The French attack relied on the drum. As an assault column moved forward, the drummers beat the pas de charge — a driving cadence that set the pace of the advance and told every man in the press of the column when to push on. British infantry who faced it again and again in the Peninsula came to know the rhythm so well they gave it a mocking nickname: "old trousers." For the Grenadiers à Pied of the Imperial Guard, a place among the drummers was an honor in itself; their beat carried the orders of Napoleon's finest infantry over a din no shouted command could cross.

The figure shows a drummer of the 1st Grenadiers à Pied in full dress — the bearskin with red plume, dark blue coat faced in the Imperial livery lace reserved for musicians, white waistcoat and breeches over black gaiters — the brass-shelled snare drum slung at his left hip, sticks ready. Drummers marched at the head of the column, and he sits naturally at the front of an advancing parade. Lead the file with a French Imperial Guard Company Officer, set the French Imperial Guard Eagle behind him, and open the front with a French Imperial Guard Sapper.

W. Britain model 36223. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal. Single foot figure on a sculpted groundwork base. Boxed.