Camp follower

[1] From the beginning of organized warfare until the end of the 19th century, European and American armies heavily depended on the services of camp followers.

[3] Camp followers were both a support and drain on an army as they provided valuable services but also increased difficulties in logistics and security.

However, in much of the world the concept of numerous civilian workers, family members and hangers-on accompanying armies survived into the 20th century, either for reasons of local culture or in the absence of formal support services.

A notable example was the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, where female soldaderas filling traditional camp roles, carrying equipment and often acting as combatants were a marked feature of Zapatista, Villista, and federal forces at all times.

Mother Courage and Her Children, the 1939 play by Bertolt Brecht, focuses on the life of a family of camp followers during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648).