My French figures have fought throughout the nineteenth century from the Crimea through the Franco-Austrian War, the Maximillian Adventure in Mexico, the Franco-Prussian War right up to the Boxer Rebellion in China. Obviously some of the units are specific to specific campaigns (the sombrero-wearing Marines for Mexico, for example) but I've never worried too much about getting exact representations.
The figures are almost from Freikorps: a manufacturer that I used a lot for my 19th century European armies. Must confess that I don't even know if they still exist now (if only we had an easily accessible source of the world's knowledge!) but I used to pour over the catalogue for hours on end.
These are still painted in simple block colours style, but are an improvement on some of my earlier work. I will eventually get around to highlighting them and flocking the bases which, I think, will improve them no end.