Spanish girls singing extempore praises of the immortal Wellington, with the same zeal & energy, as had no doubt so lately called forth similar strains, in honor of the great Napoleon."

"I heard that upwards of 500 Spanish Damsels passed into the hands of the civil Branches of the Service, who had followed the victors in time to rob them of their spoil. These fair ladies were speedily reconciled to t his change in their position, caused by the fortune of war, & remained with their new masters until the army passed the Pyrenees, when the vast increase of baggage which had been occasioned by such recruits, calling for Ld. Wellington's interference, he issued an order before we entered France, that they should be sent home and numbers returned into those parts of Spain from which they had originally joined the French Army. Some, however, contrived to absent themselves for a few days and then reappeared with the baggage as before, but by far the greater part were disbanded. They were attired in every sort of dress that can be conceived, some in jackets above & petticoats below, others as hussars, some agin in habits, others in muslin with large straw bonnets. They were found laughing and singing along the whole line of march, perched for the most part on the panniers that were slung over the mules. They had almost all guitars, which they accompanied with pretty voices, the muleteers themselves joining in the chorus, whenerver their airs admitted of one, which most of them did. Ld Wellington himself, angry as he was to see such an increase of baggage, could not help smiling as he passed them to their loud "Viva Wellington" saluting him as he went by."

RN Buckley, ed. THE NAPOLEONIC JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN THOMAS HENRY BROWNED, (London, 1987), pp. 214, 220.